2004 NISSAN MAXIMA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 1,363 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (845 complaints · 62.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 32
  • Fires 16
  • Injuries 28
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 2003 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution POWER TRAIN appears in 845 of 1,363 owner complaints (62.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 845 complaints, 62.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 845 · 62.0% · 12 crash reports TIRES: 89 complaints, 6.5% of reports TIRES 89 · 6.5% · 2 crash reports ENGINE: 77 complaints, 5.7% of reports ENGINE 77 · 5.7% · 1 crash reports 6 fire reports SUSPENSION: 73 complaints, 5.4% of reports SUSPENSION 73 · 5.4% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 50 complaints, 3.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 50 · 3.7% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports STRUCTURE: 44 complaints, 3.2% of reports STRUCTURE 44 · 3.2% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 27 complaints, 2.0% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 · 2.0% · 3 fire reports VISIBILITY: 26 complaints, 1.9% of reports VISIBILITY 26 · 1.9% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 25 complaints, 1.8% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 25 · 1.8% · 4 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 882 complaints, 64.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 882 · 64.7% · 20 crash reports 9 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
POWER TRAIN 845 62.0% 12 crashes · 0 fires
TIRES 89 6.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 77 5.7% 1 crashes · 6 fires
SUSPENSION 73 5.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 50 3.7% 1 crashes · 1 fires
STRUCTURE 44 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 2.0% 0 crashes · 3 fires
VISIBILITY 26 1.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 25 1.8% 4 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 882 64.7% 20 crashes · 9 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2003; the first recall shown was reported in Jul 2004. 2003-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2004-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 2004-Q4: 20 owner reports 20 2005-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2005-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2005-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2005-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2006-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2006-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2006-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 2006-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2007-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2007-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2007-Q3: 30 owner reports 30 2007-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2008-Q1: 30 owner reports 30 2008-Q2: 36 owner reports 36 2008-Q3: 57 owner reports 57 2008-Q4: 58 owner reports 58 2009-Q1: 75 owner reports 75 2009-Q2: 56 owner reports 56 2009-Q3: 54 owner reports 54 2009-Q4: 48 owner reports 48 2010-Q1: 54 owner reports 54 2010-Q2: 63 owner reports 63 2010-Q3: 36 owner reports 36 2010-Q4: 31 owner reports 31 2011-Q1: 47 owner reports 47 2011-Q2: 50 owner reports 50 2011-Q3: 65 owner reports 65 2011-Q4: 31 owner reports 31 2012-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2012-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2012-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 2012-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2013-Q1: 41 owner reports 41 2013-Q2: 23 owner reports 23 2013-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2013-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2014-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2014-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2014-Q3: 20 owner reports 20 2014-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2015-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2015-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2015-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2015-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2016-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2016-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2016-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2017-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2018-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2003 Jan 2025 Recall campaign 04V326000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V326000 Recall campaign 05V512000 ◆ Recall campaign 05V512000 Investigation PE04035 ● Investigation PE04035
  • Campaign 04V326000 was reported 145 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 05V512000 was reported 696 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2003-Q4 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 18
2004-Q2 Owner reports 6
2004-Q3 Owner reports 17
2004-Q4 Owner reports 20
2005-Q1 Owner reports 15
2005-Q2 Owner reports 12
2005-Q3 Owner reports 15
2005-Q4 Owner reports 9
2006-Q1 Owner reports 14
2006-Q2 Owner reports 20
2006-Q3 Owner reports 23
2006-Q4 Owner reports 10
2007-Q1 Owner reports 9
2007-Q2 Owner reports 14
2007-Q3 Owner reports 30
2007-Q4 Owner reports 10
2008-Q1 Owner reports 30
2008-Q2 Owner reports 36
2008-Q3 Owner reports 57
2008-Q4 Owner reports 58
2009-Q1 Owner reports 75
2009-Q2 Owner reports 56
2009-Q3 Owner reports 54
2009-Q4 Owner reports 48
2010-Q1 Owner reports 54
2010-Q2 Owner reports 63
2010-Q3 Owner reports 36
2010-Q4 Owner reports 31
2011-Q1 Owner reports 47
2011-Q2 Owner reports 50
2011-Q3 Owner reports 65
2011-Q4 Owner reports 31
2012-Q1 Owner reports 21
2012-Q2 Owner reports 20
2012-Q3 Owner reports 23
2012-Q4 Owner reports 18
2013-Q1 Owner reports 41
2013-Q2 Owner reports 23
2013-Q3 Owner reports 15
2013-Q4 Owner reports 11
2014-Q1 Owner reports 5
2014-Q2 Owner reports 7
2014-Q3 Owner reports 20
2014-Q4 Owner reports 14
2015-Q1 Owner reports 12
2015-Q2 Owner reports 13
2015-Q3 Owner reports 9
2015-Q4 Owner reports 11
2016-Q1 Owner reports 4
2016-Q2 Owner reports 8
2016-Q3 Owner reports 7
2016-Q4 Owner reports 7
2017-Q1 Owner reports 4
2017-Q2 Owner reports 5
2017-Q3 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 6
2018-Q1 Owner reports 2
2018-Q2 Owner reports 3
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q1 Owner reports 3
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 4
2021-Q1 Owner reports 2
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 04V326000
Recall campaign 1 05V512000
Defect investigation 1 PE04035
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 04V326000

    Report date
    Component:
    VISIBILITY
    Consequence:
    THIS COULD CREATE EXCESSIVE INTERNAL STRESS IN THE GLASS AND EVENTUALLY CAUSE THE GLASS TO SHATTER, CREATING A RISK OF INJURY.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE GLASS IN THE SKYVIEW ROOF. THE RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 05V512000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEATS
    Consequence:
    A PINCHED HARNESS, IN COMBINATION WITH DRIVING VIBRATION, MAY RESULT IN A SHORT CIRCUIT IN THE HARNESS THAT COULD LEAD TO A FIRE IN THE SEAT.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE WIRE HARNESS AND ROUTE IT CORRECTLY. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 16, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 1,363 complaints · page 1 of 55

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources