1988 Nissan Maxima problems & reliability
60 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1988 Nissan Maxima. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
2 complaints report injuries (2 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel System, Gasoline → | 28 | 47% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 12 | 20% |
| Seat Belts | 7 | 12% |
| Electrical System | 6 | 10% |
| Steering | 3 | 5% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 2 | 3% |
| Visibility | 2 | 3% |
| Exterior Lighting | 1 | 2% |
| Power Train | 1 | 2% |
| Structure | 1 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Tire in front blew out on side wall bigo tires said good luck getting falken to honor the tire warranty and a day later my rear tire has now a bubble on the side wall that will be resulting in the same blow out sooner or later according to big o tires. *tr”
Tires · filed Jan 13, 2009
“Consumer stated vehicle's stablizer wheel broke into causing vehicle to lose control. Please provide additional information. Ts”
Steering · filed Jan 14, 2003
“There is a fuel leakage in vehicle due to fuel injection. Vehicle is not included in recall. 95i006000. Please provide more information.*ak”
Fuel System, Gasoline · filed Apr 30, 2002
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- FUEL INJECTOR ASSEMBLY LEAKAGE
Engineering Analysis EA94018 · opened Jun 23, 1994 · closed Nov 8, 1995 · led to recall 95I006000
- ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
Preliminary Evaluation PE94018 · opened Feb 22, 1994 · closed Jun 23, 1994
Technical service bulletins
2 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1988 Nissan Maxima.
Nissan: tire pressure monitoring system (tpms) warning light on/flashing. No models or model years listed. *pe updated on 08-11-2011. *kb
NTB-09-101 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 30, 2010
Nissan: the 12 volt battery is an important part of the vehicle electrical system and is required to stay connected when the engine is running. To prevent damage to vehicle electronic components follow the…
NTB-09-030 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 6, 2009
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 1988 Nissan Maxima in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1988 Nissan Maxima?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.