2005 Nissan Maxima problems & reliability
948 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2005 Nissan Maxima, alongside 2 safety recall campaigns. 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.
19 complaints report injuries (29 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2005 Nissan Maxima vehicles were involved in 32 fatal crashes with 25 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Power Train → | 777 | 82% |
| Engine → | 61 | 6% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 40 | 4% |
| Electrical System → | 38 | 4% |
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 33 | 3% |
| Unknown OR Other | 27 | 3% |
| Structure → | 25 | 3% |
| Steering → | 17 | 2% |
| Tires → | 17 | 2% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic → | 14 | 1% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 85,000 miles (middle 50% between 69,000 and 101,000 miles), based on 807 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“While driving my car down the road the vehicle randomly shut off lost power and I had to quickly pull into a plaza but was almost hit, looking through many different Nissan forums a lot of mechanics and owners are saying that the original crankshaft/camshaft position sensors on the Altima/maxima have experienced…”
Electrical System · filed Mar 3, 2025
“On June 6th. 2019 my 2005 nissan maxima struck a disabled vehicle left in the middle lane of the Long Island Expressway (a 3 laned highway). Although I was traveling at 60 mph when the collision occurred and struck the disabled vehicle from the rear, the passenger airbag never deployed. This resulted in the passenger…”
Air Bags · filed Aug 8, 2023
“The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the power steering would fail to operate. The steering wheel would require excessive force in order to steer the vehicle. The contact would frequently replenish the steering fluid however, the failure persisted. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to…”
Steering · filed Aug 10, 2022
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
94 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2005 Nissan Maxima. The 10 most recent:
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
VEHICLE KEY NOT DETECTED / AUTHENTICATED, ENGINE WILL NOT START This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-107G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
CAN COMMUNICATION – NETWORK DIAGNOSTIC FLOW CHART This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-027D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
CAN COMMUNICATION CODES – DIAGNOSTIC TIPS AND GUIDELINES This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB10-066C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
WINDOW GLASS WARRANTY INFORMATION This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB17-019H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
REMOVING FOREIGN MATERIAL FROM THE WINDOW GLASS This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-028I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
WINDSHIELD CRACKING This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB09-081K · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
Expiration Notification - Maxima/Altima Floor Pan ***** Dealer Announcement ***** On October 28, 2022, in connection with the court-approved settlement of class action litigation filed in Missouri, Nissan launched a…
PC926 04-08 Maxi · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 1, 2023
VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN 2002-2006 ALTIMA AND 2004-2008 MAXIMA; FLOOR PAN Voluntary Service Campaign ID # PC926 is no longer active. ï · Repair orders opened after this bulletinâ s published date are no longer…
NTB22-095A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 1, 2023
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
The 2005 Nissan Maxima has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
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 2005 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.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 85,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.