2016 Nissan Maxima problems & reliability
142 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2016 Nissan Maxima, alongside 8 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.
7 complaints report injuries (12 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2016 Nissan Maxima vehicles were involved in 64 fatal crashes with 39 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 | 33 | 23% |
| Electrical System | 31 | 22% |
| Unknown OR Other | 27 | 19% |
| Service Brakes | 20 | 14% |
| Engine | 18 | 13% |
| Air Bags | 14 | 10% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 14 | 10% |
| Steering | 9 | 6% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 8 | 6% |
| Structure | 8 | 6% |
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 42,847 miles (middle 50% between 14,625 and 74,412 miles), based on 68 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The car has been diagnosed with a CVT transmission problem which the mechanic stated was hard to diagnose. The car sometimes slow down to only 30 miles or less being unpredictable when driving and could cause an accident in a busy street or highway as the problem comes at unpredictable times. The car is close to 61000…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Jun 26, 2026
“I took my vehicle yesterday to Monroe Nissan to check on hvac job done last May 2025 as ac was blowing hot air again I was told the ac compressor needs replacement along with that they recommended transmission replacement at a cost of 8000 plus. My Nissan is out of warranty but it only has 20000 miles. It didn’t even…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Mar 11, 2026
“The 2016 Nissan Maxima (VIN: [XXX] ) I purchased in January 2025 has been confirmed by a certified mechanic to have no driver airbag installed and no passenger side curtain airbag installed, despite a previous airbag deployment shown on the vehicle history report. There is no record of any airbag replacement or…”
Air Bags · filed Dec 9, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure
Engineering Analysis EA19002 · opened Jul 29, 2019 · closed Jun 16, 2025
Technical service bulletins
278 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2016 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
CAMPAIGN BULLETIN CVT Warranty Extension In an effort to assure customer satisfaction, demonstrate our confidence in continuously variable transmissions (CVTs), and to address customer concerns including those expressed…
WBI/21-002 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 3, 2025
AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING WARNING LIGHT BLINKING APPLIED SYSTEMS: Vehicles equipped with a lane camera (see Figure 1) SERVICE INFORMATION If the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) warning light or is blinking (but not…
NTB19-042F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 20, 2025
INTELLIGENT CRUISE CONTROL INOPERATIVE AND AEB/FEB WARNING LIGHT ON OR RADAR OBSTRUCTION MESSAGE DISPLAYED WITH DTC C1A16 OR C2582 IF YOU CONFIRM IMPORTANT: The purpose of ACTION (on the next page) is to give you a…
NTB19-033G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 20, 2025
DTC B00A0-00 STORED This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. IF YOU CONFIRM DTC B00A0-00 (OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR UNIT) is stored, AND…
NTB19-071D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 19, 2024
CVT/TCM CALIBRATION DATA “WRITE” PROCEDURE This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB12-103I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 7, 2024
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
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 2016 Nissan Maxima has 8 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 2016 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 42,847 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.