2005 Nissan Maxima Engine Problems

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 faulty mechanics over time that cause it to overheat and stop working and locking up the system completely. This is a huge problem as I can’t afford to fix this myself and it could have caused a serious accident this should be investigated due to other recalls on the Altima with the faulty sensors, the maxima 3.5 is also starting to experience these issues if you look through multiple forums and research the issue that’s happening. Please investigate this soon so that nobody gets seriously hurt.

NHTSA ID

11646032

Incident

Mar 2, 2025

VEHICLE MAKES CLUNKING, JERKING NOISES AND BAD CLUNKING SOUNDS WHEN YOU PUT IT INTO GEAR OR SHIFT GEARS, DIGITAL GEAR DISPLAY SHOWS VEHICLE IS IN 5TH GEAR ALL THE TIME, ACCELERATES VERY SLOWLY.

NHTSA ID

11406226

Incident

Mar 25, 2021

Mileage

120,000 mi

I HAVE AN 05 NISSAN MAXIMA AND THE TRANSMISSION IS SHIFTING HARD AND ERRATICALLY

NHTSA ID

11402506

Incident

Jan 4, 2021

Mileage

275,587 mi

VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION AND ALL OF A SUDDEN GEARS STARTED TO SHIFT ON ITS OWN , SO STOPPED ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY AND TURNED OFF MY ENGINE THEN I TURNED IT BACK ON AFTER ABOUT 15 MINUTES AND IT WAS DRIVING WELL UNTIL AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES OF DRIVING THE GEARS WOULDN'T GO PAST 2ND GEAR

NHTSA ID

11205400

Incident

Apr 16, 2019

Mileage

157,465 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH UP A HILL, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. IN ADDITION, THE ENGINE REVVED, THE VEHICLE SWITCHED GEARS, AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN MOVING IN REVERSE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO COAST THE VEHICLE TO A PARKING LOT WHERE IT STALLED AND FAILED TO RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TOWED, DIAGNOSED, OR REPAIRED. THE DEALER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL ASSOCIATED WITH THE VIN. THE CONTACT WAS REFERRED TO NHTSA. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 120,000.

NHTSA ID

11139323

Incident

Sep 26, 2018

Mileage

120,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA. THE CONTACT HEARD A NOISE PROGRESSING FROM THE VEHICLE. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER ISSUED TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS, BUT THERE WAS NO SERVICE CAMPAIGN OR MANUFACTURER RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED NO SOLUTION. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000...UPDATED 08/31/17 *BF *CN

NHTSA ID

10995185

Incident

Apr 1, 2017

Mileage

90,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA. WHILE DRIVING 80 MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE CONTACT CALLED THE DEALER, BUT THE VEHICLE COULD NOT BE DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL; THEREFORE, NOTHING COULD BE DONE. CASE NUMBER: 26278170 WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 132,376.

NHTSA ID

10983134

Incident

Apr 28, 2017

Mileage

132,376 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA. WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER, BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000.

NHTSA ID

10969773

Incident

Mar 24, 2017

Mileage

50,000 mi

THE TRANSMISSION ON MY 2005 NISSAN/MAXIMA IS HARD SHIFTING WHEN ENGINE/TRANSMISSIONIS IS HOT, DELAYING TAKE OFF AND KICKING EXTREMELY BAD WHEN PICKING UP SPEED AND THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFTS GEARS. TWO MOTOR MOUNT ARE ALREADY BROKEN AS A RESULT OF THIS PROBLEM. NISSAN DEALER RECOMMENDED REPLACE TRANSMISSION. A TRANSMISSION SPECIALIZED SHOP INSPECTED AND TESTED THE TRANSMISSION FOR SECOND OPINION AND DID NO FIND PROBLEM IN THE TRANSMISSION, OTHER THAN 2 BAD SENSORS. SENSORS WAS REPLACED AND 6 MONTHS LATER THE PROBLEM STARTED AGAIN. *INTERIOR SUNVISOR LIGHTNING COVER BROKEN IN BOTH SIDES, DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER. *CD PLAYER NOT WORKING, NOT PLAYING. *ORIGINAL CHROME WHEELS ARE CORRODED, BREAKING THE SEAL ON TWO OF THE TIRES CAUSING PRESSURE TO LOWER AND MAKES TIRE GO FLAT IN LESS THAN A WEEK, IF NOT ATTENDED SOON.

NHTSA ID

10944019

Incident

Jan 1, 2012

AT 101,000 MILES TRANSMISSION CUT OUT. GEARS NOT CHANGING. JERKING MOVEMENT WHEN ACCELERATING. IN MOTION OR STATIONARY

NHTSA ID

10934819

Incident

Dec 10, 2016

Mileage

101,000 mi

TIMING CHAIN NOISE/TIMING CHAIN NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THIS NOISE STARTED WHEN THE VEHICLE HAD APPROXIMATELY 100,000 MILES ON IT.

NHTSA ID

10929920

Incident

Nov 15, 2016

Mileage

10,000 mi

"TAMARA INFLATORS" SEAT BELTS DIDN'T LOCK OR LIGHT DID NOT COME ON. SMASHED BODY ALL THE WAY TO BACK SEAT BOTTOM TO GROUND. ENGINE WAS IDLING VERY HIGH FELT/SOUND AS IF WE WERE GOING 60 BUT ONLY WAS GOING 40. NO AIR BAGS CAME ON. BRAKES GRINDING. BACK WINDOW BLEW OUT AND TIRES FLAT IN BACK.. WINDOWS SLOW ON DRIVERS SIDE. WHEN THE SHERIFF TAHOE HIT US AT 80MPH ON U.S. 40 GREENFIELD IN WAS IN THE SHOP AT J&M TRUCK AN TRAILER ON THE WEST SIDE OF INDIANAPOLIS HAVING THE OIL LEAKED FIXED AND TIRES ALL FIXED AND ROTORS AND LIGHTS BY [XXX] A COUPLE MONTHS PRIOR. I HAD MY LITTLE GIRL IN THE BACK SEAT AS WELL WHERE SHERIFF HIT AND RAN. I UPLOADED A BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURE. VIN#[XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID

10882397

Incident

Feb 12, 2016

Mileage

175,000 mi

TRANSMISSION SKIPPING

NHTSA ID

10873312

Incident

Apr 16, 2013

I'VE NOTICED WAY TOO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA HAVING TRANSMISSION. ISSUES AROUND 125K MILES. WHENEVER I SHIFT TO REVERSE, DRIVE , FIRST,SECOND, OR THIRD THERE IS A DELAY AND LOUD THUD. I'VE SEEN WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE AND THE FACT THAT THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL IS A SHAME. SOMEONE NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING. ANYONE?

NHTSA ID

10871862

Incident

Nov 1, 2015

TRANSMISSION FAILURE AFTER FAULTIER WHY THEY DON'T TAKE RESPONSIBILITY IS NO ONLY ONE CA EVERY SINGLE OWNER OF NISSAN MAXIMA IS HAVING THIS ISSUE FROM 2002 TO 2006 NISSAN MAXIMAS

NHTSA ID

10789809

Incident

Nov 1, 2015

Mileage

106,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 95,000. UPDATED 08/16/16*LJ *JS

NHTSA ID

10787069

Incident

Oct 1, 2014

Mileage

95,000 mi

PRIOR TO INCIDENT CAR WAS SHIFTING REALLY HARD AND SLIPPING GEARS. ONCE WHEN DRIVING, CAR SUDDENLY WENT INTO A SAFETY MODE NOT LETTING IT SHIFT OUT OF 5TH GEAR. GOING DOWN HILL CAUSED THE ENGINE TO STALL BECAUSE OF BEING IN 5TH GEAR AND CAR ENGINE TURNED OFF, AS WELL AS POWER STEERING AND BRAKING. HAD IT BEEN ON A BUSY ROAD A CRASH WOULD HAVE OCCURRED.

NHTSA ID

10778054

Incident

Sep 27, 2015

Mileage

170,000 mi

WITHIN ONE MONTH OF GETTING THE CAR, TRANSMISSION STARTED JERKING. IT WOULD JERK REALLY HARD AND ALMOST RED LINE BETWEEN 1ST, 2ND, AND 3RD GEAR. IT ALSO DOES IT WHEN I TRY TO REVERSE! IT JERKED SO HARD ONE TIME I THOUGHT SOMEBODY HAD HIT THE BACK OF MY CAR! I TOOK IT BACK TO CARMAX (WHERE I ORIGINALLY GOT IT) AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE VALVE. THEY QUOTED 2000.00 TO FIX THE CAR, BUT SINCE I HAD IT FOR LESS THAN 30 DAYS THEY FIXED IT. SEVEN MONTHS LATER I STARTED HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. I'M SO FRUSTRATED! I JUST WANT ANOTHER CAR! I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER NISSAN, EVER! AFTER RESEARCHING AND READING ALL THE REVIEWS, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE AS ME WITH THIS CAR. (ALONG WITH OTHER NISSAN MODELS). DO YOUR RESEARCH PEOPLE! DON'T BUY ANY OF THESE MODELS FROM NISSAN OR ANYONE ELSE! (2004-2006 MAXIMA)

NHTSA ID

10759451

Incident

Aug 25, 2014

Mileage

48,639 mi

THE CAR STARTED JERKING WHEN YOU PUT IT IN GEER.THEN IT STARTED JERKING AND CHANGING WHILE DRIVING AND TAKE OFF AT A RAPID SPEED.I TOOK IT TO NISSAN IN DECEMBER 2010 TO GET IT CHECKED OUT FOR THE JERKING AND TO GET AN OIL CHANGE. I WAS TOLD THAT THE CAR WASN'T UNDER WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH I HAD TAKEN A EXTENDED WARRANTY OUT.I PURCHASE A NEW VEHICLE AT THAT TIME. 2011 PATHFINDER. I TOOK MY MAXIMA BACK TO NISSAN IN JULY 2015 BECAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS COMING ON AND THE CAR WAS STILL DOING THE SAME BUT WORSE. THE DEALER NEVER SAT THAT THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE CAR FOR THE TRANSMISSION. A FAMILY MEMBER FOUND THIS WEBSITE FOR ME.

NHTSA ID

10747197

Incident

Dec 28, 2010

Mileage

85,000 mi

I RECENTLY BOUGHT A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA FROM CARMAX IT WAS ABOUT A MONTH AFTER I BOUGHT THE CAR THE TRANSMISSION STARTED TO SLIP AND CHANGE GEARS REALLY ROUGH. THE TRANSMISSION HESITATES WHEN CHANGING GEARS EITHER AT IDLE OR WHILE DRIVING THE TRANSMISSION DOES IT THE MOST BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND AND SECOND TO THIRD AND WHEN DOWNSHIFTING IN THOSE SAME GEARS. MY MAIN CONCERN IS MY FAMILY IN THIS VEHICLE OR ANY OTHER FAMILIES IN THE SAME VEHICLE WHEN WE ARE DRIVING IN THE VEHICE OUR HEADS AND NECKS GET WHIPPED BACK AND FORTH VERY ROUGHLY. IT IS A SAFETY HAZARD DUE TO THE TRANSMISSION CHANGING GEARS ON ITS OWN WHILE IM DRIVING THE CAR. I ONLY ASK FOR YOU TO PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS AND MAKE IT A RECALL. NISSAN DID NOT WANT TO HELP ME OUT OR ANYONE ELSE. I HAVE SEEN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS AND HEARD NUMEROUS STORIES ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. IT NEEDS TO BE RESOLVED. NISSAN PUT OUT A POOR PRODUCT AND WONT FIX IT. THEY NEED TO OWN UP TO THEIR MISTAKE, BEFORE SOMEONE GETS INJURED OR DIES. I ASK OF YOU PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS. NOT ONLY FOR MY SAFETY OR MY INFANT'S SAFETY BUT FOR ANYONE WHO OWNS THIS VEHICLE. PS. IF I WOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THIS ISSUE BEFORE I BOUGHT THE CAR I WOULD HAVE NEVER GOTTEN IT. PPS. THE TEST DRIVE AND THE 1ST MONTH WERE FINE UNTIL NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS OCCURRED. PLEASE HELP, PLEASE HELP! GET THIS RECALL ACTIVE! THANKS, FRANK

NHTSA ID

10746773

Incident

Jul 14, 2014

Mileage

71,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE ENGINE AND SLIP WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. ONCE THE VEHICLE FINALLY RESTARTED, THERE WAS A DELAY IN ACCELERATION AND THE SLIP LIGHT ILLUMINATED AGAIN. THE FAILURE OCCURRED MORE THAN TWICE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 102,300.

NHTSA ID

10723546

Incident

Jun 4, 2015

Mileage

102,300 mi

HAVING TROUBLE/DELAYED SHIFTING. IT WENT AWAY FOR A WEEK BUT IT CAME BACK AGAIN. WHEN I'M PRESSING ON THE GAS IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S REVVING THE ENGINE BUT THE CAR IS NOT MOVING AS IT SHOULD. *TR

NHTSA ID

10700850

Incident

Feb 27, 2015

Mileage

140,000 mi

TRANSMISSION TAKES ABOUT 1-2 SECONDS TO MOVE AND THEN JERKS FORWARD. THIS USUALLY HAPPENS WHEN WARMED UP. SOMETIMES WHEN CAR IS MOVING IT JERKS WHILE SHIFTING GEARS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10695524

Incident

Feb 2, 2015

Mileage

120,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE VEHICLE STARTED TO JERK AND THEN STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE MOTOR MOUNTS, CRANK POSITION SENSOR, AND THE TIMING CHAIN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE MAY STILL NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION, BUT THESE REPAIRS SHOULD BE DONE FIRST. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 55,000.

NHTSA ID

10694756

Incident

Feb 7, 2015

Mileage

55,000 mi

MY 2005 MAXIMA TRANSMISSION IS JERKING WHEN SWITCHING GEARS AND ALSO SLIPPAGE. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS THE MOUNTS BECAUSE ONE WAS BAD BUT AFTER REPLACING THEM THE PROBLEM STILL WAS STILL THERE. LATER I FOUND OUT IT WAS JUST THE TRANSMISSION. I LOOKED ONLINE AND FOUND A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WAS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AND THERE STILL HAVE NOT BEEN A RECALL. THIS WILL BE MY LAST NISSAN. *TR

NHTSA ID

10691515

Incident

Jun 14, 2012

Mileage

130,000 mi