Vehicle Data Hub

2004 Nissan Maxima drivetrain & axles problems

Owners reported drivetrain & axles problems in 322 complaints for the 2004 Nissan Maxima, 19% of the complaints on file. It is the 2nd most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
322 19% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
95,000 miles 288 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
4 and 0
Injuries and deaths
5 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When drivetrain & axles problems show up

Drivetrain & axles complaints by mileage, 2004 Nissan Maxima Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 95,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 9 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 6 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 17 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 57 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 67 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 63 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 34 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 17 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 7 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 9 complaints 200k+ miles: 2 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 95,000 miles
Based on 288 complaints that include mileage. 11% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles9
20k to 40k miles6
40k to 60k miles17
60k to 80k miles57
80k to 100k miles67
100k to 120k miles63
120k to 140k miles34
140k to 160k miles17
160k to 180k miles7
180k to 200k miles9
200k+ miles2

What the data shows

Of the 288 drivetrain & axles complaints that report mileage, the median is about 95,000 miles, and 11% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 4 crashes, 5 injuries.

What owners wrote

2004 nissan maxima all features had locked up. Consumer tried to fix the problem, when trying the car jumped out of park and rolled down the driveway hitting a taurus and a trailer. Airbags did not deploy. ***nar*** the consumer was injured and as the vehicle was rolling down the driveway a family member, which the vehicle nearly missed fell backwards and broke her wrist. The consumer stated there was no reason for the gear shift to lock or for the vehicle to jump and roll.

July 2006 CrashInjury

I bought a brand new 2004 nissan maxima when they first came out, and everything was perfect. Nothing was wrong with it, and it drove smoothly. A few months ago, after hitting about 70,000 miles the transmission has been messing up. If the car is shifting up or down, into 1st, 2nd, or 3rd gear, it jerks. The more the car heats up, the harder the car jerks. It was jerks if I'm shifting into drive. There have been times when the car revs up to 5,000 rpms and jerks very hard.

Reported at 70,000 miles, February 2012

Other problems reported for the 2004 Nissan Maxima

Drivetrain & axles problems in other years

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Drivetrain & axles problems across all Nissan models