17th Jul 2009, 12:40

I have a 2005 Nissan Maxima with 78,000 miles. As many people have reported, I am also having transmission problems. The car is currently in the shop so that the transmission can be rebuilt at a cost over $2000. I am disappointed with this vehicle and will never buy Nissan again.

25th Jul 2009, 21:00

I have a 2005 Nissan Maxima SL.

The transmission problem started at 70,000 miles. I took it to the Nissan dealer because I had it serviced there since I bought it at the same dealership. They said they could not find the problem. It hesitated getting into drive and about 5 seconds later would bang into drive. Also, 1st to 2nd, and sometimes 2nd to 3rd, slams in all the time.

I took it to Nissan again at around 90k miles. They still could not find the problem. Now it was happening all the time and there was no way you could not notice it. I did not believe it did not happen the whole time they test drove it.

At this point it is the worst it has ever been. I now have 116,000 miles, and every time I drive it I cringe.

I bought a Nissan because I keep my cars along time; usually 10 years. I thought Nissan would be good for 200k miles easy. I have 1 payment left. My wife has owned 3 Nissans. I can promise you I will never buy a Nissan again. I am so disappointed; my daughter is 18 months and I am scared to bring her in this car.

I checked the Internet and there are thousands of people with the same complaint. I am going back to the dealer one more time, and if they do not fix this problem for me, I will start buying Toyotas and tell everyone my story, and I can assure you people won't buy Nissans.

2nd Aug 2009, 11:46

Add me to the list. I have a 2005 Nissan Maxima SL that hesitates and bucks from first to second gear and from second to first. It's happening more and more and I have an appointment this week with the Nissan dealership I purchased it from.

I have 95,000 on my car, which I purchased last September. I did purchase the extended warranty so I'm hoping that Nissan honors that and stands behind their product.

5th Aug 2009, 12:27

I currently own a 2005 Nissan Maxima, which has had a plethora of issues, including the same 2nd to 3rd and 1st to 2nd rough gear shift that a large mass of owners have been complaining about on the internet.

I have contacted Nissan North America who seems clueless that they even have this problem with this model/year vehicle. What is even more disturbing is the mere fact that Nissan issued a Technical Service Bulletin but no recall. What is even more entertaining is that this issue seems to occur between 65000 and 90000 miles; a range that is conveniently outside the powertrain warranty.

I have taken the faithful leap; I have had my car diagnosed by real transmission professional. Who have informed me that this is a common problem; after conducting full diagnostic test it is a valve body blow by problem. A problem that requires a full overhaul of the transmission and carries a price tag of $2900-3000 dollars; which a great portion of the price is due the valve body, which is only available from Nissan and carries a price of $1100.

For those that have made comments about how great Nissan service is, you are the rare and few masses. I assure you that Nissan will never get a red cent from me or anyone else in my family ever again. Nissan is a disappointment.

8th Aug 2009, 11:32

I agree with the last post, I have a 2005 Maxima SL 57000 miles with the same jerking between 2nd and 3rd gears, or 1st and 2nd. I took my car to my transmission mechanic and he said I had to change the valve body, he quoted me $1600 but I believe my car is still under drivetrain warranty, so I will be taking it to the dealer first thing Monday morning.

15th Aug 2009, 17:16

I also own a 2005 Nissan Maxima, and now starting to experience the "hard" shifting transmission. I visited my local Nissan dealership two days ago. The mechanic advised me to purchase a new transmission. I only have 78K miles on my car. I will be trading this thing as soon as possible. Never will purchase another Nissan product. Sad because I was looking forward to purchasing the 09 model.

22nd Aug 2009, 10:50

Also have a 2005 Maxima at the dealer with transmission out. Warranty company has sent on rebuilt transmission already and it was no good. Has anyone had experience of putting rebuilds into a Maxima?

27th Aug 2009, 01:26

I don't have to describe anything, because everyone here already knows. I think we all should call Nissan and complain, and let them know about there product. I love Nissan Maximas. I have purchased 3 Maximas so far, with my sights set on the 09 model, but if this is how I'm going to treated then it's Toyota from here on out. This transmission problem has got to get recalled!!

27th Aug 2009, 19:09

You guys should just forget about Maximas. They're so poorly made these days that they don't deserve the same name plates as their predecessors. I owned two Max's (1994 and 2000), and after about 100 problems with the 2000 one I dumped it. I replaced it with an '07 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The STI is much faster than the Max, doesn't have any torque steer, and it doesn't need a repair every other week. You should go drive an STI - you'll wonder why you ever considered buying an inferior car (Maxima) in the same price range.

2nd Sep 2009, 20:58

Another 2005 Maxima with transmission problems, hard shifting between 2nd and third gears, and hard downshifting between 2nd and 1st gear.

Mileage 83000.

Can someone provide a contact at Nissan to demand a recall, or at least assistance in replacing this defective part?

16th Sep 2009, 12:29

I have a 2005 Maxima SL with the same transmission problem rough shifting between 1st and 2nd gear, 2nd and 3rd, 3rd to 2nd, 2nd to 1st. My mechanic said I need to replace the VALVE BODY. Lucky for me my car had 59300 miles, so I still had 700 miles of my warranty left. The dealer replaced the transmission at no cost to me, and even gave me a loaner car for the 2 days it took them to fix it. The new transmission has a 1 year/12000 miles warranty, and from what I understand from other forums, the problem will come back again. It seems to be a common issue on 04-06 Maximas, so I guess I'll be putting up a for sale sign soon.