13th Jan 2011, 14:28

I have a 2005 Maxima that has 105k miles on it. So far so good, the dealer did replace my timing chain at around 65k.

Then at around 70k, I too noticed the noise and jerking while driving. It turns out that all the motor mounts were broken. I had all the motor mounts, including the tranny mount, replaced yesterday, and now the car runs great.

From what I can tell, most of the comments sound like the motor mounts have gone bad. These parts are rubber and will go out. I really hated paying almost $1,500 to get all of them replaced, especially when there are other services I need to perform. (fluids etc) But the car runs great, and I hope to keep it for a long time.

17th Jan 2011, 21:12

I have a 2005 Nissan Maxima with jerking through the gears. I took the car to a tranny shop and had it rebuilt, the valve body, solenoids, everything and the tranny still doesn't shift correctly and thank goodness they did not charge for not fixing the problem and they took the loss... I took the car to the dealership and they told me you cannot rebuild these transmissions and you have to purchase one from them!

24th Jan 2011, 11:01

I have 2005 Maxima with 70,000 miles.

At 65,000 the transmission was replaced by the dealer. Needless to say I was not happy.

About 2 months ago the car began making a rattling noise when it started, but subsided when driving. The problem is getting worse and the dealer has said the timing chain needs to be replaced. It is going to cost approx. $1100.00 plus tax, etc to fix!

I called Nissan Consumer Affairs and first they told me they would fix the problem at no charge, then a week later they called and said they will not fix the problem and if I was not happy then I should go to the BBB and file a complaint. On top of that the representative at Nissan was extremely rude.

Very dissatisfied customer.

24th Jan 2011, 13:54

I was assigned a new 2005 Nissan Maxima SE in August of 2005 to use as a company car. I had no problems with it until 75K miles when the transmission problems already described by numerous reviewers started popping up. The transmission would slip and then shift hard from 2nd to 3rd.

The work was bid out to a local transmission shop instead of just being sent back to the dealer. They rebuilt it (or claimed to have rebuilt it) and sent it back with a 12 month/ 12K warranty on the transmission. Approximately two months later the transmission went out again. The car went back to the local shop. They kept it for another six weeks and then sent it back. I had it for about three or four weeks before the transmission really blew up.

Of course my employers sent it back to the first place. That was 18 weeks ago. They can't get it to work after having replaced the computer as well as a new transmission. Thankfully it's not my personal car and not my financial problem. My advice to anyone thinking about buying a used Maxima of this vintage would be to buy a used Honda Accord or Toyota Camry instead. Clearly the transmissions in these things are garbage.

8th Feb 2011, 00:43

I have a 2005 Nissan Maxima with 103,000 miles, I am having the same problems with the hard sifting from 1st to 2nd gear. Just wondering why Nissan would extend the warranty from 5 years/60,000 miles to 10 years 120,000.00 miles on the CVT transmissions for 2008 and above Maxima's, and not the 2003-2006 transmissions? This is my second Maxima, but I will never buy another Nissan car, and will let everyone that I know that this is no longer a reliable car. Nissan should extend the warranty on these transmissions as well.

14th Feb 2011, 19:33

I too have a 2005 Nissan Maxima with the exact same transmission problems as stated above.

The jerking started at approx 85,000 miles and now at 95,000 miles it is happening every time I drive the car. My local Nissan dealership says I need to replace the transmission. I contacted Nissan consumer affairs and they gave me a case number and said they would call me back. The next day they called me to say that they could not help me. I am so angry! I still have over a year left of payments to make on this car and now I have to sink thousands of additional dollars into it.

I am so disappointed in Nissan and vow never to buy another vehicle from them. I am definitely going to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and with all of these consumer complaints foresee a class action lawsuit in the future.

23rd Feb 2011, 11:45

My 2005 Nissan Maxima SL is having the same problem with the transmission.

I called Nissan Consumer affairs 1800-647-7261 and they opened a file for me. They indicated that I need to take the car to a certified Nissan dealership for diagnostics which I would pay for.

Call your local news network, call your attorney general, print out all this complains and forward them the the AG and news network, eventually the pressure will be too much for them. We have all paid significant amounts of money for the cars.

24th Feb 2011, 16:16

Another 2005 Maxima with bad transmission and A/C compressor gone bad. Have had the car for 5 years, and didn't have any problems the first 3 years, but since then it has been terrible. Contacted Nissan, and they said even though a lot of 2005 models are having this problem, my vin # doesn't match with any recalls. How can so many people with a 2005 have the same problem and not have a recall?

I had a Honda Accord that gave me 250000 miles without any major issues, and can't even get 100000 miles out of a more expensive car. I will not be buying another Nissan again. At least Toyota is doing the right thing and fixing the problems they are having with the cars they have sold to customers. Maybe they want repeat customers, unlike Nissan.

26th Feb 2011, 17:19

I agree, Nissans are junk. I don't own one, however I am an automotive technician who works for a Nissan-Infiniti specific repair facility. We get cars in all the time with serious issues. I've seen only one Nissan with more than 200,000 miles on it, an Altima that was about ready to fall to pieces. We service all makes and models, and I've worked on several Hondas and Toyotas (and by "worked on" I mean changed oil) with well over 250,000 miles on them. I've even seen a Chevy with 230,000 that only needed an oil change! I know pretty much every Nissan model from top to bottom, and I work with them everyday, and even I still wouldn't even consider owning one!

10th Mar 2011, 18:01

2005 Nissan Maxima SL.

I bought my car at 53k miles from a used car dealer. I just made 2 years with this car, and it is barely at 71k. I take the metro to work, so I don't even drive the car everyday, and I'm having the same problem as the rest of the world. My car does an extremely hard shift between 2nd and 3rd gear, and does the same thing when down shifting. My car is currently at the dealer, and they're telling me that it needs a body valve. In addition to that, they're also telling me that my timing chain is going as well; estimated at about 2800, not including labor. If you're like me, you still have an expensive car note, and don't have 3000 dollars just lying around. It is obvious that this is a serious problem and needs to be addressed. I pray that there is a recall, and I wish everybody luck who currently owns any type of Nissan!!!