- The problem
- On certain passenger vehicles equipped with the driver preferred package, the wire harness from the driver's seat power lumbar support switch may be routed incorrectly and could be pinched under the driver seat.
- The risk
- A pinched harness, in combination with driving vibration, may result in a short circuit in the harness that could lead to a fire in the seat.
- The fix
- Dealers will replace the wire harness and route it correctly. The recall began on january 16, 2006. Owners may contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Vehicle safety record
2005 Nissan Maxima Problems, complaints & recalls
Owners have filed 948 complaints about the 2005 Nissan Maxima with NHTSA, most often about the transmission & drivetrain (777) and the engine & cooling (101). Those complaints describe 16 crashes, 10 fires and 29 injuries. It is covered by 2 recalls, the latest in November 2005 for the power adjust. For comparison, the 2004 has 1,426 and the 2006 has 576.
NHTSA data checked
FFar more problems than a typical Maxima year, for its age
#13 most complained-about 2005 vehicle
- Complaints
- 948
- Recalls
- 2
- Crashes
- 16
- Fires
- 10
- Injuries
- 29
- Deaths
- 0
Most common 2005 Nissan Maxima problems
Share of all 948 complaints. One complaint can name more than one area. Tap an area for its complaints and recalls.
2005 Nissan Maxima recalls 2
Recall repairs are free. Your dealer fixes them whether or not you bought the car there - check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see if yours is done. What to do
- The problem
- Certain vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 225, "Child restraint anchorage systems." The lower anchorage brackets in the rear seats do not meet the location requirement in this standard. This may cause difficulty in attaching some child seats to these brackets.
- The risk
- If a child seat is not properly secured, there is an increased risk of injury to the seat occupant in the event of a crash.
- The fix
- Dealers will replace the lower anchorage brackets with modified brackets to ensure that the standard is met. The recall began on august 28, 2006. The infiniti q45 model vehicles are being campaigned under a separate recall (please see 05v374000). Owners should contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261 or infiniti at 1-800-662-6200.
What owners say
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948 complaints about the 2005 Nissan Maxima
Newest first, as filed with NHTSA by owners. Page 1 of 38.
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...
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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.
On June 6th. 2019 my 2005 nissan maxima struck a disabled vehicle left in the middle lane of the Long Island Expressway (a 3 laned highway). Although I was traveling at 60 mph when the collision occurred and struck the disabled vehicle from the rear, the passenger airbag never deployed. This resulted in the passenger receiving significantly more serious injuries than that of the driver (who's airbag did deploy).
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the power steering would fail to operate. The steering wheel would require excessive force in order to steer the vehicle. The contact would frequently replenish the steering fluid however, the failure persisted. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000
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.
I have an 05 nissan maxima and the transmission is shifting hard and erratically
The car has a sound as if it were metal fatigue in the front of the hood a hard blow sounds loud every time the car moves from one side to the other they have not been able to find the problem they say what is a factory defect I am afraid that it is a metal that is under fatigue and the engine falls on the ground running on the street.
Tl* the contact owned a 20005 nissan maxima. The contact stated that while sitting in the vehicle, the front driver seat began smoking without warning. The contact jumped out of the vehicle and called the authorities. The fire department arrived as the vehicle became engulfed in flames, the fire was then extinguished. A fire department report was filed at the scene. Due to her frantic exit from the vehicle, the contact sustained injuries to both knees and her right ankle; however, she did not seek medical...
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attention. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and destroyed. The manufacturer nor the dealer were informed of the failure. Upon investigation, the contact linked nhtsa campaign number: 05v512000 (seat) to her failure; however, her vehicle was never included in the recall. The failure mileage was 112,000. *Dt*jb*dt*jb
My car only has 112337 mile and needed to replace the transmission , now at 112954 have to replace the abs control module . The transmission was hard shifting/ jerking when you get to about 30-35 mph . So it cost almost 4,000.00 To fix and the the speedometer and odometer quit working after 500 miles with new transmission and took the car to electrical shop to find out I now have to replace the abs control module and after all the money put in this car I don't think it is worth fixing the abs considering I just...
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bought the car in oct. 2018 And thought I got a great car and alredy have enough money put in it and could never sell it for the money I have in it nissan should be fixing these issues not me considering all the complaints on these cars with the same problems at the same mileage
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
This danger of which I complain is not absolute to my vehicle but to all others that are made with such shortcut. In previous decades cars were made with a trunk key and or mechanical cable for opening. My 2005 maxima and most recent vehicles are made with only an electronic button to open the trunk. This is very dangerous. Recently my car lost power at a precarious location and I had no way of accessing the trunk. My flares, my booster cables,all emergency tools, supplies, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, water...
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all locked away in the trunk and I had no access to it. This is not merely inconvenient, but very dangerous. Car manufacturers may say that there is access through the back seat. This, however, is totally inadequate. It is very cumbersome and call for physical maneuver which is very difficult, time consuming and subject to failure. First it is a task in itself to figure out and to get that back seat down. Even when down, there is not enough space to even crawl inside and access things you need. Feeling around in the dark with your hand is not efficient. Furthermore the apparatus to get the trunk door open from that position is not only obscured but physically almost impossible to engage from that position. I propose that it be mandated that vehicles come with a more accessible backup, such as a mechanical cable from the inside of the car or key lock from the outside to open the trunk in case of power failure. This is a real safety issue! One should definitely be able to access necessary and emergency items from the trunk in case of power failure emergency! This may seem like a trivial matter to you only because I may not be able to express the urgency of the situation and the possible devastating effect of this if it continues uncorrected. Please consider this a viable complaint and I urge you to approach this matter with expedition and earnest. Thank you!
Indicator light in vehicle says passenger side air bag is not working.
This car has nothing but issues. I have had to replace the timing chains along with continuing to deal with the cars transmission and engine revving and trowing itself in and out of gear and dying the the middle of the road or highway. This car is dangerous and hundreds of people are having the exact same issues with nissan refusing to address the issue or admit fault. Something needs to be done. Im sure people have been physically hurt from this issue and seems strong enough to be made into a class action suit.
When driving the vehicle, the... Cv transmission could slip out of gear causing loss of power. Cv transmission could hesitate in shifting to next or previous gear. This can cause hard, violent shifting to occur which could seriously damage the vehicle and result in an accident.
Having difficulty filling up gas tank I noticed that while attempting to fill the gas tank, the gas pump kept shutting off. I was sent a notice for free repair but cant fine notice please send me another one.
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.
Just after 100k miles the car started to jerk from r to d and slowly progressed into full blown slipping, rpms shoot through the roof while driving causing the car to slip and slam into gear at whatever speed I'm going which sometimes cause the car to be uncontrollable. I've seen 1,000s of forums with people having the same problem and claiming nissan knows about this issue but refuses to do anything about it. Not only is my car unsafe but I feel as if nissan should be held responsible for the lack of care they put into the 2004-2007 models of the maxima.
Abs and brake light came on flashing periodically over a weeks time, speedometer stopped working, next day the parked car '5 hours cold' caught on fire around fuse box area everything electrical burned up. Police report was done but I do not have a copy, still waiting on fire marshal report. Upon researching online other vehicle have had same issue.
The 2005 nissan maxima has a terrible transmission. Problems shifting gears and when trying to accelerate it wont shift out of gears to go faster. Such as if I stop at a stop light or stop sign and then try to go again it accelerates very (5mph). Also when shifting into drive, it does this loud banging jerk that jerks the entire car. Was told transmission is slipping. There are thousands of other complaints for the nissian maxima transmission and needs to be a recall on the transmission. Car is only 13 years old.
I am a forensic consultant that has examined the subject vehicle which was involved in a serious frontal collision with an approximate 32 mph longitudinal delta v. The driver was properly safety belted but the frontal air bags failed to deploy. This is a serious defect affecting public safety. *Tt *bf *jb
Sudden surges and jolting when trying to park car even when the brake is depressed
TRANSMISSION FAILED.
Car would stay in 5th gear when turned. It would move but at slow rate. Now it will move about a 100 feet then gear wont engage. You can give it gas but it just wont move. Ill let it cool down and it move again but will resume problem.
Transmission failing delay in gear select followed by a hard thump hard shifting after 30min did not expect this from a car with 108k miles well taken care of.
POWER STEERING GEAR
Car jerks when accelerating, slips gears, hesitating when accelerating and sometimes will not go over 20 mph (while driving down a 50mph road!)
Nissan Maxima: every year compared
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 339 | 1 | F |
| 2008 | 79 | 0 | B |
| 2007 | 129 | 1 | C |
| 2006 | 576 | 2 | F |
| 2005 | 948 | 2 | F |
| 2004 | 1,426 | 2 | F |
| 2003 | 206 | 4 | D |
| 2002 | 220 | 9 | F |
| 2001 | 181 | 7 | D |
2005 Nissan Maxima vs rivals
| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 Nissan Maxima | 948 | 2 | F | |
| 2005 Nissan Altima | 1,091 | 2 | F | Compare |
| 2005 Nissan Pathfinder | 1,050 | 4 | F | Compare |
| 2005 Nissan Murano | 987 | 6 | F | Compare |
| 2005 Nissan Titan | 891 | 6 | F | Compare |
| 2005 Nissan Xterra | 845 | 6 | F | Compare |
| 2005 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab | 532 | 0 | F | Compare |
| 2005 Nissan Frontier King Cab | 532 | 0 | F | Compare |
| 2005 Nissan Armada | 373 | 5 | F | Compare |
More sales usually means more complaints, so compare similar vehicles of the same year. The grade compares each vehicle with its own model's other years.
Questions about the 2005 Nissan Maxima
Does the 2005 Nissan Maxima have any recalls?
Yes - NHTSA lists 2 recalls for the 2005 Nissan Maxima: power adjust (November 2005); latch strap (July 2005). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours has been fixed.
What are the most common problems with the 2005 Nissan Maxima?
By the complaints owners filed with NHTSA, the most common problem areas are the transmission & drivetrain (777), engine & cooling (101), electrical system (38).
How many complaints has the 2005 Nissan Maxima had?
948 complaints have been filed with NHTSA, the first on January 31, 2005 and the latest on March 3, 2025. Of these, 16 describe a crash and 10 a fire, and together they report 29 injuries and 0 deaths.
Is the 2005 Nissan Maxima a reliable vehicle?
Its Safety Index is 5 out of 100 (grade F: far more problems than a typical Nissan Maxima year, for its age). The index weighs complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and recalls against how long the vehicle has been on the road, compared with the same model's other years. It is not a measure of every repair - read the complaints and owner experiences, and have any used vehicle inspected before you buy.
Which Nissan Maxima years have the most complaints?
2004 (1,426), 2005 (948), 2006 (576). See every Nissan Maxima year compared.
What should I do if my 2005 Nissan Maxima has a problem?
If it is a safety problem, stop driving it if it is unsafe and contact your dealer. Report it to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem - enough reports start investigations and recalls - and share your experience here so other owners know what to look for.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data