2005 Nissan Maxima: stuck in gear or won't shift

Filed Aug 18, 2018 · Acceleration, Transmission · 170,000 miles · MS

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.

Filed Dec 28, 2014 · Driver assistance, Electrical · FL · fire

When I brought my car after 2-3 months I had transmission problems, I took it to the nissan dealership to get it fix. After , a couple of weeks I still was having problems with the car , I took it back they said , it wasn't nothing wrong with it . Then my air condition went out, it was my air compressor took it in to the nissan dealership to get it fix, after, a week or two it went out again took it back to the dealership to get it looked at I was told it needed a part ( some type of clip ). June 10 , 2014 my car was on fire in my garage while I was sleeping. When I woke up that morning my headlights were flashing off and on . When I open the door my window was full of sut and my windshield was cracked . When I open the car door on the driver side the dash board and under the dashboard was melted , the odometer and the fuse box (everything on the driver side was melted ) .you can smelled the smoke,that it was on fire. The fire department was called out just in case it sparked back up. Under the hood was not damage. I have pictures of damages. They had to push the car out of the garage it wouldn't go into gear. The results was it started from the fuse box. My car was totaled out by my insurance adjuster. I feel this matter need to be looked into and something need to be done about this situation . This is a serious situation that need to be looked into before it happen to someone else .

Filed Mar 28, 2013 · Transmission · 60,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan maxima. The contact stated that while accelerating from a stop sign, the vehicle shifted erratically. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was 60,000. Updated 06/18/13*lj the consumer stated the nissan service rep advised that the vehicle does not shift because it has a CVT transmission. When the vehicle would lunge foward a loud thud could be heard. The consumer stated after some researching the failure was found to be in the shift solenoid. The vehicles goes into limp mode. Updated 06/24/2013

Filed Jan 4, 2013 · Engine, Transmission · 92,000 miles · NC

I pulled out at a busy intersection and my nissan maxima stalled out, it seemed like it would not go into first gear, even though I was pressing the gas pedal to accelerate, the car just wouldn't go into gear! It caused other cars to have to slam on brakes and drive on the shoulder to avoid hitting me and each other! My car finally "jerked" violently into gear. I took it to the nissan dealership and they said this was a known defect in the transmission, 4,000 to fix!! Mind you they will replace it with a new defective transmission that there it no guarantee it will last more than 1 year! Not a safe car to drive in metropolitan areas!

Filed Dec 19, 2012 · Transmission · 104,000 miles · AL

While driving, shifting from 1st to 2nd and back from 2nd to 1st gear the transmission shifted very hard, then after a while, the transmission started to slip between gear changes and now the transmission seems to be locked in 3rd gear and will not shift and revs very high and seems to slip at times. When the transmission would slip at speeds and rev high, the transmission would catch again and jerk the car sideways as if changing lanes. Very dangerous while driving on any road with cars around.

Filed Oct 31, 2012 · Transmission · 110,000 miles · CO

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan maxima. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle would not shift properly and when it would shift, the vehicle would jerk forward abnormally. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

Filed Oct 13, 2012 · Transmission · 50,000 miles · TX

Vehicle will not shift into drive unless the transmission lock is engaged (started @ 50k miles). Abrupt downshifts at about 20 MPH (started @ 70k miles). Now the transmission is stuck in 5th and will not downshift (started at 75k miles). Vehicle is unsafe to drive and I'm told it will cost at least $3000 to replace transmission. This is completely unacceptable for a vehicle with only 75k miles. I will never buy another nissan product again.

Filed May 24, 2012 · Transmission · 113,000 miles · AL

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan maxima. The contact stated that the shifter gear would not shift out of neutral. The contact had to shut the engine off for a moment to be able to shift the gear selector into drive. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but a diagnostic was not performed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and suggesting they buy the vehicle back. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 113,000.

Filed Apr 23, 2012 · Transmission · 85,000 miles · MO

When my nissan shifts from first to second the engine races and no increase in speed. When it shifts from third to fourth gear there is a hard shift and jerking. When you come to a complete stop the car will not shift and the engine just races.

Filed Apr 18, 2012 · Transmission · 55,000 miles · MO

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan maxima. While driving 25 MPH, the contact noticed that the vehicle would jerk forward and if driven over 25 MPH the vehicle would not shift into the next gear. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic, where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. No repairs had been performed on the vehicle. The failure mileage was 55,000 and the current mileage was 75,000.

Filed Nov 9, 2011 · Transmission · 120,000 miles · NJ

My maxima shifts hard when switching into 1st to 2nd gear. It pushes the car forward when moving at slow speeds. When downshifting from 5th to 4th gear, there is a temporary "no shift" where it feels as if the car is not in a gear and the RPM drops low. When putting the car directly into "drive", it takes the vehicle 3-5 seconds to switch into gear. When it switches into "drive", you can feel it push the car when your foot is on the brake. If you push the gas when it completely does not shift, the transmission will clunk and jerk the car forward. Recently at 126,000 miles, the car is switching gears more freely than normal, constantly switching back and forth between 4th and 5th gear. When going around corners at a faster speed, the transmission will slip, losing power to the car and jerking back into gear. Sometimes while driving, the car will come out of gear and go right back in. The transmission in the 2004-2005 maximas are obviously faulty. Also, when pushing the gas, there is a delay on moving forward and results in a harder push forward.

Filed Aug 17, 2011 · Transmission · 62,000 miles · TX

I took my car to a local dealership for transmission failure. They told me that it needed to have a transmission flush which I did and it did not solve the problem. The transmission slips when speeding up from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd which makes the RPM's go very high. And when slowing down it suddenly jerks hard when downshifting. I takes a few seconds after putting it in drive or reverse and then it jerks hard. Also when stopping from a moderate speed, the car sometimes does not shift down to first gear and the only way to go is to press the gas pedal or shutting the car off and turning it back on. I believe that this is a safety issue in which after you are stopped and you are unaware that the car did not downshift back to 1st and then you try to take off and the car takes off very slowly. This is when it can became a safety issue because what if there is a car coming and you cannot speed up. The oncoming car can easily ram your car.