I took my vehicle yesterday to Monroe Nissan to check on hvac job done last May 2025 as ac was blowing hot air again I was told the ac compressor needs replacement along with that they recommended transmission replacement at a cost of 8000 plus. My Nissan is out of warranty but it only has 20000 miles. It didn’t even reach the recommended 30000 CVTs fluid change yet but already they notice the first code of CVT failure and the second one can appear soon too. I’ve seen many complaints about Nissan cvt issues while my car has yet to give me any dashboard notification I’m very concerned how this can happen at such a low mileage. Monroe Nissan said is because of not using the car frequently but I’ve researched online and it said that can’t be the direct cause of it as there is a well known issue with Nissan CVT with many complaints
Nissan Maxima transmission failure problems
456 of the 6,504 owner complaints about the Nissan Maxima describe complete transmission failure, most of them for the 2004 model year.
- owner complaints
- 456
- worst model year
- 2004
- typical repair cost reported
- $4,000
- typical mileage
- 82,000
By model year
Often reported together
Jerking 227Slipping 88Harsh shifting 42Hesitation 32Stalling 31Check engine light 31CVT failure 25Won't shift 18
Trouble codes mentioned
P1778 3P17F1 1P0868 1P0797 1P0774 1P0746 1P0744 1P0500 1B2190 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated and displayed symptoms relating to transmission failure. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the CVT. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not assist. The failure mileage was 50,400.
The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle decelerated while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact then stated that the RPM’s failed to increase. Additionally, the contact stated that while shifted into reverse, he heard a whining sound then the vehicle half shifted. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle remained at the dealer and had not yet been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the Extended Warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 157,000.
I having problems with the transmission in the vehicle. The vehicle shakes during acceleration, you can see the gages on the dashboard shaking. When accelerating, the Gears won’t shift properly with a smooth flow. You can notice this in the RPM also when accelerating. I took the vehicle to the Nissan of St. Augustine Dealership and the diagnosis the vehicle with code P17F1 CVT Judder. The dealership stated I will need a new transmission totaling $6405.09. The vehicle maintenance is up to date and it have been very well taken care of. I noticed that this issue has been reported by many other people who owns Nissan Maxima’s. This issue needs to be fixed please.
Transmission went out
CVT transmission suddenly gets stuck on a lower "gear", often going from Drive to 2nd, while driving freeway speeds, causing the engine to rev to very high rpm's and the car to quickly loose power and slow down. The power loss is so dramatic it is difficult to change lanes within traffic in order to pull off the freeway to safety. Often the vehicle speed drops by 30 mph or more. I have taken the car into Nissan on numerous times and they tell me I need a new $7000 transmission even though my car only had 60k miles on her when the issue first started. They know they have an issue with this transmission and they have recalled and replaced transmissions for other vehicles withbthe CVT, Altima and Marano, but not the Maxima. They say because it's a beefier transmission, but it is the same faulty component in all the transmissions despite the size of the transmission. Through my research, this isba widespread problem for Maxima owners within the years of this transmission issue.. It is interesting to note that Nissan decreased the powertrain warranty from 100k mi down to 60k mi for the model years that have this CVT issue, and bumped it back to 100k after the issue was resolved for newer model year cars
Problem 1. Airbag. Driver's side airbag prematurely failed in 2021. Dealer says requires replacement of driver's seat back at $5K Problem 2. Transmission failed prematurely (77,000 miles) after placing me in multiple dangerous traffic situations. The car would fail to accelerate and eventually stall while I was turning or simply driving. Once it failed to accelerate when I was turning and I was almost struck by oncoming traffic! It was only the grace of God that saved me.
Transmission failed on my vehicle at 40,000 miles while I was in the middle of traffic. My car stopped accelerating without warning and I nearly got into an accident
The vehicle does not accelerate and it jerks, whines and cuts off. the repair shop mechanic said he would not touch it without new transmission. the engine light is on, sometimes it blinks but not 100% of the time. It also won't get any power and cuts off on incline.
This CVT control variable transmission in these cars go out so fast. The CVT transmission went out at around 115,000. We replace it because we pressed the gas and no acceleration when stop light turned green. Then missed the light then it accelerated late and almost got hit by on coming car. We just replaced this CVT transmission in July 30, 2020 at around about price of $5000. The only place that it can be replaced is through the Nissan dealership. They only guarantee their work for 1 years time. It is starting to malfunction in just over 14 months time. This is only after a little over a year worth of driving. This is ridiculous the amount of money people pay for them on to get $5000 worth of quality equipment. This is a safety hazard driving through Dallas traffic and no shoulder to pull over on because of construction. I have seen on the internet so many complaints about these CVT transmissions. This is the second time transmission problems already replace CVT at 115, 000 miles. Now needs another replacement at 139, 000?
Related recalls
Power train
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles equipped with a traction control system, the odometer in the subject vehicles registers distance in kilometers instead of miles as is specified in the design. The odometer does not have a label that indicates "kilometers" or "km" as required by fmvss no. 101, "controls and displays."
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the odometer to determine if it is correct and, if not, will replace the speedometer/odometer assembly. Owner notification began december 12, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact nissan at 1‑800‑647‑7261.
Recall number 02V010000 · Recall details
Questions about the Nissan Maxima transmission failure
Which Nissan Maxima years have complete transmission failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2004 (180 complaints), 2005 (147 complaints) and 2006 (66 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix complete transmission failure on the Nissan Maxima?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $4,000 (median of 131 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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