2016 Nissan Maxima reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 142 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Nissan Maxima over 11 years — 16 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 11 Maxima years on this site. NHTSA has 8 recalls on file, including Antilock and traction control, Occupant classification, and Caliper.

2012 Nissan Maxima — Photo by DestinationFearFan, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Complaints

142

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Powertrain (33 of 142), then Electrical system (31) and Service brakes (20). Those filings include 10 that report a crash, 4 that report a fire, and 7 that report an injury.

Next to 2014 and 2017

The 2014 Maxima has 96 complaints, 7 per year, and the 2017 has 103 complaints, 13 per year. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2014. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2017.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2016 Nissan Maxima. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (8)

Recall hydraulic brakes, antilock and traction control 2019-11-08 · NHTSA campaign 19V807000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Nissan Murano, 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima, and 2017-2019 Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 vehicles. These vehicles were previously recalled and unrepaired, or inspected and determined to not need a repair, under recall number 18V-601. In addition, this recall expands the previous population. The Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) actuator pumps may allow brake fluid to leak onto an internal circuit board.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ABS actuator, free of charge. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available, currently expected to be during summer 2020. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Note: If the ABS warning light remains illuminated for more than 10 seconds after engine start up, owners are advised to park the vehicle outdoors away from other vehicles or structures and to not drive the vehicle.

Recall hydraulic brakes, antilock and traction control 2018-09-07 · NHTSA campaign 18V601000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Nissan Murano, 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2017-2018 Nissan Pathfinder, and 2017 Infiniti QX60 vehicles. The Anti-Lock Brake (ABS) actuator pumps may allow brake fluid to leak onto an internal circuit board.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the serial number on the ABS actuator, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 29, 2018. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Note: When brake fluid has leaked onto the circuit board, the ABS warning lamp will remain illuminated for more than 10 seconds after engine start up. If this occurs, owners are advised to park the vehicle outdoors away from other vehicles or structures and to not drive the vehicle.

Recall air bags, sensor, occupant classification 2016-12-19 · NHTSA campaign 16V911000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima vehicles manufactured January 3, 2013, to July 29, 2013, 2015-2016 Rogue vehicles manufactured October 14, 2014, to August 12, 2016, and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured June 4, 2015, to August 19, 2015. An incorrect Occupant Classification System (OCS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) may have been installed in the front passenger seat. The incorrect ECU and seat combination may misclassify the front passenger seat occupant.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ECU and update the OCS software free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Recall hydraulic brakes, antilock and traction control 2016-09-02 · NHTSA campaign 16V636000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima vehicles manufactured February 10, 2015, to August 19, 2016 and equipped with Intelligent Cruise Control, 2015-2017 Murano vehicles manufactured August 22, 2014, to August 19, 2016 and equipped with Intelligent Cruise Control, and 2015-2016 Murano Hybrid vehicles manufactured August 22, 2014, to July 19, 2016. The affected vehicles have Anti-Lock Brake (ABS) actuator pumps that may allow brake fluid to leak onto an internal electrical circuit board.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ABS Actuator, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 12, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261. Note: When brake fluid has leaked onto the circuit board, the ABS warning lamp will remain illuminated for more than 10 seconds after engine start up. If this occurs, owners are advised to park the vehicle outdoors away from other vehicles or structures and to not drive the vehicle.

Recall air bags, sensor, occupant classification 2016-04-26 · NHTSA campaign 16V244000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.

Remedy Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.

Recall hydraulic brakes, antilock and traction control 2016-04-07 · NHTSA campaign 16V193000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016 Murano vehicles manufactured December 17, 2015, to February 11, 2016, and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured November 25, 2015, to February 12, 2016 and equipped with an antilock braking system (ABS) and Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC). The ABS actuator may have a damaged O-ring that may result in a lack of brake fluid pressure.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the ABS actuator, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 16, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Recall hydraulic brakes, foundation components, disc, caliper 2015-11-05 · NHTSA campaign 15V733000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2015 Altima and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured October 6, 2015, to October 7, 2015. The affected vehicles have front brake calipers whose mounting bolts may not be properly tightened.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will check the brake caliper mounting bolts, tightening them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 14, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Recall Fuel system, gasoline 2015-08-04 · NHTSA campaign 15V486000

Summary Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) notified the agency on July 31, 2015, that they are recalling certain model year 2016 Nissan Maxima vehicles manufactured February 10, 2015, to August 18, 2015. On October 14, 2015, Nissan expanded the recall to cover an additional 41,388 vehicles, including certain model year 2013-2015 Altima 3.5 vehicles equipped with a V6 engine manufactured March 30, 2012, to August 18, 2015 as well as the vehicles covered by the July 31, 2015 notification. In the affected vehicles, due to an improperly installed o-ring that may not have been seated correctly at the time of assembly, fuel may leak during a crash from the area where the fuel sending unit attaches to the fuel tank.

Remedy Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will install a retainer ring between the fuel tank and the fuel sending unit. The recall began on September 28, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Complaints by component (142 total)

Powertrain

Electrical system

Service brakes

Engine

Air bags

Speed control

Steering

Fuel and propulsion system

Structure

Exterior lighting

Electronic stability control (ESC)

Wheels

Seat belts

Suspension

Visibility and wipers

Seats

Engine and engine cooling

Forward collision avoidance

Fuel system, gasoline

Visibility

Hydraulic brakes

Show 13 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"The car has been diagnosed with a CVT transmission problem which the mechanic stated was hard to diagnose. The car sometimes slow down to only 30 miles or less being unpredictable when driving and could cause an…"
Unknown or other · filed 2026-06-26
"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…"
Unknown or other · filed 2026-03-11
"The 2016 Nissan Maxima (VIN: [XXX] ) I purchased in January 2025 has been confirmed by a certified mechanic to have no driver airbag installed and no passenger side curtain airbag installed, despite a previous airbag…"
Air bags · filed 2025-12-09
"The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate properly. The vehicle was shifted into neutral, and the RPMs revved up. The vehicle failed to move…"
Powertrain · filed 2025-08-07
"There was a thermal combustion that caused a fire. Yes, the caught combusted at a local business. I had just entered the building and was told that my car was on fire. The police and Nissan inspected the car but refused…"
Structure, Engine, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2025-07-12

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2016 Nissan Maxima 4 DR FWD Early Release	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars
2016 Nissan Maxima 4 DR FWD Later Release	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
Maxima	3.5L, 6-cyl	Automatic (AV-S7)	Front-wheel drive	22	30	25 MPG	$3200

Specs and fitment

8th generation (A35), 2012–2023

Body styles Sedan

Oil 0W-20 (3.5L V6) , 5.375 qt capacity

Tire size 245/45R18 to 245/40R19 (trim dependent)

Known issues for this generation

NHTSA campaign 19V654000. Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Sentra, Titan, Titan Diesel, Versa Note and Versa Sedan vehicles, as well as Infiniti Q50, Q60, QX30 and QX80 vehicles. Additionally included are 2019 Nissan GT-R and Taxi and Infiniti QX50, QX60, Q70, Q70L vehicles. The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility." The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash. Nissan will notify owners in phases, having dealers update the back-up camera settings software, free of charge. The recall began November 11, 2019 and all affected VINs should be activated. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669 or INFINITI customer service at 1-800-662-6200.

Compare

Previous year 2014 Nissan Maxima Next year 2017 Nissan Maxima See every Nissan Maxima model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2016 Nissan Maxima reliable?

What are common problems with a 2016 Nissan Maxima?

Is the 2016 Nissan Maxima more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2014 Maxima has 96 complaints, 7 per year, and the 2017 has 103 complaints, 13 per year. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2014. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2017.

Has the 2016 Nissan Maxima been recalled?

The 2016 Nissan Maxima has 8 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2016 Nissan Maxima?

Owners have filed 142 complaints about the 2016 Nissan Maxima with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2016 Nissan Maxima get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2016 Nissan Maxima is 25 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a Nissan Maxima take?

0W-20 for the 3.5L V6 across the A35 years covered here (2012-2023). Confirm the filler-cap grade.

What tire sizes does the Maxima use?

245/45R18 to 245/40R19 depending on trim.

What does NHTSA campaign 19V654000 cover involving the Maxima?

Certain 2018-2019 Maxima vehicles among many other Nissan and Infiniti models listed in the campaign — confirm open recalls by VIN for the exact component and remedy.