Buyer Research

2017 Nissan Maxima — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $11,000–$16,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 13 Nissan Maxima years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Second year of the eighth-generation Maxima: the 300-hp 3.5L V6 that has powered this car for two decades, bolted to a CVT that has not. NHTSA holds 103 complaints — not a heavy record for a big sedan — but two things in it need doing before money changes hands. First, the ABS actuator was recalled three separate times for leaking brake fluid onto its own circuit board and starting a fire, parked or not; the VIN lookup must show the final campaign, 19V807, closed. Second, the airbag light: 18 complaints, an occupant-sensor recall behind some of them, and four-figure dealer quotes for the rest. Get those two answered, drive it long enough to feel the CVT at 20–40 mph, and this is a lot of comfortable, quick car for the money.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 103 owner complaints for the 2017 Nissan Maxima, and 4 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. The largest single group is airbags at 17%. That is notable without being overwhelming — worth checking, not worth panicking about.

4 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2017 Nissan Maxima

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

ABS actuator can leak brake fluid onto its circuit board and catch fire — three recalls, the last a full replacementHigh — wallet impact

Nissan recalled the ABS actuator on this car three times. Recall 16V636 (Intelligent Cruise Control cars built February 2015 to August 2016) and 18V601 (all 2016–2017 Maximas) had dealers inspect the pump and replace it only if the serial number was in range; recall 19V807 then swept up every car that was inspected-and-passed or never brought in, and replaces the actuator outright. The failure is brake fluid seeping onto the ABS control board, shorting it and — in the worst reported cases — starting a fire while the car sits parked. The brake cluster on this year carries 3 crash reports and 1 fire. Run the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup: 19V807 must show as remedied, not merely 18V601. If the seller has an invoice showing a new actuator, better still.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (10); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Airbag warning light that will not stay off — occupant sensor recall, then four-figure module quotesHigh — wallet impact

The largest cluster, 18 complaints. Recall 16V244 reprogrammed the airbag control unit and the passenger occupant-classification sensor because the passenger frontal airbag could be switched off with an adult in the seat — free, and it must be shown done on the VIN. Owners who had it done still describe the SRS light coming on and staying on, sometimes after rain, with the dealer resetting one sensor only for a different one to trip, and quotes running into the thousands for a control module out of warranty. One owner's side-curtain airbags fired on a wet interstate with no impact. Three of the 18 are non-deployment reports after a crash — worth knowing, not something an inspection can check. At the car: turn the key to ON and watch the airbag lamp; it should light for a few seconds and go out. A lamp that stays lit is a real negotiating number.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $300–$1,800 for a sensor or control module out of warranty

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (18); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Pillar and quarter-panel mouldings fly off at highway speed; sunroof whistleMedium

Seventeen complaints under STRUCTURE, and most are the same thing: the black plastic trim on the door pillars and the rear quarter panels is held by clips that let go in a car wash, in a snow brush, or on the interstate — several owners had a moulding hit the windshield at 70 mph. Nissan treats it as cosmetic. The part is cheap; a body shop's labour to replace a clip-mounted piece is not much either, but it recurs. The rest of the cluster is a sunroof that whistles because it does not seal, and one report of the roof skin cracking. At the car: run a thumb along every pillar trim and both rear quarter mouldings and press — anything that flexes or lifts is on its way off. Open and close the sunroof and listen for wind noise above 50 mph.

Repair cost (estimate): $60–$300 per moulding; $200–$800 to reseal or realign a sunroof

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the body and structure (17).

Forward emergency braking that brakes for nothing, or switches itself off — plus door locks, tire sensors and one parked fireMedium

The electrical and forward-collision clusters overlap: the front radar throws a "radar obstruction" warning on a clear road, the automatic emergency braking system disables itself a few minutes into every drive, and — the frightening version — the car brakes hard on the interstate with nothing ahead. Nissan's early AEB is known for this across several models. Also in the electrical cluster: a driver's door lock actuator that quits for days at a time, all four tire-pressure sensors dead on a car with 30k miles, and one 2026 report of the car catching fire in a parking lot with the engine off — a single report, but with the ABS actuator history above it is the reason to insist on 19V807. At the car: a 20-minute highway drive with the AEB on; any warning on the dash or any unprompted braking is a fail. Test every door lock from the key fob.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$300 for a radar clean and recalibration; $800–$1,800 for a replacement radar unit; $150–$350 per door lock actuator

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (11), the driver-assist and automatic braking systems (9).

Xtronic CVT — judder, whine, and a replacement bill that rivals the car's valueMedium

The Maxima's CVT is the same family that has troubled Nissan's whole lineup: it shudders under light throttle between 20 and 40 mph, whines under load, and when it fails it is replaced rather than rebuilt. Eleven power-train complaints out of 103 is not a wave for this year, which is why this is medium rather than high — but a failed unit is a $4,000+ bill on a $13,000 car, so the test drive has to earn the price. Drive it cold: feel for shudder under gentle acceleration, listen for a rising whine, and check whether the fluid has ever been changed (Nissan NS-3, roughly every 60,000 miles; owners often stretch it). Ask a Nissan dealer whether this VIN has any extended CVT coverage remaining; do not assume it does.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$400 for a fluid service; $3,500–$5,500 for a replacement CVT — about 41% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (11).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗NHTSA VIN lookup shows 19V807 (ABS actuator) still open
✗Airbag lamp stays lit after the key-on bulb check
✗Pillar or quarter-panel trim that lifts when pressed, or a piece already missing
✗"Front radar obstruction" message or unprompted braking on the test drive
✗Shudder between 20 and 40 mph under light throttle
✗Door lock that does not respond to the fob on the first press

Good Signs

✓Invoice showing a new ABS actuator installed under 19V807
✓Recall 16V244 (airbag control unit reprogram) shown complete on the VIN lookup
✓CVT fluid changed with Nissan NS-3 on schedule, with receipts
✓Airbag lamp lights at key-on and goes out within a few seconds
✓All pillar and quarter mouldings tight and colour-matched
✓A 20-minute highway drive with the AEB on and a quiet dash