Buyer Research

2019 Nissan Maxima — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $15,000–$21,000. This is one of the more reliable vehicles in its class — here's what to watch for anyway.

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

Kestrel Take

The facelift year — new bumpers, standard automatic emergency braking on every trim — and a record of just 18 complaints, which is too few to rate the car on. Read it as a thin file, not a clean one. What is there rhymes with the 2018: the emergency-braking system stopping the car on an open highway, and a couple of engine reports (one stall at 70k miles, one car found with an empty sump at 60 mph) that share no single cause. One thing does separate this year from the two before it: the ABS-actuator fire recall that hangs over 2016–2018 Maximas is not on the 2019 record, so the only campaign to confirm is a backup-camera software update. Confirm that, drive it long enough to trust the braking system and the CVT, and buy on the strength of the test drive rather than the file.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 18 owner complaints for the 2019 Nissan Maxima, and 1 recall campaign.

That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under the engine (4), the transmission and drivetrain (3), the brakes (3). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.

One recall campaign covers 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 2019 Nissan Maxima

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

Automatic emergency braking that stops the car with nothing ahead; ABS light after a sensor faultMedium

Three brake complaints and two of them are the same event: the dash lights red and the car brakes hard on the highway with clear road ahead. One owner had it happen four times in the first year; the dealer replaced a wheel-speed sensor after the ABS light stayed on. The third is a car that rolled while in Park after the headlights cut out in rain — a single, muddled report. This is the pattern the 2018 Maxima's record is full of (the front radar misreading, the system braking for a ghost), so treat it as live on this year even though few filed. At the car: a 20-minute drive with adaptive cruise on, following traffic and then on an empty stretch. Any 'front radar obstruction' warning or any braking you did not ask for is a fail. A radar sensor is the expensive fix if it recurs.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$300 for a radar clean and recalibration; $900–$1,800 for a replacement radar sensor; $150–$400 for a wheel-speed sensor

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (3).

Engine stall with a failure warning, and a VQ35 that ran out of oil between changesMedium

Four engine complaints with no shared part: a 70,000-mile car that flashed a vehicle-failure warning and stalled repeatedly, then sat at a dealer for eleven days undiagnosed; a car whose oil-level warning came on at 60 mph with smoke from under the hood and an empty sump; a persistent metallic knocking from under the hood that a selling dealer would not explain; and one crash where the owner says the car pulled hard right. The 3.5L V6 in this car has a long record across the Maxima line and is not known for eating oil, so an empty sump usually means a leak or a car that went too long between changes — but it is cheap to rule out. At the car: pull the dipstick cold and check level and colour, look under the front of the engine for wet oil, and listen at idle for a knock or rattle. Ask for oil-change receipts; a gap of more than 7,500 miles on this engine is a conversation.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$500 for a diagnostic and a leaking gasket; $2,500–$6,000 if the engine was run dry — about 33% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (4).

Xtronic CVT — noise from the front of the car, and a dealer that would not say what was wrongMedium

Three power-train complaints, and the one that matters is a buyer who heard something wrong on the test drive, was told nothing was wrong, and found transmission damage after purchase. The other two are the knocking noise above (filed twice, once under each heading) and the rolling-in-Park report. That is a thin file, but this CVT is the same family that has troubled Nissan's whole range, and a replacement is a $4,000+ bill on a $17,000 car, so the test drive has to do the work the record cannot. Drive it cold: feel for shudder under light throttle between 20 and 40 mph, listen for a whine that rises with road speed rather than engine revs, and check whether the fluid (Nissan NS-3) has ever been changed. Ask a Nissan dealer whether this VIN has any extended CVT coverage; do not assume it does.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$400 for a fluid service; $3,500–$5,500 for a replacement CVT — about 31% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (3).

Backup camera can show a blank screen — software recall 19V654Low

Recall 19V654 covers most of Nissan's 2018–2019 lineup, Maxima included: the rear-view camera's display settings could be left in a state where no image appears when reverse is selected, which fails the federal rear-visibility rule. The remedy is a software update at the dealer, free. It is the only campaign on this year's record. Put the car in reverse and watch the screen; if it stays blank or takes seconds to appear, have the update done before you drive it home.

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

Source: 1 NHTSA recall campaign on this model year.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗"Front radar obstruction" warning or braking you did not ask for on the test drive
✗ABS light on at any point after the key-on bulb check
✗Oil low or dark on the dipstick, or wet oil on the underside of the engine
✗Metallic knock or rattle from the front of the car at idle
✗Shudder between 20 and 40 mph under light throttle on a cold drive
✗Blank screen when reverse is selected

Good Signs

✓Recall 19V654 (camera software) shown complete on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓A 20-minute drive on adaptive cruise with a quiet dash and steady speed
✓Oil-change receipts at 5,000–7,500-mile intervals, with oil at the full mark
✓CVT fluid changed with Nissan NS-3, with receipts
✓Smooth, quiet pull from 20 to 60 mph on a cold engine
✓Camera image up within a second of selecting reverse