Buyer Research

2021 Nissan Maxima — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $19,000–$26,000. 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

Three complaints and no recalls. That is not a reliability rating; it is a car that sold in small numbers late in its life, to owners who have mostly not filed anything. We have written the three up honestly below, but the real guide to this car is its siblings: the 2018–2020 Maximas share every mechanical part with this one, and their records are dominated by driver-assistance electronics that warn or brake for nothing, trim and glass that let go, and a CVT that is a four-figure bill when it fails. Nothing about a 2021 build date changes those parts. So test it the way you would test a 2020: a long highway drive with adaptive cruise on, a cold-start CVT check, a hand on every moulding, and a Nissan dealer asked whether the VIN carries any extended CVT coverage. Pay for the car you drove, not the file you read.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 3 owner complaints for the 2021 Nissan Maxima, and no recall campaigns.

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 (1), the body and structure (1), electrics and electronics (1). 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.

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

Known Issues for the 2021 Nissan Maxima

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

Xtronic CVT — the four-figure risk on every Maxima of this generationMedium

Nobody filed a transmission complaint on the 2021 in the record we read, which is why this is unsourced and medium. But the CVT is unchanged from the 2016–2020 cars, it is the same family that has troubled Nissan's whole range, and when it fails it is replaced, not rebuilt, at $4,000 or more. Drive it cold from a stop: feel for shudder under light throttle between 20 and 40 mph, listen for a whine that climbs with road speed rather than engine revs, and hold 65 mph for a few minutes to feel for hunting. Ask when the fluid (Nissan NS-3) was last changed; the 60,000-mile interval is routinely stretched. Ask a Nissan dealer whether this VIN carries 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

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Driver-assistance warnings and phantom braking — the 2018–2020 pattern on the same hardwareMedium

The 2018, 2019 and 2020 Maxima records are each led by the same complaint: the forward-collision or 'front radar obstruction' warning coming on with a clear road, 'DAS Malfunction' and a cascade of other lights, and in the worst reports the car braking hard or losing power on the highway with nothing ahead. The 2021 uses the same radar, the same camera and the same software family, and its thin file is not evidence the fault was fixed. Dealers replace the front radar behind the badge, sometimes more than once. At the car: a 20-minute drive with adaptive cruise on, following traffic and then on an empty stretch, watching the dash. Any warning or any braking you did not ask for is a fail and a negotiating number.

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

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Shaking and jerking at 20 mph with the oil-pressure light flashingMedium

The one engine complaint: the car jerked and shook at 20 mph as if the brake were being held, with the oil light flashing, and went to a dealer for diagnosis. A flashing oil light on the VQ35 V6 is low oil pressure, not low oil level, and it means stop the car — the causes run from a sensor that is lying (cheap) to a worn oil pump or a bearing on its way (not cheap). One report tells you nothing about the population, but it tells you what to check: pull the dipstick cold, ask for oil-change receipts, and watch the dash at idle after a long drive when the oil is hot and thin — the light must stay off.

Repair cost (estimate): $100–$300 for an oil-pressure sensor; $600–$1,200 for an oil pump; $4,000+ if the bottom end is damaged

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (1).

Sunroof that shattered on an empty road — and the mouldings the sibling years loseMedium

The one structure complaint is a sunroof that exploded outward at 5:45 in the morning with no other car near it, which is also on the 2020's record and is a known way tempered panoramic glass fails when a stone chip or a stressed edge finally lets go. It is a $600–$1,500 replacement out of warranty. The same body wears the A-pillar and quarter-panel mouldings that fly off 2016–2020 Maximas at highway speed; the clips are the same. At the car: check the sunroof glass edges for chips, open and close it, and press every pillar moulding — anything that lifts or flexes is on its way off.

Repair cost (estimate): $600–$1,500 for a sunroof glass replacement; $60–$300 per moulding

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the body and structure (1).

Digital coolant gauge that stays blank for 20 minutes; dead CD changerLow

One electrical complaint from a car with 100 miles on it: the electronic coolant temperature readout in the cluster did not appear until 20–30 minutes into every drive while the analogue gauge worked normally, and the CD player quit. Neither is a safety matter; both are the kind of module fault Nissan fixes with a reflash or a cluster swap under warranty and that a used buyer pays for. At the car: on a cold start, watch the digital temperature display and confirm it populates within a couple of minutes; test the audio sources you actually use.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$150 for a software update; $400–$900 for a cluster or head-unit repair

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (1).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Shudder between 20 and 40 mph under light throttle on a cold drive
✗Forward-collision or 'DAS Malfunction' warning on the test drive
✗Oil light flickering at hot idle
✗Chip or crack at the edge of the sunroof glass
✗Pillar moulding that lifts when pressed
✗Digital temperature readout still blank ten minutes into the drive

Good Signs

✓CVT fluid changed with Nissan NS-3, with receipts
✓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
✓Remaining Nissan powertrain warranty confirmed on the VIN by a dealer (5 years/60,000 miles from first sale)
✓Every pillar moulding tight and even at the seams
✓Smooth, quiet pull from 20 to 60 mph on a cold engine