Buyer Research

2022 Nissan Maxima — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $22,000–$29,000. 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

Five complaints and no recalls, from a car Nissan was already winding down. Five is not a record you can rate a car on; it is five people, and we say so. What they wrote is worth reading anyway: one brake pedal that went to the floor at a stop sign and did not stop the car, ending in a crash with injuries; one headlight aimed 35 degrees into the oncoming lane; one water leak into the rear of the body; and one engine complaint that reports a fire, with no detail we can read. None of them repeats, so none of them is a pattern — but each is a thing you can check in the driveway. Behind the thin file sits the same drivetrain as every 2016–2021 Maxima: a strong V6 and a CVT that is a four-figure bill when it fails, with a driver-assistance suite that on the earlier years warns and brakes for nothing. Test for those. At this price most examples still carry factory powertrain warranty; have a Nissan dealer confirm how much on the VIN before you count on it.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 5 owner complaints for the 2022 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 brakes (1), the body and structure (1), the lights (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 2022 Nissan Maxima

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

Xtronic CVT — unchanged from the years that filed complaints about itMedium

No transmission complaint on this year in the record we read, hence unsourced and medium — but the CVT is the same unit as in every eighth-generation Maxima, from the same family that has drawn complaints across Nissan's entire range, and when it fails it is replaced rather than rebuilt. The saving grace on a 2022 is warranty: Nissan's powertrain coverage runs 5 years or 60,000 miles from the first sale, so a low-mile car may still be covered; ask a dealer to confirm on the VIN. Then drive it cold from a stop: shudder under light throttle between 20 and 40 mph, a whine that climbs with road speed, or hunting at a steady 65 mph are the tells. Ask when the fluid (Nissan NS-3) was last changed.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$400 for a fluid service; $3,500–$5,500 for a replacement CVT

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Brake pedal to the floor at 40 mph, and the car did not stopMedium

The one brake complaint is the serious one: a driver approaching a stop sign at 40 mph, pedal fully depressed, the car failing to stop, a swerve, a crash and injuries. A pedal that goes to the floor is a hydraulic failure — a leaking line or caliper, a master cylinder bypassing internally, or air in the system — not a worn-pad problem, and it does not announce itself. One report does not make a defect on this year, and there is no recall, but it is the easiest thing here to check. At the car: with the engine off, pump the pedal and hold firm pressure for 30 seconds; it must not sink. Look at the fluid level and colour in the reservoir. On the drive, one hard stop from 40 mph on an empty road, feeling for a pedal that travels further than it did the first time.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$400 for a brake fluid flush and inspection; $400–$1,200 for a master cylinder or a caliper and line

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

Water finding its way into the rear of the body — a noise from behind the seats that turned out to be a leakMedium

One owner bought a 19,000-mile car and within a week heard a noise from the rear; the dealer and a body shop then spent weeks chasing water inside the body. Nissan recalled 2020 Maximas for rear glass that had not bonded to the car, and while there is no such campaign on the 2022, a rear-window seal or a blocked sunroof drain is exactly how water gets into the back of this body. At the car: pull up the trunk floor and check under the spare for damp or rust, press the rear seat cushion base and the carpet behind it, run a finger along the inside top edge of the rear glass, and smell the cabin with the doors shut on a warm day — musty means wet. On the highway, listen for wind noise from behind you.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$400 to clear sunroof drains; $500–$1,500 to reseal or replace rear glass and dry the interior

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

LED headlight with a dark patch in the beam, aimed into the oncoming laneLow

One complaint: the driver's-side LED headlight had a shadowed patch in its beam and was pointed roughly 35 degrees left, into oncoming traffic, so it lit the wrong side of the road and dazzled other drivers. On these sealed LED units a dark spot means a failed emitter or a displaced reflector, and the assembly is replaced as one piece — Nissan's part runs well into four figures at retail before labour, which is why this is worth ten minutes at dusk. At the car: park facing a wall or garage door 25 feet away, turn the headlights on, and check both beams sit at the same height with the cut-off level and the hot spot slightly right of centre.

Repair cost (estimate): $50–$150 for an aim adjustment; $800–$1,800 for a replacement LED headlight assembly

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

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

Nobody filed it on this year, but the records for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Maxima are each led by the driver-assistance suite: the forward-collision or 'front radar obstruction' warning on a clear road, a 'DAS Malfunction' cascade, and in the worst reports the car braking hard or losing power on the highway with nothing ahead. The 2022 carries the same radar behind the badge and the same software family, and a thin file is not evidence the fault was fixed. 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.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Brake pedal that sinks under steady pressure with the engine off
✗Damp under the trunk floor, or a musty smell with the doors shut
✗Headlight beams at different heights against a wall, or a dark patch in one
✗Shudder between 20 and 40 mph under light throttle on a cold drive
✗Forward-collision or 'DAS Malfunction' warning on the test drive

Good Signs

✓Remaining Nissan powertrain warranty confirmed on the VIN by a dealer
✓Brake pedal firm and high after 30 seconds of steady pressure, fluid clear in the reservoir
✓Trunk floor and spare-tire well dry, with the original factory sealant undisturbed
✓Both headlight beams level and matched against a wall at 25 feet
✓A 20-minute drive on adaptive cruise with a quiet dash and steady speed
✓CVT fluid changed with Nissan NS-3, with receipts