IllustrationAUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IS NOT ABLE TO SHIFT INTO REVERSE. APPARENTLY THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH NISSAN MAXIMA'S MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 1989-1994. MANY MAXIMA OWNERS HAVE HAD THEIR TRANSMISSIONS FAIL AND HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION MORE THAN ONCE IN THEIR NISSAN MAXIMA'S.*AK
1990 Nissan Maxima
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1990 Nissan Maxima do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 99.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Maxima years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 11 of 106 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Fuel System, Gasoline. Review the 36 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Visibility. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
7 crash reports3 fire reports5 injury reports
Power Train complaints
10 reportsNO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
THE WINDOW PROBLEM I HAVE SEEMS TO BE WITH A LOT OF THIS CAR MODEL. EACH TIME I HAD A WINDOW FIXED, IT COST ME $220.00. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS IS A DEFECT THAT NISSAN SHOULD BE PAYING FOR. OTHER THAN THIS PROBLEM MY OTHER WITH THE TRANSMISSON JUST STARTED AND I DO HAVE 100,000 MILES ON THE CAR. I WOULD EXPECT SOME THINGS TO GO…
Read full complaint
THE WINDOW PROBLEM I HAVE SEEMS TO BE WITH A LOT OF THIS CAR MODEL. EACH TIME I HAD A WINDOW FIXED, IT COST ME $220.00. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS IS A DEFECT THAT NISSAN SHOULD BE PAYING FOR. OTHER THAN THIS PROBLEM MY OTHER WITH THE TRANSMISSON JUST STARTED AND I DO HAVE 100,000 MILES ON THE CAR. I WOULD EXPECT SOME THINGS TO GO WRONG. THE WINDOW PROBLEM STARTED ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO. ALSO WHEN I TOOK MY CAR IN TO HAVE THE FIRST WINDOW REPAIRED I ASKED ABOUT MY RADIO ANTENNA NOT GOING UP AND DOWN ANYMORE. IT SEEMS THAT THIS IS THE SAME KIND OF PROBLEM I HAD WITH MY WINDOWS. THE OPERATING MECHANISM IS MADE OUT OF PLASTIC. MOTOR RUNS BUT NOTHING GOES UP AND DOWN.
TRANSMISSION STICKS IN REVERSE!*AK
TRANSMISSION BLEW OUT COMPLETLY AND THEN THE OIL STARTED LEAKING . ALSO, BRAKES SPEEDOMETER ARE HORN IS NOT WORKING. *AK
CONSUME STATES THAT THE GEAR SHIFT STICKS IN PARK. DRIVER HAS TO PRESS SHIFT RELEASE CONTROL KNOB TO PUT CAR IN DRIVE ONCE IT HAD BEEN PUT IN PARK. *AK
ALTERNATOR REPLACED DUE TO STALLING.
ELECTRONIC WINDOWS; WINDOWS WILL EITHER LOWER ON ITS OWN OR NOT AT ALL. SYSTEM WORKED ON (5) TIMES WITH TEMPORARY RESULTS. TT VEHICLE ALSO EXPERIENCES PROBLEMS WITH THE SHIFTER. *SLC
SPEEDOMETER FAILED, NEEDLE WILL BE AT CERTAIN SPEED AND THEN WILL DROP TO ZERO/WILL NOT RETURN TO SPEED FOR SOME TIME. *AK
HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEM WITH THE ODOMETER NOT WORKING NISSAN REPLACED IT BUT PROBLEM STILL EXSIST. TT
Official recalls
195V244000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:storage:tank Assembly:filler Pipe And Cap
Dec 15, 1995
IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A MIXTURE OF MUD AND SALT TO GET TRAPPED BETWEEN THE FUEL FILLER TUBE AND WHEEL HOUSING. THE TRAPPED MUD AND SALT CAN RESULT IN CORROSION OF THE FUEL FILLER TUBE AND THE WHEEL HOUSING.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: SIGNIFICANT CORROSION OF THE FUEL FILLER TUBE MAY RESULT IN FUEL LEAKS WHICH IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE. IN ADDITION, THE LEFT REAR SEAT BELT RETRACTOR IS MOUNTED TO THE WHEEL HOUSING AND IN THE EVENT OF SIGNIFICANT CORROSION, AND THE MOUNTING COULD FAIL IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THESE VEHICLES AND CORRECTIVE ACTION WILL BE TAKEN DEPENDING UPON THE EXTENT OF THE CORROSION.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.