THE SPEAKERS SMOKED AND SMELLED LIKE BURNED ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS WHEN THEY FAILED,AND ON DISASSEMBLY THE CIRCUIT BOARD WAS SCORCHED AND HAD BURNED TRANSISTORS ON IT. IT LOOKS LIKE A POTENTIAL FIRE HAZZARD.
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.
What owners actually said
106 reportsDOOR LOCK/LATCH MECHANISM FAILED INTERNALLY WITH DOOR IN CLOSED POSITION. FAILED MECHANISM IS SEALED WITH RIVETED COVER, WITH NO METHOD OF ACCESSING INTERNAL LINKAGE TO RELEASING LATCH AND OPEN DOOR. *AK
INITIAL ACTION TAKEN WHEN THE DASH NO LONGER DISPLAYED NUMBERS, WENT STRAIGHT TO THE DEALER. I INFORMED THE DEALER THAT I COULD NO LONGER SEE THE SPEED AT WHICH I WAS TRAVELING, HOW MUCH FUEL WAS IN THE TANK, OR THE CORRECT MILEAGE ON THE VEHICLE. ALSO THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD NOT OPERATE BECAUSE OF THIS. THEY INFORMED ME THA…
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INITIAL ACTION TAKEN WHEN THE DASH NO LONGER DISPLAYED NUMBERS, WENT STRAIGHT TO THE DEALER. I INFORMED THE DEALER THAT I COULD NO LONGER SEE THE SPEED AT WHICH I WAS TRAVELING, HOW MUCH FUEL WAS IN THE TANK, OR THE CORRECT MILEAGE ON THE VEHICLE. ALSO THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD NOT OPERATE BECAUSE OF THIS. THEY INFORMED ME THAT IT WOULD BE A COSTLY REPAIR, AND TO NOT FIX IT BECAUSE THE DASH HAS NOT BEEN FIXED CORRECTLY. RECENTLY I WENT BACK TO THE DEALER AND THEY TRIED TO CLEAN THE COMPONENTS ON THE DASH, HOPING TO FIX THE PROBLEM. AT THIS TIME, THEY INFORMED ME THAT THEY NO LONGER REPLACE THE DASHES. THEY REFER THE CUSTOMER TO AN ELECTRONIC SPECIALIST. AFTER CALLING AND VISITING NUMEROUS SPECIALISTS, I FOUND NO LUCK IN ANYONE SERVICING MY PROBLEM. I THEN PROCEEDED TO WRITE NISSAN A LETTER EXPLAINING MY SITUATION AND ASKING FOR A SOLUTION. I RECEIVED A POST CARD STATING NISSAN NEEDED MORE INFORMATION THAT I ALREADY GAVE TO THEM. I THEN RECEIVED A CALL FROM A REPRESENTATIVE OF NISSAN TELLING ME MY SOLUTION WAS TO SWITCH TO AN ANALOG DASH AND THAT THEY COULD GET A QUOTE FROM THE DEALER AT THAT TIME. WHEN I CALLED BACK NISSAN I WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE CANNOT ACCEPT THE ANALOG DASH AND THAT I NEED TO REPLACE IT WITH A $2,000.00 DIGITAL DASH. HOWEVER, THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD NOT SUGGEST REPLACING THE DIGITAL DASH BECAUSE IT WILL NOT WORK IN A MATTER OF TIME, AND THEN I AM OUT $2,000.00. WHEN I ASKED THE DEALER WHAT OTHERS HAVE DONE, HE REPLIED "NOTHING". APPARENTLY ALL OTHER CUSTOMERS ARE DRIVING AROUND VEHICLES WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR SPEED, AN OBVIOUS SAFETY CONCERN. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM EXISTS IN COLDER CLIMATES DUE TO THE MOISTURE. THE DIGITAL DASH WAS ONLY PLACED IN CERTAIN VEHICLES FROM 1989-90, AND IS NO LONGER BEING PRODUCED FOR OBVIOUS REASONS. PLEASE ASSIST ME IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE. I AM WILLING TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES. ALSO, I HAVE DOCUMENTATION OF MY CALLS AND COPIES OF ALL RECEIPTS AND LETTERS. THANK YOU. *A
THROUGHOUT THE YEARS THE DASHBOARD INSTRUMENTATION PANEL WOULD NOT LIGHT UP UNTIL THE ENGINE WAS WARM. NOW IT IS TO THE POINT WHERE NO MATTER HOW WARM THE CAR IS I HAVE NO ELECTRONIC DISPLAY AT ALL. THIS RESTRICTS ME IN KNOWING HOW FAST I AM GOING, MY GAS TANK READING , AND MY ODOMOTER READING.
FUEL INJECTORS HAVE NOT BEEN FIRING WITHIN THE SPECIFIED RANGE AS ASSESSED BY MY MECHANIC AS WELL AS AN AUTHORIZED NISSSANDEALER/ MECHANIC. THE CAR IDLES ROUGH AND SHIMMIES WHILE THE BRAKE IS APPLIED AT A STOP. SOMETIMES THERE IS A HESITATION WHEN I DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE OVER TIME, REC…
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FUEL INJECTORS HAVE NOT BEEN FIRING WITHIN THE SPECIFIED RANGE AS ASSESSED BY MY MECHANIC AS WELL AS AN AUTHORIZED NISSSANDEALER/ MECHANIC. THE CAR IDLES ROUGH AND SHIMMIES WHILE THE BRAKE IS APPLIED AT A STOP. SOMETIMES THERE IS A HESITATION WHEN I DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE OVER TIME, RECENTLY THE EMISSIONS WARNING LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD HAS COME ON AND CANNOT BE RESET. I AM HESITANT TO PAY FOR REPAIR WORK BECAUSE OF THE EXPENSE (AND I'VE BEEN TOLD REPLACING THE BAD INJECTORS ONLY MAY HASTEN THE OTHERS GOING BAD). FOR A CAR WITH SUCH LOW MILEAGE THAT HAS HAD REGULAR TUNE-UPS AND MAINTENANCE WORK THIS PROBLEM IS UNACCEPTABLE. MY FRIEND ALSO HAS A 1990 MAXIMA AND HAS EXPERIENCED SIMILAR PROBLEMS AND MY MECHANIC SEES THIS PROBLEM ON A REGULAR BASIS.
VEHICLE ERRATICALY AND INCONSISTENTLY PULLS TO THE LEFT, SEVERLY. 8 DIFFERENT MECHANICS INCLUDING NISSAN CANNOT FIND CAUSE OR CORRECT.
THERE IS A STRESS CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD THAT WAS REPLACED BY A COMPANY CALLED SAFELITE AUTO GLASS. *AK
FAILED INJECTORS CAUSED VEHICLE TO IDLE REAL BADLY, CHEK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON.
ALL WINDOW REGULATORS HAVE FAILED.
LEFT REAR SEAT WINDOW EXPLODED, SHATTERED.
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.
Illustration