IllustrationWHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY THIS MORNING, THE PANORAMIC SUNROOF ON MY 2012 NISSAN MAXIMA SPONTANEOUSLY EXPLODED AND SHATTERED. HAD THE SUNROOF BEEN OPEN, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN EXTENSIVE DAMAGES TO ME PERSONALLY, MY UNBORN CHILD (7 MONTHS PREGNANT), AND OTHERS DRIVING AROUND ME IF I HAD LOST CONTROL OF MY VEHICLE.
2012 Nissan Maxima
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2012 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
180–25K
1825–50K
2250–75K
1375–100K
11100–150K
3150K+
85 reports with mileage · 22 unknown
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.
- Air Bags. Review the 27 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 18 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
6 crash reports2 fire reports5 injury reports
Unknown Or Other complaints
23 reportsCAR WILL NOT START, STEERING WHEEL LOCKS, KEY FOB LIGHT IS ON, BRAKE IS STIFF. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME NISSAN HAD THIS PROBLEM. MY CAR ONLY HAS 50,000 MILES ON IT.
THE CAR STREERING WHEEL WONT MOVE AND THE CAR WONT START.
WHILE DRIVING MY CAR AT EXTREMELY SLOW SPEEDS MY CAR COMPLETELY TURNED ITSELF OFF AND WAS UNABLE TO START BACK UP FOR 15 MINUTES. DURING THIS TIME THERE WAS NO POWER TO THE ENTIRE CAR, THUS RESULTING IN HAVING TO UNLOCK MY DOOR MANUALLY AND CRAWL THROUGH THE BACK TO GET MY SON OUT. 2 MONTHS LATER MY CAR STARTED LOSING ALL POWE…
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WHILE DRIVING MY CAR AT EXTREMELY SLOW SPEEDS MY CAR COMPLETELY TURNED ITSELF OFF AND WAS UNABLE TO START BACK UP FOR 15 MINUTES. DURING THIS TIME THERE WAS NO POWER TO THE ENTIRE CAR, THUS RESULTING IN HAVING TO UNLOCK MY DOOR MANUALLY AND CRAWL THROUGH THE BACK TO GET MY SON OUT. 2 MONTHS LATER MY CAR STARTED LOSING ALL POWER WHEN I STOPPED, ONCE AGAIN RESULTING IN HAVING TO MANUALLY UNLOCK MY CAR AND UNABLE TO LOCK THE DOORS BEHIND ME.
I HAVE HAD MY VEHICLE FOR LESS THAN 5 MONTHS AND THE TRANSMISSION HAS GONE OUT ON IT. AFTER DOING A RESEARCH ONLINE, I HAVE REALIZED THAT HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE ALSO REALIZED THAT NISSAN HAS HAD TRANSMISSION RECALLS ON SEVERAL NISSAN MAXIMA'S THROUGH DIFFERENT YEARS EXCEPT FOR THE 2012. MY VEHICLE …
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I HAVE HAD MY VEHICLE FOR LESS THAN 5 MONTHS AND THE TRANSMISSION HAS GONE OUT ON IT. AFTER DOING A RESEARCH ONLINE, I HAVE REALIZED THAT HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE ALSO REALIZED THAT NISSAN HAS HAD TRANSMISSION RECALLS ON SEVERAL NISSAN MAXIMA'S THROUGH DIFFERENT YEARS EXCEPT FOR THE 2012. MY VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY, WHEN IT WOULD NOT PICK UP SPEED AFTER 10 MPH.
THE DASHBOARD IS CRACKING AND MELTING
CAR WAS PARKED IN DRIVEWAY. MOVED OUT OF GEAR ON ITS OWN ROLLED ACROSS STREET CRASHED INTO CAR IN ANOTHER DRIVEWAY.
MY SUNROOF SHATTERED ON SUNDAY, JUNE 03 AT 12PM WHILE I WAS DRIVING EAST BOUND TOWARDS CHICAGO ON 290 HIGHWAY. I WAS DRIVING AT 60MPH ON THE HIGHWAY AND ALL THE SUDDEN I HEARD A LOUD POP NOISE AND MY SUNROOF GLASS SHATTERED. THE ROAD WAS CLEAR AND THERE WEREN'T MANY CARS AROUND ME. LUCKILY, I WASN'T INJURED. I HAVE ALREADY CHECK…
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MY SUNROOF SHATTERED ON SUNDAY, JUNE 03 AT 12PM WHILE I WAS DRIVING EAST BOUND TOWARDS CHICAGO ON 290 HIGHWAY. I WAS DRIVING AT 60MPH ON THE HIGHWAY AND ALL THE SUDDEN I HEARD A LOUD POP NOISE AND MY SUNROOF GLASS SHATTERED. THE ROAD WAS CLEAR AND THERE WEREN'T MANY CARS AROUND ME. LUCKILY, I WASN'T INJURED. I HAVE ALREADY CHECKED WITH SEVERAL BODY SHOPS YESTERDAY, AND THE COST IS OVER $1000 TO FIX MY PANORAMIC SUNROOF. I ALSO REACHED OUT TO NISSAN CORPORATE, AND REPORTED THIS ISSUE. THE CASE NUMBER IS 31546264 AND I SPOKE WITH BARBARA, BADGE#7319182. SHE CALLED ME, 6/5/18 AT 10:34AM AND TOLD ME NISSAN WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE SINCE THERE'S NO SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE. I TOLD HER I HAVE PHOTOS OF THE DAMAGE AND SHE ASKED ME TO SEND IT TO HER FOR REVIEW. I FIND IT STRANGE THAT SHE DIDN'T ASK FOR ANY PHOTOS OR EVIDENCE YESTERDAY WHEN I CALLED TO REPORT THE INCIDENT.
EVERYTIME I DRIVE THE VEHICLE THEY'RE A CLUNKING NOISE WHEN THE IT REACHES 35 MPH. ALSO WHEN I START THE CAR THEY'RE A DIFFERENT IDLING NOISE, I'M NOT SURE HOW IF IT'S THE EXHAUST SYSTEM OR IF THEY'RE A LOOSE BOLT THAT'S CAUSING THIS. WHEN TO NISSAN NUMEROUS TIMES AND THEY COULDN'T FIX THE PROBLEMS.
ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2017 I WAS DRIVING ON A CITY STREET AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH AND I HEARD A LOUD BOOM. I PULLED OFF AND SAW THAT MY SUNROOF HAD EXPLODED. THERE WAS A LARGE HOLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUNROOF WITH THE EDGES OF THE GLASS RAISED UPWARD. THE REMAINING GLASS WAS POPPING AND CRACKING.
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
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.