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2018 Nissan Maxima: engine and transmission complaints

NO ELEVATED SIGNAL
9%
3 of 36 relevant owner complaints are about the engine, transmission or fuel system

No elevated drivetrain complaint concentration in the available NHTSA records for the 2018 Nissan Maxima. Engine, transmission and fuel system account for 9% of relevant complaints.

Better than 98% of the 1,230 model years we track (2010–2023).

NHTSA data checked September 13, 2026
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Drivetrain complaints
3
engine, transmission, fuel
Total complaints
36
this model year
Fires reported
1
owner-reported
Recall campaigns
2
1 crashes · 1 injuries

Complaints by component

UNKNOWN OR OTHER8 · 22%
SERVICE BRAKES8 · 22%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE6 · 17%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM5 · 14%
VISIBILITY/WIPER2 · 6%
STRUCTURE2 · 6%

The years either side

2010
14%
36 of 275
2011
41%
33 of 106
2012
41%
32 of 107
2013
73%
27 of 62
2014
53%
28 of 95
2015
too few complaints
2016
39%
47 of 142
2017
23%
19 of 103
2018
9%
3 of 36
2019
too few complaints
2020
too few complaints
2021
too few complaints
2022
too few complaints
2023
too few complaints

Manufacturers fix things mid-generation. A bad year next to a clean one is common; the fix usually arrived in between.

What owners reported

UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE04/17/2026
I am submitting this as a formal complaint regarding an ongoing and unresolved safety issue with my 2018 Nissan Maxima (VIN: [XXX] ). Despite multiple attempts to have this issue diagnosed and repaired, the problem continues without resolution. The issue occurs after driving for approximately 30 minutes. The vehicle s…
POWER TRAIN09/11/2022
I having problems with the transmission in the vehicle. The vehicle shakes during acceleration, you can see the gages on the dashboard shaking. When accelerating, the Gears won’t shift properly with a smooth flow. You can notice this in the RPM also when accelerating. I took the vehicle to the Nissan of St. Augustine D…
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING07/15/2022
The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the engine, transmission, spark plugs, battery, and brakes were previously replaced by an independent mechanic. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was not diagnosed …

Three of 3 drivetrain complaints. The full report shows more, with quotes about the engine in the car you are looking at first.

Recall campaigns on this model year (2)

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport…
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Nissan Murano, 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima, and 2017-2019 Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 vehicles. Th…

This does not say whether a particular car has an open, unrepaired recall. That depends on the VIN.

Before you buy a 2018 Nissan Maxima

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Experimental model-level information. This is not a vehicle inspection, vehicle-history report, financial advice or purchase recommendation. It describes patterns across a model year, not the condition of any individual vehicle.