AutoUtility currently tracks 103 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2017 Nissan Maxima. Air Bags & Restraints issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 20 complaints (19.4% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 7 filings cite a crash, 2 cite a fire, 5 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 103 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Air Bags & Restraints (20 reports • 19.4% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Body & Structure (17), Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (14)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 7 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 2 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 5 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
103
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
7
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
2
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
5
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2017 Nissan Maxima

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 19.4% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

20 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 3 crash reports 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 2 injury report entries
#2 Problem Area 16.5% of complaints

Body & Structure

17 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 1 injury report entry
#3 Problem Area 13.6% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

14 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#4 Problem Area 11.7% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

12 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 3 crash reports 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 4 injury report entries
#5 Problem Area 10.7% of complaints

Electrical System

11 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
🔥 1 fire report
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Nissan Maxima

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Air Bags & Restraints 3.9% of complaints

Airbag Warning Light / Non-Deployment in Crash

4 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Nissan Maxima

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11752845
Filed: 07/25/2026

"I was approaching an exit on 7/23/2026, and all of a sudden my engine light begans flashing very fast! Once I get to the red light at the exit, the engine light stops flashing and the car begins to shake profusely...... When the light turns green, I get on the accelerator and the shaking gets..."

Incident Date: 07/23/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Brakes & Traction Control NHTSA ODI ID: #11746526
Fire Cited Filed: 06/25/2026

"Car was parked outside husbands work since 7 at 12:15 pm he was advised by a co worker that my car was on fire ! When I ran outside my his workers where trying to put out the fire with the fire extinguishers from the work warehouse ! The fire department ended up finish putting out the fire ! The..."

Incident Date: 06/22/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11744323
Filed: 06/15/2026

"The vehicle experienced a no‑start condition and was towed to a dealership. The dealership performed major engine and timing repairs without authorization and kept the vehicle for nearly four months. After the repairs, the vehicle still cranks but will not start, requires jump‑starts, and now has..."

Incident Date: 01/06/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11740833
Filed: 05/29/2026

"My vehicle repeatedly loses acceleration/motive power while driving. When I press the accelerator, the pedal may go down but the vehicle does not respond normally and begins to decelerate unexpectedly. This can happen even at low speeds, including around 20 mph, and creates a serious safety risk..."

Incident Date: 05/29/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11721901
Filed: 03/04/2026

"Car turning off while driving and can't turn the wheel to get out of the road. We had the car battery, fob battery and alternator replaced and still the same issue. We heard this has happened to another owner of the same vehicle that lives in or town. This is not safe and could cause an accident."

Incident Date: 03/03/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Nissan Maxima

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2016–2023)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2016 Nissan Maxima 142 10 8 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Nissan Maxima Current Page 103 7 4 Current
2018 Nissan Maxima 36 1 2 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Nissan Maxima 18 2 1 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Nissan Maxima 21 2 1 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Nissan Maxima 3 0 0 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Nissan Maxima 5 1 0 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Nissan Maxima 1 0 0 View 2023 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2017 Nissan Maxima

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 48 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 9 2 0 1 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 9 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 8 1 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 6 2 0 4 0
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 4 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 4 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 2 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 1 0 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 1 0 0 1 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (103). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)

1 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
CLOSED Engineering Analysis (EA) ODI Action #EA19002
Opened: 2019-07-29 • Closed: 2025-06-16

Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure

Affected Component: SUSPENSION:REAR

On July 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened EA19002 to investigate instances of alleged rear lower control arm failures in 2013-2018 Nissan Altima and 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima vehicles. At the time the investigation was opened ODI had 91 consumer complaints alleging rear lower control arm failures in the subject vehicles.ODI was concerned about these complaints because many of them alleged an increased steering effort or los...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.