AutoUtility currently tracks 36 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Nissan Maxima. Brakes & Traction Control issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 10 complaints (27.8% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 filing cites a crash, 1 cites a fire, 1 reports one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 36 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Brakes & Traction Control (10 reports • 27.8% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (8), Electrical System (5)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2018 Nissan Maxima
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Brakes & Traction Control
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #19V807000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #19V654000 BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Electrical System
Body & Structure
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #19V807000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
Engine & Cooling
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Nissan Maxima
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"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..."
"My rear passenger side coil spring broke. This is a dealer only item. I contacted the dealer and the item is on back order. It is my only means for transportation. I didn’t cause this break, and now I can’t even get it fixed until it comes in whenever that may be. The dealership doesn’t have an..."
"In June 2019, while driving my 2018 Nissan Maxima, the vehicle suffered a sudden and violent mechanical failure. Without warning, the steering wheel jerked forcefully to the side, and the vehicle became uncomtrollabel leading to an approx 100-foot spin across a median. I have since verified this..."
"The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the power door functions on the front driver’s door failed to operate on two separate occasions. Due to the failure, the contact had to enter the vehicle from the front passenger’s side before crawling over into the driver’s seat. The..."
"The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the instrument panel was intermittently dim upon starting the vehicle. The contact stated that while driving the instrument panel eventually brightened before returning to a dim setting. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several..."
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 | 103 | 7 | 4 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Nissan Maxima Current Page | 36 | 1 | 2 | Current |
| 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 → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Nissan Maxima
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 23 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure
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...
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.