There are 11 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2010 Nissan Maximain NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle decelerated while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact then stated that the RPM’s failed to increase. Additionally, the contact stated that while shifted into reverse, he heard a whining sound then the vehicle half shifted. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle remained at the dealer and had not yet been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the Extended Warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 157,000.
CVT torque converter codes p0774 leading to total transmission replacement.
UNABLE TO PUSH START CAR IGNITION. A KEY SIGNAL SHOWS ON DASH AND CAR WILL NOT START AFTER SHUTTING DOWN ENGINE. THE KEY IS IN THE CAR AT THE TIME. MY DAUGHTER HAS BEEN STRANDED SEVERAL TIMES BECAUSE SHE CAN'T GET PUSH START IGNITION TO START. I HAVE READ THAT OTHER OWNERS OF THIS MAKE AND MORE HAVE HAD SAME ISSUE.
CAR TOTALLY SLOWED TO 25MPH ON HIGHWAY WHILE TAKING MY DAUGHTER TO COLLEGE ORIENTATION. COULD'VE KILLED MY WHOLE FAMILY OR SOMEONE ELSE. CVT TRANSMISSIONS IS A FAILURE. ALL CONTACTED TRANSMISSION PLACES AND IMPORT CAR REPAIR SAY ITS VERY PROBLEMATIC AND A WASTE. THOUGHT NISSAN EXTENDED FACTORY WARRANTY TO 10 YR 120000 MILES. I HAVE A 2010. LUCKILY IT WAS EARLY MORNING AND TRAFFIC WAS NOT AS HEAVY.
2010 MAXIMA HAS PROBLEM CAN'T DRIVE FROM CVT
WHILE DRIVING THE CAR TO SOUTHERN CAL, THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON. THE CAR WOULD NOT GO ABOVE 2000 RPMS PERIODICALLY. I PARKED THE CAR FOR 1 - 2 HRS AND IT SEEMED TO START WORKING AGAIN. ONCE HOME, I HEADED TO THE MECHANIC THE NEXT DAY AND THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED COMPLETELY. I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED AND CALLED NISSAN ON THE HIGHWAY BECAUSE ONCE I MADE IT HOME THE ODOMETER WAS ABOVE 120,000.
MY ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON YESTERDAY MORNING CAR WAS STALLING A LITTLE WAS DRIVING IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WHEN MY CAR STARTED SLOWING DOWN ONCE I PUT MY FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR IT STARTED TO MAKE NOISES LIKE A MOTORCYCLE AND WOULDN'T MOVE FAST. CAR STOP ON MY STREET AND WE HAD TO PUSH IT INTO MY DRIVEWAY. NOW WHEN I CRANK MY CAR IT MAKES THE MOTORCYCLE NOISE FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN GOES AWAY. CAN'T DRIVE IT BUT CAN CHANGE THE GEARS WITH EASE. TOOK IT TO A SHOP AND STATED THAT IT IS THE TRANSMISSION. *TR
NISSAN MAXIMA 2010 - SPORT EDITION. THE CVT TRANSMISSION EXHIBITS SEVERE LOSE OF POWER ON 75MPH ROADWAY DRIVING BETWEEN PHOENIX AND FLAGSTAFF ARIZONA, UP ELEVATION. LACK OF POWER IS PRESENT IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AS WELL. ON 75 MPH HIGHWAYS THE CVT BEGINS TO WHINE, THE ENGINE HAS HIGH RPM, LOUD WHINING NOISE FROM CVT, AND CAR GETS STUCK IN 6TH GEAR IN BOTH MANUAL SHIFT MODE AND DRIVE MODE. THE VEHICLE WILL NOT ACCELERATE OR MAINTAIN SPEED WITH OTHER VEHICLES AT THE POSTED 75 MPH SPEED LIMIT. THE VEHICLE WILL NOT GIVE A CODE BUT ONCE GAVE A P1778 CODE - FAULTY SOLENOID OR STEP UP MOTOR. THIS ISSUE OCCURS FREQUENTLY WITHIN CITY DRIVING AS WELL, IN ADDITION TO HIGH SPEED HIGHWAYS ON LONG DRIVES OVER HILLY ROADS CLIMBING UP ELEVATION. IN CITY DRIVING THE CVT WILL NOT RESPOND WHEN THE GAS PEDAL IS DEPRESSED LEAVING THE VEHICLE IN THE CENTER OF TRAFFIC WHEN ENTERING A BUSY HIGHWAY. AT OTHER TIMES THE VEHICLE IS ABLE TO ACCELERATE DRAMATICALLY (NORMAL) TO THE SPEED OF CARS ON A BUSY MAIN STREET (55MPH). AND, THEN SUDDENLY THE CAR JUST LACKS POWER WHEN ENTERING A BUSY 3-4 LANE STREET (55 MPH) AND YOU FIND YOURSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF BUSY 3-4 LANE STREET WITH APPROACHING ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THE VEHICLE IS BARELY ABLE TO GET ITSELF OUT OF THE WAY AT FULL THROTTLE. THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN GETTING PROGRESSIVELY WORST AND DID NOT OCCUR WHEN THE CAR WAS PURCHASED NEW. CVT FLUID WAS CHANGED AT 44,000 MILES PRIOR TO NISSAN RECOMMENDATION. THIS CVT TRANSMISSION SUCKS AND THE DEALERSHIPS ARE GIVING CUSTOMERS A HARD TIME SINCE THE PROBLEM DOESN'T NOT GIVE A ENGINE TROUBLE CODE. THE CODE P1778 EVENTUALLY IS CLEARED FROM THE COMPUTER ON ITS OWN WHEN IT DOES OCCUR. THE PROBLEM WITH THIS CVT TRANSMISSION PERSISTS AND IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WILL SUDDENLY FAIL TO ACCELERATE AND MAINTAIN THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT DURING CITY DRIVING AND ON HIGH SPEED HIGHWAYS. *TR
ON 3 OCCASIONS, WHEN TRYING TO STOP THE CAR FROM A SLOW SPEED, THE THROTTLE FAILED TO DISCONNECT. I WAS ABLE TO SLOW THE CAR DOWN FROM 25 MPH TO 3MPH, BUT I COULD NOT GET IT TO STOP UNTIL I PUT IT INTO NEUTRAL. WHEN I DID THAT, THE ENGINE RACED JUST LIKE IT WOULD IF YOU WERE ON THE GAS AND SHIFTED TO NEUTRAL. I HAVE HAD THE CAR FOR 13 MONTHS AND THIS DID NOT HAPPEN UNTIL2 MONTHS AGO, AND HAS NOW HAPPENED 3 TIMES. OF COURSE, NISSAN CAN'T REPLICATE AND SAYS THERE IS NOTHING WRONG. ONLY HAPPENED AT SLOW SPEED AND WITHIN 5 MINUTES OF STARTING THE CAR AFTER SITTING FOR SEVERAL HOURS.. WEATHER WAS ABOVE 70 ALL 3 TIMES. *TR
PURCHASED A NEW 2010 NISSAN MAXIMA. THIS PAST WEEKEND, 4-3-11 WHILE TRAVELING ENGINE DEVELOPED A LOUD SOUND LIKE METAL TO METAL GRINDING OR LOUD MUFFLER. CAR TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE CHECKED, HAS BEEN THERE FOR 4 DAYS AND YESTERDAY WE WERE INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED REPLACED. EXTREMELY LOW MILEAGE ON THIS MODEL & NO EXCUSE FOR THIS TRANSMISSION TO BE BAD ALREADY! IT APPEARS THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER REPORTS OF TRANSMISSIONS GOING BAD IN THE NISSAN MAXIMA, CAN THIS BE INVESTIGATED?? *TR
CVT NISSAN 2010 MAXIMA PROBLEMS & ISSUES ----THESE ARE RECORDED PROBLEMS WITH NISSAN'S NEW CVT TRANSMISSION ON NISSAN MAXIMA 2010. THE CVT EXHIBITS LOST OF POWER, HIGH RPM, LOUD WHINING NOISE, AND CVT GETS STUCK IN 6TH GEAR (WON'T DOWN SHIFT) IN MANUAL AND DRIVE MODE. THE CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE AT HIGH SPEEDS AND GIVES A P1778 CODE (OTHER CODES AS WELL). . THIS CVT TRANSMISSION SUCKS. I TOOK IT TO FOUR DEALERSHIPS. I WAS TOLD NOTHING IS WRONG. THE CAR WAS FINALLY DIAGNOSED WITH "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON". THE ERROR CODE 1778 &. FOUR OTHER CODES WERE PULLED IN TOTAL. THE OVERALL DIAGNOSIS IS "COMPLETE CVT TRANSMISSION FAILURE"I CONTACTED NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS. THE CODE OCCURRED AT 44K, 65K, 85K MILES, AND 94K MILES, AND EACH TIME IT WAS UNDIAGNOSABLE SINCE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DID NOT STAY ON. I WAS ABLE TO GET THIS DIAGNOSED WITH A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON AT 124,000 MILES. AT NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS I SPOKE WITH MEGAN, JUANITA AND THEN CALLIA FROM THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH (SO SHE SAYS - SHE WAS A TELEPHONE REPRESENTATIVE). ALL OF THESE NISSAN REPS HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF NISSAN ENGINES OR CVT'S. CONSUMER AFFAIRS REFUSED TO BELIEVE THAT THE DEALERS REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM EXISTS, EVEN DESPITE THE TSB'S, WARRANTY EXTENSION, NUMEROUS CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS, AND MY NUMEROUS CALLS OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS TO NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS. ALL IN ALL THEY DID NOT EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THE ONGOING ISSUES WITH THE CVT. THESE NISSAN DEALERS, NISSAN SERVICE DEPARTMENTS, AND NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS ARE CROOKS --- I WOULD ADVISE ANYONE TO NOT BUY NISSAN CARS. IF YOU DO HAVE TO BUY A NISSAN BEWARE THAT THEY WILL TRY TO RIP YOU OFF AT EVERY DIAGNOSIS AND DECISION POINT ON THEIR PART. I AM VERY SORRY TO SAY. I USED TO THINK NISSAN WAS A GOOD COMPANY. HTTP://YOUTU.BE/PD9ZDCU9EYM HTTP://YOUTU.BE/8V9LHH8KROS HTTP://YOUTU.BE/BTKFBFWJLSG. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026