Problems owners report
Complaints filed with NHTSA about the 2002 Nissan Maxima, by the system named in each complaint. One complaint can name several.
- Engine and engine cooling30
- Air bags29
- Vehicle speed control23
- Exterior lighting22
- Electrical system22
- Engine19
- Service brakes, hydraulic17
- Power train14
- Suspension13
- Steering11
NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026 · 23 injuries and 6 deaths reported
Compared with other years
NHTSA ODI complaints by model year
Fatal crashes in the US
From 2020 to 2023, 22 2002 Maxima vehicles were involved in crashes on US public roads in which someone died; 17 people died inside them, and 5 of the vehicles rolled over. This is a count, not a crash rate: it grows with the number of cars on the road.
NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), crash years 2020–2023 (public domain)
New York safety inspections
At its first New York inspection the 2002 Nissan Maxima failed the safety check 1.81% of the time — 10% less often than the average 2002 passenger car (2.00%). Median odometer at inspection: 129,326 miles.
NY DMV Vehicle Inspections (vezn-fmmk), initial inspections since Aug 2021 · how we count
In the United Kingdom
9 cars built in 2002 were licensed for the road at the end of 2025, and 5 more were declared off the road (SORN).
Department for Transport and DVLA, vehicle licensing statistics (table VEH0124, year of manufacture) · Open Government Licence v3.0
In Finland
108 of these cars first registered in 2002 were in use in Finland on 30 Jun 2026, with an average of 274,000 km on the odometer at their last inspection.
Traficom (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency), open data on vehicles in use · CC BY 4.0
In New Zealand
348 2002 cars are on the New Zealand register.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Motor Vehicle Register (March 2026) · CC BY 4.0
Fuel consumption
Official Canadian test results for 2 variants: combined 11.1–11.9 L/100 km (about 20–21 mpg US), CO₂ 255–274 g/km.
| Variant | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maxima · Mid-size · Regular gasoline | 12.7 | 9.1 | 11.1 |
| Maxima · Mid-size · Regular gasoline | 13.6 | 9.8 | 11.9 |
Litres per 100 km. Natural Resources Canada, Fuel consumption ratings (open.canada.ca) · Open Government Licence – Canada
Recalls in Canada
6 Transport Canada recalls for the 2002 Nissan Maxima.
| 2020003 10 Jan 2020 | Airbag Issue: This recall is for certain vehicles that had an airbag inflator replaced as a part of an earlier recall campaign. This recall provides a final repair. … |
| 2014272 2 Jul 2014 | Airbag On certain vehicles, the passenger (frontal) airbag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure during airbag deployment. Increased pressure may cause t… |
| 2013117 11 Apr 2013 | Airbag On certain vehicles, the passenger (frontal) airbag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure during airbag deployment. Increased pressure may cause t… |
| 2003267 5 Nov 2003 | Engine On certain vehicles, the circuit board for the crank position sensor may have an improper solder joint. This could cause the Service Engine Soon warning light … |
| 2002088 29 May 2002 | Suspension On certain vehicles the pin at the inboard end of the front lower control arm may break. This may result in difficulty in directional control and tire contact w… |
| 2002022 14 Feb 2002 | Other Certain passenger vehicles equipped with an electronic throttle control system. The stopper for the accelerator pedal will prevent excessive movement of the acc… |
Transport Canada Vehicle Recalls Database · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada
Recalls
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2001-2003 Maxima, 2002-2006 Sentra, 2002-2004 Pathfinder, 2007-2011 Versa Sedan and Versa Hatchback, 2001-2004 Infiniti I30 and I35, 2002-2003 Inifiniti QX4, 2003-2008 Infiniti FX35 and FX45 and 2006-2010 M35 and M45 vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated, frontal passenger air bag inflators containing phase stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant that were used as interim remedy parts for previous Takata recalls. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2001-2003 Nissan Maxima, 2002-2004 Pathfinder, 2002-2006 Sentra, 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4 and I35, 2003 FX35 and FX45, and 2001 I30 vehicles. Upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE CIRCUIT BOARD FOR THE CRANK POSITION SENSOR OR CAM POSITION SENSOR MAY HAVE AN IMPROPER SOLDER JOINT DUE TO SOLDER DEFORMATION CAUSED BY HEAT STRESS ACCELERATED BY THE EXISTENCE OF FLUX RESIDUE DURING THE SOLDERING PROCESS.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE PIN AT THE END OF THE FRONT SUSPENSION TRANSVERSE LINK (LOWER CONTROL ARM) COULD BREAK WHERE IT IS MOUNTED TO THE FRAME.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AN ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM, THE STOPPER FOR THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WILL PREVENT EXCESSIVE MOVEMENT OF THE ACCELERATOR POSITION SENSOR. IF THE DRIVER APPLIES OVERLY EXCESSIVE FORCE TO THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WHILE AT THE SAME TIME PUSHING IT TO THE RIGHT, THE PEDAL CAN "OVER TRAVEL" DUE TO THE DESIGN OF THE PEDAL STOPPER.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM, THE ODOMETER IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES REGISTERS DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS INSTEAD OF MILES AS IS SPECIFIED IN THE DESIGN. THE ODOMETER DOES NOT HAVE A LABEL THAT INDICATES "KILOMETERS" OR "KM" AS REQUIRED BY FMVSS NO. 101, "CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS."
Whether a recall was fixed on a particular car is known only to the manufacturer: check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
NHTSA recalls · summaries in NHTSA's own words
Service bulletins
What Nissan told its dealers about the 2002 Nissan Maxima: known faults, fixes and updates.
| Bulletin | Summary |
|---|---|
| 635812 | SOME VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT A HOWL OR GROAN NOISE AS THE CLUTCH PEDAL IS RELEASED. *TT |
| 635806 | SUBJECT REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF THE XENON HEADLAMP CONNECTOR REPLACEMENT KIT. *TT |
| 635081 | SUBJECT REGARDING VQ ENGINE WATER PUMP O-RING. *TT |
| 635076 | MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP ON WITH REAR 02 SENSOR DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES P0138, P0139, P0158, P0159, P1147 AND P1167 SET. *TT |
| 633662 | SUBJECT REGARDING DRIVERS POWER SEAT WILL NOT MOVE FORWARD OR BACKWARD. *JG |
| 633647 | SUBJECT REGARDING HOWL NOISE WHEN CLUTCH IS RELEASED. *JG |
| 633613 | SUBJECT REGARDING DRIVERS POWER SEAT WILL NOT MOVE FORWARD OR BACKWARD. *JG |
| 633599 | SUBJECT REGARDING REAR SUSPENSION BOTTOMS OUT. *JG |
| 631935 | SUBJECT REGARDING SUNROOF OPERATION. *SLC |
| 631716 | SUBJECT REGARDING RADIO STATIC NOISE. *SLC |
| 630807 | INFORMATION REGARDING CLUNK, RATTLE, OR KNOCKING NOISE FROM REAR CALIPER.*JB |
| 629426 | SUBJECT REGARDING CLUNK, RATTLE, OR KNOCKING NOISE FROM REAR BRAKE CALIPER.*JB |
| 629419 | CONCERNS WITH ALL DOORS INTERMITTENTLY LOCKING BY THEMSELVES. *JB |
| 628217 | SUBJECT REGARDING VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN FOR ODOMETER REPLACEMENT. *JG |
| 628189 | SUBJECT REGARDING NAVIGATION SYSTEM DISPLAY FREEZE, UN-INITIATED RE-ROUTING, AND NO VICE GUIDANCE SYMPTOMS. *JG |
| 627461 | SUBJECT REGARDING MALFUNCTION IDICATOR LAMP "ON" WITH DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE P0228 AND/OR P1228 (ACCELERATOT PEDAL POSITION SENSOR) STORED. *JG |
| 627437 | SUBJECT REGARDING STATIC RADIO NOISE CAUSED BY IGNITION COILS. *JG |
| 625929 | SUBJECT REGARDING ACCELERATOR PEDAL POSITION. *JG |
| 625516 | SERVICE INFORMATION REGARDING REAR CALIPER CLUNK, RATTHER, OR KNOCKING NOISE. *TT |
| 624020 | INFORMATION ON VALVE SHIM LIFTER SET.*JB |
| 621978 | SOME VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT A NAVIGATION SYSTEM DISPLAY THAT FREEZES, UN-INITIATED RE-ROUTING, AND / OR NO VOICE GUIDANCE SYMPTOMS. *TT |
| 11004962 | VEHICLE KEY NOT DETECTED / AUTHENTICATED, ENGINE WILL NOT START This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 11001201 | WINDOW GLASS WARRANTY INFORMATION This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 11001194 | REMOVING FOREIGN MATERIAL FROM THE WINDOW GLASS This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
| 11001191 | WINDSHIELD CRACKING This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. |
NHTSA manufacturer communications (public domain)
NHTSA investigations
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation