NISSAN MAXIMA · model year

2020 NISSAN MAXIMA

32 NHTSA complaints, 2 crash reports, and 1 active recall for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

5 / 5 ★

New Car Assessment Program

The 2020NISSANMAXIMA carries 32 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 2 crashes, 0 fires, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 5/5 rating, with 5/5 front crash, 5/5 side crash, and 5/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2020 MAXIMA is structure:body with 4 filings, followed by forward collision avoidance: automatic emergency braking (3) and service brakes (2). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 1 active recall campaign, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 3 investigation files overlapping the 2020 MAXIMA. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

32
Complaints
2
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths
2020 NISSAN MAXIMA — NHTSA crash-test profile NHTSA NCAP crash-test star ratings for the 2020 NISSAN MAXIMA. Overall composite: 5.0 of 5 stars across 3 safety dimensions. Front CrashSide CrashRollover 5.0 NHTSA NCAP of 5 stars
  • Front Crash 5.0 ★
  • Side Crash 5.0 ★
  • Rollover 5.0 ★
NHTSA overall 5.0/5 stars, with front-crash, side-crash and rollover ratings from standardized NCAP barrier and dynamic tests.

Total Complaints

32 filings

Crashes Reported

2 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

NHTSA NCAP overall: 5/5 — Top NCAP rating · Front: 5/5 · Side: 5/5 · Rollover: 5/5

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
STRUCTURE:BODY4
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING3
SERVICE BRAKES2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM2
POWER TRAIN2
UNKNOWN OR OTHER2
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS2
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM1
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES1
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA1
VISIBILITY/WIPER1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC1
PARKING BRAKE1
PARKING BRAKE:ELECTRICAL1
BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING1

Recalls (1)

20V57000022/09/2020

VISIBILITY:GLASS, SIDE/REAR

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020 Altima, Maxima and Leaf vehicles. The rear window glass may not remain properly secured to the vehicle.

Recent Complaints

20250825POWER TRAIN

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The vehicle jerked before stalling in the middle of the road. No warning lights were illuminated. The Police were called to block traffic. The vehicle was towed. The tow truck driver had issues while attempting to tow the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the vehicle failed to start. The contact would turn on the engine, and several minutes later, the vehicle stalled. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. It was unknown if the contact's husband had replaced the battery. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was informed that the vehicle warranty had expired. The fa

Mileage: 106,000

20250825ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The vehicle jerked before stalling in the middle of the road. No warning lights were illuminated. The Police were called to block traffic. The vehicle was towed. The tow truck driver had issues while attempting to tow the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the vehicle failed to start. The contact would turn on the engine, and several minutes later, the vehicle stalled. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. It was unknown if the contact's husband had replaced the battery. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was informed that the vehicle warranty had expired. The fa

Mileage: 106,000

20250528FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

When I start driving the front collision light comes on and off and then they'll stay on

20250528FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

When I start driving the front collision light comes on and off and then they'll stay on

20250226STEERING

Nissan dealership said the front control arms are cracking and recommended having them replaced.

20250226UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Nissan dealership said the front control arms are cracking and recommended having them replaced.

20240831FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

Forward collision warning turns on about 20 seconds after the car starts. There was no accident or obstructions to the sensors, this apperas to just be equipment failure on a car with only 30k miles on it.

20240831FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

Forward collision warning turns on about 20 seconds after the car starts. There was no accident or obstructions to the sensors, this apperas to just be equipment failure on a car with only 30k miles on it.

20240422UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The sunroof inexplicably blew out while driving on a 3-lane interstate normally taken to work every day in the morning, windows were up. This movable portion of the sunroof is part of the panoramic sun roof. The sun shade was open, it is normally left open. Some small pieces of the glass fell onto me and seats but most was sucked up and away from the car. Thankfully, no glass hit me in the face and no cars were around me. I have rear cam footage of the glass flying out behind the car. Front footage shows nothing hit the car, no one was near enough to suspect otherwise. A picture is attached of what is left.

20240418FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

When I start driving, sometimes I randomly see Key System Error and DAS Malfunction. All other warnings such as emergency brake, traction control, blind spot detection light up. Engine RPM meter keeps going to 0 and back and forth (see video in the link below). When this happens, driver assistance features like forward collision warning, blind spot warning and lane departure warning stops working. Sometimes, I cannot turn off the engine by pressing the Stop Engine button. I have to hold the button for about 5 seconds to stop the engine. Sometimes there's a Chasis Control System error (Attached a picture from last year). This started happening about a year ago and has occurred at least a dozen times so far. I have taken this to different dealerships, and none have been able to identify the issue. I haven't had any accidents on collisions on this vehicle. Please see link below for a video of the behavior. You can see different warnings coming on and off in the video. [XXX] INFORMATIO

20240418LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

When I start driving, sometimes I randomly see Key System Error and DAS Malfunction. All other warnings such as emergency brake, traction control, blind spot detection light up. Engine RPM meter keeps going to 0 and back and forth (see video in the link below). When this happens, driver assistance features like forward collision warning, blind spot warning and lane departure warning stops working. Sometimes, I cannot turn off the engine by pressing the Stop Engine button. I have to hold the button for about 5 seconds to stop the engine. Sometimes there's a Chasis Control System error (Attached a picture from last year). This started happening about a year ago and has occurred at least a dozen times so far. I have taken this to different dealerships, and none have been able to identify the issue. I haven't had any accidents on collisions on this vehicle. Please see link below for a video of the behavior. You can see different warnings coming on and off in the video. [XXX] INFORMATIO

20240418LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING

When I start driving, sometimes I randomly see Key System Error and DAS Malfunction. All other warnings such as emergency brake, traction control, blind spot detection light up. Engine RPM meter keeps going to 0 and back and forth (see video in the link below). When this happens, driver assistance features like forward collision warning, blind spot warning and lane departure warning stops working. Sometimes, I cannot turn off the engine by pressing the Stop Engine button. I have to hold the button for about 5 seconds to stop the engine. Sometimes there's a Chasis Control System error (Attached a picture from last year). This started happening about a year ago and has occurred at least a dozen times so far. I have taken this to different dealerships, and none have been able to identify the issue. I haven't had any accidents on collisions on this vehicle. Please see link below for a video of the behavior. You can see different warnings coming on and off in the video. [XXX] INFORMATIO

20240412LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH and changing lanes, the hood unlatched, flew open and struck the windshield. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 84,214.

Mileage: 84,214

20240313STRUCTURE:BODY

Was getting into the car. As we closed the doors, we heard the sunroof shatter. the edges of the broken glass were pushed up as if the air pressure inside the car broke the glass. If the inside cover was open, we would have been showered in glass. The manufacturer inspected and replaced the glass.

20240201POWER TRAIN

My transmission is bad.

20230618STRUCTURE:BODY

1-Clips that secure the front grill and font quarter panels have broken for no apparent reason. 2-Body parts can fall off during driving if not repaired 3-Inspected at dealership 4-No warnings - the front camera looked "cloudy" because it had fallen when the grill clips broke and became loose The entire grill has to be replaced. All parts are on backorder with no date for restock. This is my daily driver with a mix of town and highway driving, so I typically drive 30-70 MPH daily and only about 10 miles per day to and from work. There is very little wear on this car, it has less than 12,000 miles on it and has not been involved in any collision.

20221103CrashAIR BAGS

Was at a four way stop. Other driver pulled out in front of me and I tried to not hit their vehicle but couldn’t avoid it. I was going around 15 miles per hour. The air bag discharged so hard it broke my windshield and injured my head, neck and lower back.

20220719STRUCTURE:BODY

The front passenger side A-pillar molding flew off while driving in windy weather. This piece could have hit another vehicle and impeded their vision while driving. The molding was not otherwise compromised.

20210924CrashAIR BAGS:SENSOR:FRONTAL IMPACT

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated the collision sensor system on the vehicle was malfunctioning, causing the vehicle to brake on its own while reversing in parallel parking. The contact stated the vehicle would always make buzzing sounds while parking. The contact stated while he was reversing out of a parking space on a hill, the vehicle inadvertently stopped, causing him to hit the vehicle in front of him. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000.

Mileage: 25,000

20210804SERVICE BRAKES

While driving 2020 Nissan Maxima Sv the emergency park brake light up and rear brake light up and traction control light up on dash and it act like it looses power and when you go to settings on sonar it big green light in front of car And check engine light came on

Compare 2020NISSANMAXIMA to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2020 NISSAN MAXIMA have?
The 2020 NISSAN MAXIMA has 32 NHTSA complaints, 2 crashes, 0 fires, 1 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What is the safety rating for the 2020 NISSAN MAXIMA?
The 2020 NISSAN MAXIMA received an overall NHTSA safety rating of 5/5, front crash rating of 5/5, side crash rating of 5/5, and rollover rating of 5/5.
Are there any recalls for the 2020 NISSAN MAXIMA?
Yes, the 2020 NISSAN MAXIMA has 1 recall(s). The most common affected component is VISIBILITY:GLASS, SIDE/REAR. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2020 NISSAN MAXIMA?
The most-complained component for the 2020 NISSAN MAXIMA is STRUCTURE:BODY with 4 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING and SERVICE BRAKES.
Is the 2020 NISSAN MAXIMA safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. The 2020 NISSAN MAXIMA has an NHTSA safety rating of 5/5. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.