Nissan Maxima J32 (2009-2013)

Everlasting – Bought in 2011 brand new. Since then I have put 247K on the clock. It never had major issue, never broke down. Just do the rergular service. Have replaced batteries 3 times, tyres twices, water Spay nozzles, as well as wind screen, driver seat(got from wrecker for $200), and air con condensor twice. They were all the time hit by rocks on the… Read more

motorway. Nissan should have put some barrier in the design. Eventually I got some aluminium mesh from Bunnings tired on some existing clamps in front of the engine.

I have been expecting this car falling apart one day and then I can treat myself with a new car. However, it never failed for so many years. So people say a Toyota will never ever break down. I believe a Maxima is almost the same. I will keep driving my one till half a million on clock, then think about sending to wrecker.

My first car! It's been a privilege driving this – My family has had this car since I was 9 years old and It was finally handed to me when I got my probationary license in 2018. My review is a bit different than the others, given that I'm a P-plater and and naturally an idiot, I've used it (and perhaps abused) as if it's a sporty hot hatch. The reliability of this car is absolutely bonkers,… Read more

I've floored it pretty much every time I've been in it for the past 50,000 kms, I've taken corners way too fast, I've done jumps, taken it offroad, I've done slides in the rain, and if you can name it I've done it in this car. Yet, after years of abuse, this car has not show any falters whatsoever - it's currently sitting at 130,000 km. Another wonder of this car is the chassis. It's extremely compliant and rides like a dream - yet, at the same time, it holds grip extremely well corners. Yes there's a fair bit of body roll but this car does not understeer, trust me, the back gives out before the front wheels do!

The hydraulic steering gives amazing feedback and confidence on the road and you feel where the wheels are all time.

The CVT transmission, though it does not have the best reputation is buttery smooth and super responsive when pressing the gas pedal which further enhances the driving experience.

All and all I love this car, I've driven much more powerful cars upwards of 400 hp but this car will forever have a special place in my heart.

Best under rated car in australia .......Wish they can bring them back :( – Simply in love with this beast looking car .... Owed it for almost 3 years and she never miss any beat ............. 3.5 sts has all the bells and whistle that you will never find in camry or any of its contender ................ I just only wish they can bring them back x Show details

Best car I have ever owned!!! – I currently own the 350Ti Model and I couldn't speak high enough about it. I service and maintain the car myself and it is SUPER EASY to work on. I have never had any issues with it. It has never skipped a bit. Not the most economical option however with the bigger engine it is much smoother to drive than a l4 or boxer 4 cylinder. It honestly… Read more

costs me about $20 a week more on fuel compared to the l4 2.5L Altima which my dad owns, for the power and comfort its worth it my opinion. The only draw back is that it is not the best looking car out there but it certainly is great value for money for a second hand one. Under our ownership we have traveled around 180,000 km with all the creature comforts you will need. I would suggest to go for the top trim (350Ti) as it comes with the premium speakers, rear camera, sav nav, leather and a lot more.

Hope this was helpful.

Best car that l've owned – Bought the 2.5 ST-L new in 2011, and it has been absolutely faultless. Mainly used for highway driving, it's like a magic carpet ride. Although the engine is rated for 91 Octane petrol, I've found that it runs much better on 98 and the fuel consumption also improves from 34 to 38 mpg on the better fuel, which makes it only slightly more expensive… Read more

to fill with 98.

Servicing can be expensive if you follow Nissan's 6 month recommended schedule. I bailed out of that after the first year, accepting the risk of invalidating the warranty, and I now change the oil and filter every 2 years, which is usually about 18,000km. A set of tyres, a new battery after 6 years (as a precaution), and an air filter have been my only inputs. The local garage does the oil change for $90, including a safety check, and I supply the consumables (Castro Edge 5W-30). Brake pads were hardly worn at the 60,000km check.

I was cautious about the CVT at first, but it works brilliantly, and I particularly like the way that it chooses the right "gear" when manual mode is used, such as for descending hills. Performance on the highway is about the same as my wife's 2003 Mazda6, so not too bad at all.

Perfect – That's an amazing car, very smooth and reliable, leather interior made it very luxury and comfortable, the weakness point is dosen't have LCD and GPS, I have been using this car for less than 1 year and i never had any issues with that, in average I am really happy with this car  Show details

What a pleasant surprise! – Bought a 2011 model with 83000kms for just under $10k. What a beautiful car to drive! It's like a magic carpet ride with beautiful refinement, top quality build and a luxurious, spacious and functional leather interior. 2.5 V6 is a sweet spinning and glorious sounding engine. Bit of a cardigan car as far as image goes but i love every cossetting… Read more

drive in it! Uses about about 10 l/100km of 91 RON unleaded around town. Wasn't a big fan of CVT transmissions, but this is a perfect match with the beautiful baby V6. Great car. Highly underrated, luxurious and comfortable. It doesn't really have any sporting pretensions but that's not what the car is about. Perfect for a family of 5 for refined, luxurious and economical motoring and a huge boot too. Recommended as a safe, economical, spacious and excellent performing choice in a sea of less capable, less comfortable and more expensive SUVs.

Great car - but high cost serviicing – I bought this car new in 2013. It was the last year of production of this model. I had always considered this car to be the best car on the market, dollar for dollar, and I have not been let down. Similar cars from other manufacturers were typically $20000 to $30000 more expensive, but were no better or, more frequently, less well appointed. … Read more

The seats are genuine quality leather and are the most comfortable I have encountered. Most

people who use my passenger seat comment on how comfortable they are.

When you drive this car you feel you are in control. It has plenty of power and drives smoother

than any other car I have driven, regardless of the road surface. There is very little noise from the car

or road surface and, when idling, you wouldn't no the car was "on". In 4 years, this car hasn't missed a beat

and, like other Nissans I have owned, are scrupulously reliable.

The so called experts continually whine about the CVT automatic. However, while it takes a little time to get

used to , I find the CVT far superior to the conventional automatic transmission.

It has all the comfort options standard, including zoned A/C, cruise, electric powered seat adjustment,

front and rear fog lights and bluetooth. Push button start is another really handy feature and I would never

buy another car without this feature.

It has a huge boot and a full size spare, something a lot of buyers don't think about when car searching.

The one downside is not the car but the servicing. I normally check all costs when buying a car but, in

this instance, I unfortunately didn't.

The cost of fixed price servicing, compared to similar vehicles with other manufacturers, is extortionate.

And to exacerbate the problem, Nissan requires 6 monthly services to comply with your warranty requirements.

Several complaints to Nissan fell on deaf ears and they are, without doubt, the worst car manufacturer, customer

service wise, I have dealt with.

I believe that the 6 monthly service is no longer mandatory.

The Altima, the car that replaced the Maxima is, in my opinion inferior, particularly in interior fit-out quality.

I would certainly recommend this vehicle, but remember to check servicing costs before proceeding to buy.

Worthless warranty – I bought a new Patrol and after 30K the clutch gave up the ghost. Even though under warranty with a perfect service record, Nissan would not honour the warranty and quoted some small print in the warranty document. The clutch supposedly was a "spinning part". So yes, Nissan has a very bad record when it comes to honouring warranties!  Show details

Super reliable, bulletproof engine & transmission. Recommended! – The best thing about this car is just how reliable it is, even if not properly looked after. I have the 2009 J32 Ti model which is the flagship one with all the extras like sunroof, leather seats, sat/nav etc. My car currently has almost 170,000kms on it, and it has never missed a beat. While I certainly don't recommend this for any car of… Read more

obvious reason, recently I had been neglectful in getting it serviced, and it has done 40,000kms with only an oil change. And hasn't had any problems at all. Of course i'm not suggesting people try this and i'm booking it in for a full service now, but it does go to show how bulletproof the engine is.

I also really like the transmission. The CVT (Constantly Variable Transmission) is a very different feel to a normal transmission, as there are no gears to feel it jumping up. But once you get used to the ultra smooth acceleration without the usual underrevving/overrevving that a normal transmission does at each change. I was worried about the reliability of the transmission when I bought it, but so far so good.

Accessories wise, I haven't had a single thing fail on the car that I can think of.

The only thing negative I would have to say about the car is that it's not really an ideal car for carrying loads despite it's size. The back seats don't fold down at all, only a smallish section behind the centre back seat folds down so you can stick timber or the like through. And the boot is reasonably spacious, but has an odd shaped opening that can be awkward with bigger items. It also has a DVD player kind of suspended from the top of the boot that gets in the way sometimes. I have no idea why it's there, possibly to update the GPS software, but given there is also a CD/DVD player in the dash and another in the glovebox, that seems kind of weird.

Also worth noting that that the car has a lower recommended towing limit than most similar cars due to the type of transmission, and is also not recommended to use snow tires with.

For some people these could be deal breakers, but if these aren't a problem for you it's overall it's a rock solid, reliable, well built, fuel efficient, quiet, large comfortable car. Oh, and it's pretty quick too!

3.5 ST-S Best car. Very reliable and sturdy – I can't stress enough how reliable this car is. I have been having it for almost 7 years. I have never had a drama with this car. It's a pitty Nissan has discontinued it. I have only changed oil, filter and tyres in this car and till today it's costed me nothing more.  Show details

A very competent vehicle with some quirky feature choices – I purchased this Max for mainly country trips where a large sedan with lots of comfort features makes sense. Trips to Melbourne and Sydney prove it to be very comfortable and surprisingly economical. It is light for a big car and has great body strength judging from the way it handles rougher roads and the way the doors "clunk" shut. Nissan's… Read more

choice of options in the Ti has a few oddities - a strange kerb-side camera when heated external rear view mirrors would have been much more useful (with the kerb-side mirror tipping when reverse is engaged), manual dipping internal mirror, shut the engine down and the accessories turn off?, steering wheel reach is fixed (but it was easy to find a comfortable driving position). Sensational Bose sound system, but only single CD; integrates very well with an iPhone. The integral sat-nav system works well and has a charming voice that doesn't nag when you choose to go a way other than it has suggested - recovers its composure quickly too. Some accessory controls are in odd places, e.g. heated front seats turn on in the centre console box and the USB cable connect is buried there as well (seemingly upside-down and back to front). Nevertheless a very competent big Nissan and I expect several hundred thousand kilometres of pretty well trouble-free motoring based on experience with 5 previous Nissan products (1970s 2300, 2 Skylines, 1980s Bluebird, 2003 Pathfinder)

Likes - powerful engine, build quality, quiet and very smooth cruising, excellent sound system, 9l/100k fuel consumption.

Dislikes - it's never going to win a beauty contest, headlights lack penetration on high-beam, likes premium ULP.

8 months, 12,000 kms, a service and a new set of Michelin Primacy tyres later the Maxima is delivering comfortable and economical service. The Michelins replaced a cheap set of Chinese tyres, the principal virtue of which seemed to be the likelihood that they would never wear out. The tyres are much quieter on coarse road surfaces, wet weather grip is significantly improved and handling has improved to the point of almost being fun to drive - still a pretty disengaged driving experience though. Overall, a car that does a lot of things right and I can understand why people become attached.

Excellent Family Sedan – Good dynamic shape Lots of Luxury features, very good front passenger leg room,very decent 3 back adult passengers space enough bot space with a very affordable price.Amazing highway fuel average. No issue since bought new in 2010. Just cant stop in love when riding it. Highly recommended to drive it.  Show details

Nissan Maxima 2011 – We bought this as a near new second hand car. This is a roomy car which, by today's standards, is "large". It is built for comfort, not the racetrack. While not the "prettiest" of cars, it is extremely well-finished and gives every indication that it will last 10 years without problems. We live close to the beach where rust is a big problem but… Read more

not in this car. It's acceleration is fine and general handling is good. Around town, it uses about 10L per 100km. On the open road, economy is much better. The car does better all round when the low octane fuel is avoided.

My initial enthusiasm for this car has now waned. The top coat of the bonnet is peeling away from the ecoat (primer). I am assured that this is a factory error. after giving me the run around, Nissan Australia has rejected any responsibility because the vehicle is out of warranty at 4 years of age. No documentation from them and no named person making the decision. I will never buy another Nissan. This car is a real tourer. 4 adults on a 700km trip arrived refreshed. Its big backside provides a huge boot. Love the electric seats. Can't find any. It is a bit tight for some shopping centre car parks. If that is a problem for you, don't buy a big car!

Extraordinary value and quality – In 2000 I had a Maxima S as a company lease car. It performed superbly and when the 3-year lease ended a work colleague bought it off the lease company (I loved the Maxima but for personal reasons I then bought a different car.) My colleague kept it until 2011 and in all that time nothing at all went wrong. In January 2010 I bought a new 2009… Read more

model 350STS, which I still have. Everyone who rides in it remarks on the comfort and spaciousness. It has plenty of performance and consistently returns between 9.0 and 9.7 l/100km. On the open road this drops to below 8.0 l/100km. Given the other excellent qualities of the car the consumption is acceptable. This model has full leather seats and the clean design of the fascia and controls is simply elegant. Boot space is phenomenal. The optional dealer-fitted Nissan towbar is neat, and easy to put on and take off. The car has just completed 100,000km and in five years there has been just one single fault. Early in its life, on two occasions, the engine surged when I applied the brakes, which was alarming. I reported this at the next service and the fault disappeared.

What a Car, What Value – I am a HUGE Nissan fan and the Maxima is a big favourite. My 1997 model was still driving well, still looked pretty good, but was getting a little tired, with normal wear-n-tear updates becoming more frequently necessary. I was ready for an update and maybe even a major change. I was headed for an Audi A4. Just as an exercise, I dropped in to my… Read more ·  1

local FTG Nissan dealer for a last look at the GTR (and a 370Z), was politely convinced to also have a last look at the last two 2013/14 350 Ti Maxima's on the lot. I had sat in earlier models but not this one. At close range and with an open mind/eye, I was more than a little surprised at how well the thing look, especially the interior. Then I sat in it, Wow!

Russell got me to switch the ignition to Acc and started to show me the features. I am pretty one-eyed when it comes to sound, even in a car and had just spent $700+ on upgrading the radio and speakers in my 30GV to a unit with inbuilt satnav, DVD, iPod, USB connections, external digital tv tuner (with twin antennas) and just about every feature you could want in a single-din, roll-away screen unit. I thought I finally had a good setup. This new 350 Ti beast has an 11 spkr, 5.1 Bose surround sound system (with separate amps for each pair) with a DVD player in it. And the drive decodes DTS, now what car player does that? Not only that, but with a 10Gb HDD stashed somewhere under the dash, rather than stacking multiple CD's into its innards, when you drop in a new CD, at the touch of the screen (or automatically, depending on your settings), it rips the CD to the HDD. I currently have about 40 CD's ripped. You can play the DVD sound track while driving and when you stop, the video comes back. Of course it also receives digital and FM radio signals, plays images, videos and music from a USB stick too.

The parking cameras are fun too. The guides bend with the wheels. There is a 2nd camera mounted below the passenger-side mirror, which gives you side clearance views.

The CVT transmission has its very minor latency quirks at the lights, but is still pretty neat, and talk about smooth changes, it's great. The vehicle is so quiet, even on some of the noisiest roads, you can have a very quiet conversation, or listen to lounge music, without anything/anyone screaming. It also has a thing called VTC, which equates to traction control. This large and heavy car takes 50Km bends at 100Km/hr with barely a hint of roll (still legally of course).

The glovebox... I lost my arm in their looking for stuff I had tossed in. The boot/trunk... OMG, when I opened it for the first time, I swear and family of six climbed out and put up their BBQ setting and had picnic.

Yes it has the obligatory Ti sunroof (had one on my 30Gv, hardly used). The rear window also has a sun shade, hit a button under the dash and up it rolls. The headlights have a cute feature (or two). In Auto mode, they adjust their height angle to compensate for load level changes in the car. They also have this thing that, at night with lights on, as you round bends and turn corners, the light that is closest to the inside of the curve (the direction you are curving to) follows the wheels and changes direction, to give you a spot that fills out what would normally be in shadow. On returning to straight and level, this spot follows the wheel angle back to centre. Non of this was mentioned during the into and road test I had before slamming my credit card on the table.

The final clincher to me dropping the A4 'dream' was that I would also be saving more than $25,000 by buying this 'previously executive only owned' vehicle. It had less than 9Km on the clock, so was effectively new. It looked new everywhere. The black stitched leather was tight and unmarked. The driver's floor mat was unblemished by heavy boot wear.

I haven't mentioned the electric seats... they can be heated individually, the driver seat has two memory positions for forward/back, up/down/tilt. If the seat is in a forward position when the door is opened, it moves back to give wider entry/exit access and reverts back to the stored position when the door is shut. It is a keyless system, which means the key stays in your pocket. If you move away from the vehicle without locking it, it locks itself after about 5 minutes. I am sure a lot of these features are available on a lot of other high-end cars, but at the price I paid, never. I got my C250/A4 price/standard equivalent vehicle at a Corona price.

To wrap this up, I have always been an admirer of Japanese-made Nissan vehicles. I had owned 5 before the 350 Ti, the original Bluebird (about as big as a handbag), the 1600 wagon (sold after 5 years for about half the buy price to a rally driver), a bigger Bluebird, a 240K and the 30Gv. They were all outstanding performers for their class. None ever failed me, so my only hesitation for not looking at this 'last of their breed' Maxima was that I knew they were now obsolete, would not be new and I don't like buying 2nd-hand and someone else's problems, it never works out. This choice however was a no-brainer. It was simply too good to pass up.

I love it and thank the dealer everyday for being persistent in his intention to show me the car. Fast, smooth, quiet, all the trimmings, great sound system I had to add a tow bar (hidden) and roof rack (which stays off mostly)

Maxima 250 STL - very good – Brand new 2013 model. The last of the Maxima's to sell in Oz. Outstanding value. Lux ride. Excellent fuel economy. Smooth spinning baby V6. Next gen CVT transmission. Always wanted a Maxima since 1996. Got the best of them all. New shape is on the money. Grand tourer. Quality build. Economy; leather everywhere; CVT transmission; V6 engine; comfort.  Show details ·  2

I will never buy a Nissan car ever again!! – We bought a 2011 Nissan Maxima in Jan 2013 for $18'000 from Nissan Springwood. We purchased an extended warranty as well even though it still had a year left on the new car warranty. It ran well, quite greedy on petrol but a nice driving car. Then in November 2013 the MIL light came on. I took it straight to the local Nissan Dealership - who… Read more

informed us the piston rings needed to be replaced. In fact the whole engine needed replaced at the cost of $10,000 and take 2 months to be shipped from Japan. We thought, ok its under its new car warranty. We were then told, that due to the poor service history of the car prior to us purchasing it, the warranty was void and we would have to cover the costs. It was no longer covered by the extended warranty neither. We couldn't afford $10,000 as we are still paying the $18,000 from the purchase only 11 months ago. I wrote to Nissan who basically shrugged their shoulders saying, it was our fault for buying a second hand car!!! It is 2 years old. It's new car warranty is still in place and the extended warranty is meant to cover us for 5 years. The warranty is not worth the paper it's written on. So we had the oil and filter changed and the MIL light has went off, but it still billows smoke every time I start the engine. So on top of the $18,000 we are paying for a damaged car, we either pay $10,000 for a new engine, drive a car that has smoke coming out of it like batman or buy a new car.

When we do buy a new car, it will definitely NOT be a Nissan.

Underhand sales man who sold it to us with a worthless extended warranty.

Nissan Maxima J32 Ti – What excellent value for money ! Sat nav, Bose sound system, DVD player, sunroof, electric (and heated) front seats, bluetooth, cruise, everthing I wanted and not an optional extra either. Magnificant smooth, powerfull yet economical engine/transmission package. Climate control air con works a treat is very hot weather to. Cavenous boot. … Read more

Very reasonable service costs.

Solid and well built. Value for money, extensive equipment levels, comfort, the quietness, powerful. They could have put in an alloy on the spare type.

Nissan Maxima 2012 – Bought a 2012 Nissan Maxima 250 STL. Smooth, all the gadgets to be excited about. Very very good price. Early days but the car looks are amazing with the features. Space inside the car is comforting. Engine is powerful enough to keep you in the 60 - 80 KMH race around the city area !! Electrically controlled front seats. Blue tooth connection… Read more

for mobile phone.

Plenty of boot space. Will fit 3 check-in flight suitcases as well and 3 hand luggages.

For anybody out there contemplating between a Honda / Hyundai, i would suggest a Nissan Maxima.

As a family, we are in love with the car.

After all the gadgets available, there is no 12V power output. We should use it through the cigarette lighter. The car designer should have forgot about this one!! We have ordered for a dual 12V input, which could plug in into the cigarette lighter. Should be alright.

Brilliant car in every way! – I purchased my Maxima 350 ST-S Series 3 in December 2011. I decided on a large V6 sedan after having a 2003 Toyota Avalon GXi MK3 and loved the space, comfort and power. After test driving other cars in the category (Honda Accord, Toyota Aurion, Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore) I decided the Maxima was the best value for money and the best… Read more

presented car overall. The styling of the Maxima is classy and striking. Though the V6 is not as powerful as the other cars, it still has a huge amount of grunt and has a deep throaty growl! The Maxima is a pleasure to drive while cruising freeways as well as in the city and on country roads. It handles all surfaces well. The features list is huge for the $40k price! From a Bose stereo to heated seats and push button start, it's endless! I would definitely recommend this car to anyone!!! Fantastic value for money, supremely comfortable and extremely quite. Loaded with heaps of features, very easy to drive! The engine is a dream! The only niggle is the tilt only steering wheel, apart from that, nothing!

Best value for money – This is the third Maxima I had, and by far the best one. Nothing much to complain about this 2011 J32. Engine is a bit smaller than the previous ones I had, but by linking it to the CVT transmission, it feels like every bit of power and torque is squeezed out of it. Never at any point felt it's underpowered. What I like best is obviously the price… Read more ·  1

tag. For under 30k new really I couldn't find anything as decent as this car in the market. I guess I will hold on to it for a long time. Quiet, comfortable, economical (seldom over 10L/100km combined), plush, pretty, nimble. The steering column is tilt only, which makes it a bit hard to find a perfect driving position, especially for tall people.