Overview & Reviews

Improved manual transmission shift feel (thanks to a shorter shift stroke), black-tone brake calipers, additional chrome accents inside and new softer leather upholstery. Auto-dimming outside mirrors are now available, and a new 12-volt power point resides at the base of the center stack.

• Roomy interior, lots of upscale options, sweet V6, available with a manual transmission.

• So-so center stack ergonomics, premium price without the premium nameplate.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 259.00

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  Vibrations!! (Not good vibrations)! - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By Stu from Scottsdale - September 18 - 10:00 am

  This is our 5th Maxima. Seems like its the first build in the USA. Every one of our Maximas was wonderful. The jury is out on this one. We have a vibration when the car exceeds 60MPH. The car has been fixed twice and the dealer says that were only feeling the road. Has anyone else experienced this? Being 64 the seat is a liitle too small for me but my wife is the main driver and she is comfortable. Otherwise we do like the car.

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  Great looks, no reliability - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By manny andujar - September 11 - 8:13 pm

  I have had my Maxima for about 3 years now and I love it. This car performs, as well as offer great style. I take care of my car and I would expect it to last. Sadly it has me fed up with its annoying problems such as when I put the cd player on, the left side speakers dont work, the transmission jumps, the back of the car spins out easily, there is even an annoying flickering sound. Sometimes it reeks like rotten eggs, and the steering radius is horrible. I love my car, and I might not ever part with it. It has only 40,000 miles and when I can afford it Im gonna have to get a new transmission, cat converter, cd player and new finger valves.

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  Transmission Gone @ 70K - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By Phil - September 5 - 6:16 pm

  I am very disappointed with my 2005 Nissan Maxima. My transmission is shot. Started around 60K.... been to the dealer several times. Nissan N America claims they are unaware of trans problems for this car. I know thats bull. Two many "Nissan Heads" are having this same problem. Is Nissan going to own up to this or what? This is my 3rd Max, unfortunately it will be my last! Mr Mech, do you have any advise for this $4,000 trans repair?

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  fast fun family ride - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By mrjustin24 - June 26 - 11:54 am

  We bought our Maxima used and got a great deal on it. It was super reliable, super fast and had plenty of space. This car was an awesome drive. The exterior design was great in its day but aged quickly I feel like. The dash design was stupid. The fake suede material on the dash didnt fool anyone into luxury. The rest of the car was great. We had no problem squeezing 29-30 mpg out on the highway after being told by the dealership it would never happen.

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  My 2005 Pearl-Xima - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By vkmaxima - May 28 - 1:04 pm

  Well my last review was in November 2010, and I must say my car is doing great. Even though it is 6 years old, I still get plenty of compliments. The ride quality, performance, and basic usability in this car has been awesome. I get about 24.7 MPG, on premium fuel, in mixed driving. City is about 19-23 MPG, and 30-33 MPG on the highway. As for the transmission, now that Ive realized, I should have checked the transmission oil often than rely on the manufactures recommendation. Its been over a year since the rebuilt, and she is still shifting smoothly. I do the oil change myself, and ONLY use Nissans K-Matic Oil. Do it yourself, its MUCH cheaper than having the dealer do it for you.

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  Love it, BUT....... - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By josh37 - February 7 - 8:42 pm

  I bought my 2005 Nissan Maxima SL with about 71000 miles on it, i now have 123000 on it. I LOVE the car and how it drives and looks. It has plenty of power. But, my transmission is slowly dieing on me. This is a common problem with these cars. I read the other day that, with these cars you have to change the transmission oil every 30,000 miles for it to last. I havent decieded if i am going to get ride of it yet, or just replace the transmission. If i decide just to replace the transmission, i will make sure to change the transmission oil every 30,000 miles, if not earlier. I truely love everthing about this car.

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  Sexy car - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By Ashlee - November 6 - 8:46 am

  I recently passed the 100K mark on the odometer and the problems have begun :( Randomly driving one night it felt like I was not going to stop while braking, it turns out Nissan diagnosed the ABS actuator pump as "bad". $ 2200 to fix, I had just put brand new front and rear brakes, new tires x 4, and a new battery. I have taken very good care maintenance wise, and Nissan will not work with me at all. Disappointed with the car? No- I am however very displeased with Nissan and not being willing to help me despite the technical service bulletins on NUMEROUS 2005 Maxima ABS actuator pumps :( Also have have both fog lights and head lights replaced at least 3-4 times each light!!!

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  2005 Maxima 6 speed manual - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By WHOA - September 25 - 10:33 pm

  Very Sporty car. Good Horse-power. Good torque. The rear window provides a restricted view but is otherwise fine. The unacceptable feature is that there is about a 1 second delay from accelerator release before engine starts to slow down. This requires rapid wear of clutch or shifting like a grandma. Nissan dealerships could not change this feature.

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  Dollar store paint - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By Mark - September 23 - 2:46 am

  My first Maxima... and last. Impressed with the ride, very confident and comfortable. Good upscale features like xenon headlights, electronic console display. However, comes up short in several respects. Bose stereo is a rip off - sounds boomy. Paint is extremely cheap and if I look close enough there are areas where the primer can be seen. The dealer, of course, says these are paint chips which they are not. I am confident Nissan used the best paint the dollar store had to offer. The metal is thin and when closing the doors the car sounds like a big tub. Drive by wire throttle system needs improvement - there is notable lag. Overall, not a value. European rivals are a better buy.

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  Not so happy - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By shooooz - September 16 - 8:23 am

  Bought it new and love the power. Sometimes its fun to drive--too bad its not on the road enough to have tons of fun driving it. Have had issues with the rotors/shaking in the back end, and issues with a creaking sound which has yet to be repaired after the 3rd attempt. Not to mention the two recalls......just hard to have fun owning a car with so many issues. Im disappointed to say the least with Nissans performance on this one!