Rust or structural corrosion on the 2008 Nissan Maxima
Only 3 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When rust or structural corrosion gets reported
There are 4 reports of rust or structural corrosion on the 2008 Nissan Maxima, 3 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 120,000 miles. It is the 5th most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 148,000 miles | — | — |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $500–$6,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 6 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2010, at a median of 30,000 miles, and latest on the 2008 at 150,000 miles.
By volume the 2006 carries the most reports, with 8; the 2008 has 4. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
The floor board on the driver's side is rusted through. This is a safety hazard and I have contacted nissan to see if they would assist in covering the repairs. I contacted nissan and I was told by [xxx] that "nissan could not offer any assistance for the repairs...it is just too far out of warranty." my vehicle is only six years old and after additional research have found that rusted out floors are quickly becoming a problem for nissan. My goal here is to make sure others are aware of this problem that nissan is ignoring. I would like nissan to repair my vehicle without charge to me. Any assistance or advice you can give me will be appreciated. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr
My 2008 nissan maxima sl floorboards have rusted on both the driver and passenger sides. The rust was so bad, the car would not pass the state of pennsylvania vehicle inspection. I had to have a body shop cut out the floorboards on both sides, weld in new supports, floorboard and then reseal and repair carpet. This was a defect as to the way the corrosion occurred, moisture trapped in between layers of flooring. In addition, it is not a place anyone normally examines, as most cars don't have this type of defect. The repair cost me $850, just so I felt safe in the vehicle and it would pass inspection. The company doing the repair told me all I had between my feet and the road was carpet liner.
I purchased this vehicle new in 2008. The vehicle is in excellent condition and has been serviced and washed on a regular basis. When I stepped into the passenger side I felt my foot sink into the passenger front floor board. I lifted the floor mat up and to my surprise I could push down on the carpet through the bottom of the vehicle. I checked the drivers front floor pan and observed the same corrosion. The only thing that will keep my feet in the car is the carpeting. I took it to a local body shop and they would not even work on it. After checking on the internet I was surprised to find so many complaints from consumers regarding the maxima and altima's. I now have a vehicle that is unsafe for the road and the integrity of the vehicle is in question.
Also reported on the 2008 Nissan Maxima
Other body or interior problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other powertrain problem
Other wheel or tire problem
Fuel pump failure
Other steering problem
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 4 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 4 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does rust or structural corrosion happen on the 2008 Nissan Maxima?
Across 3 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 150,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is rust or structural corrosion on the 2008 Nissan Maxima?
4 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed