Other engine problem on the 2009 Nissan Maxima
When other engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2009 Nissan Maxima report other engine problem at a median of 95,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 80,000 miles and a quarter after 125,000 miles, from 9 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 11th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 75,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 145,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 70,200 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
0% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72,600 miles | 82,000 miles | 96,487 miles | 125,876 miles | 142,800 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 $300–$4,000 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 20 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 1997, at a median of 20,000 miles, and latest on the 2002 at 110,000 miles.
By volume the 2003 carries the most reports, with 67; the 2009 has 10. 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.
I started my car just fine this morning but on my way to work I stopped at a store and the car did not want to start back up. I changed out the battery for the push start key and the car battery. This problem from what I have been reading is an issue with the 2009 maxima 370z and the gtr. They have the same parts for the ignition systems. Please fix this problem. I'm from texas but work as a contractor in pennsylvania. I love my maxima and it's a shame that I have been stuck in the cold for 5 hours trying to get a tow truck and talking to my insurance. Thank you. *tr
I pulled out of my complex I had only driven 1/4 of a mile at a rate of 40 MPH and my vehicle started running very rough the service engine soon light started flashing and all the sudden my vehicle lost power I was unable to control the steering and very hard to brake. I pulled the vehicle off the road. I was able to get the vehicle going again so I drove right back home. I referenced my owners manual and it stated when the check engine soon light is flashing to take the vehicle to the nearest service facility. I had my vehicle towed to the service department the next day. The service dept notified me that I need a new engine. They stated this is very unusual and that the problem was not my fault and when they took the top part of the engine off my motor is very clean and they can tell that I took great car of my vehicle. I contacted nissan to see if they would cover the repair since the vehicle is just 3,000 miles out of warranty. Approx 48 hrs later nissan called to advise me they can't help me with the cost of my repairs over $9,000. This is very dangerous and needless to say very unfair for the consumer. *tr
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 nissan maxima. The contact stated that after the vehicle was serviced, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a part store, where it was diagnosed that the cam shaft, dtc, ABS sensor, and engine speed shift circuit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 98,000.
Also reported on the 2009 Nissan Maxima
No-start or intermittent start failure
Other steering problem
Steering column or shaft failure
Other electrical problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other body or interior problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 10 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 other engine problem happen on the 2009 Nissan Maxima?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 95,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 80,000 miles and a quarter after 125,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2009 Nissan Maxima?
10 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 1.5 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