Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Nissan Maxima owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My brakes dont work unless my 3 dashboard lights come on. Slip, tcs and abs. Sometimes I forget and drive off. When I brake at the light you could here the wires buzzing as if there was a short circuit. Finally on my passenger side in the 'back, the tire was wiggling and noticed some lugs were missing plus the hubs lugs were loose. I haven' t taken to go get it inspected because I dont have money at the moment.
While casually driving, hands on steering wheel, foot on accelerator, asphalt road slightly damp but not wet, on a two way street with no reason to expect a sudden crisis, the aba brakes on my 2006 Maxima suddenly locked throwing the rear end of the vehicle into a slide facing oncoming traffic which at this time there happened to be none. When I felt the sudden action, which was like I had run into an invisible wall, I then hit the brakes attempting to stop the vehicle. The steering wheel seemed to float with no control of the direction headed. The car continued to accelerate instead of braking. This sent the vehicle back across to the right side of the road into a concrete curb and over into a grassy area before the car came to a stop. Only exterior minor damage from hitting a small sign post. …
Over a week ago I started noticing that the ABS was turning on during normal braking and while simply driving. So I took it to the mechanic and they thought one of the sensors was out. They replaced the sensor that wasn't reading correctly with the other tire speeds for $385. After I picked up the car, the problem was not fixed. I then returned the car the local mechanic and after much research and speaking with Nissan, they concluded that the ABS module needed to be replaced and it was a very common problem for this particular vehicle. I have done research online and it proved that there are many others with this same issue. Nissan put out a service bulletin about this very issue, but never offered to fix the issue via a recall and etc. I am currently looking at having to have the module replaced, which is going to be close to $2,000. …
I bought this 2006 Nissan Maxima sl with 137,806 miles. I drove it home. The next day, it would not start, I went and bought a battery, on the way the service engine soon light came on., then the TCS and slip light came on. Took it to a mechanic shop, he keep it almost 4 weeks, and then told me it was not worth fixing/repairing it. I could not believe, I just spent over $4,000.00 on this car and I only drove it home!!, I took it to another well known mechanic shop, he tells me that it needs a new transmission, motor mounts, sensors and probably more. It is not worth fixing it. I am a 57 year old lady and I dont have the money to buy another car and I dont have the money to fix it. I hear that these cars have alot of transmission problems and more. I wish I had known that before buying it.
ABS, trc,brake, stability light on, car jumps when braking and loud noise when breaking 25mph and lower. Dealer refuse to do the repair under warranty, this is a large problem for nisan owners. Cost of repair 2-3000.00
I have a 2006 Nissan Maxima. On Saturday the 23rd of January I was driving it home and noticed that the brakes felt spongy. No light was on, but I did hear a strange noise. I took it to an independent shop who recommended changing out the brakes and rotors, which I had done on all 4 corners. I took it home, and the next day when I tried to stop it made a clunking noise and the antilock system started pushing against the brake pedal. This was on dry pavement and the braking distance was severely compromised. I took it back to the shop and they checked it out, and found a TSB that Nissan has out for these cars. Corrosion or sediment builds up inside the wheel hub where the antilock sensor ring is located, and sends out false signals. In my case the hub had to be cleaned and the sensor replaced. I took it to a Nissan dealer who performed all the repairs. …
I purchased my 06' Maxima in 08' I had it for about 2 months and the cd player doesnt play any thing it skips spits the cd out and an error mesg. Comes up. I took it to the dealer and they "fixed it" so they say 1 week later it starts with the same issue I called and they said they can do anything about it maybe its the cd. So I never got that issue fixed. An other issue is my car has about 70K miles and every time the car goes 20-30 MPH it has a hard hit to change gears every time. My car get serviced every 3-4 months and now I need a new tranmission!! I only work about 20 miles from where I live how can that be? Also I had to replace some kind of brake part. Every time I went to brake the car made this noise and it started to shake the sound was this grinding sound then an other sound started like when you press the brakes and the roads are wet. But shaking real bad. …
Just driving along, my boyfriend as the driver, and I as the passenger, and as he applied the brakes, there was a loud clanging/rapping sound out of the blue, whereas it scared me so, that I thought I was going to have a heart attack. It would then happen again and again. Then I started to notice a low hum (ABS controller), just prior to this happening. So I researched this on the internet, and suspected the ABS. I then entered 2006 Nissan Maxima ABS, and bam...all over the net were testimonies of ABS failure (where debris gets trapped in the rear hubs, with no escape). Living in pa, with harsh winter road conditions, an accident waiting to happen ...this scares me! Nissan is aware of this serious and expensive defect, and a TSB was sent to the dealership service departments. A Nissan certified tech said to stop driving the vehicle, so I did until I got it to my mechanic. …
My wife was driving home in our Maxima from work and when she pushed the brake pedal it felt very soft and the pedal travel was a lot more than normal. She was afraid to drive the car and stopped at a friends house and called me at work to come and look at the car. I drove it and noticed also that the brake pedal was much softer and the brake pedal went farther to the floor. No warning lights were on in the car. The car would stop when I braked hard so I decided to drive about 5 miles to our Nissan dealer. While driving there I heard a clunk/thump sound several times from under the car and the car would slow down and shudder a bit. I had to push the gas pedal down a lot more than normal to get the car up to 50 MPH. The Nissan dealer found that the both rear ABS sensors were failing. They said the ABS sensors were rubbing on debris which had accumulated in the hub cavity. …
Brake "actuator" started humming or running as soon as car ('06 Nissan Maxima se) was turned on away from home. Continued to kick in ABS at every brake application creating unsafe (or at least not normal) braking situations and continued to run when car was shut off. ABS light, TCS light, and slip light all activated continually. Codes c1110 & c1105 & c1106 were present after scanning at local garage. Battery drained after car shut off due to actuator continuing to run with car shut off. Per research and other TSB or Nissan-issued technical bulletins, the rear hub ABS sensor frequently malfunctions due to a design flaw in the car. If driven while malfunctioning (as in this case) the controller/actuator May malfunction. Turning off "ABS" while driving seems to keep the actuator from running, but also makes driving less safe, especially in inclement weather due to turning off TCS/ABS. …
Brake complaints in other Maxima years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2006 Nissan Maxima?
NHTSA has 59 complaints about the brakes of the 2006 Nissan Maxima, 10% of the model year's 576 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Nissan Maxima brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2006 Nissan Maxima, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2006 Nissan Maxima brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 62,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.