NHTSA Complaint #11405810 — 2011 NISSAN MAXIMA

ON THE NIGHT OF FEBRUARY 16, MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING MY 2011 NISSAN MAXIMA WHEN SHE CAME TO A STOP AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN, SHE MOVED HER FOOT OFF THE BRAKE AND BEGAN TO ACCELERATE WHEN THE VEHICLE ALL OF A SUDDEN WOULD NOT MOVE. SHE APPLIED HER FOOT TO THE ACCELERATOR SEVERAL TIMES BUT THE VEHICLE STILL WOULD NOT MOVE. AFTER SEVERAL MORE ATTEMPTS, THE VEHICLE JERKED FORWARD IN A VIOLENT MANNER BUT LUCKILY, THERE WAS NO OTHER CAR AHEAD OF HER OR I'M AFRAID A MORE SERIOUS EVENT WOULD HAVE OCCURRED. THIS ALL HAPPENED RATHER ABRUPTLY, WITHOUT ANY ADVANCE WARNING OR INDICATION OF A POTENTIAL PROBLEM. THE NEXT DAY I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO MY LOCAL NISSAN SERVICE CENTER TO HAVE IT DIAGNOSED. THE TECHNICIAN INFORMED ME A CODE INDICATED 'TRANSMISSION FLUID PRESSURE LOW' (EVEN THOUGH IT CONTAINED PLENTY OF FLUID) AND ADVISED A COMPLETE TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT WAS NEEDED AT A COST OF $7,138. THIS WAS THE DIAGNOSIS DESPITE NO DASHBOARD WARNING OR SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT INDICATOR, AS I INDICATED ABOVE. UPON RETURNING HOME AND RESEARCHING THE ISSUE ONLINE, I DISCOVERED THAT THIS PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE VERY COMMON. I LEARNED THAT NISSAN HAS HAD MAJOR ISSUES WITH THE CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE TRANSMISSION (CVT), INCLUDING SEVERAL CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS AND OTHER LEGAL MATTERS WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY RESULTED IN NISSAN EXTENDING THE POWERTRAIN WARRANTY ON 2003-2010 NISSAN VEHICLES AND SETTLING OTHER LAWSUITS FOR NEWER MODEL VEHICLES. HOWEVER, MODEL YEARS 2011 AND 2012 WERE NOT COVERED UNDER THESE SETTLEMENTS DESPITE HAVING THE SAME EXACT CVT. I HAVE REACHED OUT TO NISSAN NORTH AMERICA BUT THEY HAVE NOT ACKNOWLEDGED LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY. SUCH A SHAME BECAUSE THE VEHICLE HAS NOT HAD ANY ISSUES UNTIL THIS INCIDENT. IT ONLY HAS 106,000 MILES BUT NOW I'M WORRIED ABOUT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF IT IS BEING DRIVEN.