The Lemon Index$2,000 middle bill · most between $1,900 and $2,600
Lower than the $2,500 middle bill owners of all 63 models reported.
Owners who gave their mileage: a middle of 75,000 miles (12 reports).
Nissan Maxima owners reported paying a median of $2,000 for a timing chain replacement, with the middle half of bills between $1,900 and $2,600. That's from 12 owner reports (12 complaints to NHTSA). Costs vary by shop and region.
What owners paid
- Under $5000%
- $500–$1,0000%
- $1,000–$2,50075%
- $2,500–$5,00017%
- $5,000 and up8%
Share of the 12 owner reports in each price band.
By model year
- 2004 Nissan Maxima5$3,000 middle bill
- 2005 Nissan Maxima1too few for a middle
- 2006 Nissan Maxima4$2,000 middle bill
- 2007 Nissan Maxima2too few for a middle
Reports per model year, with the middle bill where there are 3 or more. YouTube amounts count for the generation the video covers.
How often owners report the failure
- 2005 Nissan Maxima19 complaints name it2% of that year's complaints
- 2007 Nissan Maxima14 complaints name it11% of that year's complaints
Owner complaints to NHTSA whose own words name a timing chain. Raw counts: popular years get more complaints. A complaint is a report, not proof of a defect.
Engines in these years
Engines with a page of their own that this model was sold with in the years above. Owners don't always say which engine they had.
Engine codes that can lead here: P0016 P0017 P0008 P0018 P0019. A code is where a shop starts, not proof the part failed.
Keep going
- Nissan Maxima reliability by year
- Timing chain replacement cost on every car
- Car symptoms and what they can mean
Other repairs Nissan Maxima owners reported
Transmission replacement (84) · Ignition coil replacement (41) · Engine mount replacement (21) · Valve body replacement (13) · ABS module replacement (12) · Steering column repair (8) · Brake repair (7) · Camshaft position sensor replacement (6) · O2 sensor replacement (6) · Strut and shock replacement (5)
The details
How we count
Every number here is a repair bill an owner reported, never a shop's price list. Two sources: the bills owners wrote in their own complaints to the U.S. government (NHTSA), and the dollar amounts owners said out loud in YouTube repair and ownership videos. A figure counts for a repair when that repair is the part named nearest to it. Left out: purchase prices, payments, rentals, towing, warranties and deductibles, amounts under $50 or over $15,000, parts-only prices ("the part was $80 on Amazon"), bills for two different repairs named together, and money someone else paid. One number per complaint (or video) and repair: the biggest, so it's the bill, not the diagnosis fee.
The range is the middle half of the bills (the 25th to the 75th percentile), so one wild number can't swing it. Owners who complain to the government often had expensive repairs, so a typical bill can be lower. Costs vary by shop and region, by dealer vs independent shop, by parts and by miles. This is what owners reported, not a quote for your car.
Check the bills yourself
NHTSA complaint numbers (search them at nhtsa.gov): 11403107, 10851263, 10789959, 10664039, 10663759, 10487668, 10423177, 10397220, 10376530, 10362093, 10315528, 10258134.
Quick answers
How much does timing chain replacement cost on a Nissan Maxima?
Nissan Maxima owners reported a median of $2,000, and the middle half paid $1,900 to $2,600, from 12 owner reports. Costs vary by shop and region.
Is a Nissan Maxima timing chain replacement more expensive than on other cars?
The Nissan Maxima middle bill of $2,000 is lower than the $2,500 owners of all 63 models we have reports for paid.
Where do these Nissan Maxima repair costs come from?
From 12 complaints to NHTSA: what owners themselves said they paid. They aren't verified bills or a shop's quote.
Which Nissan Maxima years report this failure most?
In complaints to NHTSA, owners of the 2005 (19), 2007 (14) Nissan Maxima named it most. Raw counts, not a failure rate.
Sources: NHTSA owner complaints and YouTube videos (amounts said out loud), sorted by The Lemon Index. Owner reports, not a price quote. Costs vary by shop and region.