Problems · by component
2003 Nissan Maxima exterior lighting problems
26 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2003 Nissan Maxima cite exterior lighting, 13% of all 206 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
26
13% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the exterior lighting
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“IT HAS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON, IT TAKES TIME TO START AND WHEN IT IS DRIVING IT TURNS OFF (BUT IT TURNS ON).IT GOES OFF ON FLAT SURFACES, AND WHEN YOU ARE ON A RISE THAT'S WHERE IT TAKES TO CATCH ON. *TR”
“IT HAS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON, WHEN THE CAR IS UP, IT TAKES TIME TO START AND WHEN IT IS DRIVING IT SOMETIMES TURNS OFF, BUT IF THEY TURN IT ON AGAIN IF IT STARTS. *TR”
“THE XENON HEADLIGHTS ON MY 2003 NISSAN MAXIMA HAVE BECOME CLOUDED WITH DRAMATICALLY REDUCED LIGHTING EFFECTIVENESS. I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE ONE HEADLIGHT TWO YEARS AGO, AND THE OTHER NEEDS TO BE REPLACED SHORTLY. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. *TR”
“TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN MAXIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AUTOMATIC HEADLIGHT CONTROL SENSOR DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATE. THE SENSOR ACTIVATES WHEN CONDITIONS ARE COMPLETELY DARK. THE FAILURE HAS OCCURRED EVER SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED, HOWEVER, THE CONTACT FIRST REALIZED IT AT 5,000 MILES. SHE HAS ATTEMPTED TO SPEAK WITH THE DEALER ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS AND WAS INFORMED THAT SOMEONE WOULD RETURN HER CALL. HER CALL HAS NOT YET BEEN RETURNED. THE VIN, PURCHASE DATE, POWERTRAIN, AND ENGINE SIZE WERE UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 35,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,000. UPDATED 02-01-08 *BF UPDATED 02/01/08 *TR”
“HEADLIGHTS STOLEN FROM VEHICLE TWICE IN 4 MONTHS. APRIL 15, 2004 AND SEPTEMBER 1, 2004. BECAUSE OF DESIGNE HEAD LIGHTS CAN BE REMOVED QUICKLY WITH A LONG SHARP OBJECT.*AK”
“THE XENON HEADLIGHTS WERE STOLEN. HEADLIGHTS COULD BE REMOVED IN JUST A MATTER OF MINUTES. CONSUMER NAVIGATED INTO THE NHTSA WEB AND FOUND MANY COMPLAINTS ON THE SAME ISSUE. *AK *NM”
Showing 6 of 26 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 11, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.