Buick LaCrosse vs Nissan Maxima: which is more reliable?
The Buick LaCrosse and the Nissan Maxima are level on the federal record — 80/100 against 81/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Buick LaCrosse
- 9 model years scored
- 711 owner complaints on record
- about 4 complaints per year on the road
- 31 recall campaigns, 16 safety-critical
- best year 2019 (90/100) · worst 2012 (43/100)
Nissan Maxima
- 9 model years scored
- 471 owner complaints on record
- about 5 complaints per year on the road
- 11 recall campaigns, 9 safety-critical
- best year 2023 (93/100) · worst 2016 (32/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: LaCrosse against Maxima
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Buick LaCrosse
- Electrical System — 188 complaints
- Engine — 118 complaints
- Suspension — 89 complaints
Nissan Maxima
- Power Train — 102 complaints
- Air Bags — 77 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 72 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the LaCrosse's complaints concentrate in Electrical System, the Maxima's in Power Train. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Buick LaCrosse — avoid: 2012.
Nissan Maxima — avoid: 2016.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Buick LaCrosse prices at about $20,900 and a Nissan Maxima at about $27,600 — the Buick LaCrosse is roughly $6,700 less, and they return 24.0 against 24.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Buick LaCrosse or the Nissan Maxima more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Nissan Maxima scores 81/100 against the Buick LaCrosse's 80/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Buick LaCrosse and Nissan Maxima years should I avoid?
Buick LaCrosse: 2012. Nissan Maxima: 2016. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Buick LaCrosse and the Nissan Maxima?
The largest complaint group on the Buick LaCrosse is Electrical System (188 complaints); on the Nissan Maxima it is Power Train (102).
Is the Buick LaCrosse or the Nissan Maxima cheaper to own?
A recent used Buick LaCrosse prices at about $20,900 and a Nissan Maxima at about $27,600, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.