How to Replace Brake Pads on a Nissan Maxima

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

A Nissan Maxima owner with a floor jack, jack stands, and a basic socket set can replace the brake pads at home. Figure on one to two hours for the front axle. The rear takes more care: depending on the model year, the electronic parking brake may need to be placed in service mode before the piston will retract, and some rear pistons are threaded and must be rotated in with a cube tool rather than pressed with a clamp.

Tools and Parts You Need

• Floor jack and two jack stands
• Wheel chocks
• Lug wrench or breaker bar with the correct socket
• Socket set and ratchet for the caliper slide bolts
• C-clamp or caliper piston press; cube tool if the rear pistons are threaded
• Brake cleaner and a stiff wire brush
• High-temperature silicone caliper grease
• Torque wrench
• Caliper hanger hook or bungee cord
• Micrometer for rotor thickness
• New Nissan Maxima brake pads in an axle set and a fresh brake hardware kit

How to Replace the Pads, Step by Step

1. Prep the car. Park on flat concrete, chock the wheels staying on the ground, and loosen the lug nuts a quarter turn while the tire is loaded.
2. Lift and support. Jack the corner at the factory lift point, place a jack stand under a structural point, and lower the car onto it. The jack is not a stand.
3. Remove the wheel and slide it under the car as a backup support.
4. Free the caliper. Remove the caliper slide bolts and lift the caliper off. Hang it from the strut spring with the hook so the hose carries no load.
5. Remove pads and clips. Pull the old pads out of the bracket and pop off the abutment clips. Note the position of any wear indicator or shim so the new set goes in the same way.
6. Check the rotor. Measure thickness with the micrometer and compare it to the minimum marked on the rotor. Inspect for grooves, heat discoloration, and an outer lip. If the rotor fails any of those checks, replace it along with the pads.
7. Retract the piston. Open the reservoir cap and keep an eye on the fluid level as it rises. Front: press the piston straight in using the old pad as a spreader. Rear with electronic parking brake: enter service mode or retract the motor first. Rear with threaded piston: rotate it in with the cube tool.
8. Clean and grease. Brush the bracket ears down to bare metal, clean with brake cleaner, then remove the slide pins, wipe them, and apply silicone grease before reinstalling. Both pins should slide smoothly.
9. Install new hardware and pads. Clip the new abutment hardware onto the bracket, put a light film of grease where the pad ears contact the clips, and set the new pads in place.
10. Reinstall the caliper over the pads and torque the slide bolts to the figure in the service manual. Do not guess the torque.
11. Mount the wheel, lower the car, and torque the lug nuts in a star pattern to the manual's spec.
12. Do the other side, then pump the brake pedal until firm before moving the car. Recheck the fluid level, take the parking brake out of service mode, and bed the pads per the maker's procedure.

Which Piston Method Applies to Your Rear Calipers

The service manual for your Maxima's model year is the final word on which setup you have. Forcing a threaded piston with a clamp, or pressing against an electronic parking brake motor that has not been retracted, can damage the caliper.

Safety

Every step of this job assumes the car is on jack stands, not the jack. Confirm it is solid before you crawl under. Wear gloves and eye protection, and keep brake dust wet with cleaner rather than blowing it around the garage. Never hang a caliper by its hose. Keep grease and fingerprints off the pad friction material and the rotor face; oil on the friction surface means a squealing, weak brake. Brake fluid strips paint, so cap the reservoir as soon as the pistons are in and wipe up any spills right away.

What to Do If Something Does Not Go to Plan

Seized slide pins: soak with penetrating oil, work them back and forth, and replace them if they are pitted. Piston will not move: on rears, recheck that the parking brake is in service mode and that you are using the correct rotate-versus-press method. Pedal soft after pumping: check the fluid level and look for leaks at the caliper and hose; if there is no obvious cause, do not drive the car and have a shop inspect it. Rotor below minimum: replace it before reassembly rather than driving on it. Any cracked hose, weeping piston seal, or parking brake fault that will not clear is a reason to call a shop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I replace only the front pads on a Maxima?

Yes, as long as you replace both front pads together as an axle set. Fronts and rears wear at different rates, so it is normal to service one axle at a time. Never replace just one side of an axle.

Why should I measure the rotor instead of just looking at it?

A rotor can look fine and still be below its minimum thickness, which reduces its ability to absorb heat and raises the risk of fade and cracking. The minimum is cast or stamped on the rotor; a quick micrometer reading tells you whether it can stay in service.

Is silicone grease really necessary?

Yes. Silicone caliper grease keeps the slide pins moving and stops the pad ears from binding on the clips. Skipping it is the most common reason a fresh set of pads wears unevenly or squeals. Do not substitute general-purpose grease, which can swell rubber boots.

What happens if I skip the bed-in?

The pads and rotor will not have an even transfer layer, so you may get judder, noise, and reduced stopping power for the first several hundred miles. The pad maker's bed-in procedure takes a few minutes and avoids all of that.

Ready to order? Start at the Find Your Vehicle page to pull up fitment-verified pads and hardware, or browse the full brake parts lineup for your Maxima. Core Brake Parts ships fast, orders over $75 ship free, and every order is backed by a 30-day return policy.