Owners of other Nissan or Infiniti vehicles such as the Versa, Altima, Juke, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Murano, Xterra, Pathfinder, Sentra, Cube, Armada, Leaf, Quest, Frontier, 370Z, GT-R, Titan, Kicks, NV, NV200, G25, G37, M35 and M37 may also find these DIY instructions to be helpful.

A few compatible replacement sets of new rear brake pads with their part numbers are as follows: Wagner ZD1393, Monroe CX1393, Wagner QC1393, KFE KFE905-104, ACDelco 14D905CH, Akebono ACT905 and Bosch BE905.

The tools needed to complete this procedure include a floor jack, two jack stands, a lug nut wrench, a 14mm socket with a 3/8" drive ratchet, an "F" clamp and a tube of brake caliper grease.

Make sure that the emergency / parking brake is NOT engaged. If the parking isn't released, you will not be able to pull the caliper off the old pads and out of the bracket.

Place wheel chocks on both sides of the front tires to prevent the car from moving.

Slightly loosen the 5 lug nuts on the rear wheel by turning them about 1/4 to 1/2 turn in the counterclockwise direction with the lug nut wrench.

Raise the rear of the car with the floor jack and securely support it with at least two jack stands.

Please do not solely rely on the floor jack to support the vehicle!

Spin off the five lug nuts in the counterclockwise direction. Set them aside in a safe place.

Remove the rear wheel to reveal the rotor, bracket, caliper and front suspension.

Once the rear wheel is out of the way, you'll be able to see the rotor, bracket, caliper and suspension.

The bolt heads face in towards the trunk of the car.

Loosen the top caliper bolt by turning it in the clockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the vehicle) with the 14mm socket and a 3/8" drive ratchet.

Then loosen the bottom 14mm caliper bolt by turning it in the clockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the car).

The caliper bolts also serve as the caliper slider pins.

Set the two caliper bolts / slider pins combination pieces aside in a safe place such as on a clean rag or shop towel.

Rest the caliper on the rotor or carefully suspend it from the suspension spring with a bungee cord or some rope.

Try to avoid bending, kinking, stressing or pulling on the rubber brake fluid line.

Remove the old outer brake pad.

Make a mental note of where the wear indicator bar or "squeal" bar is situated on the old pads.

On this 2016 Maxima, the wear indicator bar was situated at the top of the old inner brake pad.

If your new set of rear brake pads included replacement brake hardware, pull the old pad abutment or "anti-rattle" clips out of the top and bottom of the bracket.

Apply a thin layer of brake parts lubricant grease to the top and bottom of the new pad abutment clips where they will come in contact with the caliper bracket or the "ears" at the ends of the new brake pads.

Avoid getting grease on the friction surface of the rotor.

Attach the "F" clamp to the caliper and use the back of an old brake pad to evenly distribute the pressure across the piston.

Move to the right rear corner of the engine bay (close to the driver's seat) and twist off the black plastic cap on the brake fluid reservoir in the counterclockwise direction.

Set the reservoir cap aside in a safe place.

Try to avoid pinching or damaging the rubber dust boot that surrounds the caliper piston.

It would be a good idea to repeatedly check the brake fluid level in the reservoir to make sure it doesn't overflow.

Clean up any spilled brake fluid immediately since it can easily damage painted surfaces.

Once the piston is fully compressed, replace the reservoir cap as soon as possible by twisting it on in the clockwise direction.

Brake fluid is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air), so avoid leaving the cap off for any longer than absolutely necessary.

Thoroughly clean off the brake rotor, caliper bracket, brake caliper assembly and the lug studs with brake parts cleaner spray. Do not use compressed air or blow with your mouth to clean off the brake parts since inhaling brake dust can be harmful to your health. Brake dust might be carcinogenic (cancer causing) if you inhale it.

Apply a thin layer of brake parts lubricant grease to any area where there is metal to metal contact such as the outer lip of the caliper piston. Do not apply brake caliper grease to the friction surface of the new pads or the rotor.

 If your Maxima has previously exhibited shuddering, pulsations or vibrations in the rear end during braking, you may need to have your rotors "turned" (resurfaced) or just replace them with new rotors. If this is the first rear brake job on your car and the rotors appear to be in excellent condition, you should be able to just replace the pads with excellent results.

The wear indicator bar should be situated at the top of the new inner brake pad.

Push the two pads together until they are flush against the rotor.

Carefully lower the caliper over the new pads and into the bracket.

If the caliper doesn't fit over the new pads, you may need to compress the piston back a bit more.

Apply a thin layer of brake parts grease to each.

Spin in the two bolts / slider pins a few turns in the counterclockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the car) to prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

Tighten the upper caliper bolt by turning it in the counterclockwise direction with the 14mm socket and a 3/8" drive ratchet.

If you have a torque wrench, the caliper bolts should be tightened to about 23 to 25 lb-ft of torque.

Tighten the lower caliper bolt in the counterclockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the car).

If your brake pedal has felt soft or spongy, the brake fluid may be contaminated with water or the brake lines may contain a some air bubbles.

It would be best to bleed the brake lines at this time in order to flush out the old fluid to remove the air bubbles and replace it with fresh DOT 3 brake fluid. For more on this topic, check out my Brake Line Fluid Bleeding With An Assistant DIY Guide or alternatively the Brake Line Fluid Bleeding With A Power Bleeder Guide.

The brake fluid bleeder valve is located under a rubber cap near the top caliper bolt.

Spin on the five lug nuts a few turns in the clockwise direction by hand to prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

Slightly tighten the five lug nuts in the clockwise direction with the tire iron in a "criss cross" or "star" pattern.

Carefully lower the rear of the car from the jack stands by using the floor jack.

Continue tightening the 5 lugs nuts in a star pattern to about 1/4 to 1/3 turn past hand tight.

It would be best to use a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts to 83 lb-ft.

Double check that the lug nuts are tight before you start driving.

Sit in the driver seat and firmly press down the brake pedal a few times to fully restore the brake line pressure.

Check the brake fluid in the reservoir and verify that it is at the proper level. If it is low, add some fresh DOT 3 fluid.

To break in your new rear brake pads, just drive normally for the first few hundred miles while trying to avoid any hard or "panic" stops which might glaze over the new pads and cause them to be noisy and not perform as well.

It's also a good idea to regularly check your driveway for drops of fresh brake fluid which may indicate a leak, check the brake fluid level in the reservoir and also verify that the lug nuts are still tight.

Be sure to record the brake pad change in your vehicle's service records.

Please check out all of my 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima DIY Repair & Maintenance Guides.