Owners have filed 133 complaints on the Nissan 240SX, covering 1989–1998. The system named most often is Fuel System (34 reports). Worst years by volume: 1995, 1990, 1989; cleanest: 1998, 1994, 1996. 13 reports describe a crash, 7 a fire, 3 a death. On average the car was 8.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Nissan 240SX
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 133 240SX complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Fuel System 34 Read
Nissan corporation is aware of the fuel injector defect. According to future nissan is roseville, ca. Nissan corporation has warrantied the fuel injectors in a select number of models and cylinder types. The 240sx with 6 cylinders has been warrantied, however my 4 cylinder model which has the exact some fuel injectors…
Fuel injectors leaking same as recall 951006000
There is a leak from the top of my 1997 nissan 240sx's fuel tank that seemed to spring up for no apparent reason. From what I've researched, this is not an uncommon problem for owners of this vehicle and is not easily fixed. I am petitioning for this to be a mandatory repair for nissan, as this is a major safety…
Air Bags 13 Read
My car (1997 nissan 240 sx) being driven by my son was in an accident where the car was totaled by impact. None of the airbags deployed but yet the light came on saying they did. If they had my son may not have suffered from a serious concussion which we're about to go to the hospital the 2nd time for nor the neck…
On two occassions consumer was in an accident and both air bags didn't deploy, first consumer was rearended and second time consumer hit another car and air bags didn't deploy . Please describe
Nissan left; oncoming vehicle did not stop, it hit nissan right rear wheel, passenger's air bag deployed and driver's side air bag did not deploy; was at dealer to correct the malfunctioning air bag light 2 months. Ago
Engine And Engine Cooling 13 Read
Rear portion of vehicle caught fire. Please give more details
The consumer said she was not around when the vehicle got on fire, but when she got there, the police told her they did not know how the vehicle got on fire. According to consumer, she thinks the fire had started in the engine
My daughter/I purchased the car (demo w/ 4714 miles) 8/23/94 and received a 6 yr warranty. She heard engine noise in 8/99, but service dept. Could no determined cause. After the tensioner broke they opened timing chain assembly & found the tensioner in the botton of the housing. Mfg'r declined to honor the warrenty
Seat Belts 12 Read
Seat belt failed to restrain driver upon impact, driver thrown half way out of window; vehicle crushed driver, resulting in a fatality
The contact owns a 1993 nissan 240 sx. The seat belt failed to restrain around the chest area. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The diagnostic located the failure at the signal sending unit. The manufacturer stated they would not assist with the repair because the seat belt was only warranted for three years. The…
The automatic shoulder belt on the driver's side does not go back and forth
Service Brakes 9 Read
ABS brakes; complete loss of the brakes, causing the consumer to have an accident
When driving and upon depressing brake pedal brakes locked up. Also, a very loud noise was coming from brakes. Consumer contacted dealer, dealer noted that master cylinder was leaking fluid which has caused brakes to become inoperable. Dealer awaiting parts
I forgot to mention not only is the brake system bad but the takometer and gas gauge as well. Odi #738038. No one will listen. The 91 240sx was great! This car is a safety hazard. I've inquired about why it was discontinued and I can't get a answer from anyone
Electrical System 7 Read
Drove vehicle out of garage & parked it; left & got water to wash vehicle; returned & found vehicle in flames; fire dept. Arrived & put flames out; insurance adjuster said it was an electrical short underhood
Vehicle caught on fire under the hood due to electrical short while driving while stopped at a stop light.*ak
Electrical fire in the interior of vehicle
Fuel/propulsion System 7 Read
Smelled gas when getting in car. Looked under car to find gas tank leaking
After driving said vehicle nothing stood out however, towards the next day I smelt fuel and there was a leak roughly 1 meter wide. The gas tank cracked in a spot where other owners of the said vehicle had experienced a crack in the same fashion
The contact owns a 1995 nissan 240sx. The contact stated that he was idling at a light when ne noticed the smell of gasoline. The contact parked the vehicle and then noticed there was a fuel leak from the vehicle. The contact replaced the fuel tank and the failure recurred. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or…
Tires 6 Read
Avoiding a car crashing directly into my left side I surved and loss control of my car. Then my front left tire blew, causing me to crash into the median on the freeway.*ak improperly designed or constructed tires that may blow out unexpectedly
Intuitively, I knew this was a manufacturing defect even though at the time I was denied compensation or adjustment. I bought 4 new tires after the failure of my firestone atx's but I saved the "exploded tire that damaged my truck to the tune of $500. And shook the hell out of me. It was a real close call on I -17 in…
Dt: toyo proxy 4, tires are having knots coming out on the sidewall, and the owner has had already 1 blowout on these tires. The one that blew was less than 6 months old, and the others are less than 1 year old. This iwasthe first time that the owner has owned this brand of tire. The owner has contact the dealership…
240SX years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | — | — | |
| 1997 | Air Bags,equipment | 1 | — | |
| 1996 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 7 | 2 | |
| 1994 | Structure | — | — | |
| 1993 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | — | |
| 1992 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | 1 | |
| 1991 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | 2 | 2 | |
| 1989 | Electrical System | 1 | 2 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 68 |
| Average complaints per series | 2 |
| Worst single series | 9 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 8.0 years |
A model average of 2 hides a worst series at 9. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the 240SX?
By complaint volume, 1995, 1990, 1989 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which 240SX years are the cleanest?
1998, 1994, 1996 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Nissan 240SX have?
133 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1989–1998. Of those, 13 describe a crash and 7 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.