Owners have filed 209 complaints on the Nissan 300ZX, covering 1984–1995. The system named most often is Fuel System (115 reports). Worst years by volume: 1985, 1986, 1984; cleanest: 1992, 1994, 1995. 13 reports describe a crash, 106 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 10.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Nissan 300ZX
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 209 300ZX complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Fuel System 115 Read
Car caught on fire and burned while driving on highway. Failure more than likely due to fuel injector defect, spraying gas over engine. Result was intense fire destroying car. Nothing salvagable. Recall of 90's nissan 300zx is highly recommended
I experienced a fire caused by the leakage of a fuel injector on the right side of the engine in my car. I have contacted nissan and have received very poor to put it mildly response from them. They have used a clause in the warranty book requiring me to maintain maintenance records for the life of my car. I have no…
Fuel injector failed, causing fire
Engine And Engine Cooling 23 Read
Driving down hwy 9, vehicle stutted a few times, smoke came through vents, pulled vehicle to side road, vehicle was engulfed in flames
Vehicle back fired twice, than vehicle inside filled up with smoke
Went to get gas, came and went inside house, alarm sounded on vehicle, looked outside, vehicle was engulfed in flames from engine
Electrical System 16 Read
I was getting in the car to move from driveway to the street an smelled gas, turned the car off and car started smoking and then went into flames under the hood
Battery caught fire
Vehicle began misfiring and area dealership serviced for a week, while serviced mt. Kisco nissan fixed recall, a month later vehicle hesitated not getting fuel which then resulted in a fire that started in garage. Please describe details
Power Train 15 Read
Vehicles transmission fluid blew up from dipstick and hit the hot exhaust system and accordingly car caught on fire. Tt
Transmission does not engage into second gear smoothly. Dealer says this is normal
Several months after purchase transmission will not engage into second gear smoothly. Dealer says this is normal
Vehicle Speed Control 10 Read
When vehicle is put in gear sudden acceleration occurs, causing loss of control/accident
Consumer put car into reverse and car accelerated and hit a pole
When you put the car in gear it goes full throttle. Will not stop unless you turn off the ignition. Brakes will not stop the car. Please describe details. Tt
Service Brakes 7 Read
Consumer states while going 25-30mph the brakes locked up when applying for a sudden stop causing the vehicle to skid. The skidding of the vehicle resulted to a rear end accident and the front end caught fire. The consumer noticed no ABS or brake warning lights indicating a malfunction. The dealer was informed. Please…
Braking system malfunctioned, causing extended stopping distance which may result in a crash. Please provide further information
Rotors warp continuously. Had changed five times
Air Bags 4 Read
Had head-on collision with another vehicle and airbags didnot deploy. Driver injured and vehicle was totaled. *ak
Car struck head on (40mph). Airbag did not deploy
At 50 mph I hit a stopped car with less than a secont to brake,the impact was front center of my 300zx,and no airbag actuated,why not?
Steering 4 Read
While driving the steering wheel locked up, causing he vehicle to collide . Manufacturer has not been notified
After making a turn the steering wheel locked, causing consumer to have an accident. Please describe
Vehicle caught fire due to short circuit in fuel injectors
300ZX 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | 1 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1992 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1991 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1990 | Engine And Engine Cooling,power Train,electrical System | 2 | 1 | |
| 1989 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | 1 | |
| 1988 | Electrical System | — | 12 | |
| 1987 | Electrical System | 1 | 13 | |
| 1986 | Electrical System | 4 | 22 | |
| 1985 | Electrical System | 2 | 40 | |
| 1984 | Electrical System | — | 16 |
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 | 162 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.3 |
| Worst single series | 4 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 10.8 years |
A model average of 1.3 hides a worst series at 4. 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
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- 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 300ZX?
By complaint volume, 1985, 1986, 1984 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 300ZX years are the cleanest?
1992, 1994, 1995 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Nissan 300ZX have?
209 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1984–1995. Of those, 13 describe a crash and 106 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.