1985 Nissan 300ZX Problems

What owners report

Owners of this model year describe fuel-system and underhood fire concerns far more than anything else, often traced to leaking fuel injectors and related hoses. Many complaints reference older fuel-injection recall work, with some owners reporting the work was never completed or that the vehicle smelled of gasoline afterward. A smaller group reports a sticking accelerator or high idle and cooling or electrical problems on a vehicle that by now has accumulated high mileage.

1. 1
   Fuel system

   Fuel leaks and engine-compartment fires

   • 59 complaints (79%)
   • median 168,000 mi at 22.6 yrs old (3 state mileage, few)
   • 53 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 1995–2009

   Complaints describe a gasoline smell followed by smoke or flames from under the hood, sometimes while parked and sometimes while driving. Several owners link the fires to leaking fuel injectors and related hoses; in some cases the vehicle was destroyed. Dealers in these accounts either performed fuel-injection recall work, declined to do it for lack of service records, or told the owner the VIN was not covered. Reported across a wide mileage range, with documented cases around 120,000 to 200,000 miles on vehicles of this age.

   What to check: Have a mechanic inspect the injectors, fuel lines and hoses for seepage, and check for a gasoline smell after the engine is shut off. Ask whether the fuel-injection recall work was ever performed and keep any documentation.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The engine caught on fire while driving. Tt consumer states while driving, he noticed gas pedal would not respond when stepping on it, he began to see smoke coming from the hood, he opened the hood and saw fire coming from the engine, engine was cause of fire.”

   NHTSA complaint #973420, filed 1995-10

   “The vehicle has caught on fire due to the recall of the fuel injecters. The owner just received the recall notice on march 6, 1997 and the fire happened last year.”

   NHTSA complaint #809843, filed 1997-03
2. 2
   Fuel system

   Incomplete or refused fuel-injection recall repair

   • 16 complaints (21%)
   • median 144,000 mi at 20.5 yrs old (4 state mileage, few)
   • 7 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 1996–2015

   Several complaints center on campaign 95I006000 rather than the failure itself: owners report the dealer refused the repair, wanted the owner to cover most of the cost, or could not supply parts. One owner reports the car was hard to start when hot and ran poorly after the injection work was done. Complaints were filed mainly in the late 1990s and 2000s, on vehicles with no mileage reported in most cases.

   What to check: Ask the seller for records of the fuel-injection campaign work and confirm coverage with a dealer before purchase, since older repair records may no longer be retrievable.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “All failures occurred just after the fuel injection recall work was performed in late 1996. After the fuel injection system was replaced per the safety recall, the car was very difficult to start if the weather was hot or the engine was hot from running. The engine failed a few months later in feb 1997. The original fuel injection system never had failed and I was experiencing no mechanical problems. I only had the recall work performed because I was told it was a safety hazard. The car has not worked properly since then. …”

   NHTSA complaint #702388, filed 1999-01

   “Recall 95 I 006 000/fuel injection system: consumer contacted manufacturer, who informed consumer that his vehicle was involved in this recall. After taking vehicle into dealer shop for second time, dealer refused to do recall repairs. Feel free to provide any further information concerning this matter.”

   NHTSA complaint #898836, filed 2001-11

Buying note. These are old, high-mileage cars, so the fuel system and underhood wiring deserve a close inspection before purchase. Ask for documentation of the fuel-injection and shift-linkage campaign work, since owners report difficulty confirming it later.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 22 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.