1997 Nissan 240SX Coupe from UK and Ireland - Comments

The engine service light comes on frequently; being abroad they have not been able to identify what this means.

The car feels as though it is tracking to the left and has worn the tyres bald on the inside, but the garage can't find a problem.

The exhaust developed multiple holes after only 45,000 miles.

The fuel economy has nosedived now that I've passed 60,000 miles, down from 450 miles per tank to 300.

The rear brakes seem to be a problem area, replaced twice, bound solid once and still squeaking.

Several sets of speakers have now been blown, despite me not being a hooligan who plays loud music.

I think it might be the only example in Scotland, but this does make getting it repaired a little tricky; it took 6 months to get a new exhaust and brake discs were very hard to match.

The car is surprisingly slow for a sports car; about 45 bhp less than the European model and left for dead by e.g. Toyota MR2.

However, the strangely short first gear (is this just my car?), whilst making the car feel slower, does make crawling along in heavy traffic very easy.

For a car of its type, the boot space is remarkably good; more than enough for two people away for a weekend.

The handling is amazing in the dry and vast amounts of fun on our Scottish roads, but a bit of a deathtrap in the wet or on snow. The tail flicks out even thinking about accelerating from a wet roundabout.

I had a 97 Nissan 240sx. I had the issue with the check engine light too, but it turned back off after I changed out the air filter. I am not saying that that would work for you, but it did fix it in my case. I drove mine to the point that the engine and electrical systems / computer was getting ready to completely fail.

About your problem with the loss of traction when rounding corners. You're not the only one with that happening to them. Its probably the way the car is made. However mosr rear wheel drive cars are traps in the snow, I'm speaking for product knowldge. Howver this makes it very appealing to drift racers once they've learned to control it. The sqeaky brakes could be the humidity, when I lived in england it rained or had high humidity for a good part of the year, I've also heard of this being a problem in other places as well though I've never actually experienced it myself.

Check the exhaust sensor. Causes the check engine light to go on. Should have EFI cleaned at this stage and the sensor replace. The sensor is finding something wrong with the burning mixture.

I agree that the 240sx can be dangerous, especially in stock form with its narrow tires in wet conditions, and sometimes in dry conditions if your alignment isn't 100% perfect, and your tires are not in excellent condition, regardless of tread.

My 240sx went completely sideways without warning while I was slowly braking downhill; I was lucky nobody was close enough for me to hit. I still love the car but, am nervous whenever the road is lightly damp or wet; even in stock form the car produces enough torque to spin the rear wheels easily in an straight line or in a corner; so driving skills are a must with this car because anything can happen at anytime.

Otherwise, it is very reliable and has great aftermarket support, and can be sold at much greater value than Blue Book if in good to decent condition, as these cars are sought after especially 97 and 98 models. I've have young to old men approach me in traffic, car dealerships, and my house offering to buy my car. The young guys want to build it up and the older and old guys say that they always wanted one. I'm keeping my 97 because I believe the old guys are not offering for nothing, due to its popularity in Japan, drifting, and easy conversion to a Siliva or higher performance Silvia/240sx without being extremely expensive, is a plus in this car's column; Possibly a future collector's car.

Remember the generation of people that were around will determine the value of this car, not HP and performance alone, and everyday these cars are becoming more rare; especially 97 and 98 models whose production numbers were low to began with.