20th Dec 2002, 09:13

I too have found my 2.3 turbo diesel to be just what I bought it for. Enough room for 4 kids and all their kit. Drove from the UK down to the South of France with no problems.

The only problem so far is that:

1) No owners manual.

2) Cannot get any heat from the front heater (a bit of a problem this time of the year in England)

Any help to chris.banks@reading.gov.uk.

Generally good value for the money.

24th Jan 2003, 06:45

I bought a Serena FX turbo diesel 2litre 4WD back in 2001 in England - making it very much a 'gray import'.

Nice, but noisy. Liked the seat arrangement and found it good for a comfy 6 but 7 and 8 people was cramped.

Had a low speed crash where I slid side ways on some ice in to a curb and damaged some suspension bits specific to the four wheel drive. Had to wait 3 months for the parts - insurance company nearly wrote the car off.

Back end of the exhaust then fell off and guess what - had to get new one welded together because not standard at three times the price. Diagnosed problem with master brake cylinder just as the piston rings went and not worth fixing.

I miss it becuase it had so much character, but my new vehicle I know I can just get parts if I need to.

Anybody want to purchase this vehicle for parts in England?

Then leave a message perhaps we could get in contact.

Some of the parts can take months to get!!!

4th Sep 2005, 15:45

I own a 1991 2tl turbo, powerful enough. No Rolls Royce though. I've now got a 1997 2.3, which is very slow on acceleration. I have a 1996 2.3, which I put the turbo engine in, but lost the timing marks, I can get TDC with the crank, but what about the cam. There's a mark on that rear pulley wheel (which drives the injector pump), but what does it line up with???

5th Jan 2006, 08:59

I have a '93 Serena FX Rio 2L turbo diesel. Great all round vehicle, very flexible for loads people etc. Love it to bits, but the spares are so difficult. Currently trying to source an exhaust too, any luck anyone? Why do they make so many different bits for the same vehicle, surely it can't be economic. Also the front heater never gets warmer than barely warm, any ideas?

27th Feb 2006, 13:58

I bought a 2.3L diesel turbo Serena about 4 years ago. It too was a grey import. I have big problems getting parts i.e. needed an exhaust (£950 complete from Nissan), but my friendly garage had a £350 stainless steel one made up with a lifetime guarantee. The tow bar was the same, so I had to have a custom made one.

I am now trying to get a clutch master cylinder, so I hope to find one soon, as mine is leaking slightly.

Other than that; a great noisy MPV on motorways.

25th Sep 2006, 23:20

26 September 2006

I have had my FX 2.0L diesel now for 6 years... had to replace the alternator (not cheap as has a vacuum pump attached), and repaired exhaust rear box as per other comments... touch wood, still running well... only 85k miles on a UK J reg plate!! Superb value for money with all the extras you get from a Japanese import.

6th Nov 2006, 04:13

It's not right good is it?

10th Nov 2006, 11:41

Hi, I bought a second hand Nissan Serena 2lt diesel fx 4 weeks ago, since then, I've had nothing, but trouble! I had to replace the middle and back exhaust within a week, bodged job done on old one. Now weather has got colder, having trouble starting the thing in the mornings. Took it to my local mechanic and he tested everything he could find on it! Nothing, checked glow plugs, they were fine even though they had never been changed on the car since it was new. The only thing it left was the Glow plug Relay! Well! know one seems to know where it is, or if it's a relay module, control unit module, time and control unit or the 100's of other things I've been told by Nissa dealers. Believe me I phone quiet a few to try and get some help. None have the spec for this car and it is impossible to get a repair manual or even a normal manual for this car. I have 5 children to get to school etc including a disabled child and loved this car when I saw it, great to drive too, loved being higher than the cars, gives a great view and stops the dazzle from other cars at night, I thought great when I 1st got it! I understand that I might have bought a dodge motor, but now I can't seem to find anyone who can help me fix it! If anyone out there has any ideas, love to hear them!

8th Dec 2006, 12:23

I bought a 1991 Serena FX TD Import, alternator issues early on which killed most of the car, luckily got it reconditioned (Nissan wanted £700) fairly cheaply. Now the speedo is being erratic, sitting at the lights it tells me I'm doing 100 does anyone have any ideas please?

20th Dec 2006, 07:33

In response to the comment posted on 10th Nov 2006, 11:41, Your mechanic is gravely mistaken to have not changed the glow plugs, They DO require changing and that IS the problem with your car, Glow plugs should be changed at every service just like spark plugs, they DO burn out, the outer shell which is viewable may not be covered in carbon, but the heating element inside the ceramics WILL burn out, Glow plugs lose their heating effectiveness over the year and when it comes to winter especially you will not be able to start your car at all, this is an extremely common occurrence on all conventional diesel engines, a very simple test can be used to determine if the fault is with the glow plugs or the rest of the electrical circuit, feed at least an 8 gauge wire directly from the battery positive on the car to the glow plug relay at glow plug 1 for 5 seconds then start the engine, if the engine still struggles to start, then it is almost guaranteed to be faulty glow plugs (I say almost as the car may have an entirely different problem altogether, such as loss of compression pressure which can also cause the same symptoms) if the engine on the other hand does start immediately with this test, then the fault is somewhere else, but in my professional opinion it is highly likely to be the glow plugs, Please enquire with as many other local mechanics as you can to confirm my comments.

Secondly in response to the question posted on 4th Sep 2005, 15:45, the LD23 engine does not have Timing marks anywhere on the engine other than on the Injector Pump, Crank Shaft and Camshaft Pulleys, any seasoned mechanic should line up the Crankshaft to TOP DEAD CENTRE and then mark the belt (if to be used again, although timing belts generally should not be re-tensioned and a new one should be used instead) with tipp-ex or any white correctional fluid etc, BEFORE removing the belt. If (as in your case) the timing alignment has been lost then a new timing belt from Nissan will be supplied with timing marks on the belt, simply start from the Crank shaft and align all the pulleys to the markings on the new belt.

And finally, does anyone PLEASE have a repair manual for a Nissan Serena or the LD23 engine?

My Regards to all and a Happy New Year,

Abu-Bakr. carsupermarket@hotmail.co.uk.