4th Jul 2011, 20:14
I own a 99 Rodeo with 3.2 liter V6 2wd. We bought it off the dealer's lot for $18,000. My son is driving it now. It has been a very reliable truck. We change the oil and buy OEM parts off the Internet. We can buy OEM cheaper than aftermarket.
Things gone wrong:
Replaced bad starter at around 110,000.
ABS motor would not stop running. I think a broken coupling inside or something. We removed the fuse until it can be repaired.
Other things replaced were brake pads, timing belt, and the EGR intake port was stopped up, and giving p0401 code.
Took the EGR valve off and saw that the intake side of the EGR port was stopped up. Unstopped it, and the code went away after resetting. Taking the throttle body off or intake cover is not necessary; all you have to do is take the hose off the throttle-body, turn the butterfly valve halfway, and shine a flashlight in the throttle-body. You will see the end of a metal tube in the lower half; this must be cleaned. We used an old dipstick and carb cleaner to clean the tube out. Spray the carb cleaner in the EGR side while poking the throttle body side.
If maintained, the Rodeo is a good reliable vehicle.
17th Jun 2010, 12:04
I think the difference between the last comment and the original post is that we're talking about a 1998 Rodeo. The 98 came with a totally changed body style and a "revised" engine.
I bought a 98 Rodeo, and just six months later the engine died on the road when I was towing a trailer that the engine was supposed to handle.
Every mechanic I have talked to since then has scoffed at the 98-99 Rodeo because the engines are, as stated originally, terribly unreliable. The Rodeo would have been great, but the engine died, and I don't want to get another engine that will just die on me again.
So I'm switching to something else.