1997 Isuzu Rodeo S from North America - Comments

Pass the 65,000 mile mark, I started noticing a slight knocking sound in the engine.

Lately, I feel my engine is starting to rev sluggishly before the auto trans would change from 1st to 2nd. RPM's get up to 2700 and sticks there for at least 10 sec. before changing and never noticed it even during my first year of owning it. With that, when I am moving at 25mph and release the gas the Rodeo gives an abrupt downshift.

During cold start-ups I've noticed my belts would squeal for at least a second, tightening the belts would help for a few days, but the problem would persist. Same thing happened during the past two other winters.

I keep breaking the plastic hood-release lever inside.

My glass rear window has recently been a pain closing, needing to slam it shut to get it to lock.

The plastic cup-holder piece in the center armrest is ridiculously cheap and flimsy.

My fan blower behind the glove box that runs when the ac/heater is on squeals when the level is above 1.

Somewhat of a gas guzzler.

Still love the thing, plan on driving it into the ground.

I replaced the stock tires with ones with an 2" wider track and now the Rodeo handles great and aesthetically more pleasing when looking from the front or back getting rid of the "looks really narrow" plaguing many smaller SUV's.

Very sporty looking SUV especially in black with black tinted windows and headlight/taillight covers.

Dashboard is modern and easy to look at if a bit dull, but I'm not a big fan of the left/right sliding HVAC controls. The interior is very comfortable and roomy enough for me and a few friends.

Great traveling vehicle, I have taken it from Salt Lake to Phoenix, Salt Lake to NW Washington state and Salt Lake to central Missouri with no safety or mechanical problems.

4WD system is spectacular in the sand, snow, mud, gravel, anything!

I own a '96 Rodeo also and love the beast. It is easy to handle and comfortable to drive, and also plan on driving my Rodeo till it drops.

My A/C also squeals, but only on one and not above, I have had this problem with other car and for some reason never been able to stop the squeak.

The squealing belt problem seems to be problematic for all the SUV's based on this model, ie... Honda Passport, Trooper, Jeep, and so on. I drove 30 different SUV's of all make and model, before buying my Rodeo and there wasn't one model that didn't squeak at least once. Good news is a can of Squeak Stop or similar product for belt quieting seems to take care of the problem for my friends who have had squeaky belts and tightening didn't solve first.

My cup holder and pretty much center console design seems poorly built for the burliness of the rest of the vehicle. I've had to velcro the lowest compartment shut to stop the cup holder section from flying backward and spilling everywhere.

I try to change my oil every 2500k- 2700k miles, but realistically it's more like 2700k-3000k miles with 5-30 to stop my engine from developing the ping some many people talk about. The Isuzu and many others have an aluminum valve cover with steel lifters and valves, and as the steel lifters and valve develop gunk and build up they start to create a larger hole giving room for movement as they go up and down, the famous Ping. Many mechanics who don't really know about Isuzu engines will tell you to just use a thicker oil, which if done will stop the pinging, but only for a short while. The thicker oil increases build up and wear on the engine. Using 5-30 continuously with an engine additive which is supposed to clean valves is what has worked for me.

Good Luck.