Constant pinging once car warms up.
The car is actually a Honda Passport, which is a serious flaw. I keep getting referred back from Isuzu to Honda, etc. A service tech @ Honda told me to tell people not to buy this vehicle! Then another Honda dealer was unable to look up the VIN. She referred me to Isuzu, who laughed when I asked them if they could look it up.
My current problem is the loud pinging coming from the motor after it warms up, under load. I've done quite a bit of research & apparently it could be:
A worn timing belt
A bad/dirty EGR valve
A needed firmware (computer program) upgrade.
One Honda dealer told me it was "totally normal"!
There is a TSB listed on the net dealing with this issue, but no dealer (Honda or Isuzu) was able to look it up, even after I gave them the #. Crazy.
As a side-note, I wondered why the suspension on the 2WD vehicle was so harsh until I got underneath it: There is only 1" (That's ONE INCH) of suspension travel in front! There's a huge rubber bumper bolted to a bracket that is welded to the frame & it sits ONE INCH (!) above the lower control arm. I was wondering why I almost bite through my tongue going over speedbumps! My guess is that Isuzu never really planned to make this vehicle in a 2WD version & so they had to mess it all up for Honda. Other than these two issues it's been a pretty good rig, but I am seriously frightened of the next thing to go wrong & am going to sell it.
PS--Unplugging (& then re-plugging after a day's driving) the O2 sensors helped with the ping, but didn't remove it.
Actually, Isuzu built the Passport for Honda. I believe that at one point Honda asked Isuzu to remove the badging from the valvecovers of the V6 engine, I suppose to keep people from noticing they weren't really driving a Honda after all.
Believe it or not Isuzu is a GM built car.
Correction to last poster, Isuzu's with the 3.2L V6 engine are ISUZU's with the GM automatic transmission.
If they're 4-cylinder Rodeo's, then yes, they're GM/Chevy engines AND transmissions (auto).
The pinging is generally due to an engine that needs a tune-up; i. e spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter, EGR valve needs cleaned, pcv valve needs changed. This stuff is not unlike any other engine that's ever been in need of a tune-up, and also, it sounds like your using bad quality gas too.
Put a good set of sparkplugs in it, clean the EGR valve (20-min do it yourself at home job) - doesn't take a dealer to clean this, change all of your filters, and throw some fuel system cleaner into a full tank of good gas. Not from your local 7-11/Circle K gas station either.
And, also, seeing as you do own a 10yr old vehicle, it probably is due for a new timing belt if it's never been done before.
Do NOT allow the dealer to *reset* the computer to stop the pinging, chances are it's most likely 100% related to either old spark-plugs, fouled spark-plugs, or spark-plugs that are not compatible with an Isuzu engine.
The only thing your car needs is basic tune up and new shocks which is just regular maintaince.
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