1999 Isuzu Rodeo LS from North America - Comments

I have a 1995.5 Rodeo with the 3.2L v-6. It has long been known that the valve clearance in the v-6 engines is off. This is why there is constant oil loss. I now have 231,000 miles on mine and still love it. I also add a quart of oil every 2000 miles or so, but otherwise it has been a great truck. With Isuzu leaving the states, this will not be a problem with any new owners.

I own a 1999 LSE Isuzu Rodeo and had the same problem as the person stating the coolant kept leaking out. Take it to a mechanic and have your heads checked. Mine was doing the same thing and it was a warped head. I had it repaired and it fixed the problem.

I am also a victim of the oil consumption defect with the 99 Isuzu rodeo. I would encourage any other individuals to also post your complaints at:

http://www.lawcash.com/complaint/consumer-complaints.asp.

Isuzu needs to be held responsible.

I have read all of these comments and my husband suggests to use authentic sythentic oil which has less consumption. you may pay more than your everyday use of oil, but find better results. Also, my ABS light comes on which is the automatic brake system any suggestions of fixing it. The brakes are changed so it temporarily goes out then comes back on.

Hi we are owners of a 1999 Rodeo. We bought it used with 85,000 miles on it. When the car hit 130,000 our transmission went out. We had it rebuilt and that's when we really started having problems. We had to take it back 3 different times to have it redone. Still not working right. Our transmission went out again at 160,000 miles and had to pay once again to have the transmission redone. It ran great for 20,000 miles now once again the transmission. Our check engine light goes on and off, our ABS light is always on even after the recall was fixed, but when our transmission is going out now NO LIGHT... There is no way to check the fluids in the transmission. We do not know how Isuzu could build these cars. I agree with another comment I wish there was a class action suit against Isuzu.

I have a 99 Rodeo, base model, 4 cylinders, 5 speed. Air conditioner is the only 'extra'. I had to replace my sending unit as well to get the Check Engine light to go off. The shop said the inspection wouldn't pass until I got the Check Engine light off...grrrr...I did it myself for about $70 and it sounds difficult, but it really isn't. I did it with a simple hydraulic jack and a couple of wrenches.

Now I have a very annoying whining sound whenever I accelerate. Strangely, it only happens when the A/C is on. Which is all the time here in Houston.

My wife and I bought a 1999 Honda Passport (Re-badged Isuzu Rodeo) in 2001. At that time the vehicle had 70,500 miles. It now has 100,500 miles. We paid $10,500. I thought we got a good deal. Then came the repairs... We've replaced two ignition coil packs, exhaust manifold gasket twice, front axles, fan bearing, and currently put 1qt. oil every 800 miles. The car runs well except when climbing hills or heavily accelerating. It's always had quite a bit of ping/knock during these times. I don't mind the car other than the lack of power and engine knock on hills. I track the mileage at every fill-up. It has gone from 19.2 to 16.7 mpg. Partly because I used to drive the car to work and now my wife just uses it for groceries, etc. I am trying to decide if I should keep the car because it hasn't needed a repair in a while (knock on wood) or sell it. I'm guessing that I could sell it privately for ~$5000. Any suggestions would be great. Although I'm guessing everyone will say sell it. I feel bad dumping this POS on someone. Anyone had any luck making theirs last forever? My poor boss bought his son one of these this year from a dealership. He paid $10,500 for one with 71K!! What a fool! Oh well, I learned you really gotta do your homework with cars.

I purchased a 1999 Isuzu Rodeo LS, 2x4 in Oct. of 2005. it had 104,000 miles on it then. I have put about 6000 miles on it since. I paid 5200.00 to a private owner. I have never had any oil problems, changing the oil at 5000 miles, so far. The month I bought it, I put a serpetine belt on it and a new battery. Nothing big.

This past Aug. 2006, my gas gauge quit working, then directly after that, my 6 cd changer froze up full of my best CD's, Err3 it said. Then I started having problems with the starter and finally my transmission (auto) started clunking when it shifted from 2nd to 3rd gear. This is the only time it made any noise.

I didn't drive it from that point on until just recently when I finally had the money to take it to a transmission shop to at least check it out to see what the problem was.

The tech. drove it and came back and ask me to get in with him and go for a ride. He said he didn't hear or feel any clunking in the tranny. He was right. He ask me if I had had any recent problems with low voltage and I told him that as a matter of fact, I had just replace the battery once again (at Walmart's expense) and the starting problem went away immediately. He then proceeded to tell me that just about everything on this vehicle is affected if the voltage is low or shot, including the transmission, which is controlled electronically also. Sure enough, there was nothing wrong with the transmission, he serviced it for me. $86.00, it runs great, the gas gauge works again, the cd player just needs a code put into it to get it going (again a problem from low voltage, and I have no problems with the starting of it.

All of this was due to a faulty battery that caused low voltage. I have since discussed this with another independent mechanic and he said that was common, although I have never seen anything about this in any of these blogs. I ask both of them why the dealers don't inform you of this, and they both just laughed and said, "how do you think they make their money?"

All I can do is hope for the best. I think I lucked out, who ever had this took excellent care of it before me, inside and out. Here's hoping for the best and maybe this might help someone out with some frustrating problems.

My '98 LS Rodeo is an excellent truck. I've noticed oil disappearing, but Toyota had far bigger oil consumption problems with many of their vehicles. Google it.

As far as the truck goes, it was well designed. The seats are comfortable, the interior is durable, and even though the door panels are plasticky, at least the plastic looks good. At least the armrests are not located in awkward locations like many other vehicles.

The V6 engine is a strong runner. The 4wd system is excellent. It seems to me, based on most of the complaints I've read, that owners are going to dealerships and being totally ripped off by mechanics who are charging people for needless services.

Fan bearings go out in all cars, and it's not because Isuzu's fan bearings are any cheaper than Honda's, Toyota's, or any other company. Same goes for the other peddy complaints I'm reading here.

Rodeo LS. Very good SUV.

I bought this 98 Passport from an auction to re-sell. Been beating my head against wall for 6 months trying to fix this $%#*ing pinging! Honda dealer told me to live with it, Isuzu dealer quoted $950 to replace EGR valve & clean passages. I replaced the EGR valve myself & ignored the passages (not dirty) but no luck. Am now contemplating a $150 computer re-programming that I hear might help. Who would build a rig like this without a knock sensor??? Any advice would be helpful!

Carl Larson

c*l*g*u*y*@*g*m*x*.*n*e*t without *s.

1999 Honda Passport (Re-badged Isuzu Rodeo) The car runs well except when climbing hills or heavily accelerating. It's always had quite a bit of ping/knock during these times. I don't mind the car other than the lack of power and engine knock on hills.

I have been the proud owner of a '95 Rodeo 3.2L v6 4WD for years now. Reliable as a rock. With the right tires, it is usually me that is pulling the jeeps out stuck on the trails. I have 151k miles on it, and up until last week I have had minimal maintenance. In 13 years it has been in two accidents, had an alternator replaced, new upper ball joints, new timing belt, water pump, and fuel pump (plus misc. items like belts and plugs). It does consume oil fast, but change your oil religiously at 3k miles, and use Seafoam, and there is not a problem with it. I have averaged about $400 a year in maintenance on it. That is until last week when a rod developed a very nasty knock, and is going to fail at any time. I am a very sad that I will be loosing my baby!

I also have the oil burning problem (using 1-2 quarts of oil every 500 miles) with my 2000 Isuzu rodeo and I have completed two oil consumption test and Isuzu still will not fix my car even though it is still under the warranty. I think we should do a class action suit against them. I have did a complaint with a law office and encourage everyone to contact the law office at the following link because we need justice and Isuzu need to fix our cars.

http://www.schneiderwallace.com/ContactForms/Consultation-ClassActions.htm.

I have a 1999 Rodeo 145000 km that had an oil comsumption problem. I took it into my Canadian dealer and was told that Isuzu is now recommending using 15w40 oil in older rodeo's. I checked it out with Isuzu themselves and sure enough that is what they are recommending.

I switched oil a month and a half ago and have not had to add a drop of oil. Not many people know about this yet. But it really does work.

I have a '99 Rodeo and I have also had a catastrophic engine failure. This is definitely class-action material, but enough of us will have to band together to make it stick. I noted that some of you have posted good experiences, or minor problems, with your Rodeo. That is great, however please recognize that that the majority of these vehicles probably do run okay. So, your postings that this is a "great vehicle" or that the problem postings are just whining, are pointless! The fact is that a number of us have had a total loss of a vehicle, and this is wrong! The issue is that a very large number of these vehicles experience catastrophic and sudden oil loss, and that is a design problem that Isuzu is not recognizing for one simple reason: They want to avoid class action resolution. I noted that there is one guy on this string that had his lawyer contact them, and he got them to pay for replacing the engine. What does that tell you? That Isuzu knows they are wrong! So, contact a lawyer, but also be willing to file with a class action lawyer and let them see these postings!! This is anecdotal evidence that will help us get this resolved by Isuzu. And note too that there is a pending lawsuit against them already regarding brake issues, so it can be done!

I have a 2001 Honda Passport (Isuzu Rodeo). Oil change every 3000. This past Friday my engine light came on, I was down a 2 quarts suddenly so I added 2 quarts of oil and the light went out, I got 10 miles down the freeway and my engine ceased up (no oil light). Had it towed to a reputable service station and they informed me that the engine was ruined and needed replacing or rebuiding.

The SUV had been a good vehicle until recently it just started burning oil. No leakage and no unusual exhaust.

I can't afford a new engine and now I am paying 240.00 car payment and have no car. I have read many stories like mine and I just can't understand how Isuzu reps. can ignore all of us and be able to sleep at night knowing they have caused this for so many and not take responsibility for it. I will follow up with the law suit links I have found.