2001 Isuzu Trooper Anniversary Edition 6 cylinder

Summary:

I will never buy another Trooper based off these problems

Faults:

The Trooper was purchased used in 03' with 32,000 miles. My first transmission problem started at 38,000 miles, at which point I found out that the trans had been replaced at 30,000 as well. I had to have it replaced again at 43,000. The warranty expired at 50,000, and now at 63,000 the transmission has gone out yet again. This will be the fifth transmission in this car, that is one per year, or every 15,000 miles. Isuzu refuses to help because the car is out of warranty. Dealing with Isuzu has been a constant pain, as you can never speak directly to the decision maker. Seems odd that this problem keeps occuring year after year. Now I am looking at a $5500 expense to replace the transmission, and I have an unsellable vehicle.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 29th December, 2006

17th Sep 2012, 16:01

Humph, makes you wonder is it the car or...?

15th Aug 2015, 07:35

That's terrible, I hope I never have to deal with what you've dealt with. I know it's been years since you wrote your review, but you might have bought a lemon. I think the "lemon law" might provide you with some legal relief. Best of luck.

2001 Isuzu Trooper

Faults:

My trooper is really starting to use oil now - about 2 quarts every 1k miles. I plan to switch to synthetic oil in hopes of slowing this down. This has been a great vehicle until this point and I am not sure why all of a sudden I am using so much oil.. Due to the high price of Isuzu engine repairs, I guess I need to get rid of this.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 11th October, 2006

23rd Oct 2006, 06:53

Don't waste your money on synthetic oil. My 2001 Trooper has 86K miles and it started "burning" oil at about 75K. I tried engine flushing and synthetic oil. After speaking with others in the Trooper forum and talking with an ex dealer - you should expect to "burn" one quart for every 800-1000 miles. Seems Isuzu changed the 3.5 engine from 10 oil drains to 4 drains. As the vehicle ages more oil ends up going through the oil rings rather than through the drain holes. In any case the Trooper still runs fine and I look at the addition of oil a form of changing the oil! Keep the Trooper - you won't find a better truck.

5th Jul 2007, 14:37

If your Trooper is using excessive oil it could be a dirty EGR valve. I cleaned mine and that fixed the problem.

15th Oct 2007, 17:20

I will never buy another Isuzu. I have a 2001 Trooper and it has less that 60,000 miles on it. Starting in 2005 I started having transmission trouble. Thankfully it was still under warranty. About six months later I needed ANOTHER transmission. Now it's 2007 and in the past 10 months I've taken it in two more times with transmission trouble. Of course, the dealership tells me that nothing is wrong, but I think they just don't want to pay to have another one installed. You can hear the transmission grinding between 3rd and 4th gear. They asked if the 'check engine' light came on, and it hasn't, but it didn't the first two times they had to replace the transmission.

2001 Isuzu Trooper S 3.5L DOHC

Summary:

Do not buy this vehicle

Faults:

Failure of vacuum actuator for 4wd.

Intake gasket failure.

Anti-lock brakes not effective.

Hood latch cable failure.

Burns 1qt oil every 1000 miles.

Check engine light never stays off long regardless of repairs.

General Comments:

The 3.5l DOHC motor is very responsive, but uses oil - evidently due to a poor design of the oil control rings.

I bought the vehicle because it was much cheaper than a comparable 4runner. There is a reason for this; the parts are very expensive. A rebuilt long block motor is $6400 and not common.

Having owned a 1986 and 1988 trooper I bought this one thinking that the engineering quality would be comparable to the older troopers. It is not and that is why they are no longer manufactured.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 20th October, 2005

23rd Dec 2006, 19:54

Sorry about your experience. I have the same model and except for the oil consumption never had other mayor problems. Now is running near 80,000 and I still torture it in Puerto Rico.

22nd Apr 2008, 19:10

I've put 97,789 miles on my 2001 five speed. This is my fourth Trooper ('85,'86,&'94). I've taken them where you never see a Hummer or 4-runner. They have all been "airborne" in the Withlachochee Forest of Florida and in the Green Swamp.

I flooded the rear end of the '96 (my fault) and had it rebuilt. The '94 blew a rocker arm plug after 120,000. Oh, and a clutch at 85,000 (I have to admit, I burned it up). Three starters, because when you drive across a shallow river, they get wet and wimpy.

The 2001 has the lousy occasional Check Engine light annoyance. I think the problem is a leaky gas cap. And the Vacuum Solenoid Valve for the shift on the fly has been replaced. (Why did they put it where it would get mud and water on it?)

But, all in all, they have been the best vehicles I've ever owned. Don't baby them or they'll get cranky. By the way, my wife's Lexus is ahead of it in repairs! And it's never been off road!

28th Nov 2008, 02:13

The pesky 'check engine' light is caused by a faulty O2 sensor in the engine compartment, there's nothing wrong with the engine or the seals. It's a bad sensor, and even Isuzu had made mention of this issue. My check engine light comes on sporadically (then again so did my '86 Aerostar's), and I know what the problem is, also my check transmission light comes on sporadically when I get over certain RPMs and that's all it is are sensor problems.