Faults:
4x4 stopped working after 30,000 km
Speedometer cable broke after 30,000 km
Tachometer stopped working after 80,000 km
Dash and roof interior cracked and ripped after 120,000 kms
Leaking rear drive shaft seal at 130,000 km
Timing chain guide broke at 140,000 km costing $3,000.00 Cdn to fix.
General Comments:
This car has been good for reliability and I quite like the interior layout, the crisp and logical function of all the controls. The handling is also sweet as this truck corners as if it were on rails which is odd considering it is a 4x4. It also looks awesome.
My problems with this truck are the poor gas mileage of app 22 miles per UK Gallon on the highway and the dismal acceleration when passing. The highways are getting so crowded now that I think I need a better car. The space between oncoming traffic is getting so small I can't pass anymore!
My biggest grief was obviously with the timing chain guide. What a fiasco! The truck starts rattling like a diesel one day as I'm driving along. I bring it in to the dealer for repairs and return in the evening a few days later after work. The bill on the seat is ~$1,500 for taking the engine apart and replacing the timing chain and guides. I start the car and it still makes the same noise! The bill indicates the engine top had been short of oil and I may yet have to replace the lifters, but I should drive it for a while. I drive it and it still makes racket. I've had trouble with this dealer before so I bring my truck to another place and they replace the lifters and charge another ~$900. The truck still rattles like a diesel. The two dealers speak and decide to take the engine apart again. They found a plastic piece (probably from the timing chain guide) stuck in an oil port. Another $600 bill. Now I have a $3000 engine job and my truck still rattles cause the new lifters were short of oil before the plug was found and removed. Good grief! I can't believe there are no other reviews with this trouble as a buddy of mine indicated that replacing these lousy plastic guides is a popular item in the garage.
7th Nov 2004, 07:26
I've also have experienced the mishaps of the timing chain guide, which has cost me greatly. It started when the guide went bad and causing the chain to wear a hole in the housing. I sent it to a shop for repair, and decided since it had a 137,000 and begun to smoke a little when left idling for a while, to have the engine rebuild. The engine still had pretty good compression before this occurred. Needless to say I spent over a $1000.00 to get my engine rebuilded, but instead they switched my engine out with a junked one. The engine ran for 5months before the guide was gone in that engine which lead me to have another timing chain replaced, that cost me another $250.00.