27th Apr 2010, 21:03

I'm posting this in April of 2010; I purchased my 1999 Isuzu at auction for 2K (I know, paid too much, but it's hardly been used, 102k and overall like new..)

The driver window master switch plate immediately did not work, but the front and rear passenger, and rear driver side individual window switches work without the master panel. There is a computer board under the master switch plate (!) no way to clean or fix. If resetting the breaker fuse on the left side of the dash board doesn't work, your solution: Go to a junk yard/EBAY and replace the switch panel.

Rear wiper also didn't work - grinding sound; Pull the rear door panel, remove the motor plate and clean out the old grease and replace/pack with lithium grease.

Some of rest like everyone else - ABS (pulled fuse), fuel gauge (bad fuel sender unit in tank) - no quick fix yet.

Engine light (code 440) is a loose gas cap; replace cap and/or smear Vaseline on the seal and pull the Neg wire 20-30 minutes to reset the engine light.

BTW, all 4 speakers were tossed and replaced (wrong wattage!).

The worst issue? A bad hood pull cable that frayed at the lever side; I'm replacing it with an electric solenoid pull and emergency front grill ring kit.

12th Jul 2010, 21:16

People need to stop ranting and raving about their cars and start maintaining them. Everybody just fills their cars with gas and changes the oil every now and again.

I've worked at an Isuzu dealership for 23 years and have seen both sides of the story. People who maintain their vehicles, and those of you that don't. It's like taking care of yourself, if you don't bother maintaining yourself you can expect to have problems health wise. It doesn't matter what brand of vehicle you buy, you need to maintain it!

All vehicles have problems, some more than others, and all require maintenance. If you think something is expensive to fix, get another quote on the repair, or learn to work on the vehicles yourselves.

I have been working as a technician since 1976, and have an awful lot of training and continue to learn daily, and take pride in my skills as a technician. If you think someone is ripping you off, go somewhere else. There is plenty of reputable shops in this world willing to do work for you, but you have to find them. Oh, and nothing is free, but advice. Sorry, just tired of the slamming.

No car is perfect, especially a used one. You are buying a car that someone else grew tired of. For one reason or another, that car is on the market, and may have not been taken care of. Maybe it's a lease return? I've had customers that bragged about their lease returned vehicle, that all they did was put gas in it the whole three years they drove it! Never once changing the oil or filter!

How is that for for enlightening? Car fax? Give me maintenance records. Just take care of your vehicles, it's a big investment.

21st Jul 2010, 17:59

I bought my 1998 Rodeo 5 years ago with 166k freeway miles. It had new brakes and a new clutch. Well the engine finally gave up the ghost at 265k, and it has been a great car, so I put a used (48K miles on it) engine in it. Everything still runs strong.

Have to replace the occasional sensor from time to time, but after seeing how tight the tolerances were during the engine swap, it looks like a pretty well thought out and compact design. Pretty good quality components in the wear areas too.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the value of this car, but will probably have to give it up sometime in the future as parts (12mm stainless steel exhaust studs and bolts) are getting harder to find.

9th Oct 2010, 21:25

1999 Isuzu Rodeo LS 3.2 Auto 172K miles. I have the common minor issues with it (gas gauge, rear wiper, check engine light, ABS). However it does appear that I have an issue that is not on this thread, and I could use some ideas.

When I drive on the road and the car hits a bump, it sounds like two giant people are getting busy in it. Loud squeaking noises are coming from under the car all over. Sounds like rubber bushings, but which ones? Sway bar bushings? Body bushings? Shocks? Any ideas?!

Thanks!

Lee.

18th Apr 2011, 00:34

I had the same problem with the transmission shifting hard. It is the sensor on the side of the transmission. It is not the transmission. The sensor cost about $90.00 and I bought it through Car Stuff. It is an easy fix, took about 30 minutes. A friend who is a mechanic told me that was the problem, and I fixed it myself. Just make sure you disconnect the battery beforehand.

14th Jun 2011, 18:42

I have owned a brand new 1998 Honda Passport, brand new 2002 Isuzu Rodeo... which is why I was pretty comfortable buying a used 1999 Isuzu Rodeo.

The 98 Passport had a recall on the gas gauge, and the computer had to be replaced in another recall that affected the rear window defroster. Honda was great at notifying us before we had a problem. Isuzu not so much so. All three of the vehicles had issues if you had something plugged into an outlet when you started the car. It was akin to how some computers wouldn't boot properly if you had a floppy in the drive on start up.

The rear window wiper would refuse to work if you forgot to turn it off, and then attempted to open the rear glass. It would eventually work, but you had to manually remind it how to do its job. I bought the latest in the rain and it was working... but not no more, but it's old.

The $4200 I paid for it has been worth it. Its stalling problem sometimes appears fixed, we recently replaced the fan clutch and it's so much better, but then my husband asked if my other two cars had that little fan that would run after the engine was turned off. That's when I remembered. Yes, it did, it drove me nuts, needless to say that is the next thing we will replace, the auxiliary fan...

It has had a lot of problems, but it has still been better than $600 per month for the car I was driving. It's a beater and I like it. The engine sounds great, the transmission impressed the shop; it's the same one in his BMW and in Cadillacs.

My husband hates it, but it's always gotten us to work so I won't complain. If we put half the payment of a new car into this one each month, it would be completely rebuilt in a few months, and good for another 150k miles. It currently has 192K on it.