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Comments
-mike
I'm in the Detroit area, and I couldn't even get my local dealer to do anything about the extremely loose and noisy driver's seat in my 98 Trooper.
Driver door lock mechanism on '96 Trooper sticks. By "sticks" I means you need to repetitively (yet gently) wiggle the key back and forth many times, and if you get it just right, you may be able to unlock the doors from that side. The question is....is this a delaer fix or any locksmith? Of course, I do not want to re-key the whole car or have a different key for the drivers door! Advice please....
Trivia question:
Same '96 Trooper. The drivers side front mud flap has broken. Guess how much to replace via a dealer?........If you said $125 you are winner! Now I admit it is a very nice mud flap, but that is a chunk of change for a mud flap. What to do, fork over the $125 or call junk yards looking for a late mdoel Trooper?
Thanks in advance...
-Eric
Lock problems is a easy fix. I had a similar problem and took it to my local locksmith. His fix was a squirt of two of WD-40!!! Wow you would have thought I could have figured that one out! Oh well, live and learn.... Good luck with it.
for $17,900.
A Good Deal?
please help with A couple of questions;
1. a noise, like a fan motor, near the shifter?
2. "power" "winter" buttons, for what?
3. TOD, can be manually engaged or is auto?
if manual,use it when?
4. any recalls I should know about?
5. what are the major maintenance intervals I need to maintain warranty?
6. what is warranty? 3yr or 5? 36,000 or 50,000?
Thankyou very much,
Cautiously happy owner, so far
for $17,900.
A Good Deal?
please help with A couple of questions;
1. a noise, like a fan motor, near the shifter?
2. "power" "winter" buttons, for what?
3. TOD, can be manually engaged or is auto?
if manual,use it when?
4. any recalls I should know about?
5. what are the major maintenance intervals I need to maintain warranty?
6. what is warranty? 3yr or 5? 36,000 or 50,000?
Thankyou very much,
Cautiously happy owner, so far
I picked up my truck on Monday. They fixed the rattle in the dash. They put about 20 hours into attempting to find out what was causing the rattle. It turned out to be a bracket inside the dash that was loose and cause the rattle. It was both temperature ( only did it in the cold) and RPM sensitive (only did it at about 2500-3500 RPM's). Thank God that one is fixed.
After I got home, I took a look at the tires that are on my truck and to my amazement, they were the same tires that were on the "S", Dueler 684's !!!! I was nuts...! I can't understand how the tread can be different on the same tires. I noticed the tread difference by the footprint my Trooper left on my snow covered driveway vs the footprint the Trooper "S" left on my driveway. The "S" left a track/footprint that looked like a car, very uniform and straight. My Trooper leaves a more rugged "torn-up" type of footprint.
In a state of confusion, I called Bridgestone with this issue. Bridgestone told me that the only thing it could be was that my tires were wearing uneven. ( I did have the front end alignment done about 5k miles ago which straighted out that notorious pull to the right) That would explain the vibrations and excessive road noise. They proposed that I purchase the new Dueler HL which is more of a highway tire. They would pro-rate my existing Dueler 684's for 15k miles. The whole deal will cost me around $500 for tires, balancing and mounting.
I'm really not sure what to do. All I know is that my truck rides very hard. I feel every little bump and those bumps feel like they are shaking the truck apart. I took for granted that this was the way the Trooper's road. Until of course I drove the loaner "S". I guess what I'll do tonight is check the air pressure in my current tires and reduce the pressure somewhat to see if that makes a difference. (Right now, I have the pressure set to the mfg. spec stated on the front door.) If it doesn't, I'll take it over to the Bridgestone dealer and have them check it out. The only good thing is: 1-They are pro-rating my existing tires and 2-Bridgestone has a 30 day try/buy on all of their tires. So, if I don't like the HL's or they don't make a considerable difference.. I'll go for the refund and have them stick my 684's back on.
Steve
You are driving at say 10 miles per hour. You floor the gas pedal. The truck downshifts to first gear and the rpm's shoot up and the truck accelerates. Pretty normal right ...
When I do this, my problem is that back of the my truck vibrates badly almost like the trans is slipping in and out trying to grab the gears. I can repeat this with both TOD on and TOD off. I have noticed that it only happens when I floor it and the transmission is forced to shift from 2nd down to 1st gear. (about 7-15 miles per hour)
I don't think this is normal because the rental Trooper I had did not do this.
It probably means another trip back to the dealer...
Any suggestions....?
Steve
-mike
Also, try going to www.tirerack.com and read up on other available tires. They are a great source of info.
As long as the consumption does not increase beyond a quart every 1,000 miles, I wouldn't be too worried.
What kind of oil are you using in it? 5W30, 10W30, dino, synthetic? What brand? I've been following the Synthetic Oil forum in the Maintenance & Repair area for a few weeks, and the veterans over there seem to agree that switching to synthetic oil usually decreases oil consumption rates noticeably. At 55,000 miles your Trooper is probably new enough that you can switch safely-- most people think switching a high-mileage engine (100k, 125k, etc.) to synthetic can intensify any existing oil leaks or expose new leaks since synthetic is more slippery than dino oil and therefore slips through smaller spaces than the dino oil. I plan to switch my Trooper to full synthetic as soon as I run out of the synthetic blend in my garage. By the way, synthetic blend appears to be a waste of money - too expensive for the minimal amount of synthetic oil you get, which isn't even specified by the manufacturers.
Also, compare what you got for your $18k to what else you could have gotten: a new 4-cylinder Ford Escape, a 2 year old Explorer, a 5 year-old 4Runner, etc. You could not have gotten more truck for your money anywhere else. Good choice, and welcome!
If it's not too much trouble, could you ask your dealer specifically where the bracket was that was making the noise? The weather here in Virginia is warmer so the sound is gone, but I would like to be able to track the noise down and kill it when the weather gets cold again.
Thanks!
-Ken
Congrats on a darn good deal. Here are my take on a couple of your questons:
>1. a noise, like a fan motor, near the shifter?
Normal. Annoying, but normal. Mine is quieter in 2wd than in TOD.
>2. "power" "winter" buttons, for what?
Power = delayed shift points for more power. (Hurts gas mileage, and usually unnecessary.)
Winter = transmission starts in 3rd gear for more traction. (Silly and extraneous to me, in view of the TOD system.)
>3. TOD, can be manually engaged or is auto? if manual,use it when?
TOD may be engaged anytime at speeds up to about 60MPH. It is fully automatic, and may be used as a full-time system. (Just ask Paisan, who uses his practically all the time.) It is noticeably noisier, and will hurt gas mileage. I keep mine off unless there is a potential for snow or ice on my trip.
>4. any recalls I should know about?
There was a recall on the 2000s, for a fuel line. None for the '99 as far as I know. (I have a '99)
>5. what are the major maintenance intervals I need to maintain warranty?
Don't have my book with me; not sure which are mandatory to maintain warranty.
>6. what is warranty? 3yr or 5? 36,000 or 50,000?
Warranty is 3yr/50,000, bumper to bumper. Later '99s sold from about 1/00 on had a 5yr/120,000 warranty (I think), but only if the buyer paid extra.
CD Changer? Yes, your changer only has one opening; push one of the buttons 1-6, and when the green lights on each side of the opening flash, you can insert a CD. Repeat for the other numbers, and you will end up with a changer full of CDs. If you push the eject button once, the CD that is playing will eject; if you push and hold the button for few seconds, all of the CDs in the changer will come out in rapid succession.
Sounds like you could use an owner's manual; you might put that at the top of your shopping list.
Good luck!
-Ken
-mike
I notice the sound of the tranny more only in 4WD Low, where the gear noise is considerably higher. But it is rather comforting to hear that lo gear noise when you're going down a near vertical hill while off road.
-mike
but 1 qt every 1000 mi sounds extreme to me. What does your exhaust look like? I'd think that kind of loss would be visible.
My '89 Maxima w/111K doesn't loose any between 3500 mi changes, nor my '88 Cherokee w/143K nor
did my '81 Toyota Corona w/214K (even with leaks on the 2nd two).
-mike
here is my question (or, rather, concern):
the 00 Trooper is supposed to have 10yr/120K mi powertrain warranty, right? I bought mine with 8900mi. When buying, dealer specifically stressed how wonderful the warranty is and that it was not available on a 99 trooper that i was previously considering. Now I have visited Isuzu web site, and it states that 10yr/120Kmi warranty applies only to original owner, and otherwise only 3yr/50Kmi warranty applies. what gives? Usually, warranty applies to the car, not
the owner. So am I, basically, screwed? When choosing trooper, the 120K powertrain warranty was a big factor. Anyone in the same situation? Thanks
-mike
The owners manual shows how to change the fluid, so I am hoping this guy was confused.
The tranny has a drain hole and fill hole on the side. You fill from underneath the vehicle, which can be kind of a pain, but it certainly isn't "sealed".
If I were you I would take it to Jiffy Lube or similar for a complete fluid replacement. This is done at the front where the transmission cooler line goes into the radiator, so the lack of a dipstick fill tube is irrelevant.
-mike
Thanks,
Chris
Just my opinion.
-mike
Just thought I'd mention this in case it applies to you.
I would like to suggest that if you are going over 60mph and you encounter a situation in which the extra traction of TOD seems beneficial, you should probably slow down!
-mike
Any thoughts? (please)
Phil
with my last ?'s. But guys PLEASE HELP again!
ALL Highway 15, constant 70-80MPH, NO START & STOPS, and ONLY 15MPG???? IS THIS NORMAL?????
What should I expect around town?? in 4WD???
Any suggestions/advise greatly appreciated.
acola
15mpg seems low, but if you provide more details we may be able to pinpoint the specific causes.
Several factors to consider that may affect your mileage:
* Does your truck have TOD?
* Was it on or off?
* What's your tire pressure? I use 30psi front / 35 rear as Isuzu recommends. You could bump those numbers up for better highway fuel economy. My OEM Bridgestone Dueler 684s do say "max 35psi" on the sidewall, though.
Were you going 70 or 80? It makes a BIG difference. If you were regularly back and forth between 70 and 80, you may actually get worse economy than doing 80 with the cruise on. Acceleration uses way more gas than constant cruising.
* How many miles on your Trooper? Is it well broken in yet?
* Are you sure you calculated correctly? No offense, but sometimes it's easy to make an honest mistake.
* What was the air temperature on your trip? In Michigan, my 98 Trooper does 5-10% worse in colder months (35 degrees Fahrenheit or lower), either because of the colder air or because of the reformulated winter fuel.
* Which direction were you traveling? Sometimes when I make a trip, going west the mileage is noticeably worse because winds the truck is fighting against the wind (usually, wind blows from west to east here in Michigan). On the way back home heading east, mileage is usually better.
* Was your trip a significant enough distance on which to base the results? If it was only a tankful of gas, that may have an effect. It's hard to tell whether the tank is filled to the same level each time you get gas, and that can throw off the numbers if you're calculating fuel economy at every tankful.
I assume you weren't towing anything.
I usually get 18-18.5 mpg at 70mph. At 75mph it drops to 17.5-18. In the 35,000 miles since we bought it (had 7,000 miles on it), our 98 Trooper gets 16.7 mpg overall with about 40% highway and 60% city driving. That's with correct tire pressure and economical driving habits (no hot-rod starts, light throttle, lots of coasting when I can see the light ahead is red, etc.)
Factors that do not affect the fuel economy of our 98 Trooper, or the 96 we previously owned, include warmer air temperatures, use of the A/C, and amount of passengers/cargo on board.
Just some things to think about.
No AC, No TOD
I've got 23,000 miles on my trooper.
didn't check tire pressure, I will today.
very accurate mileage computation. Over 600 miles tested.
Filled it, cleared the odometer, then divided the gallons into the mileage.
headed north & south, about 55 degrees temp.
thanx for the help
acola
15-16mpg is what I get going 250miles @ 80mph with cruise on and PSI @ manufacturer's specs. If I drop down to 60-65mph I get 17-18mpg @ stock PSI, if I bump the PSI up to 35f/40r i get 20mpg @ 60-65.. TOD kills 1 mpg no matter what the conditions, premuim fuel ads 1/2-1mpg. I have 18K miles on my 2000LS.
-mike
No AC, No TOD
I've got 23,000 miles on my trooper.
didn't check tire pressure, I will today.
very accurate mileage computation. Over 600 miles tested.
Filled it, cleared the odometer, then divided the gallons into the mileage.
headed north & south, about 55 degrees temp.
thanx for the help
acola