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BTW, the service tech told me that my Trooper was the 2nd or 3rd in the past month to have the same problem.
David
If you are expecting decent snow on your trip, I would take a 4wd vehicle.
Also my performance seems to be worse than when new, so I doubt you will have a problem with your 2001. I will have to try to clean the motor out, I really don't like dashboard work. What is the best way to access the fan motor?
Of course we are way out of warranty and can be thankful for Duncan Isuzu service department. Had bad engine taken apart by ASE certified mechanic (who is an auto service tech teacher) and found a spun #1 rod bearing. Everyone has said this is unusual. BTW – Northern VA dealership said the engine failed due to lack of oil without ever looking in it. Mechanic showed me the engine and he has shown his students as an example of a well maintained engine. Nice tan oil finish, no gunk and great looking inside (except for the failed part).
Even though out of warranty I sent Isuzu a letter (BTW - address in warranty manual is no longer valid) basically asking for some consideration for the failed engine and also more importantly Isuzu only gives a 12month/12k warranty on the new replacement engine and asked it be bumped up to at least 36mo/36k miles. Tells you how much faith they have in it.
Got a response letter 6 weeks later and they declined any assistance. That's fine they had no obligation to do anything. Isuzu could have kept me as a future customer by simply extending the warranty and tossing a token to me for inconvenience. Heck $50 would have at least shown me the company wanted to keep me. But they made their decision and mine is to never buy another Isuzu product. Isuzu has lost at least 2 new vehicle purchases over the next couple of years. I'm helping my nephew buy a 4WD within the next month and will definitely not look at Isuzu. I'll buy new in 18-24 months and it will not be an Isuzu product.
Just wanted to let people know what you may be dealing with in the 99 engine. We probably hit the 100K mile mark before a lot people. Wished I'd listened to my wife and got rid of it right after it went over 100k. Live and learn...
Again, sorry it didn't work out for you.
Regards,
Tom
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Is the replacement engine exactly the same? Are there some updated parts inside?
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Keep all paperwork and add to it some evidence of the skill level of the mechanic and shop that did the replacement. With the proper information, I would not hessitate to buy a Trooper with a replaced engine.
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I heard of a guy that forgot to put his oil fill cap back on, stuffed a shirt in place of it. The shirt got pulled in and torn up and spread around enough that he replaced his engine as well.
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Isuzu must enter its SUV in off road challenges that get publicity in the USA to create a following or they cannot compete in SUVs.
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The slow sales of the Axiom show that people looking for luxery or high performance sporty SUVs don't look to Isuzu, so sell then utility and efficiency instead.
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I would like to see Isuzu become the SUV maker known in the USA for building SUVs that cost very little to operate and last forever on the toughest of trails and routinely outlast the other SUVs in total vehicle miles.
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Let the Isuzu be the simple dependable lovable workhorse passed down from generation to generation while the others are the finicky show horses used mostly as a fashion statement.
So now I have to start over at another dealer
Also they said my tranny fluid was dark and that is only in 17K miles, so I'll get that flushed before I hit the next dealer on the list.
Very discouraging to not be able to get it fixed.
As for oil consumption, the dealer started an oil consumption test, although I'm sure that since they aren't an Isuzu dealer now, I'm gonna have to start it all over again! Ughhh what a mess.
-mike
-mike
Paisan what problem is it in for?
My 99 did not start consuming oil until about 60k which is about the time I change to 5.38 gears/33" tires(up from 4.30/29") which brought up my highway running rpm to 3k. Truck drinks oil at about half to 1 quart per 1k miles, depending on brand/weight used but consumption is more when the oil gets dirtier. I have more than 150k now. Problem seems to be that the piston ring is sticking due to poor design/drain back which causes carbon build up. Supposedly, late 2000 and up models have the redesigned pistons. Anyway, I am hoping that soaking the pistons with solvent will free the rings and get rid of the carbon. This procedure seems to work on Saturn cars that have similar oil consumption problems. I will do this procedure when I am due for my next oil change since one has to dump the oil after the soak.
disclaimer: procedure is to be done at your own risk.
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Short Summary: be absolutely certain to get the engine moving again before the disolved carbon hardens again.
My grip is Isuzu doesn't understand good customer service relations. In the letter to Isuzu customer service I only asked for some consideration given our maintenance of the vehicle and our 15 years of loyalty. The fact that they will give away $1,500 rebate on a new vehicle but won't even toss a few dollars to a loyal owner shows they haven't figured out what customer service is all about. Todays successful companies know they have to keep their customers happy on both ends ... not just long enough to make a sell.
And by the way they lost another sale today. A co-worker quizzed me about Isuzu. He is going to buy a 4WD and had heard me brag often about my Isuzu and was thinking seriously about a Rodeo. I told him about my recent experience and he has decided not to even look at an Isuzu. See they don't get it. Consideration was all I asked for -- not paying for my engine. I'm serious when I say a $50 check would have made me happy just to know they at least feel I have some value to them as a loyal customer and owner.
Surprisingly, I burn little to no oil since the replacement 18K miles ago.
I have had some major service issues with Isuzu and probably wouldn't buy another if I could also. Actually the dealer that replaced the engine was great and if they were still in business I would consider it, however having to change dealers often, get crappy service, etc. has driven me away.
Although I have had service issues, I love the trooper offroad and in the snow. It has awesome capabilities. It is just that when there is an issue with it, I either have to go to a local shop and pay out of pocket or go to a dealer and take 6 trips and a lot of hassle to get it fixed.
Ugly, ugly, ugly.
In addition, I suppose Isuzu's lawyer would have told them any money they sent you could have been construed as some sort of admition of guilt leaving them liable for the whole repair.
No doubt this is a lousy situation but you are far from the first person to have a catastrophic engine failure. You are certainly not the only one to have this happen at over TWICE the mileage warranty. While I feel sorry for your wallet, I don't think Isuzu is the total bad guy you are trying to make them out to be.
I would guess that customer relations have suffered along with the other Isuzu departments. Similarly, I would not expect highly skilled mechanics to seek out Isuzu as a long term career stratagy. This is bad news for Isuzu owners. These are certainly symptoms of a struggling company.
But I believe that their product remains an exceptional value compared to their competition. You "throw the dice" with all vehicles you purchase. I think the #1 concern of buyers is vehicle quality; customer service or vehicle service is only a prized offering when the vehicle has failed. If you buy a Jeep Liberty tomorrow, will you be satisfied with the company if their vehicle fails often, but their customer relations department shows you empathy?
I think the longevity of Honda and Toyota cars have upped the bar so high we all expect near perfection from our low priced machines.
A correction to a previous post...P.T. Warranty for a 2002 is a mind-blowing 10yr/120000m. Wow!
For the record 2 of my 3 cars have +225000 miles and I would buy a used Trooper anyday.
Only my opinions.
Apparently my Isuzu dealer that had my truck had the switch turned off by Isuzu themselves on Monday, leaving the customer high-dry with our vehicles at the dealer for repair. I now have a diagnosis by a former Isuzu dealer and a frown from the GM of the dealership. After waiting a month for my appointment and spending $20 in tolls to get my Trooper in for repair, I now must start all over at another dealership for repair.
So yeah, I'd endorse them as used vehicles, but don't count on any warranty.
-mike
The fact that your dealer gave you no notice and kept you waiting for a month for an appointment leads me to believe that maybe Isuzu was justified in pulling the franchise.
Or, are you saying that the dealer was just as surprised as you? If that is the case then no dealership is safe and indeed the death of Isuzu as a car company is in sight.
However, I'd hope that when talking about Isuzus with other prospective buyers, you tell them about other pieces of information - such as this website where all these Isuzu junkies talk about how much they love their Isuzus. At least until recently, with the additional evidence of Isuzu's impending doom as a retail brand here in the U.S.
I'm glad our Trooper was out of warranty well before mass numbers of dealers started closing their doors. We had very few warranty issues, all minor, and so far at 97k miles our Trooper has been great.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend buying a new Isuzu right now. But that does not dampen my enthusiasm for Troopers at all. These are great vehicles, and a used 1992-2002 Trooper is still an unbeatable used SUV value.
'00 Troop Ltd. w/ still time & mileage left on the powertrain.
Apparently Isuzu dropped them because they haven't sold an Isuzu vehicle in 3 months and maybe 1 or 2 vehicles the months before that. Basically Isuzu is cutting off dealers that don't promote their brand/sell product, since an Isuzu dealership that only does warranty work are a major liability for Isuzu since it only costs them money and doesn't bring any in for them. So unless your dealer is selling isuzus hand over fist, then expect them to get ditched by Isuzu shortly and thus your repair channel.
On the dealer side, they get no incentives to sell products (low commissions for sales folks, no factory to dealer incentives, lease programs, % financing etc) So basically they are both stonewalling, and the dealers will win in the end cause there are very few Isuzu stand alone dealers I know of.
That's the scoop folks...
-mike
I've been watching our dealer's lot and I think they've only sold 1 Ascender in the 4 months that I've been watching. Sad. I can't understand why Isuzu won't offer incentives on it when the Chevy/GMC versions have plenty of them. Isuzu seems to have some really strange marketing people.
Jim
edit: I think we are talking about after the holidays at the earliest now. Is that fair?
Isuzu starts closing shops that can't sell the Ascender (which is basically all of them, because it's overpriced), so there's no place to go for work under that big warranty if you were one of the unlucky folks that bought one.
Unfortunately, my '98 Trooper with 45K is probably worth about $8K, half of what I paid for it two years ago. If my dealer goes belly-up, there won't be anywhere within 30 miles to get it fixed.
Caveat emptor, I guess. But I couldn't have seen this incredible downward spiral myself two years ago.
Isuzu has been slowly going out of business since 2001. It is hard to believe they will actually close up shop, since most automakers go through several re-organizations and buy-outs...they just don't disappear. There has been some talk of Isuzu having a product in 2005? However I can't imagine it selling without much of a dealer network to support it.
How about this one, I've had extremely good luck with Nissan Trucks. So I waited a loooong time for the X-Terra to come out, when it finally came to market in 1999, Nissan was having financial problems with Renault coming to save the day. I was very skeptical about the possibility of a turn around, after all it's "Renault"...look at Nissan now! That guy is brilliant.
Ironically GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz suggested "Renault would be better off sinking a barge full of gold in the middle of the ocean". Looks like he used the same mentallity for Isuzu. http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=6648
I just have to laugh at the whole thing now, and chalk it up to one of life's lessons:)
-mike
After the holidays is fine with me, I have to bill my computer consulting clients to get the $ for you
A burban for $34K is not bad at all. I bet I could get my duramax for around the same thing. Can't wait to finish paying off the trooper and give it to my dad!
-mike
Isuzu heavily discounted their lineup before, with folks paying as low as 7.5k off MSRP so one should really take this into account when figuring its resale value.
In my case, I have too many mods and too much mileage that it will be a keeper. Dealt with Isuzu on 2 warranty issues(leaking pinion seal/axle seal) without any problem even with the offroad mods. I did have same seal fail 60k later and also had the IMG replaced out of warranty/out of pocket.
My only complaint really is the oil consumption which could have been exagerrated with my mods.
Ouch.
-mike
I have to vent somewhere and here seems like the best place. Is someone taking their XC90 or BMW anywhere near a place that will need hill descent control?
I have put the Isuzu in 4wd Low and gone down some steep slopes...not because I needed the ultralow gear, but just for fun to see how well it works. If one of these cars gets far enough from home that it needs that feature...how is it getting back?
Ugh...Thanks.
When it came down to it, we went with the Subaru because although we wanted all wheel drive and good interior room, I already have a pick-up and we decided we did not need two trucks. So now after almost a decade of driving Isuzus I have left the fold, with some sense of sadness. I hope that they can pull out of this death spriral, but I am not optimistic.
As a sidebar, I have moved away from leasing any more cars, but I guess it worked OK for my Rodeo. The residual at the end of the lease was about $4K higher than the car was worth.
As another sidebar - don't a lot of these vehicles with hill descent control use this as a substitute for not having a low range? I know some with a low range also have this feature, but I am not sure what added benefit this would have, especially if you have ABS. If you are really into going offroad, you would be best off with no ABS, low range and a stick shift.
Also some like the 4-runner that have low-range use it because they don't have a hand-brake, only a foot-style parking brake.
-mike
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Here's a thought from outside the box: Its late 2005 with the new 2006 diesel 27 mpg Trooper and Isuzu changes the dealer paradigm by selling exclusively over the internet in the USA and allowing select non-dealer shops with Isuzu certified mechanics to process warrantee claims. Isuzu could build to suit that way (build your vehicle after they get your order and deliver it to you in a month) as many other industries are trying to do with their products.
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I looked up my 1995 in the condition it was in before being totaled and my current 2001 Trooper.
1995 was $4200
2001 was $13200 down $600 in six months, it will be down to zero in 11 more years at that rate, or going back up as a collectable by then, like International Scouts are.
These KBB numbers agree with the same lookup on Edmunds within a couple hundred dollars.
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If I could have found a 5 speed 1995 when replacing my 1995 I would have done that for the terrific value. But the 2001 is more powerful and a bit quieter. I miss my OME shocks and springs that I had on the 1995, I'll fix that next year along with 265/75 tires to make those big wheel well flares not look like so much overkill.
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I can't understand why Isuzu sells a rebadged product from GM while at the same time they say they have no plans to bring in their new pick-up, which was essentially developed by Isuzu but is only being sold here through Chevy and GMC. If Isuzu is going to survive as a niche player they have to sell their own products (including capitalizing on their expertise with diesels) and selling their new pick-up with an Isuzu diesel or Isuzu gas direct injection engine would be an immediate boost to sales. On the flip side, I think selling the Ascender (or any other rebadged product they may plan to sell in the U.S.) only weakens what remaining value the Isuzu brand has.
That kind of ties in with something I just checked. Namely my 99 is now worth about $7k dollars less than a 99 4runner. IIRC $7k is about what I saved when I bought my Trooper rather than my second choice which was a 4runner. Thus, I am really no worse off resale wise for having bought the Trooper. Plus, the longer I keep the Trooper the more this difference in resale value will decrease. Also I probably save a few bucks in cheaper insurace premiums each year since the Trooper is worth less and stolen less.
Thus, while Isuzu troubles are not a good thing, they have not really been an issue for me (Note: I of course realize that some of you have outstanding warranty issues, and I wish you luck). Then again, if they really fold up and repair parts disappear, that could change.
Steve, Host
-mike
-mike