Engine failure poll?

[Doc]

50,000 miles up no problems so far. Actually, with the exception of the CD changer which has now just swallowed all the CD's that were in it, and refuses to work anymore, nothing has gone wrong anywhere on the whole vehicle yet.

[james1vx]

mine 99 siver came up with an engine knock last week. was backing up and hit a snow bank in truck stalled right out. started it up and the knock started. the truck runs like nothing is wrong with it smooth idle and noise goes away when you give it a little gas not sure what to do nearest dealer is a 100 mile away.has 78,000 on it. any ideas?

[AREA 51]

Did you check to see if the snowbank kinked your exh. pipe?

[JAFO]

All I have to say is as far as 4X4 SUV companies go, if you disclude Isuzu who do you have left? Jeep and LandRover. And if you want to talk problems...

Else I would take a Hummer H1 or military HUMVEE but who can aford one.

[Thejerseyfish]

You can make that 6 engines to seven. I have a 99 currently with 108k, at about 40k the engine went kerplunk. They told me that I threw a rod and that the oil res was empty. Found this odd considering since temp never went up, just had oil changed a week prior and had checked the oil 1 day before knock began. Luckily this occured just after 9/11, like the next day. They tried to say it was my fault, and since I mostly changed the oil myself since I got it I could provide no oil change reciepts except for the ones that I had done in the winter months. However "Due to the recent circumstances of 9/11 we will replce the engine for you." It sounds crazy but their reasoning was that since the market plummeted after 9/11 they wanted to keep up good relations and so fixed. Personaly I think that it was due to the fact that I told them that I would sue if they didn't. Since then haven't had a problem with the engine except for a list thats about a mile long, Mass airflow sensor, check engine light off and on, intake manifold gasket, just to name a few. I love the car but hate the ridiculous problems that come with it.

Owner of the car you love to hate but just can't
Randon

[GoIsuzu]

I'm currently dealing with three customers who are having problems with internal oil consumption on the 3.5L. Of those three, one is a VX still under warranty when the oil consumption monitoring was started. Just a couple days ago we got the go-ahead to start the actual process of dropping a new long block under the hood.

If you have an older 3.5L the rule of thumb is to check your oil every time you fill up. If you find you're often low on oil and your vehicle is still under warranty* I'd suggest calling your local Isuzu dealership and get the ball rolling. The process could take weeks or months, depending on the rate of oil consumption and how often you drive the vehicle.

* Remember that if you're the second owner of the vehicle and not immediate family of the original owner your warranty coverage is cut in half. For example, as a second owner of my Isuzu my 120,000 mile/10 year powertrain warranty is reduced to 60,000/5 years. Which means my Isuzu is no longer covered under warranty, though it would be if I were the original owner.

[mrtew]

...If you have an older 3.5L the rule of thumb is to check your oil every time you fill up. ...

Always good advice, of course, but from the stories I've heard the loss of oil is sudden and catastrophic, not something you'd catch like that... people say one day it's fine and the next day blammo. Right?

I'm hoping, like everyone else, that these are just normal random explosions that happen to a certain tiny percentage of all cars and we only know about them because we are so tighly knit and such prolific writers, but you can never have too much info when you're trying to protect a vehicle as beloved as most of ours are.

[majork]

I have a ninety-nine with 142,000...its used a modest amount of oil since it was at 8000 miles....about a 1/8 quart every 1000-1200 miles...

I made sure over that time to keep it topped off......but I have not noted any knocking or tapping

assuming a non-defective engine, with synthetic use since day one...how long would these engines normally maintain peak performance before needing a rebuild

What about upgrading the oil pump and the head to improve oil flow...are these parts available?

[brianboru]

Hi,
Rod knock just started last night - 1999 with 61k mi. So, where do I get an engine and how bad is it going to hurt (my wallet)? I would be REALLY upset except ths is one of the best and most fun of all the vehicles I have owned.
Also is it possible to drop the oil pan to actually check out the damaged rod?
Thanks,
Brian

[WyldWeasel]

I'm curious about Majork's question, as well. Would replacing the oil pump with a beefier one fix (or at least mitigate) this engine failure issue? Are there any other mods that could be considered preventative maintenence?

[GoIsuzu]

Another thing to throw into the question of motors... Isn't the Honda Passport really a Rodeo? Does it use the Isuzu engine? And if they do, do they have any problems with their motor? I would be curious to know how many different plants make the 3.5L motor... and if there is ANY corolation of problems to motors made at a particular plant.

1) It's not the plant, it's the motor design.

2) The Passport is the same thing. I've yet to run into a Passport in our shop that gives us any problems when using Isuzu special tools or diagnostic equipment. I can reprogram a Passport with Isuzu's diagnostic software and Isuzu's (err, GM's) diagnostic scanner recognizes the Passport as a Rodeo with full diagnostic capability.

[colmhd]

My Green Dragon 2000 had it's tooth pulled last summer,
An expensive little operation which has left me with an engine warning light that blinks on as soon as the diagnostics had cleared it..
It had 84k on the clock that's miles not km, when the #1 cylnder started that little tapping noise.
Caught it just in time.

[orionblues]

I've got a 99 VX that just broke 100000 miles. I drive it everyday, and for the most part, it's been a great car. The big exception is coolant issues.

I had to get my Head Gasket replaced last winter, and no one gave me a definite answer as to why it failed. I just recently had to get a water pump replaced, which is understandable, as it was an original part.

Biggest Problem? got to be part confusion. I have a VX made in 5/99. As such, it's on the cusp of the next manufacturing run. Mewchanics are always ordering the wrong part for my car (timin belt, water pumo, head gasket) doubling the wait time. I'm sure that problem isn't unique to VX or Izusu, but it sure is damn annoying.

I've never had any engine probs, but just have become paranoid about coolant. I heard from a mechnaic when I bought it that coolant was the main issue/problem with the VX. With all the VX's in CA and thier hot areas, I'm curious if coolant is an issue there as well. I rarely even use the Power Drive, as I worry about overheating the engine.

[CoastieCosta567]

i have a 99' ironman with 117.000 miles on it and it has never had engine trouble in the past and its clean now too.

[mrtew]

The failures are horrible and everytime someone posts here I get that "there but for the grace of God, go I" feeling, but so far this thread documents 38/6000 of VX engines going bye-bye. Obviously there must be some that didn't get posted here, but a 1% failure rate would be over 600 engines. It looks like we have somewhere between a one-in-a-hundred and one-in-a-thousand chance of problems with a VX which is not enough to justify either that feeling of dread that I get when my oil is a touch low or brown, or the feeling that others get that maybe they shouldn't buy a used one. Right? What are the figures for other cars?