Very reliable. Good gas mileage. Great rear seat leg room. Excellent dealer support from Grady Isuzu, Mobile, AL. Multi-CD changer and premium speaker system.

Engine "pings" when accelerating. Wind shield seems to "ding" easily. Vehicle needs to have front end aligned when new to prevent uneven tire wear due to poor initial alignment.

This is the 4th Rodeo we have owned. First was 1995, then two 1999s and now a 2001. One of the reasons we come back to the Rodeo is due to the excellent service we have received from our local dealer, Grady Isuzu in Mobile, Alabama. The SUV is comfortable and has excellent back seat legroom (important with three growing boys). We have towed boats and trailers, tied all sorts of things to the handy roof rack and racked up over 42,000 miles in one year of use. My 1999 Rodeo has 122,000 miles. The 2nd set of tires have another 10k miles left on them. I change the oil every 3-4k miles and follow the recommended service schedule on both the 1999 and the 2001. It better last, because I have a 15-year-old who will get this vehicle when I'm done with it.

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HOPEFULLY THE AIRBAGS WILL WORK CORRECTLY

EVERYTHING ANOTHER THAN THE CIG. LIGHTER IT WORKS WELL

THIS CAR HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT TROUBLE, HALF WAY HOME FROM DEALER CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, I PULL OVER AND SHUT OFF CAR, I TRYED TO RESTART IT WAS VERY HARD TO GET GOING, THIS CAR ONLY HAS 30,000 MILES ON IT, WHEN I START IT THE ENGINE REVS UP AN DOWN IT EVEN DOES THIS AT STOP LIGHTS AND IN TRAFFIC CAUSING THE CAR TO JUMP FORWARD IF YOUR NOT EXPECTING IT YOU COULD END UP IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION, AFTER READING MANY OF THESE SAME TYPE OF COMPLAINTS I BELEIVE THAT THIS CAR SHOULD BE RECALLED, IT IS A VERY DANGEROUS CAR TO DRIVE, IF U PLAN ON BUYING ONE PLEASE BE WARNED.

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V6 Engine, Isuzu reliability, rugged good looks.

None

This is the second 1999 Rodeo that I have owned. I originally purchased an LSE Rodeo new in 1999. I owned this vehicle for 3 years and put 80k trouble-free miles on it. I loved this vehicle but couldn't pass up the 0% financing and traded it on a 2002 Axiom. Both my wife and I felt bad when we had to trade the Rodeo. Approximately 6 months ago, I needed to purchase another vehicle for my wife. We were both very pleased to find that the dealer had a low mileage, very clean 1999 LS Rodeo on the lot. We drove it home that day and continue to be very pleased with our purchase. For those that are complaining about the Rodeo, let me offer a few suggestions: 1) If you are in the market for a Rodeo, purchase the V6. The 4 cylinder engine is under-powered for this size vehicle. To make matters worse, it is a GM manufactured engine and is very problematic (as most GM products are). 2) If the service engine light is coming on in your vehicle, make sure that you tighten then gas cap at least 3 clicks every time that you fuel the vehicle. This is not unique to Isuzu, virtually every vehicle manufactured since the mid-90s will display the service engine light if the gas cap is not properly tightened. 3) For those that have a 2000 or newer vehicle that includes the intelligent suspension control system (ISC), tire pressure is critical. Failure to maintain proper tire pressure as outlined in the owners manual may cause the ISC light to come on and the system to enter "default" mode. 4) For those that are experiencing the "thud" in the drive train when starting from a stop. This is caused by a slip yoke on the drive shaft that is binding and needs to be lubricated. This must be a design issue since every Isuzu that I have owned has required this lubrication sooner or later. Overall, all three Isuzu's that I have owned have been very reliable and trouble free and I would recommend them to anyone that is in the market for a mid-sized SUV.

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None

Brakes, Tires, Transmission

My wife and I purchased our 98 Izuzu Rodeo in November of 1998. Since then we have had nothing but problems. First the truck shook and vibrated at speeds over 20 mph. After 6 trips back to the dealer and 13k milesand each time being told that the tires needed to be balanced they told us the tires were "out of round" meaning they were wearing unevenly and would need to be replaced. The truck had a little over 13k miles and we were told that we would have to go thru GoodYear for any warranty replacement. Good Year replaced the tires but prorated the warranty and we had to pay almost $200. Then the rims started to peel..The dealer replaced all 4 wheels under warranty. Then at about 40k miles we had to replace both the front and rear rotors as well as brakes. Then the check engine light came on and the manifold gasket had to be replaced. Then the shift sensor in the transmission went bad costing us $300 to replace. Then the wheels began to peel again. Took it back to the dealer and was told that it was not covered under the 12k 12 month warranty. So this past sunday the same switch in the transmiission went bad again. 12 months and 20 days from the date of inital repair. The dealer has told me that since its past the 12 month warranty period I would have to pay for the part and labor.

It has been a great value for the money. Only one maintenance problem in 3+ years. Good tower, great off-road and in the snow.

Driver's seat could be more comfortable for long trips. Weak speakers if you put in an aftermarket stereo.

Purchased based on price and ability to tow a boat and not get stuck in unimproved launches. Purchased the 99 new in '00. Truck has met all expectations. Great in snow. Comfortable for long trips. Won't get stuck in the launch as my 2WD Ranger did. Gas mileage 20-22 hwy (75 mph), 16-19 city, 15 towing anything. V6 is a bit doggy pulling a loaded 6X12 uhaul through the mountains. Change oil every 4k miles and have not added oil in between. I'm satisified with the truck at 54k miles. Did replace the ABS at 48k miles. Replaced serpentine at 30k miles. First set of tires lasted 44k. Went to a set of highway radials (moved south) and the ride improved.

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rides nice and is pretty quiet on the inside at highway speeds. very good on fuel and is fun to drive when I can actually drive it.

parts cost to damn much and everything wears out to quick. the 2.2l 4- cylinder has no power and the exhaust raddles under the middle of the vehicle

Im completely disgusted with my car. Ive owned it for about 1 1/2 years now and have had nothing but trouble with it since day 1. I bought it at a used car lot because I had no credit and I really needed a vehicle for work(us army). Within the first 6 mon. of me owning this car I had to replace the clutch and the clutch master cylinder which ran me about $2,500. I dont make a whole lot of money so it took a nice chunk of change out of my pocket. Now I have to replace my brake master cylinder and every rubber piece in my brake system because the rubber seals wore out to early. Im looking at about another $2,000 dollars that I dont have. Now Im stuck paying for a high intrest car that is sitting and collecting dust outside my house. What a waste of metal I think.

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none

good style fair comfort tows reasonable for engine size does ok in snow

ABS issue

my wife and i originally leased this vehicle and are in the process of buying it. overall, we have been satisfied with it. my wife and daughter usually are in this vehicle and i feel comfortable with them driving it. we do a fair amount of towing with it (boat & camper) and while it sometimes struggles, it does do well. we live in snow country and it has handled maine wint'ahs quite well. as a rule i don't off road with it but it has spent some time off the beaten trail and has handled well. we have had the abs issue. however, we just went over 60k and are now starting to have the fuel gauge problem and the newest problem is the idle. the vehicle rev's way up and then goes way down like it wants to stall. the check engine light also just came on. does any one know what the solution is for these problems?? i would really like to know what the problem is before i have it fixed.

Looks, ride room

intelligent suspension gas hungry

I love this suv. Has one problem the intelligent suspension light comes on all the time, book says get service. They say they can not find anything wrong and the light is never on when they service. Service is 3 hrs from here so its hard to catch. Anybody else have this problem?

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Good looking vehicle. Ithink Isuzu has done an ecellent job protecting the appearance of this good looking vehicle. It is a sturdy vehicle - I can't destroy it. The room, when you fold up the rear passenger seats you have some serious room in back of you.

No bells and whistles and not the best ride.

I bought a 1998 Rodeo in 1999. The vehicle had about 28K miles on it when i purchased it and it was clean. I have close to 96K on it now and the ABS pump needs replacing. This is the only major problem I have had with the car. I did experience another issue. The threads on the tire studs seem to strip rather easily when under the pressure of an air gun. Other than these two issues Besides normal maintenance this vehicle has been a perfect gem!!! The ride is not the best and there are no bells and whistles, however, this vehicle gives you great bang for the buck. This is a sturdy vehicle that you don't have to baby. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.

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Cherokee

Lots of strength and power; nice exterior and interor design

Horrible parts; customer service is really bad, especially if you call the company directly

I bought this car in September of 2002. At the time, we had a lemon check run, and everything turned up fine. The first day after buying it, the ABS system went out...luckily that was still covered by the warranty. Three months later, a whistling sound...there was a crack in the manifold ($140, after warranty covered PART of it). Now, barely a year later, I have to get a new fuel sensor ($250), a new EGR valve/port ($350) and after I get paid this month, I have to have the transmission serviced. While the exterior and interior are very nice and wonderful, the actual running parts of this SUV are crap. I realize that buying a used car is a gamble...but when thousands of Isuzu Rodeo owners have complained about the fuel sensors going out and the ABS system failing, then something is wrong with the manufacturing. By the way, I get my car serviced every 3000 miles, like you're supposed to, and I take darn good care of this car. I'd hate to know what would happen if I didn't take such good care of it!

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