Owners have filed 119 complaints on the Isuzu Amigo, covering 1991–1999. The system named most often is Service Brakes (28 reports). Worst years by volume: 1998, 1999, 1994; cleanest: 1991, 1992, 1993. 25 reports describe a crash, 2 a death. On average the car was 5.7 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Isuzu Amigo
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 119 Amigo complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 28 Read
A vehicle stoped in front of me, I hit the brakes, heard a grinding noise near the brake pedal, hit the rear of the vehicle in front of me. There were no skid marks at the scene
The ABS system in my truck engages at times when it should not and dramatically reduces stopping distance. On sept 6th this resulted in my crashing into a light pole causing some major damage. Pictures of the damage may be viewed on my website, http://www.geocities.com/treading_lightly/damage.html this ABS system has…
My 99 isuzu amigo was in a crash in 6/03 when a driver turned left at an intersection in front of my isuzu. Brakes were forcibly applied on the isuzu, but it didn't stop. A 16-mth old in the turning car was fatally injured & later died. Others were hurt & my isuzu was totaled. Isuzu sent me a note 7/03 that stated…
Suspension 18 Read
Contact was driving down a side road at 20mph when the contact heard a loud clunk and immediately lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle spun out of control and onto a curb where once stopped they were able to drive it into a parking lot but only in four wheel drive. Once inspected, it was determined that the rear…
Dealer is refusing to repair a recall concerning rear axle failure. *ak recall number 00V058
The contact owns a 1999 isuzu amigo. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph he lost control of the vehicle and it spun around. The contact stopped the vehicle and noticed that the control arm and brackets were severely corroded. The contact also stated the control arm and brackets were detached from the…
Engine And Engine Cooling 12 Read
While driving vehicle stalled without warning, also could not control vehicle until turning it off,contacted dealer and dealer stated there was nothing they could do. *ak
My isuzu amigo (1999 4wd) stopped dead in traffic while driving with a lot of traffic. I was scared to death and almost hit in multiple directions. The car would not start, would not move, and I had to have it towed on a flatbed truck. I was incredibly traumatized by this incident, and very nearly killed by the…
On feb 4 it was send to dealer for the second time. Still today, no contact by the dealer and no car yet. Immediately after first problem,contacted isuzu. To provide all information as requested by them and no contact from their part. I would like what I paid for, a new car or money back. Thanks for you help and…
Structure 11 Read
The vehicle soft top convertible shrunk during summer heat, resulting in fumes entering vehicle. Yh
-the contact owns a 1999 isuzu amigo. The contact observed when the vehicle was parked the passenger side rear suspension bar was completely rusted. The frame exhibited severe rust and broke in half. The vehicle was inoperative. The manufacturer was notified which there was no resolution. The contact had concern of…
I have a 1999 isuzu amigo, frame has rusted through in places and will not pass the next inspection. The rest of vehicle is in perfect condition, both body and engine
Fuel System 11 Read
Fuel sending unit failed prematurely. Dealer's service dept. Told me this was common! Vehicle had 75,000 miles when unit failed
We just recently purchased out '99 isuzu amigo v6 4x4. The fuel sending unit is going out on it and it is impossible to tell how much fuel we actually have in there. The vehicle only has 55k miles on it
Fuel system/tank failed
Air Bags 6 Read
No deployment of airbag during front end collision resulted in driver neck injury
Vehicle struck rear end of another vehicle, causing direct frontal impact at 35-40 mph, and there was no deployment of driver's or passeger's side airbags. Cause unknown
The consumer loss control of vehicle, went over an embankment and landed noise first, and none of the air bags deployed, the consumer was injured
Visibility 6 Read
Plastic knobs the hold the sunroof plastic cover are liable to break easily. I have one broken under normal use. Isuzu policy is not to replace the knob but to force the owner to buy the whole plastic cover, which is expensive. Owners are liable to use the cover with one knob which represents a hazard for the cover…
Sunroof cover fell on drivers head while driving
Moon roof cover clips fell off, causing moon roof to fall off. Adhesive on clips lose holding ability in heat. (qcaw)
Steering 5 Read
The manufacturer sealed power steering hose clamp/container had come off (seal was not broken) emptying the steering fluid container in less than 10 seconds which caused me to have no control over steerring the vehicle thus causing a near fatal accident with major damage to the vehicle body and frame of my amigo. I…
While driving vehicle shook uncontrollably. Consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection. Mechanic determined that the solenoid switch needed to be replaced
While driving down the road at 30 mph, with three children ages 2, 8, and 11, in the vehicle the rear suspension gave out n broke thumping along the road, as my steering wheel veered to the right, yet my vehicle remained going straight without being able to be controlled. My mechanic was able to get the car the one…
Amigo years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 11 | — | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 13 | — | |
| 1994 | Power Train | 1 | — | |
| 1993 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1992 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1991 | Electrical System | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 67 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.8 |
| Worst single series | 6 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.7 years |
A model average of 1.8 hides a worst series at 6. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Amigo?
By complaint volume, 1998, 1999, 1994 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Amigo years are the cleanest?
1991, 1992, 1993 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Isuzu Amigo have?
119 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1991–1999. Of those, 25 describe a crash and 0 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.