Owners have filed 423 complaints on the Isuzu Trooper, covering 1985–2002. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (137 reports). Worst years by volume: 1999, 1991, 2000; cleanest: 1985, 1987, 2002. 40 reports describe a crash, 30 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 5.5 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Isuzu Trooper
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 423 Trooper complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 137 Read
I bought a 1999 isuzu trooper limited edition 1 year ago this month. Since buying it I have had the starter replaced, the alternator replaced twice, the small block was bad because of a failure with the dipstick to read the correct amount of oil. My son was involved in a mva due to the fact that the vehicle would not…
I get frequent oil changes in my 99 isuzu trooper and had just gotten one last month. I had at least 2700 miles before my next one. I was driving down the freeway and I saw smoke coming from my hood and all my dash lights came on like a christmas tree. I pulled over and found out that my engine was on fire. I called…
We were driving in my 1998 isuzu trooper with the 3.5 liter engine and about 90,000 miles on a family vacation to montana, as we came to our destination we were in the mountains. The cruise control was being used in our vehicle and was set at approximately 75 mph, the montana speed limit. The vehicle had to downshift…
Power Train 40 Read
When the consumer approached a train track, another vehicle began to approach from the other direction. The consumer stopped and shifted from drive to reverse to clear up the road way. The transmission jumped to park and locked preventing the vehicle from moving. A train approached and struck the vehicle. Please…
Transmission fluid expulsion resulted in fire
Transmission repaired 4 times, vehicle caught on fire due to overflow of transmission fluid
Service Brakes 27 Read
When trying to stop lost brake power and vehicle crashed into an embankment. Vehicle was towed to a dealer, who found a foreign oil substance in the braking system, which was believed to be the cause of the failure
Engine surged twice while idling at stop, brakes failed to stop vehicle
1(a). After driving at highway speeds (above 60 mph) the ABS warning light on the instrument panel nearly always comes on. This has ocurred hundreds of times. 1(b). When driving in slippery snowy conditions, after applying the brakes the ABS computer makes a loud buzzing noise that will not stop until the electrical…
Vehicle Speed Control 26 Read
Dt: the contact stated 2001 isuzu trooper accelerated while in reverse, then he put the car in drive, it hesitated and surged forward while the brakes were applied. The vehicle left black marks in the driveway, went through the garage cans and through a fence in the backyard. All this time the brakes were being…
Accelerator got stuck in open position, resulting in hitting a pole. Tt
Consumer was driving and mat got caught on the gas pedal accelerate and cause an accident . Tt
Tires 25 Read
Vehicle control is loss when rear end begins to swerve while making turns at normal speed on rainy days
Right rear tire tread separation while driving at 60 mph and caused damage to right inner fender/ door.*ak
Tread separation on tire, loss of vehicle control, impact with retaining wall, considerable damage to vehicle
Electrical System 23 Read
Vehicle caught on fire without warning while parked. A witness stated that fire began under dash. Fire marshal determined that fire was caused by a short circuit in electrical wiring
I contacted isuzu of america customer relations hotline and was "brushed off". My isuzu trooper was in excellent condition prior to the crash and the computer failure was brought to my attention by the isuzu mechanic. The vehicle has not been repaired yet, with the exception of the front suspension. I was told not to…
Wiring harness leading to the alternator shorted out, causing alternator to catch fire
Suspension 22 Read
Consumer was going up hill hit some black ice and spun around/ flipped over on passenger's side. Tire bar was broken and twisted around frame. Vehicle was totalled. A police report was filed. Consumer please enter vehicle's identification number
While driving on a dark road vehicle hit a bobcot, lost control/rolled over
Vehicle pulled to the right, I steered to the left to correct. Vehicle crossed median out of control. I corrected again to the right and the vehicle rolled over three and one half turns. There was very little left right motion necessary to cause the vehicle to tip and roll
Fuel System 22 Read
On saturday, march 3, 2001 at about 9 am I pulled into the mobil gas station in cascades shopping center, sterling, va to refuel. My tank was on "e". I turned off the vehicle, popped the gas cap door open from inside the vehicle, exited the car and walked around the rear of the vehicle to refuel. I began to turn the…
After removing fuel cap, flames shot out of filler neck. Fire department contacted and arrived to extinguish flames. Dealer notified. Feel free to provide any further information
The transmission has been shifting rough since the vehicle was purchased new in 1991. The first incident was covered under warranty and some minor repairs/adjustments were made by the dealer. The second incident required more extensive repairs to the transmission and I was required to pay a portion of the repairs…
Trooper 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 2001 | Electrical System | 2 | — | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 1999 | Electrical System | 4 | 1 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 2 | 2 | |
| 1997 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 11 | 1 | |
| 1994 | Electrical System | 3 | 2 | |
| 1993 | Electrical System | 2 | — | |
| 1992 | Electrical System | 3 | 3 | |
| 1991 | Electrical System | 1 | 13 | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | 1 | 5 | |
| 1989 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | — | |
| 1988 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 2 | 2 | |
| 1987 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1986 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1985 | Structure | — | — |
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 | 231 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.8 |
| Worst single series | 9 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.5 years |
A model average of 1.8 hides a worst series at 9. 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
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
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 Trooper?
By complaint volume, 1999, 1991, 2000 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 Trooper years are the cleanest?
1985, 1987, 2002 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Isuzu Trooper have?
423 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1985–2002. Of those, 40 describe a crash and 30 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.