ISUZU RODEO · model year

2001 ISUZU RODEO

515 NHTSA complaints, 24 crash reports, and 4 active recalls for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2001ISUZURODEO carries 515 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 24 crashes, 3 fires, 16 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2001 RODEO is structure:frame and members with 161 filings, followed by suspension (56) and suspension:rear (54). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 4 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 5 investigation files overlapping the 2001 RODEO. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

515
Complaints
24
Crashes
3
Fires
16
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

515 filings

Crashes Reported

24 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

Above median complaint volume — review patterns below.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS161
SUSPENSION56
SUSPENSION:REAR54
STRUCTURE:BODY28
STRUCTURE17
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM15
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP12
STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS:UNDERBODY SHIELDS12
TIRES10
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION9
UNKNOWN OR OTHER9
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE9
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL8
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE7
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING7

Recalls (4)

10V43600022/09/2010

SUSPENSION:REAR

ISUZU IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 1998-2002 ISUZU RODEO AND MODEL YEAR 2002 ISUZU AXIOM VEHICLES, AND HONDA IS RECALLING CERTAIN 1998-2002 HONDA PASSPORT VEHICLES, THAT WERE ORIGINALLY SOLD, OR ARE CURRENTLY REGISTERED, IN THE STATES OF MAINE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, VERMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND,

01V05500022/02/2001

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES WERE BUILT WITH THE INFLATORS IN THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG MODULES HAVING THE WRONG AMOUNT OF GENERANT.

02V21300009/08/2002

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, THE PASSENGER-SIDE AIR BAG INFLATOR MODULES WERE MANUFACTURED AND SHIPPED WITHOUT A NECESSARY COMPONENT KNOWN AS A CHECK VALVE PIN.

00V29800005/10/2000

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES. DURING THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN FUEL RETURN HOSES, INCORRECT RUBBER MATERIAL FOR THE OUTER LAYER WAS USED.

Recent Complaints

20201030AIR BAGS

AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON AND OFF . WENT FOR INSPECTION TWICE PAID $99 DOLLARS FOR THE PLACE TO FIX FOR INSPECTION AND LIGHT IS BACK ON AGAIN. HE SAID THE AIR BAG MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED

20201030FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON AND OFF . WENT FOR INSPECTION TWICE PAID $99 DOLLARS FOR THE PLACE TO FIX FOR INSPECTION AND LIGHT IS BACK ON AGAIN. HE SAID THE AIR BAG MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED

20200129ENGINE

FUEL DELIVERY WENT OUT KILLING VEHICLE. FRAME COMPLETELY RUSTED REAR LINKS COMPLETELY GONE. ENGINE RANDOMLY LOSES POWER. WHILE TRAVELING TO WORK VEHICLE BEGAN TO SWAY, STARTED TICKING THEN ENGINE SHUT OFF. WON'T START. BATTERY TESTS GOOD ALTERNATOR JUST REPLACED A WEEK AGO. 2001 3.2L RODEO

Mileage: 234,000

20200129FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

FUEL DELIVERY WENT OUT KILLING VEHICLE. FRAME COMPLETELY RUSTED REAR LINKS COMPLETELY GONE. ENGINE RANDOMLY LOSES POWER. WHILE TRAVELING TO WORK VEHICLE BEGAN TO SWAY, STARTED TICKING THEN ENGINE SHUT OFF. WON'T START. BATTERY TESTS GOOD ALTERNATOR JUST REPLACED A WEEK AGO. 2001 3.2L RODEO

Mileage: 234,000

20200129STEERING

FUEL DELIVERY WENT OUT KILLING VEHICLE. FRAME COMPLETELY RUSTED REAR LINKS COMPLETELY GONE. ENGINE RANDOMLY LOSES POWER. WHILE TRAVELING TO WORK VEHICLE BEGAN TO SWAY, STARTED TICKING THEN ENGINE SHUT OFF. WON'T START. BATTERY TESTS GOOD ALTERNATOR JUST REPLACED A WEEK AGO. 2001 3.2L RODEO

Mileage: 234,000

20191220SUSPENSION

WHILE DRIVING TO WORK, VEHICLE STARTED SWAYING IN THE BACK LIKE IT WAS HYDROPLANING. SAME THING HAPPENED ON WAY HOME. DIDN'T DRIVE IT DURING THE NEXT TWO DAYS, SAME THING HAPPENED THE NEXT TIME. ON FOURTH DAY, I NOTICED A BRACKET HAD COME APART FROM THE RUSTED FRAME. CAR WAS BOUGHT IN 2018, AND AM STILL PAYING FOR IT. DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THE RECALL.

Mileage: 150,000

20190508STRUCTURE:BODY

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 ISUZU RODEO. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS UNDERGOING ROUTINE SERVICE, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE REAR FRAME WAS RUSTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND KEPT REFERRING THE CONTACT TO DEALERS THAT NO LONGER SERVICED ISUZU VEHICLES. THE MANUFACTURER PROVIDED A CASE NUMBER. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 155,000.

Mileage: 155,000

20180509FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY

2004 ISUZU RODEO. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO THE SHIELD THAT COVERS THE PLASTIC GAS TANK BEING ROTTED THROUGH. *LD *JS *JS THE CONSUMER REFERENCED RECALL 13V-547. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO HAVE THE RECALL REPAIR COMPLETED.*JS *JS

20180509SUSPENSION

2004 ISUZU RODEO. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO THE SHIELD THAT COVERS THE PLASTIC GAS TANK BEING ROTTED THROUGH. *LD *JS *JS THE CONSUMER REFERENCED RECALL 13V-547. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO HAVE THE RECALL REPAIR COMPLETED.*JS *JS

20180415POWER TRAIN

TRANSMISSION SLIPS AND SOMETIMES BANG INTO GEAR. THE SHIFTER LINKAGES GET STUCK AND HAVE TO SHUT OFF CAR AND PUT IT IN NEUTRAL TO UNJAM SHIFTER. WHEN GOING TO TAKE OFF REAR END JAMS UP.

20180415SUSPENSION

TRANSMISSION SLIPS AND SOMETIMES BANG INTO GEAR. THE SHIFTER LINKAGES GET STUCK AND HAVE TO SHUT OFF CAR AND PUT IT IN NEUTRAL TO UNJAM SHIFTER. WHEN GOING TO TAKE OFF REAR END JAMS UP.

20171101SUSPENSION

THE VEHICLE REAR SUSPENSION RUSTED TO THE POINT THAT WHILE DRIVING THE STABILIZING BAR DETATCHED WHILE VEHICLE WAS ON THE ROAD. THE FAILURE OCCURED AFTER RECALL REPAIR WAS PREFORMED 7 YEARS EARLIER. AT THIS POINT THE IZUSU COMPANY IS ONLY WILLING TO BUY THE VEHICLE BACK AT 1888.00 US DOLLARS THW VEHICLE ONLY HAD 155000 MIL4ES AND IS 16 YEARS OLD. THE COMPANY INSPECTER STATED THAT THE RECALL FIX WAS ONLY A WAX WHICH I WAS NEVER ALERTED TO UNTILL AFTER THE FAILURE OCCURED. I THE COMPANY NOTIFIED ME OF THR RECALL FIX I WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE RESPONSIBLE STEPS TO FURTHER REINFORSE VEHICLE SUSPENION AS TI PREVENT AN UNSAFE HIGHWAY OCCUANCE.

Mileage: 155,000

20170530FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

I DRIVE A 2001 ISUZU RODEO. IT HAS APPROXIMATELY 111,000 MILES ON IT AND IS IN GREAT SHAPE. IT IS GARAGED YEAR-ROUND IN SOUTH BEND, INDIANA. I STARTED HEARING A GRINDING NOISE AND PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. UPON LOOKING UNDER MY VEHICLE I WAS SHOCKED TO FIND THE SHIELD THAT COVERS THE PLASTIC GAS TANK WAS ROTTED THROUGH. THE ENTIRE BOTTOM OF THE GAS TANK IS NOW VISIBLE AND THE SHIELD IS THE PART THAT HOLDS IT IN PLACE. I WENT TO A MECHANIC IMMEDIATELY AND HAD THE CAR LOOKED AT. WHEN THE MECHANIC PUT THE CAR ON THE LIFT HE SAW EXTENSIVE RUST AND SOME ROT UNDER THE VEHICLE ON THE FRAME. HE STATED THAT I WOULD NEED TO REPLACE THE SHIELD. AS OF RIGHT NOW IT IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE DUE TO THE GAS TANKS SHIELD BEING ROTTED OUT. THE MECHANIC TRIED TO ORDER ME A REPLACEMENT BUT HIS SUPPLIER SAID THE PARTS ARE NO LONGER BEING MADE. THE ONLY WAY I COULD GET ONE WOULD BE FROM A JUNK YARD AND MOST OF THE PARTS IN THERE WOULD MOST LIKELY BE ROTTED AS WELL. AND FEEL WRONGED BY ISUZU. I WOULD L

Mileage: 111,000

20170514ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

STATIONARY AT PARK DRIVEWAY, WOKE UP EARLY MORNING TO GO TO WORK AS I GO TO MY CAR MY KEY REMOTE WILL NOT WORK I HAVE TO MANUALLY KEY IN CAR TO OPEN DOOR.PUT THE KEY AND START THE CAR NOTHING HAPPENED. FOUND OUT BATTERY WAS DEAD, BUY NEW ONE STILL NOT STARTING FOUND OUT THE ALTERNATOR NOR WORKING AND THE MAIN FUSE WAS BLOWN. REPLACED NEW FUSE AND ALTERNATOR AND TRY TO START, 15AMP FUSE BLOWN ON MY PANEL CLUSTER GAUGE NOT WORKING ALTHOUGH CAR START AND THE BATTERY WAS NOT CHARGING. EVERYTIME I PUT A NEW 15AMP FUSE FOR PANEL IT WILL BLOWN. I GUESS THERE MUST BE SOMETHING AN ELECTRICAL SHORT OR GROUND THAT BLOW FUSE ON PANEL AND ALSO NOT CHARGING THE BATTERIES. ANY HELP ON RECALL I HAD MY CAR FOR 15 YEARS I NEVER BEEN TO ANY RECALL ON THIS CAR.

20170514ENGINE

STATIONARY AT PARK DRIVEWAY, WOKE UP EARLY MORNING TO GO TO WORK AS I GO TO MY CAR MY KEY REMOTE WILL NOT WORK I HAVE TO MANUALLY KEY IN CAR TO OPEN DOOR.PUT THE KEY AND START THE CAR NOTHING HAPPENED. FOUND OUT BATTERY WAS DEAD, BUY NEW ONE STILL NOT STARTING FOUND OUT THE ALTERNATOR NOR WORKING AND THE MAIN FUSE WAS BLOWN. REPLACED NEW FUSE AND ALTERNATOR AND TRY TO START, 15AMP FUSE BLOWN ON MY PANEL CLUSTER GAUGE NOT WORKING ALTHOUGH CAR START AND THE BATTERY WAS NOT CHARGING. EVERYTIME I PUT A NEW 15AMP FUSE FOR PANEL IT WILL BLOWN. I GUESS THERE MUST BE SOMETHING AN ELECTRICAL SHORT OR GROUND THAT BLOW FUSE ON PANEL AND ALSO NOT CHARGING THE BATTERIES. ANY HELP ON RECALL I HAD MY CAR FOR 15 YEARS I NEVER BEEN TO ANY RECALL ON THIS CAR.

20170514VISIBILITY/WIPER

STATIONARY AT PARK DRIVEWAY, WOKE UP EARLY MORNING TO GO TO WORK AS I GO TO MY CAR MY KEY REMOTE WILL NOT WORK I HAVE TO MANUALLY KEY IN CAR TO OPEN DOOR.PUT THE KEY AND START THE CAR NOTHING HAPPENED. FOUND OUT BATTERY WAS DEAD, BUY NEW ONE STILL NOT STARTING FOUND OUT THE ALTERNATOR NOR WORKING AND THE MAIN FUSE WAS BLOWN. REPLACED NEW FUSE AND ALTERNATOR AND TRY TO START, 15AMP FUSE BLOWN ON MY PANEL CLUSTER GAUGE NOT WORKING ALTHOUGH CAR START AND THE BATTERY WAS NOT CHARGING. EVERYTIME I PUT A NEW 15AMP FUSE FOR PANEL IT WILL BLOWN. I GUESS THERE MUST BE SOMETHING AN ELECTRICAL SHORT OR GROUND THAT BLOW FUSE ON PANEL AND ALSO NOT CHARGING THE BATTERIES. ANY HELP ON RECALL I HAD MY CAR FOR 15 YEARS I NEVER BEEN TO ANY RECALL ON THIS CAR.

20170318SUSPENSION

REAR STABILIZER BAR FELL OFF AT FRAME BECAUSE OF RUSTING WHILE DRIVING.

Mileage: 180,000

20161129SUSPENSION:REAR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 ISUZU RODEO. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THERE WAS A VIBRATION AND PULLING ON THE REAR DRIVER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT COASTED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND NOTICED THAT THE REAR DRIVER SIDE SUSPENSION DETACHED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 10V436000 (SUSPENSION). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 182,000.

Mileage: 182,000

20160920SUSPENSION

REAR SUSPENSION BROKE CAUSE FRAME TO TWIST. FRONT WHEELS WENT ONE WAY AND BACK WHEELS WENT ANOTHER WAY. I WAS ON THE FREEWAY AND THE REAR CONTROL ARM ON THE DRIVERS SIDE BROKE, CAUSING ME TO GO INTO ANOTHER LANE. I WAS LUCKY AND THERE WAS NO VEHICLE IN THIS LANE. I WAS CLOSE TO HOME AND WITH MY VEHICLE DOG- TRAILING I WAS ABLE TO VERY SLOWLY MANEUVER IT HOME. IT IS USELESS AND SITTING IN MY GARAGE AT PRESENT

Mileage: 130,000

20160909SUSPENSION

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 ISUZU RODEO. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR A ROUTINE INSPECTION, THE TECHNICIAN NOTICED THAT THE FRAME UNDER THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE WAS CORRODED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 10V436000 (SUSPENSION). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 57,000.

Mileage: 57,000

Compare 2001ISUZURODEO to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2001 ISUZU RODEO have?
The 2001 ISUZU RODEO has 515 NHTSA complaints, 24 crashes, 3 fires, 16 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2001 ISUZU RODEO?
Yes, the 2001 ISUZU RODEO has 4 recall(s). The most common affected component is SUSPENSION:REAR. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2001 ISUZU RODEO?
The most-complained component for the 2001 ISUZU RODEO is STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS with 161 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include SUSPENSION and SUSPENSION:REAR.
Is the 2001 ISUZU RODEO safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.