ISUZU TROOPER · model year

2002 ISUZU TROOPER

12 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2002ISUZUTROOPER carries 12 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 0 fires, 0 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 2002 TROOPER is vehicle speed control with 2 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:engine (2) and engine and engine cooling:engine:gasoline (1). 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.

NHTSA currently has 1 investigation file overlapping the 2002 TROOPER. 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.

12
Complaints
1
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

12 filings

Crashes Reported

1 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL1
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION1
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:FLOOR SHIFT1
STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS:UNDERBODY SHIELDS1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1
TIRES:TREAD/BELT1

Recent Complaints

20161201TIRES:TREAD/BELT

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 ISUZU TROOPER EQUIPPED WITH BF GOODRICH MUD TERRAIN T/A KM2 TIRES, SIZE: LT265/75R16. WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 55-65 MPH, THREE OF THE TIRES EXPERIENCED TREAD SEPARATION. THERE WERE MOMENTARY VIBRATIONS JUST BEFORE THE FAILURES. THE FAILURES OCCURRED ON THREE OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A TIRE DEALER WHERE THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE AND REAR DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE TIRES WERE DEEMED DEFECTIVE. THE TIRES WERE REPLACED. THE DEFECTIVE TIRES WERE REPLACEMENT TIRES WITH ONLY 12,000 MILES ON THEM PRIOR TO THE FAILURES. THE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 49,000 AND THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 12,000. THE VIN AND DOT NUMBER WERE NOT AVAILABLE. *TR

Mileage: 49,000

20140409ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 35 MPH ON A RURAL ROAD AND I NOTICED THAT UPON GIVING SOME GAS THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESPOND AT ALL. THEN I NOTICED THAT ALL MY INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS WERE OUT....EVERYTHING GONE. I APPLIED THE BRAKES AND WITH DIFFICULTY IN STEERING (THERE WAS NO POWER), I PULLED TO STOP AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I THEN PUT THE VEHICLE INTO PARK AND TURNED THE IGNITION KEY OFF, THEN RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND DROVE AWAY. THIS IS THE ONLY TIME THIS HAPPENED (LAST WEEK).....A COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER. I KNOW ISUZU SHARES PARTS WITH GM (E.G. MY TRANSMISSION IS GM). I HOPE THIS IS NOT AN EXAMPLE OF THAT GM IGNITION SWITCH PROBLEM.....BUT CERTAINLY HAS THE EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS OF IT. BUT IT IS VERY SCARY LOOSING COMPLETE POWER LIKE THAT. *TR

Mileage: 81,897

20070611ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

ENGINE IN MY 2002 ISUZU TROOPER BURNED UP THE MAIN ROD BEARING IN PISTON ONE DUE TO INSUFFICIENT OIL PRESSURE. ENGINE HAD TO BE REPLACED. TRUCK HAS 79K MILES ON IT AND WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. ISUZU OF NORTH AMERICA STATED NOTHING WOULD BE DONE VIA THE MANUFACTURER. I REPLACED THE ENGINE MYSELF AT A COST OF $4800. *TR

Mileage: 79,000

20070327ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION. 1 QT. EVERY 600 MILES OR SO. 5 QTS BETWEEN OIL CHANGES (3000 MILES!) *JB

20060313STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS:UNDERBODY SHIELDS

I TOOK MY 2002 ISUZU TROOPER LTD. TO THE DEALER (FITZGERALD DODGE ISUZU, ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, COMPLAINING OF A GROWLING NOISE. WHILE IT WAS MIS-DIAGNOSED, THE DEALER INDICATED THAT THE UNDERPLATING ON THE CAR WAS SUFFERING FROM FAULTY WELDS, AND THAT IF I DIDN'T HAVE IT REMOVED IT WOULD FALL OFF WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I HAD TO PAY SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR THIS TO BE PERFORMED. I NOW HAVE NO UNDERPLATING TO PROTECT THE CAR. IT SEEMS TO ME THIS IS A MANUFACTURERS DEFECT, AND THE OWNER SHOULD NOT BE OBLIGATED TO REMOVE PORTIONS OF HER AUTOMOBILE TO CORRECT FAULTY MANUFACTURE, AND BE SUBJECTED TO RISK OF POTENTIAL DEATH OR INJURY TO HERSELF OR OTHERS ON THE ROAD. THE TROOPER ONLY HAS 45,000 MILES ON IT AND IS JUST OVER 3 YEARS OLD. *JB

Mileage: 45,000

20050816POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:FLOOR SHIFT

DT: CONSUMER OWNS A 2002 ISUZU TROOPER. CONSUMER SAYS THAT WHEN PUTTING THE VEHICLE IN PARK THE INDICATOR POSITION WILL READ PARK, BUT THE VEHICLE WILL BE IN A NEUTRAL POSITION. THE VEHICLE CAN ROLE FREELY FORWARD OR BACKWARDS. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR ABOUT A YEAR. VEHICLE HAD BEEN TO DEALER 3 TIMES, BUT COULD NOT DO ANYTHING TO FIX THE PROBLEM. SHE WAS TOLD THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. CALLED WHEN VEHICLE WAS AT CONSUMER'S HOUSE AND PROBLEM WAS RECURRING. DEALER SENT SOMEONE OUT BUT STILL NOTHING WAS DONE ABOUT PROBLEM, WHICH DID NOT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME, AND DID NOT SEEM TO FOLLOW ANY PATTERN. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED TWICE, BUT PROBLEM RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WANTED VEHICLE TO BE TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP FOR FURTHER INSPECTION. *AK

Mileage: 38,000

20040715CrashPOWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

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 PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *JB

20030814VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

WHEN CHANGING GEARS AND WITHOUT WARNING VEHICLE WOULD ACCELERATE. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK

20021206ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

WHEN IN MOTION FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME, THE VEHICLE WILL LOSE ACCELERATION POWER. THIS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL CONSUMER IS ABLE TO PULL OFF THE ROAD TO RESTART THE ENGINE. THE EGR VALVE HAS REPEATEDLY BEEN REPLACED, BUT THE PROBLEM IS STILL IN EXISTENCE. *JG TS

Mileage: 4,700

20021206ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE, IF YOU TRY TO PASS SOMEONE OR ACCELERATE, SOMETIMES THE VEHICLE WILL LOOSE POWER. CONSUMER STATES' ONCE WHEN VEHICLE LOSS POWER IT ALMOST RESULTED IN A REAR END COLLISION. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. TS

20020820VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

MOTOR WILL REV UP WHEN SITTING STILL AT A RED LIGHT AND TRY TO LUNGE FORWARD. I HAVE EVEN HAD IT GO 35 MILES AN HOUR WITHOUT MY FOOT EVEN BEING ON THE ACCELERATOR. I HAVE HAD MY TRUCK TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES NOW AND THEY KEEP SAYING THEY CAN NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. UNLESS THEY CAN SEE THE VEHICLE DO IT THEY CAN'T FIX IT. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DOES NOT COME ON AND THEY SAY UNTIL THAT HAPPENS THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT IS WRONG. DEALER REFUSES TO KEEP VEHICLE AND DRIVE IT UNTIL IT DOES IT SO THEY CAN SEE IT. THEY MAKE IT SOUND LIKE I AM MAKING THIS UP. THERE IS A PROBLEM AND IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED. I DO NOT WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR A ACCIDENT THAT I HAVE NO CONTROL OVER. THE STATE POLICE SAYS IT IS ILLEGAL TO DRIVE A UNSAFE VEHICLE ON THE STATE HIGHWAYS. I OWNED A BRAND NEW VEHICLE THAT IS ILLEGAL FOR ME TO DRIVE ON THE STATE HIGHWAY AND ISUZU WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I HAVE CONTACTED ISUZU CORPORATION AS WELL AS BEEN BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP 3 TIMES AND IT IS STILL DOING IT.*AK

20020806VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

WHEN AT A COMPLETE STOP VEHICLE WILL START TO REV. IF CONSUMER DOES NOT HAVE FOOT ON BRAKES VEHICLE WILL START TO MOVE FORWARD. CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER WAS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING.*AK

Compare 2002ISUZUTROOPER to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2002 ISUZU TROOPER have?
The 2002 ISUZU TROOPER has 12 NHTSA complaints, 1 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2002 ISUZU TROOPER?
The most-complained component for the 2002 ISUZU TROOPER is VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE and ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE.
Is the 2002 ISUZU TROOPER 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.