I just bought a 2002 Isuzu Rodeo Sport on 6/29/2012. It had 76,544 miles on it and (as of today 08/01/12) it now has 77,393. I do not drive it daily yet since I have the use of a leased car for a few more weeks. But about a week or so into having the vehicle I noticed that when it gets up to about 30 mph I feel a very slight kick/jolt/jerk (what ever you want to call it) and I noticed that the tach goes from about 3 to about 4 1/2. It doesn't happen all the time and only when the engine has warmed up. I brought it back over to car lot and had the salesman take a ride with me. And of course it didn't kick when I took him for a ride. He suggested to take it over to the transmissions shop and see about getting a transmission flush. The mechanic took it for a test drive and could feel it. He thinks that third gear may be starting to go and that a transmission flush (150.00) would probably do nothing. And to rebuild the transmission would cost about 2,000.00 to 2,500.00 to fix it. I just took out 6,575.00 out of an IRA + state and federal taxes on it to buy the vehicle. And really can not afford to fix a transmission. HELP!!!!!! any thoughts or suggestions? Thank you PS I really like the Rodeo and the folks at the car lot have bent over backwards to help me
At the very least check the fluid and see if it's brown or low. It should be red in color. If it hasn't already been done it might be worth doing a transmission and filter change.
They are going to pick up the tab for the transmission flush. Which is very nice of them. Looking back on what my personal mechanic looked at when I had the Isuzu checked out he had highlighted transmission fluid. My mechanic also printed out a service schedule for the Rodeo. One thing it had listed was a transmission flush at 60K. The car fax did not list any services done to vehicle other than registrations. Also it doesn't always happen at 30mph. Sometimes it happens at 20mph and a lot of time it doesn't happen at all. Twice since I have gotten it, it seamed to kick when I was starting off from standing still. Which is something I forgot to mention. I am really hoping and praying that all it needs is that tranny flush. I really like the Isuzu and the people I bought it from have been fantastic people.
We once had a similar problem with our truck,after flushing the transmission it got even worse,this is what came up when I just googled it: 'pull your tranny dipstick and inhale deeply. If it smells burnt you are probably already screwed, and a tranny flush could finish off your transmission by loosing up the sludge that is holding it all together'. This is what happened to ours after flushing it.
I went and googled where the transmission dipstick would be and this is what i came up with: Q: Where is the transmission dipstick located on a 2002 Isuzu Rodeo? A: 1997 - 20002 do not have dipsticks and you can not check the levels yourself. You must have the vehicle checked by a service center by raising the vehicle and removing bolts on the tranny as if you were going to drain it. Another post I found while researching the dipstick was: I think 2002 was the last year of the 10 year/ 120,000 mile powertrain warranty for the ORIGINAL owner. Subsequent owners only got 5 year 60,000 warranty if I remember correctly (might have been able to transfer the 10/120 warranty to a family member only). Bumper to Bumper was 3 years 50,000 miles. Go to www.isuzu.com click on "Owners" and the Warranty link is in there. 2003 warranty changed to 7/70. I went to isuzu.com and went to owners and this what I found: Isuzu's 10-Year/120,000-Mile Powertrain Limited Warranty Isuzu's 10-Year/120,000-Mile Powertrain Limited Warranty for 2000-2002 model-year vehicles excludes commercial or fleet vehicles. The Powertrain Limited Warranty is transferable to immediate family members only. See your Isuzu dealer for warranty details. What is covered: Engine Cylinder head, block and internal parts Valve cover Oil pan Valvetrain Timing gears, chain or belt and cover Oil pump and cooler Water pump Fuel pump Flywheel Engine mounts Gasoline fuel injection equipment Seals and gaskets Transmission and Transaxle Case and all internal parts Torque converter Transmission and Transaxle mounts Seals and gaskets Steering Steering gear housing and internal parts Steering column assembly Power steering pump, hydraulic cylinder and hoses Seals and gaskets Suspension and Axle Front upper and lower control arms Knuckle spindles, hub and hub bearings Front/Rear differential and internal parts Axle shafts and constant velocity joints Seals and gaskets Propeller shaft Torsion bars Ball joints Stabilizer bars For more information on any of the Isuzu Protection Plans, contact your Isuzu dealer or call (800) 343-0305. Sorry for such a large post. Just wanted to give you all the information.
Well I called Isuzu to find out about the 10 year 120k mile transmission warranty. 1.) The warranty expired in April (original sale date was 04/28/2002) 2.) I am not the original owner.
A lot of times a flush is the worst thing you can do to it... Call Shift Right, they know their stuff, and can tell you exactly what you need to do and what your options are. For free...919-207-1131 They are in Benson on Elevation Rd.
Thanks. I called them and got their exact address. I will try to get it to them either this afternoon or tomorrow morning. The person I spoke to said them to hook it up to the transmission machine? and have them check the shift solenoid
Yep, that sounds right/... There is always a good chance that you only have a solenoid problem and don't need a complete rebuild, but they will be able to tell you without a doubt and save you a ton of dollars if that is the case... Good Luck! I like that they are honest enough to say hey you don't need a whole rebuild if that is the case...
I stopped by there today about 11:30am. Spoke to the person that I had spoken to on the phone yesterday. He told me they had three similar cases recently and they all had solenoid issues. He went on to tell me the guy who works on those will be back on Monday. And if it is a solenoid issue it usually runs from 300.00 to 500.00 Which is far better than rebuilding the transmission at 2,000.00 to 2,500.00.
I took it back and the guy gave it a test drive. He wants to put on a MLP to check to see if that will correct the issue or see what is causing it. I know he explained it to me but can any one else elaborate on what an MLP is. Found out it was MLP not MLB.
An update I want to really thank you for recommending them. It took a while to get the problem resolved but for now it is resolved. At first they thought it may of been a solenoid. The mechanic took it and me for about a 40 minute ride so he could get use to the vehicle. His suggestion was possibly change out the MLP. Simply put it is an electronic device that controls the transmission. It took about 4-6 weeks to get the part in (it seamed like forever). Isuzu wanted 250.00 for the part. They researched it and checked the web and the best price they could find was $170.00. I went there this morning and they put it in and added 2.5 quarts of transmission fluid. Their suggestion was not to do a transmission service because that may lead to more issues. So for now my Isuzu is running great. Just wished it got better gas mileage. Looking at the transmission fluid that was in there (black as night) and smelling. They believe the transmission had never been serviced. They did say eventually the transmission will go on it. I did have them give me a ball park figure on how much it would be to fix. This way I can start saving up for it. Again thanks for recommending them. PS it only cost 225.00 to fix it instead of 2500.00 for a transmission repair
