1998 Isuzu Hombre

Typical pattern

3.8% of complaints about the 1998 Isuzu Hombre came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 1998 vehicle — around the middle of the 180 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 6.0 yr in service. The most-reported system is visibility (20 complaints), typically at 6.3 yr or about 50,000 miles.

Complaints: 52
Median age at failure: 6.0 yr
Median mileage: 50,000 n=27
Crash / fire / tow: 11.5% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

97V208002 1997-11-25

Electrical system:wiring:front underhood

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: LIGHT DUTY PICKUP TRUCKS AND MULTI-PURPOSE VEHICLES. AN ENGINE ELECTRICAL WIRING-HARNESS CLIP CAN MELT AND DRIP ONTO THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD.

THE CLIP MATERIAL ON THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD CAN IGNITE AND SUBSEQUENTLY IGNITE OTHER COMBUSTIBLE COMPONENTS RESULTING IN A VEHICLE FIRE.

In owners’ own words

Visibility mileage not reported 3.8 yr in service

WINDSHIELD WIPERS INTERMITTENTLY STOPS WORKING WHEN IT RAINNING. WIFE ALMOST HAD AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE WINDSHIELD WIPERS STOPPED WORKING IN A RAIN STORM.*AK

Visibility mileage not reported 3.3 yr in service

WINDSHIELD WIPERS WORKS INTERMITTENTLY. DEALER CONTACTED. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK

Visibility 24,000 mi 5.7 yr in service

WINDSHIELD WIPERS BEGAN TO WORK INTERMITENTLY. NO PARTICULAR PATTERN BACK IN NOVEMBER OF 2002. MY ISUZU DEALER SAID THAT THERE WAS A RECALL IN EFFECT BUT ONLY UP TO THE 1997 MODEL YEAR FOR THE ISUZU HOMBRE. THE DEFECT IS THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD BUILT INTO THE WINDSHIELD WIPER ASSEMBLY. THE COST WAS OVER $80 TO REPLACE AND THAT WAS BECAUSE MY BROTHER WHO IS A MECHANIC PERFORMED THE REPAIR AFTER THE ISUZU DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT DIAGNOSED THE ISSUE.

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

1998 Isuzu Hombre

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

How to read this