1998 Isuzu Trooper

Typical pattern

7.9% of complaints about the 1998 Isuzu Trooper 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 5.8 yr in service. The most-reported system is engine cooling (17 complaints), typically at 6.8 yr or about 63,344 miles.

Complaints: 38
Median age at failure: 5.8 yr
Median mileage: 63,344 n=19
Crash / fire / tow: 10.5% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

98V180000 1998-08-03

Power train:transfer case (4-wheel drive)

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES. THE TRANSFER GEARBOX FLANGE NUTS WERE NOT PROPERLY INSTALLED, CAUSING THE NUTS TO LOOSEN.

IF THE FLANGE NUTS LOOSEN, THE PROPELLER SHAFT CAN SEPARATE, RENDERING THE VEHICLE INOPEATIVE.

In owners’ own words

Engine cooling mileage not reported 2.3 yr in service

WHILE DRIVING, NOTICED WHITE STEAM COMING FROM HOOD. VEHICLE TAKEN TO DEALER AND INFORMED OF A HEAD GASKET FAILURE, REPAIRS WERE MADE AT NO COST TO CONSUMER. *AK THE HEAD GASKET FAILURE IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH ISUZU TROOPERS AND SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED. *YH

Engine cooling mileage not reported 3.5 yr in service

GASKETS LEAKY. CAUSED EXTRA FUEL TO BE DUMPED TO ENGINE. DID NOT GET BURNED. DAMAGED ALL 6 SPARK PLUGS. NECESSITATED FLUSH OF FUEL INJECTOR, REPLACEMENT OF ALL 6 PLUGS, REPLACEMENT OF ALL GASKETS. *AK

Engine cooling mileage not reported 3.1 yr in service

VEHICLE STALLS WHEN MAKING SLOW TURNS AND WHEN COMING TO A STOP. VEHICLE TAKEN TO DEALER 4 TIMES, CANNOT REMEDY. VEHICLE HAS STALLED NUMEROUS TIMES, UP TO 6 TIMES A DAY. *AK

Other Trooper model years

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 Trooper

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Trooper model years

How to read this