2000 Isuzu Rodeo CEL, fuel tank sending unit

[Sweetness]

I am the original owner of a 2000 Rodeo - My problems started around the 21st of February. My CEL came on. I called the dealership where I bought it - the Service Manager told me to bring it in because it is still under warranty. The code they got was for the cam sensor. It cost me $50 (deductible) to have this warranty work done. I thought problems were over with. On the 27th of February - the low fuel light began flashing, the CEL came on, and the fan was blowing - when the engine was cold - and it was idling high. I called the service dept again - my appointment was for 8 am Saturday the 13 of March. They hooked up the computer checker and told me the code was 463 - they told me that was the code for the fuel tank sending unit and it was not covered under warranty - and it was going to cost $500. I was so upset - I left and logged into google and did a search. I found all of these messages. I plan on calling the 800 #'s for Isuzu. I thought they were trying to take advantage of my being a female, but it seems they are doing this to others as well. I need some advice on where to go. I believe they knew about the fuel tank sending unit in February - can't prove that though. I live nearly two hours from the dealership and it is a hardship for me to take it in. My vehicle is just now at 50,500 miles. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Sweetness

[ammie]

Hi! I came acrosss your post by doing a search and I am having the exact same problem. I also have a 2000 rodeo but I have 74K miles on mine.

My problem started last July (when I had about 60K miles on it). The CEL came on and the truck felt like it was about to stall. Brought it in to the dealer, they told me I needed an EGR valve, the plugs needed cleaning etc.., total cost was $500+. My husband told them no and we left the truck alone. It ran fine except for the CEL. It would go on and off.

I now brought it to a friend of ours who has a shop. He tuned it up and hooked the truck up to the computer and he came back with a code 463. I'm also having the problem with the gas light blinking, but it would only happen when I have a 1/4 tank of gas and I'm making a right turn.

Have you gotten anything resolved with this issue? Did you call Isuzu? How many others out there are having this problem as well?

[Truballa2k3]

you buy a fuel sending unit from St. Charlie Isuzu its gonna cost you 35 bucks. those losers at the dealership are ripping you off. you dont need to replace the whole pump just the sending unit. Got mine 2 days ago now i gotta install it myself

[DellUser]

I have a 99 Isuzu Rodeo and my fuel gage is all messed up. I've noticed that it gets very bad gas milage. It has 50k miles. When I fill up the fuel gage shows full but after 50 miles the fuel tank gage is useless. At that point The fuel warning light goes on and off and the gage reads empty. I've called the dealer and they say it takes 3 hours to remove the tank at a labor charge of $297.00. The fuel sending unit which has the fuel pump attached costs $270.60. I called another dealer and he said the sending unit costs $45. I think I'm going to replace this myself.

[2000IsuzuRodeo]

OMG! Why does my car do the same thing. When it is at 1/4 tank, the low fuel light starts to blink. One time, my tank was full and the fuel gage went all the way to 1/4, the low fuel light started to blink and then the gage went back to its original fuel level again. Please let me know how you guys resolved the problem. Also, my car make a noise when i go over bumps or make turns. The noise is coming from the right side and when I took it to a dealer, they said many things and by the third time, they said the noise is caused by the bolts and bushings in the rear on the passenger side and it's going to cost $250 for labor and parts. I took it to another mechanic and he said it is due to the rear shocks and it'll cost $313 for parts and labor. I am so confused! I hate this car now! PLEASE HELP!

[Razmatazz]

This is so nuts, I have a 2001 Rodeo and I have been having the exact same problem....mine is at the shop now, and I have failed my emissions testing, so I have no choice but to get these repairs done...along with replacing my left cadalytic converter....which is the big one! I really love my truck, but I am learning to really hate it and I seriously doubt that I would ever buy another Isuzu, because it is just strange how everyone is having the same problems I am....

[jclayto]

I had the EXACT same problem with my 2000 Rodeo right around 40K miles. I got the major run around from all local dealers, being told that my car didnt have a sending unit by some, others telling me you had to replace the tank and the sending unit and the pump and that it was not under warranty etc. Ended up making a quick call out of Isuzu HQ in california, they know about the problem, they know its under warranty, and they are more than welcome to call your local dealer and let them know that they will be fixing it under warranty for you Thats what I did and ended up getting the pump and the sending unit replaced for free, not even a deductable.

Has anyone else found their rodeo to be a major peice of crap? Mines been trouble since day one. Im most likely trading it tonight for a 2001 tahoe, they seem to be a much better vehicle. Anyone have any thoughts on those?

[sburris68]

Hello all. Well, I fell prey to the similar problems expressed by most everyone in this thread. I am the owner of a 2000 Rodeo LS, V6. I've experienced the flashing/solid Check Engine Light (CEL), and the flashing fuel light when I had more than 1/2 tank of gas left. I currently have over 95K miles on my Rodeo. Last year (2003), I took my vehicle for emissions testing and to my astonishment, I passed. The temporary solution to my flashing CEL and flashing fuel light was a full tank of gas and a quick trip to the emissions testing site before the chronic problem reared its ugly head. Oddly, the full tank of gas worked every time, but for only a short period of time before the lights came back on.

Well, this year, it didn't go as planned and I failed emissions testing. Since I knew there was an existing problem, dummy me paid $85 for a diagnostics test. The "suggested" repair was to replace my fuel pump because it was causing a misfire, and a clogged EGR valve. The total repair cost was going to be over $900 (new fuel pump, & induction flush). But, with an unrequested 10% discount (automatically made me believe their repair fee was inflated), I was "only" going to be out a little over $800. Oh, the fuel pump, as I was told, could only be purchased from Isuzu, which was going to cost $300 and since they would have to drop the gas tank to install a new one, the cost for labor was going to be somewhere in the area of another $300.

I'm sure you're wondering why I said, "dummy me," so let me briefly explain: A good friend of mine brought it to my attention that the folks at Autozone, if you're lucky to have one around where you live, will run a free diagnostics test on your vehicle, which reads the failure codes associated with CEL problems. Now, no guarantee they will troubleshoot the your problems, but if you have a good friend like mine who is mechanically inclined, he/she might be able to help you research the failure codes and find a solution to the problem.

Back on track.... Both my buddy and I separately came across this cross-talk about the CEL and fuel light problems and more intriguing, the talk of a "fuel tank-sending unit." My buddy who I can't praise enough, put his mechanical thought process to work and decided my first course of action should be to replace the "fuel tank-sending unit." Part cost with military/police discount from Isuzu, just under $40. Well, he and I spent one day getting the part and changing out the old one. Caveat: He knew what he was doing and had all the necessary tools. Generically, after reassembling the parts and reinstalling the tank we fired up the Rodeo and low and behold, the CEL was no longer on and the fuel light was no longer flashing even though there was just about five gallons of gas in the tank. The guage appeared to be reading accurately. We let it run for 15 - 20 minutes with "NO" warning lights. Okay....we thought we ("he") solved the problem, so we were on our way to fill the gas tank when about three miles down the road, the warning light for "Reduced Power" came on and the CEL came on again. I nearly had no power to drive, but enough to slow roll it. Of course, a little, no, a lot of concern crossed our minds at that point. I was able to crawl it to the nearby gas station where we shut off the Rodeo, hoping it was a temp problem, and re-started it. Nope, same problem, the Reduced Power light and CEL still came on. I filled up the tank and after sitting for a few minutes, fired it back up to find the Reduced Power warning light was no longer on, but the CEL was still illuminated. We had "normal" power, so off to Autozone we went. While there, I got the free diagnostics test run, which indicated some type of air flow failure code and idle speed failure code. My buddy was looking around the store and came up with the idea to check the PCV filter, which he found to be pretty dirty. The Autozone employee suggested we clean around the air filter and carburetor and engine area since it was very dirty under the hood. My buddy suggested I should purchase a $4 PCV filter, which he believed would solve the problem. Well, I did, but the CEL came on again after I started the Rodeo. We both agreed we'd take it back to his house and clean the areas suggested to us. Just after I pulled out of the parking lot, the CEL went off, which led my buddy to believe it took a little bit of running time and increased power output for the new PCV filter to be effective. So far, so good....the CEL didn't come back on once during the ride to his house. We cleaned the areas suggested and decided to call it a day. I drove home and to my job later that night and back home again without the CEL coming on. I'm going to drive it for a couple of days and then take it back for emissions retesting. If it holds up, I'll post a very brief note to let you all know.

So, all-in-all, I spent under $45 to repair "my" problem that the American Service Station was going to charge me over $600 to replace the wrong item. And to think, I paid them $85 to troubleshoot the problem...lesson learned. Good thing for "good" friends!

[jclayto]

I've had that problem a million times to. ALWAYS turns out to be a clogged EGR valve. Running fine, all of a sudden reduced power comes on, CEL comes on shortly after that. Vehicle will barley run. Just unbolt the EGR valve, spray it down with carb cleaner and let it soak for a min. Use a screw driver to make sure the flap inside will move freely and isint stuck in an open or closed position, and reinstall. I traded my rodeo tuesday for a 2002 Yukon, so far im pretty happy. My rodeo experience wasnt a great one.

[sburris68]

Well, well, well, I PASSED! I took my Rodeo for emissions testing today and saw the sad look on the shops technician when my Rodeo passed. The technician did say, the CEL will probably come on in the near future because of some "ghost codes" that don't show up during the emissions test. Hmmm, this coming from the same place that wanted to charge me over $800 to fix "their" diagnosed problem. Ha!

Okay, my buddy and his dad figured out the reason for the "Reduced Power" warning light. Their best analysis was that there was air in the fuel lines after we reconnected them. Makes sense. A full tank of gas (part of the reinstallation procedure) and some time to run the engine in operating range rectified that issue.

Well, I hope any of you experiencing a similar problem can get away with spending under $50 for parts and have a buddy who is as mechanically inclinded as mine to help you.

Steak dinners for my buddy at O'Charleys are on me for a while!

[JoeyCDooley]

We all seem to have several things in common. "Gas Sending Unit", "EGR valve". It seems that since there is so many instances of these problems that Isuzu would have to do something about these problems, like a recall or something. My 2000 Isuzu is just over 64000 miles and I've already got a rod nocking. I have all the records for oil changes and everything. My EGR Valve has been out for a while (since 50000 miles or so), also my Gas Sending Unit is acting up. I have to rely on my trip odometer just to know how much gas I have. I have decided since my rod is knocking to get a used engine put in it. This will solve the knocking and the EGR Valve but still I have the Gas Sending Unit. Has anyone tried to send this thread to Isuzu to show them that there is such a problem with their product?

[jclayto]

I finally just sold my rodeo. It was a mechanical nightmare. the egr valve constantly screwing up, sending unit went out and had to fight with isuzu for weeks to get it warrantied. Rods knocking. can i recommend a 02 Yukon to anyone 4.8L V8, getting me 15-16 mpg and 2x the room of my rodeo

Originally Posted by JoeyCDooley

We all seem to have several things in common. "Gas Sending Unit", "EGR valve". It seems that since there is so many instances of these problems that Isuzu would have to do something about these problems, like a recall or something. My 2000 Isuzu is just over 64000 miles and I've already got a rod nocking. I have all the records for oil changes and everything. My EGR Valve has been out for a while (since 50000 miles or so), also my Gas Sending Unit is acting up. I have to rely on my trip odometer just to know how much gas I have. I have decided since my rod is knocking to get a used engine put in it. This will solve the knocking and the EGR Valve but still I have the Gas Sending Unit. Has anyone tried to send this thread to Isuzu to show them that there is such a problem with their product?

[awnicol]

The trick to the gas gauge problem with Rodeos and Passports is to replace the fuel sending unit. The dealer will tell people they need a whole new fuel pump or some other costly repair when really all that is needed is the FUEL SENDING UNIT. I have heard several people say they have bought theirs on eBay.com for cheap and it worked out great! That is what I did and it saved me $500 and it worked out perfect!

[revunclechuck]

Originally Posted by JoeyCDooley

also my Gas Sending Unit is acting up. I have to rely on my trip odometer just to know how much gas I have.

I finally asked Isuzu in Sparks Nevada how much to replace the sending unit. They said $280 and I knew the flat rate book was only 1.6 hrs. hmmmm. $85/hr shop rate and $50 for unit doesn't add up. Woah, I can do that. My buddy and I, he's a total nerdy computer guy, and I bought the sending unit and we installed it in in my driveway with a couple tools and a $39 floor jack in an hour. That included a iced tea break on my deck.

Now my break dash light is staying on. groan. Wonder what's up with that...

[gigel]

I have 2 Isuzu dealers in my area, and I called them both and both of them want to sell me a fuel pump, along with the sending unit. I remember I bought just the sending unit in the past, I don't know if they changed the rules or what... Can anybody provinde a Isuzu part number, so I can call them and ask for the part with the part number?
Thanks