check transmission light - diagnosed

[rh71]

95 Rodeo, 110k miles, auto transmission. Recently I've stopped driving it daily but when I do drive it on local streets with stop and go, the check transmission light flashes on and (according to the manual) it goes into backup mode where I have to shift the gears manually as a safety measure. I turn the car off and back on and it gets rid of it, but I just did this and minutes later it happened right away again.

Any insight as to what's going on that would cause this? Is the tranny going, slipping, etc.? I've checked the ATF level and refilled it (wasn't really that low). How often does ATF usually need to be completely drained and replaced?

Isuzu dealers are few and far between nowadays so I'm not sure if a typical shop would know what to do with a 'check transmission' light as I don't think other vehicles have it (maybe no code?). Any insight would help... thx.

EDIT>> Updated, see 4/28. Updated again 4/30.

EDIT>> Updated 5/12.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

Go to a chevy dealer, they should be able to help you. If I had to guess the tranny is just getting hot and installing a cooler (looks like a baby radiator sitting in front of your normal one) might be able to extend the life of your transmission. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope its just a trivial $15 sensor on its way out

 

[Zenmervolt]

Overall I would think that this is more likely a fault in the transmission control computer than a physical problem with the mechanical bits. If the drivability seems fine until it starts blinking, look at electronics rather than mechanical parts.

I don't know what kind of diagnostics a '95 Isuzu will have, but there should be some provision for reading the codes. If it was a '96 I could say to just get a standard OBD-II reader, but it's a year too old for that. Most vehicles with an automatic transmission do have some form of "check transmission" light or specific blink code for the "check engine" light that indicates transmission issues. Take it to any decent independent shop that works on Japanese vehicles, they should be able to read the codes if any are stored.

ZV

 

[rh71]

^ Well the last time I went to the place I bought it from (used to be named Robert Chevrolet Isuzu - now it's just Chevy) they told me they don't do Isuzus anymore and to go elsewhere. I'm also hoping it's something minor as I never really worked the transmission or engine hard at all in its entire life.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Get rid of that pile of crap!

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Get rid of that pile of crap!

It costs nothing to keep except insurance and it's served me well for 13 years so far. I know exactly what it's been through. Why would I get rid of it at the very 1st sign of any trouble at all? Just cause you had a bad experience like 10 years ago on a 2nd hand car...?

 

[Q]

I know this is off topic a bit but I bet that Rodeo is making that pinging noise in your engine, isn't it?

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: Quintox
I know this is off topic a bit but I bet that Rodeo is making that pinging noise in your engine, isn't it?

No, no other signs of trouble on the vehicle. Why "that pinging noise"? Some reference I'm not understanding?

I just read from an Isuzu forum that this check trans light may be a low voltage or alternator issue and they've seen it a few times... which would make sense since I haven't been driving it daily... leaving it alone for days at a time. The battery is many years old and has had corrosive material near the contacts for a while but it has never hurt anything... I'll have that checked first.

 

[Q]

The pinging noise is a very common 'problem' with Rodeos/Pathfinders. Turning the engine on, it slowly starts to ping over and over, even when accelerating. Eventually it gets pretty loud and annoying, but apparently it does nothing to the engine, just an annoying noise.

 

[schizoid77]

Isuzus are reliable as hell, man, I had an '01 Rodeo and 1990 Trooper. Both cars would have gone to 300k+ if I had wanted them to. The Trooper died at 190k when the radiator blew and someone slammed into the front of it. I just wanted a new car at that point....so I got the Rodeo, lol.

My guess is, unless you are noticing obvious shifiting issues or slips, it's just a sensor or something else relatively minor.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Quintox
The pinging noise is a very common 'problem' with Rodeos/Pathfinders. Turning the engine on, it slowly starts to ping over and over, even when accelerating. Eventually it gets pretty loud and annoying, but apparently it does nothing to the engine, just an annoying noise.

Um, Pathfinder is Nissan. Rodeo is Isuzu...at least it was in rh71's vintage.

Besides, he owns a sweet BMW X5 now. Dude, why on earth you still have this pile of garbage is beyond me. :laugh: It's like owning a Mercedes CLS500 but keeping your 10 year old Corolla.

 

[alpineranger]

Go to a honda dealer. Honda sold rodeos as passports, I think, so they should be equipped to handle any problem with your car.

edit: and for most cars you should do a traditional fluid and filter change (not flush), every 30k miles. You can go longer but it could really shorten the life of the transmission.

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Quintox
The pinging noise is a very common 'problem' with Rodeos/Pathfinders. Turning the engine on, it slowly starts to ping over and over, even when accelerating. Eventually it gets pretty loud and annoying, but apparently it does nothing to the engine, just an annoying noise.

Um, Pathfinder is Nissan. Rodeo is Isuzu...at least it was in rh71's vintage.

I meant Passport

 

[rh71]

UPDATE: so I had the battery cleaned/checked (no problems) and also motor oil changed (scheduled anyway) and the transmission light sprang up again after a couple weeks of no issues during typical driving.

I have it at a mechanic right now and the computer tells them it's overheating and will need more time looking into that. I'm reading that certain things can cause overheating like rocking a car out of snow... racing... towing... but this is just stop and go local driving mostly and I'm always light on the pedal. No jackrabbit starts. Before I brought it in, I also noticed the coolant resevoir was near minimum level. Would this be related in any way? Is it still possible it's a sensor or circuitry problem rather than something mechanical?

 

[rh71]

UPDATE 2: nothing is mechanically wrong with the tranny but it requires cleaning of some bearings and an installation of a transmission cooler fan. First time I've heard of its existance. Fan runs $150 and with all the other labor too it comes out to $300. All sound legit?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: rh71
UPDATE 2: nothing is mechanically wrong with the tranny but it requires cleaning of some bearings and an installation of a transmission cooler fan. First time I've heard of its existance. Fan runs $150 and with all the other labor too it comes out to $300. All sound legit?

Sounds like a waste of money to me.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: rh71
UPDATE 2: nothing is mechanically wrong with the tranny but it requires cleaning of some bearings and an installation of a transmission cooler fan. First time I've heard of its existance. Fan runs $150 and with all the other labor too it comes out to $300. All sound legit?

Sounds like a waste of money to me.

Dude stop ragging on a car I worked 7 days a week in high school for and took me through 13 years with no problems except a bad starter like 3 years ago. And now this. I hardly think $300 at this point in time to have a good 2nd car in the family is a waste of money.

It sucks that your 2nd hand Rodeo gave you problems but you didn't have a chance to take good care of it from the beginning like I did.

All I'm asking is if such an issue sounds correct.

 

[rh71]

Well my situation is more teh suck right now.

- Cost $995 to even take apart the tranny to diagnose since they didn't find anything else like a sensor wrong with it.
- Overheating (poor design in Rodeo/Passports/Pathfinders) caused the electrical components to fry as I drove on and off like 3 times after the light came on intermittently.. basically need new solenoids... they named like 4 of them, temp sensor harness, pressure control... totalling $3600 after all is said and done. Original estimate was $2k to replace the usual in a rebuild, but apparently all these electrical components are extra. Sound right? Can't diagnose those without taking out the tranny?
- Car is a 2nd car (with only 110k, great 4wd, new tires) but wouldn't sell for anymore than $2k.

Choice now is to pay $1k diagnostic fee minimum and end up with the same broken car... vs. paying ~$3500 to have a working car w/ 1yr warranty I can keep or try to sell. Had plans to keep it as a 2nd car for when the wife resumes work after her pregnancy (can't drive her everyday anymore with infants). Thinking buy another car 6 months from now, instead of fixing, yes? I loved this thing. Damn design flaw.

 

[nakedfrog]

Sell and buy a beater.
And by beater I don't mean a 200x anything.

 

[rh71]

I think if I'm going to pay to have it fixed, I'm not going to sell it just to replace it with a vehicle with a history I don't know. Very paranoid about used cars.

 

[radioouman]

Originally posted by: rh71
I think if I'm going to pay to have it fixed, I'm not going to sell it just to replace it with a vehicle with a history I don't know. Very paranoid about used cars.

That's what I would do if I had the money to have it repaired.
I dropped $1000 into a tranmission repair last Thanksgiving on a car with 100,000 miles. I wasn't so sure at the time if it was a good move, but I haven't had any problems since, so I think that it was a good move.

 

[LTC8K6]

The trans cooler was suggested because they don't know what else to do, imo. It's overheating and they don't know why.

You can add a trans cooler yourself fairly easily and cheaply.

 

[Zenmervolt]

If you plan to keep the car, just fix the transmission. As long as the rest is in good shape the cost of the transmission repair is still going to be less than any beater vehicle that you replace it with and once the transmission is fixed it's not likely to break again for a long time.

ZV

 

[Vette73]

1. Put updates in the first post


2. have you looked around to see if you can find a salvage yard with a trans?

 

[LTC8K6]

I think what he's saying is that it's not just the trans, but items related to the trans that need to be repaired/replaced.

IOW, dropping in a rebuilt tranny would leave him with some expensive parts left to replace and probably with a CE light still on.