Problems · NHTSA complaints

2004 Isuzu Axiom problems

Owners filed 17 complaints about the 2004 Isuzu Axiom with NHTSA between Jun 2004 and Jan 2016. The most-cited component is engine and engine cooling (9).

Complaints
17
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Engine and engine cooling9
  2. Engine4
  3. Electrical system3
  4. Fuel/propulsion system2
  5. Power train2
  6. Fuel system, gasoline2
  7. Service brakes1
  8. Structure1
  9. Equipment1
  10. Suspension1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 31, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20042
20052
20063
20070
20080
20090
20104
20111
20120
20131
20140
20153
20161

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Engine and engine cooling

9 reports
“ABOUT 1 1/2 YRS AGO THE CHECK ENGINE CAME ON IN MY 04 AXIOM. I TOOK TO THE SHOP AND THEY SAID IT WAS MISFIRING. I HAD THE SPARK PLUGS REPLACED, AND THE PROBLEM WAS NOT FIXED. WE THEN REPLACED 2 OF THE COILS, THEN THE SPARK PLUGS AGAIN, WITH NO LUCK. I HAVE EXPERIENCED LOSS OF POWER WHEN PULLING OUT FROM A STOP SIGN, RESULTING IN SEVERAL CLOSE CALLS FOR ACCIDENTS. THROUGHOUT ALL OF THIS I HAVE ALSO FOUND OIL SPOTS BEHIND MY EXHAUST WHEN THE VEHICLE IDLES, AND I GO THROUGH ALMOST 3 QTS OF OIL A WEEK! THE ENGINE HAS BEEN KNOCKING FOR WELL OVER A YEAR, AND WHILE I'VE HAD 4 MECHANICS LOOK AT IT , NOBODY HAS BEEN ABLE TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE TO LET THE VEHICLE RUN FOR 10 MINUTES BEFORE DRIVING TO TRY AND AVOID THE ENGINE STALLING, AND I STILL HAVE SOME PROBLEMS WITH IT STALLING. THIS HAS BECOME A VERY EXPENSIVE AND DANGEROUS PROBLEM WITH NO APPARENT END IN SIGHT. IF I WASN'T UPSIDE DOWN ON THE LOAN I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN RID OF IT BY NOW. I HAVE FOUND MANY ARTICLES ONLINE REGARDING THE OIL CONSUMPTION AND ENGINE STALLING PROBLEMS. I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 24, 2011Engine and engine coolingODI 10384424

Engine

4 reports1 crash
“WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET, VEHICLE COMPLETELY LOST POWER AND CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP BLOCKING TRAFFIC. SHOP ULTIMATELY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS THE BOLT HOLDING THE CRANKSHAFT SHEARED OFF, DESTROYING AN ENGINE HEAD IN THE PROCESS. THIS SHOP SPECIALIZES IN WORKING WITH JAPANESE ENGINES AND SAID "THERE ARE REPORTS OF THIS HAPPENING ALL OVER THE COUNTRY" WITH THIS MAKE/MODEL/YEAR. SHOP SAID THE BOLT ISN'T OF HIGH ENOUGH QUALITY TO SUPPORT LONG-TERM USE AND NOW RECOMMENDS REPLACING THE BOLT EVERY 80,000 MILES. TOTAL REPAIR COST MORE THAN $2000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 20, 2016EngineODI 10821287

Electrical system

3 reports
“CAR WAS DIAGNOSED CODE P0602 ECM PROGRAMMING ERROR. VEHICLE DIED IN HWY IN MINUTES, ALL LIGHTS SUDDENLY CAME "ON" CHECK ENGINE, TRANSMISSION, REDUCED POWER AND CAR IS DEAD. THANKS GOD NO CARS AROUND ME ON BUSY HWY. PAID $$$$ FOR TOWING. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 2, 2015Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 10703438

Fuel/propulsion system

2 reports
“I OWN 2004 ISUZU AXIOM 3.5L WITH 94,000 PLUS MILES. ON 6/01/15 I WAS DRIVING MY VEHICLE AND I NOTICED THAT THE CAR SEEMED LIKE IT HAD TO HEAVY. THE VEHICLE STARTS AND RUNS BUT VERY LOW POWER. THERE IS A 'REDUCED POWER" WARNING ON THE DASHBOARD . I CHECKED IT OVER AND NOTICED THAT THE GASOLINE TANK IS WET WITH FUEL COMING OUT FROM THE TOP OF TANK IN THE FUEL PUMP AREA. NOW I AM SURE THAT I HAVE FUEL PUMP LEAKING I FOUND OUT THIS 2004 ISUZU AXIOM RECALL: SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER: 05V466000 REPORT DATE: OCT 07, 2005COMPONENT: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE POTENTIAL UNITS AFFECTED: 15515 MANUFACTURER: ISUZU MANUFACTURING SERVICES OF AMERICA SUMMARY: CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES THAT HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO FUEL CONTAMINATED WITH SILICON MAY DEVELOP SMALL PIN HOLES IN THE FUEL PUMP FEED PORT. SILICON HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THE FUEL SYSTEMS OF AFFECTED VEHICLES AND IN FUEL SYSTEM. CONSEQUENCE: A FUEL LEAK COULD LEAD TO A VEHICLE FIRE I REALLY WANT TO AVOID POSSIBLE LEGAL CONSEQUENCES AND GET MY CAR FIXED. PLEASE ADVISE”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 23, 2015Fuel/propulsion systemODI 10726979

Power train

2 reports
“PCM OR POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE ERROR. OBD2 CODE P0602. AS A RESULT WAS SHUT OFF VEHICLE'S ALL POWER, ALL DASH LIGHT ICONS WERE ON SUDDENLY. FIRST ABS AND THEN AIR BAG, BRAKE, BATTERY, CHECK ENGINE ETC. VEHICLE WAS DIED IN SECONDS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF BUSY HIGHWAY I-80!! IT WAS HORRIBLE. NO PROBLEM WAS OCCURRED BEFORE. ISUZU COMPANY HAS TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS. FULL MAINTENANCE FOR THIS CAR WAS PERFORMED ON TIME AS REQUIRED VIA ISUZU AXIOM MANUAL. I HAVE ALL RECORDS. SEVERAL MECHANICS TOLD ME THAT ALL ISUZUS HAVE A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 3, 2013Power train, Electrical system, EngineODI 10554576

Fuel system, gasoline

2 reports1 crash1 related recall
“I HAVE A 2004 AXIOM PURCHASED FROM HANCOCK ISUZU IN COLUMBIA SC AND APP. 1 YEAR AGO MY VEHICLE STARTED HESITATING WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE. WHEN I GO TO PULL OFF THE TACHOMETER JUMPS TO 3 OR 4 RPMS BUT THE VEHICLE IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE. FINALLY,IT WILL GET GAS AND SUDDENLY TAKE OFF. IT FEELS THAT THE GAS IS NOT GETTING TO THE ENGINE OR EITHER THE TRANSMISSION IS STICKING. IT DOES THIS ON OCCASIONS, BUT WHO KNOW WHEN IT WILL DO IT NEXT. MY FEAR IS IT WILL DO IT WHEN I PULL OUT ON A BUSY ROAD AND NOT TAKE OFF IN TIME AND THEN ANOTHER CAR WILL HIT ME. THIS CAN BE A VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM IF NOT FIXED. I SEE OTHERS HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS TOO AND I THINK ISUZU SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE IT GETS FIXED. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 14, 2010Engine and engine cooling, Fuel system, gasolineODI 10336137
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 31, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.