Isuzu Dmax Warranty Claims
We’ve had a 2016 Isuzu Dmax now for just over 6 years, and its cost Isuzu a fair chunk of money in that time. So much so, that I’m positive there’s no way they’ve made any money out of this vehicle. In this post, we take a look at our Isuzu Dmax Warranty Claims, and how much its all cost Isuzu to cover the problems we’ve had.
Before we start though, you should know this is not a dig at Isuzu, and overall we’re still actually quite happy with the vehicle, and with Isuzu in general.
You can read about our Isuzu Dmax issues and solutions, and our Isuzu Dealer Servicing Review, and you’ll see for the most part they’ve done a pretty good job of taking care of us. Yes, its not been problem free, but its certainly not been a lemon either, and we like to be balanced in our thoughts and opinions.
This post is purely looking at what we’ve had covered, and what it might cost to have done without the warranty in place.
We paid 37k for the Dmax
As you read this post, its helpful to know that the vehicle was an ex demo, with just 32km on the clock, and purchased for 37k. On road, with delivery and registration it came to $40,600, which is pretty cheap. If you’re keen, you can read about our full Dmax build costs.
Turbo replacement
When our demo Isuzu Dmax was delivered with just 32km on the clock, I had a fault light come on, whilst on my first drive of the vehicle, which was a pretty poor start. This turned out to be a sticky turbo actuator, and Maddington Isuzu lodged the claim, and replaced the entire turbo. I reckon this would be around $4000, including labour.
Transfer case seal
Not long after returning from an amazing 3 month trip through the Kimberley, I noticed my transfer case was leaking from the rear. Bibra Lake Isuzu happily replaced the seal under goodwill, despite saying it was likely due to the lift (and it was). Unfortunately they likely pushed the seal in too far (like most people do who’ve not experienced this before), and it kept leaking, until Picton Isuzu resolved it for us.
This would be about $150 in labour and parts.
Rear differential pinion seal
A while later, I noticed our rear differential was getting a bit damp around the pinion seal, and Bibra Lake Isuzu replaced this under warranty, with very little questions asked. Again, lets call it $150 in labour and parts.
Body mount replacements
I was very particular about monitoring my body mounts, knowing that they would put additional pressure and likely contribute to the inner guard cracking, and put in a request for them to be changed at 60,000km after the front two were cracking and sagging. They weren’t nearly as bad as what I’ve seen on other vehicles, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
This went through, with all of the body mounts replaced for about $900, including labour.
Air conditioner evaporator
One of the more common issues with this era Dmax and MUX is the evaporator cracking, and letting all of the aircon gas out. This happened to us a couple of days outside of the warranty period, and despite Bibra Lake Isuzu initially declining the claim, a quick call to Isuzu Ute Australia had it resolved, and under way. This was $1800 including labour.
Inner guard and radiator support replacement
Our most expensive, and severe failure happened at 110,000km, and outside of the Dmax warranty period. We’d noticed a small crack and were monitoring it, whilst trying to get a dealer to organise repairs whilst we were on our Big Lap of Australia. This was approved in Essendon, but we were well into NSW, and had to keep moving.
Well, it failed badly heading out to Stanage Bay, with a 150mm inner guard crack that broke our aircon (again) in a different spot, and we limped it to Brisbane to pull up and wait for repairs. The warranty claim was started again with Brisbane Eagle Farm Isuzu, and processed, with the car being at the repair shop in under 4 weeks, which I was quite impressed with (panel shop quote, submission of the claim, approval of the claim, wait times for the panel shop and parts all included).
Now, I don’t know exactly what the quote was for my Dmax, but in ringing another smash repairer I was told its usually between 10 and 13k, which is no small figure.
Hire car
The inner guard repairs were initially quoted at 3 weeks, but the second time around it came in at only 2 weeks. Regardless, we needed a vehicle to get around in during that time, and Isuzu Ute Australia helped us out with a hire vehicle. They went above and beyond, in getting us a fairly new Toyota Hilux, which was costing about $200 a day to hire, including a zero excess reduction fee.
Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take it off road, but having had the vehicle for about 2 and a half weeks, that’s another $3500 in hire fees alone, that Isuzu covered.
Second set of Body Mounts
Not long after the inner guard repairs were done, I noticed the passenger and drivers body mounts near the firewall were looking in terrible condition, and the front most ones looked like they were cracking already, after 6000km. I took it to a dealer who replaced the body mounts (it was all booked in well in advance), and Isuzu Ute Australia has covered the parts under warranty, but not the labour. They seemed to suggest that the condition of the mounts was OK, but I’m not entirely convinced.
Why so many problems?
Before we get onto the total costs, some of you might be wondering how we have had so many issues. The turbo failure was likely due to a demo vehicle sitting outside for many months and never being revved, which caused the actuator to seize up.
The aircon issue is very common, and a flaw in these model vehicles, as is the inner guard cracking. I knew about the latter two issues before I made the purchase, and took a punt that it would either not happen, or we’d be helped by Isuzu if it did (and we have been).
Total cost to Isuzu for the warranty claims
If you add the above up then, its a staggering $21,000. That’s more than half of the value of the Dmax originally, and shows very clearly how important it is to have a factory warranty that works, and can be used.
This could have been far worse for us
For the most part, Isuzu have been nothing but fantastic dealing with the issues. They could have easily dug their heels in and refused, or made life more difficult (and I would have fought tooth and nail too), but they just pushed it all through. I’d have been very angry if we’d had to pay for some of these warranty claims!
We’re continuing our lap of Australia
We’ve literally just gotten our vehicle back from Isuzu with new inner guards and a radiator support, and are continuing our travels around Australia. We plan on travelling for some time yet, and hope this is the end of any major issues with the Dmax. It’s been a good vehicle otherwise, and I’m relatively confident we’ll have a good run for some time yet.
Has Isuzu spent a fortune on warranty claims for you? I’ve heard of people going through 3 or 4 turbo’s in the 2017 onward MUX and Dmax’s; let us know your story below.
