Isuzu Trooper, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls
1,569 Isuzu Troopers are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 62.3% of initial MOT tests, 10 points below the 72.3% UK average.
Looking at a specific Trooper? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Isuzu Trooper at the MOT
62.3% of 2,051 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Trooper 469th of 575 models.
First-time pass rate, 2025
Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.
Where Troopers fail
Share of all failure items recorded on Isuzu Trooper tests in 2025.
The items testers recorded most often were joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3%), position lamp not working (4.5%) and chassis condition or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting (3.8%).
The MOT page lists every common Trooper MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.
What to look at on a viewing
The Trooper's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.
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Body, chassis, structure
Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels.20.8% of Trooper failure items
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Brakes
Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.20.6% of Trooper failure items
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Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.18.6% of Trooper failure items
Isuzu Troopers in the UK
1,569 were licensed at the end of June 2026, the 3rd most of any Isuzu. The number licensed has fallen 87% since the end of 2014.
- Change since 2014
- −87%from 11,661 licensed
- Typical year of first use
- 2000half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2000 or earlier
- Declared off the road
- 6,82181% of those registered, under SORN
Licensed Isuzu Troopers since 2014
Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.
Show the figures
| Date | Licensed |
|---|---|
| End of 2014 | 11,661 |
| End of 2015 | 10,116 |
| End of 2016 | 8,532 |
| End of 2017 | 7,137 |
| End of 2018 | 5,967 |
| End of 2019 | 4,895 |
| End of 2020 | 4,156 |
| End of 2021 | 3,572 |
| End of 2022 | 2,949 |
| End of 2023 | 2,448 |
| End of 2024 | 2,059 |
| End of 2025 | 1,736 |
| End of June 2026 | 1,569 |
How old they are
Licensed Isuzu Troopers by year of first use.
A further 11 were first used before 1991.
Show the figures
| First used | Licensed, end 2025 |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 88 |
| 2004 | 149 |
| 2003 | 163 |
| 2002 | 216 |
| 2001 | 133 |
| 2000 | 142 |
| 1999 | 184 |
| 1998 | 177 |
| 1997 | 170 |
| 1996 | 64 |
| 1995 | 39 |
| 1994 | 45 |
| 1993 | 43 |
| 1992 | 25 |
| 1991 | 10 |
Trooper engines and fuel
3.0 litre engines made up 55% of Isuzu Trooper MOT tests in 2025, followed by 3.1 litre at 33%. Diesel accounts for 93% of licensed Troopers and petrol for 6.9%.
Engine size at MOT, 2025
Share of 2,048 initial MOT tests in 2025.
Fuel type, licensed Troopers
DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.
| Fuel | Licensed | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 109 | 7% |
| Diesel | 1,452 | 93% |
| Gas | 8 | 0.5% |
Isuzu Trooper recalls
3 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Isuzu Trooper. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Trooper is affected.
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Jan 2012 R/2011/154
Engine speed may increase unintentionally
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- It is possible that the internal contact resistance of the crimped joints for the grounding between the throttle position sensor (TPS) and engine control module may increase due to engine vibration. This can lead to an increased TPS voltage output which could lead to an increase in engine revolutions whilst at idle without any throttle input.
- Remedy
- Recall all affected vehicles for the installation of a new wiring harness.
-
Mar 2006 R/2005/179
Dilution of engine oil leading to engine damage
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- Due to excessive clearance within the fuel injectors fuel may leak into the cylinder bores and then into the sump causing engine oil dilution. If this situation is ignored engine damage can occur additionally the engine revs may show an unintentional increase.
- Remedy
- Affected vehicles will have the fuel injectors replaced.
-
Jun 2005 R/2004/195
Heater terminal may burn out
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- If the ceramic heater is used on full for an extended period of time the heater terminal may burn out. Although there have been no fires to date there is a very slight possibility that combustion could occur.
- Remedy
- Recall the likely to affected vehicles and fit new terminals.
Other Isuzu models
The most-tested Isuzu models in 2025, against the Trooper's 62.3% MOT pass rate.
Isuzu Trooper FAQs
How many Isuzu Troopers are there in the UK?
1,569 Isuzu Troopers were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 6,821 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.
Is the Isuzu Trooper reliable?
MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 62.3% first-time pass rate for the Isuzu Trooper across 2,051 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Has the Isuzu Trooper had any recalls?
3 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Isuzu Trooper. The most recent was published in January 2012. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.
What should I check before buying a used Isuzu Trooper?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: body, chassis, structure, brakes and suspension. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.
How do I check an Isuzu Trooper's history?
Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.
Already found a Trooper?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Isuzu history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Isuzu VIN check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.