There are 7 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2003 Isuzu Ascender in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
SERVICE BULLETIN OR RECALL 2003 ISUZU ASCENDER. PROBLEM KEY STUCK IN THE IGNITION CAN NOT REMOVE SEEMS TO BE NORMAL PROBLEM FOR THIS MAKE AND MODEL . L HAVE BEEN READING THROUGH FORUM COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET. I AM CURIOUS IF THERE HAS BEEN A RECALL AND IF NOT WHY NOT. CAR COULD BE CAR JACK OR STOLEN BY NOT ABLE TO REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION. THIS HAS BEEN A INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. *TR
HEATER/AC FAN KEPT GOING OUT. WAS TOLD IT WAS RELAY SWITCH. AFTER SEVERAL REPLACEMENTS, WAS TOLD IT WAS A FAULT IN THE IGNITION. IGNITION WAS REPLACED. FAN NOW WORKS. NOW HEADLIGHTS GO OUT INTERMITTENTLY. TECH'S CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY. *TR
MY 2003 ISUZU ASCENDER WILL NOT START OCCASIONALLY. THE KEYS EVEN LOCKED IN THE IGNITION ONE OF THE TIMES. I HAD IT JUMPED AND THE VEHICLE WAS OK FOR A MONTH OR SO. THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES IN THE PAST 4 MONTHS. THE BATTERY CHECKS OUT OK. THE DEALER IN WINCHESTER, VA DOESN'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. THERE ARE NO DEFAULT CODES SHOWING UP IN THE COMPUTER. *JB
MY HUSBAND AND I SWITCHED VEHICLES AND HE DROVE MY VEHICLE TO WORK. WHEN HE CAME OUT OF WORK, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND HAD IT TOWED THE NEXT DAY. THE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED AS A FAULTY IGNITION SWITCH. THEY REPLACED IT A FEW DAYS AGO. NOW, IT IS SLOW TO TURN OVER OR I HAVE TO TURN THE SWITCH 2+ TIMES TO GET IT TO START. I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT FOR TWO DAYS FROM NOW. LOOKING AT THE ENVOY AND TRAILBLAZER RECORDS (SAME VEHICLE AS ASCENDER), THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM. ARE THERE ANY PLANS FOR A RECALL? *JB
WHEN DRIVING, MY SPEEDOMETER WILL BECOME STUCK BETWEEN 30 AND 60 MPH. WHEN IT DOES, THE SPEEDOMETER WILL USE THE POINT AT WHICH IT IS STUCK AS ZERO MPH WHEN I AM STOPPED / PARKED. WHEN I START THE VEHICLE MOVING AGAIN, I HAVE TO CALCULATE THE SPEED I AM ACTUALLY GOING. EXAMPLE: IF SPEEDOMETER IS STUCK ON 30 MPH AND I WANT TO DRIVE AT 45 MPH, I HAVE TO ADD 30 + 45 SO WHEN MY SPEEDOMETER IS READING 75 MPH, I HOPE I AM ACTUALLY DRIVING 45 MPH. *NM
THE HEADLIGHTS DIM 2 - 3 TIMES DAILY WHILE DRIVING. THE DAY TIME RUNNING LIGHT IS ON WHEN THIS OCCURS. ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS HEADLIGHTS TOTALLY WENT OUT FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE COMING BACK ON. DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE IGNITION SWITCH, ALTERNATOR, AND BATTERY AN ATTEMPT TO CORRECT THE FAILURE. HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. MANUFACTURER REFUSED TO DO ANY MORE REPAIRS UNLESS THE DEALERSHIP WAS ABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM.*AK
WHEN YOU GO TO PUT GEAR SELECTOR INTO PARK THE IGNITION KEY GETS STUCK TEMPORARILY ON MY ISUZU ASCENDER 2003 . SOMETIMES I HAVE TO WAIT 1 MIN OR SOMETIMES 10 MIN. TO GET THE KEY OUT .IF YOU LISTEN REAL CLOSE YOU CAN HERE A ELECTRONIC CLICK .THIS JUST STARTED ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO. I AM WORRIED ABOUT LEAVING THE VEHICLE WITH THE KEY IN THE IGNITION. IT COULD BE STOLEN OR EVEN CAR JACK. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Sep 8, 2026