Isuzu D-Max 1.9-litre sales paused, Mazda BT-50 seemingly not affected

Isuzu Ute Australia (IUA) has issued a stop sale notice for D-Max models fitted with the new 1.9-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, but Mazda Australia has yet to follow suit with its related BT-50.

“IUA has identified an irregularity relating to one of the engine sensors fitted to the 1.9-litre turbo-diesel engine in the D-MAX SX Single Cab Chassis 4×2,” said a spokesperson for IUA.

“As a precaution whilst further information is being gathered and investigated, IUA has decided to temporarily pause the sale and delivery of 1.9-litre engine variants until further notice.

“We would like to thank our customers for their patience in the matter and can appreciate that this will be inconvenient to customers who are waiting for their vehicles to be delivered.”

The company added it “remains committed to prioritising the delivery of vehicle orders” and will continue to provide customers with updates.

Though it’s mechanically related to the D-Max and shares its engines, Mazda Australia said its BT-50 XS wasn’t subject to a stop-sale order – but offered no further comment. We will seek to get more information on why this might be.

Both the BT-50 and D-Max only recently received the new base engine, which was introduced to both model lines locally in January 2022.

In the D-Max, it’s available only in the single cab-chassis SX 4×2, with a choice of six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmissions.

It’s available across more variants in the BT-50 range. In addition to the 4×2 single cab-chassis, it’s also available with the dual-cab ute body in both rear- and four-wheel drive guise. However, it’s only available with the six-speed auto.

Producing 110kW of power and 350Nm of torque, it slots in under the more widely available (and more widely-known) 3.0-litre, which puts out 140kW and 450Nm.

MORE: Everything Isuzu D-Max MORE: Everything Mazda BT-50