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Suzuki Vitara Maintenance and Repair

314 messages,  Last post on Nov 14, 2009 at 9:43 PM

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What is this discussion about? Suzuki Vitara, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Engine, Suspension, Transmission, SUV

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#9 of 314 Hole through drivers seat upolstery. by stank29 May 06, 2002 (3:34 pm)
I have a 1999 Grand Vitara with 52K miles. Just recently I notice a hole the size of a quarter through the cloth upholstery on the drivers side back rest just above the seat. Upon closer inspection there appears to be a sharp metal bracket that after a period of time getting in and out of the car causes the bracket to wear through the cloth.  Since the car is out of warranty I'm sure I'll be stuck with the repair.   Just wondering If any one else has experienced this problem?
#10 of 314 nope.....seats seem to be of sound construction by mopar67 May 09, 2002 (4:58 pm)
BTW>>>>>>>>>>>they are made by General Seating in Franfort Indiana.....also suppliers to FUJI/Isuzu factory in Lafayette
#11 of 314 that's Frankfort.....Indiana.......sorry by mopar67 May 13, 2002 (5:39 pm)
#12 of 314 Left turn signal not working by peter_dyk May 17, 2002 (7:28 pm)
When I purchased the vehicle there seemed to be a problem with manually controlling the lights. It was new and I thought it must be working properly. I read the manual, and it didn't seem to agree with how the lighting system actually worked. Basically, you have no manual control of the lights. I even went to the dealer, and they told me everything was working fine.   A couple months later, I had a problem with the lights staying on after the vehicle was turned off and the keys removed. There was no buzzer sounding when the door opened.   Next problem was sometime in November when the headlights stayed on, no matter what I did. I had to disconnect the battery cable at night so the battery would not die. Next day I took it to the dealer, with the problem still occurring, and they indicated that the day/night sensor was malfunctioning and replaced it.   Between November and December I had a problem with the left turn signal. It worked intermittently. I called the dealer, and Danny (service manager) indicated that they could not fix it if I did not bring the vehicle to them with it not working. By the end of December, it was not working at all anymore. I brought it in between Christmas and New Years. They replaced the switch on the steering column. The next day I drove to Niagara Falls, and still had a problem with the turn signal when making a turn, but now the cruise control did not work!   Due to the policy of the dealer's shop, that they have no vehicle loaners, I found it difficult to bring the vehicle in to the shop during January or February. In the meantime the left had turn signal problem was back. At the end of March I was trying to book an appointment to bring the vehicle in to the dealer. I finally made an appointment! When I brought the vehicle in, the left turn signal was failing intermently (50%), the manual head light control did not work. Danny advised again that he could not fix the intermittent turn signal problem. So, I pressed him on the manual lighting control, and the cruise control.   Danny finally made a call to Suzuki Canada to ask what the problem might be. This was April 23, 2002. Danny was advised to replace the wiring harness (order number 014489073, reference V69935). He indicated it would take 3 to 4 weeks to get the part. It is now May 17, 2001. I went to see Danny last night. He indicated he had no idea where the part was, whether it had even been shipped, and it has to come from Japan!   Now I emailed Suzuki.   Anyone ever have a problem like this? Any advise on how to get these guys to fix the problem?
#13 of 314 Suzuki quality???? by dunkmydonut Jun 07, 2002 (5:06 pm)
Hello,Several years ago my cousin had a Geo Tracker [Suzuki]. She blew the engine at about 40,000 miles. I called a friend in the bone yard about a good used engine. "1900 bucks". When I asked how come so much, he said the demand was driving up the price. I guess alot of these engines are going bad, at least they were. Does anybody know if the reliability has improved since then? I was thinking of getting one, but don't want to invest in a ute that has engine problems. Any help is welcome. Thanks.....Leo
#14 of 314 I see a Problem? by zeke707 Jun 19, 2002 (9:06 am)
I was checking under the hood of our 2000 Suzuki Vitara 2.0L and noticed something wrong with the A/C condenser (small "radiator" in front of the engine radiator). Looking thru the blades of the electric fan mounted in front of the condenser, I noticed much of the condenser fin area has been bent over and in some places completely blocking any air passage thru the condenser. The fan blades are not touching the condenser and there is not apparent damage anywhere else on the condenser or front end. The engine seems to stay in the same heat range as always and the A/C cools as always. A casual look may not reveal this. Look at your condenser, does it have the same "damage"? I noticed the fins on the condenser are VERY fragile and just touching them with light pressure is enough to bend them. My guess is the fins may bend if you travel at highway speeds in heavy rain(?) There is no damage or marks on the plastic front/grille and the electric fan blades appear to be OK. I decided to look at this area after I noticed when I turned on the A/C while the car is parked and a window is rolled down, what seemed to be a high air movement noise when the A/C is switched on. I noticed this some time ago, can't place when the noise may have first started.
#15 of 314 Some of mine are bent by mopar67 Jun 19, 2002 (1:31 pm)
but not too many. COuld it be the bugs getting thru the grill? Hmmmmmmmmmmm......interesting nonetheless.
#16 of 314 I see a Problem? by zeke707 Jun 19, 2002 (5:16 pm)
It seems the most "damage" is near the outer ends of the fan blade circumference..towards the center of the fan, nearer the fan motor itself, there are fewer bent fins. Beyond the fan area itself there are no bent fins. It appears that the force of the fan as it turns and moves air thru the condenser radiator and whatever is moved thru (air, bugs, dust, etc) contribute to the bent fins. Once again, after cleaning the car and closely viewing the front end (grille), there is absolutely no damage, marks, etc. As an example, if it was gravel, sand or whatever, I would expect to see some pitting or marking of the plastic grille and/or paint damage. I should add we baby this vehicle, never been off road, always on paving, never treating it rough. Gets Mobil 1 5W30 every 3k miles, now has 16k on it. I suggest this problem is commonplace and most vehicles inspected would find similar results.
#17 of 314 good call on using Mobil 1 by mopar67 Jun 19, 2002 (6:17 pm)
Ihave a buddy with a 2 door traker, built by Zuki like ours. He has the 1.6L engine and let me tell you he picked this hamster up with 38K and now has over 140K on the clock. He has run Mobil 1 since the day he bought it. For kicks he had a compression test done and all 4 cyclinders show nearly perfect compression. He did get the valve cover gasket replaced and the top end was spotless. I ran this stuff in a Dak I used to own and I got 1.5 more MPG and dropped the engine temp a bit.   Next oil change the hamster gets a full dose of Mobil1.   Bear in mind, most condenser fins are pretty delicate and it doesn't take much to bend them at all. What I don't like is the design which makes in nearly impossible to run a comb thru there to straighten them out. As for reliability, I think these hamsters are tough little mothers! I watched the aforementioned buddy put his thru hell and back and it still keeps a going! Just do the maintenance, drive them like a 4 banger and watch the jackrabbit starts and you should be fine.
#18 of 314 I guess by zeke707 Jun 20, 2002 (4:08 am)
my concern is what is the negative impact of the bent fins? Assuming this an inherent problem, if I straightened the fins or replaced the condenser, they would bend again. Looks like I could pop off the grille, remove the fan motor, then comb the fins. But if there is no real need to straighten them, I will forget it. I worry about hot spots in the condenser or even the engine radiator. What do you think? I hope others that read these messages take a look at their condenser and report their findings.   Regards

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