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SUVs Suzuki Grand Vitara/Vitara Suzuki Grand Vitara 2006 through 2008
1006 messages, Last post on Oct 11, 2009 at 9:29 PM
You are in the Suzuki Grand Vitara/Vitara Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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Replying to: vitara4me (Jul 22, 2006 5:56 pm) Excess exhaust temps (egt) is causing your floor to melt. This is probably caused by excessive leaness in your fuel mixture. It could be one cylinder or more than one. To prevent this, manufactors often dial in extra richness into the mixture (I know for a fact that VW and GM do this, everyone else probably does) to preserve the cat converters. Extra fuel reduces egt. I have read numerous stories of people who with the help of software, leaned out the mixture and got more mpg and hp. A few of these people have also gotten melted cats! The outside temp should not affect your condition. Drive your zuke hard then look at the cat in a dark garage. If it is glowing red, then that is not normal. If I was a 'zuke mechanic, I'd get an infrared temp gauge and compare the temp of the exhaust coming out of your zuke to others that are still stand ing on the lot. I'd also test the O2 sensors as these can cause these problems. Other things that cause your cats to over heat via excessive leaness include too much alcohol in the gas and a bad gasket somewhere.Don't insulate the floor as that is a bandaid solution. If your car is running hot like that, I guarantee you that you will have more problems down the road, like a blown head gasket. As for the heat in your area, well, keep mind that most every car company in the world torture tests their cars in Death Valley. Even Alfa Romeo (who hasn't sold a car in the U.S. for years) has brought in cars to the 'states under the karnet program and has used to Death Valley to shake down their cars. Last week, it hit 126f degrees there. |
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Replying to: budman3 (Jul 22, 2006 7:04 pm) To be sure, you can check the floor yourself without removing the seat. Just lift up the carpet. There is a plastic "door sill plate" that you just grab with your fingers and pull up till it pops loose. Then remove the two black round plastic carpet retainers behind the brake pedal. (they unscrew counter-clockwise). Next, remove the "dead pedal" by simply pulling up till it pops loose. Now you can lift up the carpet and take a look at the big white piece of foam (this melts last), and the black, gooey tar like sound insulation (this melts first). If there is a small black stain in your carpet (where the heel of your foot rests while driving), then this is the tar like material leaching into your carpet. If any of you that own a 2006 Grand Vitara with an auto trans live in a warm or hot climate you really should check your floor. I can't be the only person out there with this issue. regards, Vitara4me?
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Replying to: vitara4me (Jul 25, 2006 10:52 am) In my mind, you might be the only one that has this problem, as no one else seems to be having it. What were you thinking pulling a trailer for 40 miles at 6500 RPM, redlining the car up a steep grade???? Most vehicles under those circumstances are going to get a very hot catalytic converter. this car by far is not made to do 6500 rpm up a mountain for 40 Miles!!!! You are very lucky that Suzuki did not deny the repairs since you were redlining the car. Be lucky you weren't driving a GM or Ford vehicle, because you probably would have blown the engine!!! |
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Replying to: vitara4me (Jul 25, 2006 10:52 am) From your description it doesn't seem that actual melting is occuring. Rather, it sounds like the floor is softening. Of course, neither melting nor softening should be happening. tidester, host |
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Replying to: vitara4me (Jul 25, 2006 10:52 am) We haven't towed anything. I think we talked about this before and I agree with pciro2180. I wouldn't tell Suzuki too much about what you were doing, but they should be able to tell from the computer what the engine was operating at during that situation. Sort of off subject, but I've been denied warranty because of "flashing" my GM trucks computer and a lift kit. Manufacturers are getting smart and denying claims to people putting aftermarket kits on their vehicles. I was even asked by a Ford dealer if I put a K&N filter on my Mustang. If the oil from the filter gets on the MAF sensor and burns it out, warranty denied. Dclark, I have a question. If the engine is running lean, wouldn't the exhaust manifold or pipe get red hot? OK, 2 questions. If the catalytic converter was red hot wouldn't that be an indication of too much fuel/hydrocarbons and the cat overheating or working too hard? Maybe one bank is running lean and the other rich and also causing a vibration. Has anyone scanned your computer or even checked your tailpipe for emissions? It seems something should be very obvious. I hope you get it figured out. Let me know if you need me to look at anything else. Budman P.S., it was a good weekend in Vegas. Deuces wild!$$$ |
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This is in response to pciro2180: The Grand Vitara only has 184 HP. With the family and luggage in the car, and with the trailer in tow, it puts quite a strain on the engine. You posted, "What were you thinking pulling a trailer for 40 miles at 6500 RPM, redlining the car up a steep grade????" The Grand Vitara has an automatic transmission. I CAN"T force it to up-shift into a higher gear. The Suzuki chooses the gear and I have no input. Even if I lifted my foot off the accelerator, the trans still would not up-shift (another problem with the transmission shifting logic/ software). If the engine had just a little more HP and torque, I would not have had this problem, as I would have been in a lower gear. How many of your owners out there have even attempted to tow with your Grand Vitara? You are in for a big surprise! You can only drive so slow on an Interstate Highway. Even at 65 MPH, I saw Toyota Tundra with a huge boat in tow, passing me as if I was standing still! Also saw a Hyundai Tuscan pulling a U-Haul closed trailer and he passed me no problem. Most people drive between 85-90 MPH on the way to Vegas. Most of the highway is in the middle of the desert and it is mostly flat and strait. I was TRYING to keep the speed at 55-65 MPH because I had a trailer in tow, and the Grand Vitara chose either 3rd or 4th gear to go up the hill. Yes, it was revving quite high, but if I lifted my foot enough to let the trans up-shift, the Grand Vitara would damn near came to a stop on the hill. When I tried to lower the RPMs, by lifting my foot off the accelerator, the Grand Vitara slowed to 40 MPH!! Sure, the engine is now at a happy 4,500 RPM, but now I am in danger of being rear-ended. Unless you have towed up a hill with your Grand Vitara, you really can’t chastise me for what happened. When I asked the dealer if I could tow with my 2006 Grand Vitara, the answer was, "Yes". According to the sales brochure, I can tow. The Grand Vitara tows just fine on a perfectly flat road, but it does not pull well on hills; not at all. It just does not have enough power or torque to get the job done properly. I did tell the dealer about the high RPM, and how the trans would not up shift. Even the factory rep told me that his company car (2006 Grand Vitara) does not sometime up-shift while accelerating up a freeway on-ramp. The rep stated that sometime you have to lift your foot slightly to get the trans to shift. So there is some sort of problem with the trans shifting logic. The Grand Vitara is a "Drive-By-Wire" vehicle. What this means is that there is no "throttle cable" between your foot and the engine. The gas pedal is an electronic device, like a volume control, that tells the computer how far to open or close the throttle. There is a little electric motor on the intake manifold that actuates the throttle. Somehow, there is a problem with sensor input to the trans computer, or the programming is way off. My Grand Vitara is a very early model, built in 2005. I will be driving a newer 2006 or a 2007 soon to see if any of these problems have been addressed. Regards, SkyRedline4me..
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Replying to: vitara4me (Jul 28, 2006 11:47 am) I've been driving into a head wind and going up a slight grade and the trans would shift in and out of overdrive. I've found it better to just leave it at #4 until conditions change. I've found that my Honda and truck with 200hp more than the GV does the same thing on the same road so I never really found any fault with the GV. Maybe the next time you're in Vegas, we could meet for a couple free beers and swap GVs. |
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Hello budman3. The dealer replaced two of the three cats. There are two "pre-cats" on each down pipe coming out of each head. The main cat, I was told, was fine. Too bad Suzuki couldn't bore and stroke the 2.7 a little more and make into a 3.0 or a 3.2 liter. Is your a Luxury Model with the 5-speed auto? I would love to swap GVs and compare. I have another home in Henderson, so I could meet you at either the Sunset or Green Valley casinos. I try to avoid the Strip as much as possible as the tourists clog it up with traffic. Even the Fiesta would work. When I test-drive the GV with the service tech, they always say, "What vibration are you talking about?". And I reply, "the vibration that is causing the rear view mirror to dance". Am I the only person that can feel this? Perhaps you can drive it (a non-biased, non-Suzuki employee), and give me your honest opinion. I don't know how to give you my contact info in a way that the whole world does not see it. I did go look at the new Saturn Sky. What a beauty! The Redline version does not come out until October. Anyway, I pick up my GV today at the ex-Suzuki dealer (they sell only Subaru now) and they pretty much repaired all the damage they caused putting in the new carpet. Four of the plastic pieces that they had damaged were ordered, and came in the wrong color. So they have to re-order them....again. Plus, my new floor mats came in the right color, but they ordered mats for an XL-7! This time they told me that they are just going to give all the correct parts when they come in, and I can have them and install them myself. Wow, the saga continues......... 
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Replying to: vitara4me (Jul 28, 2006 11:44 pm) We looked at the Vue but haven't been a fan of Saturn since having the displeasure of owning one of their cars. My daughter goes to college at the International Academy of Design and Architecture in Green Valley. We bought her a condo while she goes to school and had so much fun we bought one out in Summerlin. We rarely go to the strip. The locals are more fun. Maybe we can ask one of our very kind hosts to intervene and share our info. 
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Replying to: budman3 (Jul 29, 2006 5:18 am) |
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