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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: budman3 (Dec 21, 2008 4:18 am) I own the full load 2006 GV. And besides a few nuisance things that the dealer has taken care of under warranty, we're happy owners. Yes, tire wear on the OEM tires was disappointing, but I'll be more aware on my next new purchase. Fact is, OEM tires are gererally less expensive (which is why manufacturers put them on their vehicles), and have softer compounds to give new buyers a better ride - of course, I had to learn this at about 20,000 KMS when I started seeing the warning treads too close for comfort ! We're getting huge dumps of snow this winter, and my GV with winters all around bites thru that snow like there's no tomorrow. I have a long steep driveway 150 ft long where most seasoned drivers opt to park at the bottom and walk up . We don't even have to shovel, the GV just flies up the hill, and if there's ice in places, the ESP kicks in and gives us traction where we need it. Here's a shot (minus the snow): Our Suzuki dealer has listened to every beef and, besides the OEM Geolander tires (which they did recommened we talk to the Yokohama tire rep), they have taken care of the issues. Waiting on new strut assemblies now, for the only reason that the original ones are making a creaking noise. No burning smell, alignment issues, or other horror stories I've read about, guess I'm one of the fortunate ones! Or evidence that not all GV's are created equal (but you would think otherwise). Hey, once our 3 year warranty runs out, I may be running out to the Acura dealer, or buying my buddy's used one !! Merry Christmas.
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If your GV has enough mileage on it to have burned off the protective oil coatings on the underbody, then there's a couple of things to suspect causing a burning smell. One is a loose transmission oil hose connector. Because it will drip onto the exhaust, and then a belly pan, all you'll get is smoke and the burning smell. You won't find oil dripping onto the ground underneath, and you can't see the connectors. The other problem is overheating/frying materials under the carpet in the drivers floorwell. This is caused by heat from the exhaust and catalytic converter under the floor (with the 2.7). It will happen in higher ambient temperatures, and when you're using a lot of throttle for a prolonged time. Such as climbing long mountain grades in high temperatures. Apparently it can also be caused by the engine running rich, causing the cat converter to be burning off lots of fuel. The person who first reported this problem earlier in this topic was towing a trailer up long grades, running at 5000rpm for quite a while. He melted all the stuff on the floor, and even his shoe's heel! Suzuki replaced the flooring materials, eventually. I've checked under the carpet on our GV, and it has blackened and melted materials in the same place. We have never towed with it, and have never run it at 5000rpm for very long. If at all. But we have climbed some 10km grades in 40C temperatures at over 100kph. We have put this on record with Suzuki, but they have not declared it to be a problem yet. Maybe they'll wait until someone's GV catches fire. I'm willing to bet that if GV owners checked under the carpets in the drivers floorwell, many of them would find this damage. Failing to resolve the alignment problem is completely unacceptable. Suzuki has been well aware of this problem for years. It is a safety hazard because it means the vehicle is in an incipient skid all the time. This is even worse in the winter. By comparison, the horrendous tire wear and extra wear and tear on the driveline start to seem like minor concerns. Luckily ours does not have this problem, and the oem tires have more than half their tread depth, with 32,000km on them. The first step is to inform your dealer about the ridiculous tire wear, which you have done. Make sure the matter is printed on an invoice or two. If the dealer fails to fix the problem, as is dismayingly typical, send a registered letter to the Suzuki headquarters in your country. Describe the history of the problem. Tell them you're aware this is not news to Suzuki. Include some phrases about putting the matter on the record in case legal recourse becomes necessary. If that fails, and you're in the US, put an entry in the NHTSA safercar.org website. If you're in Canada, file a claim with CAMVAP. Or the US equivalent. Check out LemonAid and Edmunds. If all that fails, take them to small claims court. Court is not cheap, but it's cheaper than owning an unsafe and improperly built car. Far cheaper than an accident from misalignment combined with worn tires. Maybe some day if enough people apply enough pressure, Suzuki will smarten up, recall the defective vehicles, and deserve some customer loyalty. Hopefully that happens before someone gets hurt (other than financially). |
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| it is 0 degrees here and we are smelling that buring smell go figure | |
| Then I would suspect the loose transmission oil hose. | |
Since I've had my Suk I can't get help for my alingment problems and my cost of more that 900.00 in tires in less than two years from my dealer or Suzuki Canada,I was wondering if anyone got out of a lease early with out much of a penalty I have to get out of this I can't afford tires. If there is someone who has done this please share you knowledge.  
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Your real problem is that the car is seriously out of alignment. This is a well known problem with quite a few '06 Grand Vitaras. This is not just costly in terms of tires. It's hard on the drivetrain, and it's a safety issue because the car's always in a slight skid. If I had this problem, I'd minimize driving the thing, and ramp up the efforts to get Suzuki to fix it, or buyback the GV. Send a registered letter to Suzuki Canada. If that doesn't work out, open a file with CAMVAP. If that doesn't work, go to Small Claims Court. Have you followed the rotation schedule for the wheels? Our '06 GV has 33,000km on it, and the original tires still have 7/32" tread left. |
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Replying to: denverleigh (Dec 21, 2008 7:24 am) Exactly. You can't compare the 2 vehicles side by side. I know that most people wouldn't pay MSRP on a vehicle but if you try and equip a 2009 GV like the MDX, you come up with a price of about $28,000. We bought a new 2008 MDX for $32,000. Not much of a price differance for a whole lot more vehicle. It may be a year older than the GV but resale value will surpass the GV in the long run. |
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Replying to: norwoodsmn (Dec 15, 2008 1:17 pm) I finally got so frustrated that I hired a Lemon Law Lawyer. Any one else who is interested in Suing let me know and I will give you my attornies name and number.... 
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Replying to: wisegirl65 (Jan 02, 2009 12:34 pm) Most stories have more than one side though, which is why I think the arbitration process might be worth a shot for others, (first), before unleashing the heavy artillery. Let us know how it goes... |
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Replying to: wisegirl65 (Jan 02, 2009 12:34 pm) My GV only has 16k on it. So far I haven't had any problems,other than lousy gas mileage. I am getting about 17mpg city. I am concerned about the tire wear problems that everyone seems to be having. I hope I can get at least another 16K on the tires before I have to change them!! They tread seems to be wearing evenly. They are Yokohama Geolanders.
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