Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
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
|
Our 2007 cooked the rear tires down to the wear bars on the outside in less than 8000 miles The inside of the tires were still like new. The front tires were also like new. After a couple heated conversations about the tire wear, our local Suzuki dealership called the factory and then realigned it to new "modified" specifications and rotated the tires front to back. Now with over 18,000 miles the rear tires still look like new and the worn rear tires that were moved to the front have not experienced any more noticable wear. They can fix this problem if your dealership would take the time to do some research. I was told that the factory knows about the problem and that they beleive it lies in the way that some of the trucks are being strapped down for shipping. My Dealership is Courtesy Suzuki in North Huntingdon, Pa.
|
|
|
Replying to: gcram399 (Mar 14, 2009 5:07 am) tidester, host SUVs and Smart Shopper |
|
|
Last march 2008 I took my 2006 GV to dealer to have new tires installed. Had 23000 miles on them. Instead bought a 2008 with locking trans case that 2006 lacked. Now have 12000 miles on 2008. Observations? With the treadwear rating of the geolanders that's about what can be expected of them especially if you do all of your driving on pavement and don't baby it. The tires were probably good for another 3 or 4 thousnd miles pushing them to limit. My 2008 had the "engine knocking at idle when warm" thing going on. Retensioning of the belts cured that. Had a SLIGHT rattle coming through the dashboard when running over bumps that was driving me nuts. After process of elimination I found the noise is coming from the airflow control actuator when it is set to floor when the fan speed is below 3 bars on the display. I did the investigating for the replacement of the actuator when and if I take the Vit back to the dealer, people that ride with me think I'm crazy when I say "hear that"? Not really a big deal at all. I haven't posted in over a year, sorry I'm winded but my point is I guess is that so far knock on my head these two GV's I've had have been the most dependable vehicles outside of my suzuki bikes that I have had the pleasure of owning. By the way, I do all scheduled maintenence myself. Like a fellow said to me once when I worked in a garage when I was younger "treat it like it's yours". Garage monkeys take note.
|
|
|
Replying to: vitdean (Apr 04, 2009 9:51 am)
|
|
|
Replying to: csjmomma (Jun 17, 2009 11:10 am) |
|
|
Replying to: csjmomma (Jun 17, 2009 11:10 am) |
|
|
Hi everyone. I have been reading many of the comments left about excessive tire wear and alignment problems on the GV from different years. Since buying my 2008 GV new, I myself have experience excessive tire wear and alignment problems. After purchasing my 2008 GV new, within 3 months and only 3,000 miles, began to notice excessive tire wear on my rear tires, a constant skidding of tires whenever I turned a corner and a loss of control in the rear end while driving the GV in wet weather. I took my Suzuki into a Suzuki dealership because of the tire wear and handling problem. Upon inspection, was told by the service technician that the tires had been over inflated and was the reason for the excessive wear and instability. As soon as I was told that, I asked for a tire gauge from the technician, checked the tire pressure in all 4 tires while the technician was standing there just to prove to him that the tires were not over or under inflated. I told him that it might benefit him to do the proper diagnostic tests needed to see if my GV was out of alignment. Keep in mind that this is the dealership that I purchased my GV from that was suppose to put my Suzuki through PDI when it was taken off the truck and before allowing me to drive it off the lot. When we walked back into the office, the technician tried to located my records from when my Suzuki went through PDI to see if the alignment was checked at that time. Come to find out, the records could not be located because my Suzuki never went through PDI which, was a shock to all. Once the technician put my GV on the machine to check the alignment and specs, he quickly found out that it was out of alignment and spec. So, he did an alignment on it and I was assured that that the tire wear would stop. I continued to drive my Suzuki only to notice that within 1 month, the tire wear had gotten worse. I took my Suzuki to NTB to have the alignment checked and come to find out it was out alignment and spec. I took it back to a Suzuki dealership along with the spec sheet from NTB to show them that the alignment did not hold, the tire wear was worse and the my Suzuki was out of spec again. They aligned it again and told me that they were able to get it aligned properly and into spec. So, I had the tires replaced. My tires have been on my Suzuki for 2 months as of date and are completely worn bald, handling of my GV is very difficult because it does what mechanics call "walking" which is dangerous because the driver has no control at the steering wheel when this happens. Stability is very difficult in dry and wet weather. I took my GV back to NTB just yesterday to have the alignment checked again. Come to find out my Suzuki is so badly out of alignment and spec, worse than before, that the service technician was not able to bring it into spec for a proper alignment. The eccentrics had been adjusted as much as possible and could not be adjusted any more. Upon further inspection by the service manager of parts, bushings, rear suspension,cradle, frame, etc., everything seemed to be ok. So, the news that I got from the service manager and service technician about my GV not being able to be aligned properly was not good at all. Needless to say, I started doing research and came across this site among others. I was really amazed at how many stories were posted about the same problems I am having with my GV. So, I decided to hired an attorney to get to the bottom of the ongoing tire wear and alignment problem I among other GV owners, are experiencing. If anyone else has had to hire an attorney, I would be interested in knowing how your cases have turned out. It seems that Suzuki has been aware of the problem for years but as of date, but still has not done anything to correct it.   
|
|
|
Replying to: dlcorbin (Sep 04, 2009 5:09 pm) I didn't hire an attorney. Should have. I had my GV in for at least 3 alignments. They said i wasn't rotating my tires enough. Geez, what was i supposed to do, bring my floor jack with me and rotate tires every week? Who replaces tires at 16,000 miles in the first year and for 17" wheels it was almost $600. Suzuki flat out denied my claim. Said it was normal. You're better off buying real estate in Vegas and taking the loss. At least you'll have a place to stay. 
|
|
|
|
|
Ah yes, brings back painful memories - my "new" vehicle with bald tires at 22,000 km. Both the dealer and a Kal Tire claimed that it was typical for OEM tires (Geolander) to wear quickly (soft rubber, better ride, and less money for the manufacturer who is buying these tires in bulk). Reluctantly, I bought new rubber (Toyo H/T Open Country) and at around 60,000 km, they are holding up well. Sounds like dlcorbin may have an incompetent dealer on his hands, or at least a suspect alignment machine at the dealership. Getting a second opinion was smart. I'm one of the fortunate ones ... even after being rear ended big time 2 years ago, alignment issues haven't plagued my GV, nor any other satisfied owners of GV's I know locally. Then... there's that "characteristic" (as my dealer says) hummmm at about 110 km/h under slight load. No vibration on the steering wheel, but you can hear it and sense it in your seat. Transmission, transfer case? I don't commute, and I rarely go that fast anyway ! If I did a lot of freeway driving, I think this would start to get annoying. I was able to purchase a 3 year extension on the manufacturer's original 3 year warranty just in case it gets worse, or something snaps !! |
|
|
Replying to: budman3 (Sep 04, 2009 5:40 pm)  From what I have been told, if you put a 50,000, 25,000, etc., mile tire on a vehicle, the tires under normal driving conditions specified for that tire by the manufacture, should last up to the 50,000, 25,000, etc. limit. Rotating my tires was not an option for me because the wear had begun way before my tires were do for rotating. So, I had to have new ones put on. It has been only 2 months since the new ones were put on and now they are completely bald. Still way before recommended rotation. I don't even get a chance to rotate. Now, it is really scary to find out that my GV can not be brought back into spec or properly alignment at all. NTB tried however, after they tried to align my GV, did another spec report and showed me were they were not able to bring it back into spec. So, my tires will always wear at a very fast rate, I will always have stability and handling problems. After speaking with my attorney, it was indicated to me that there are more cases like mine that have been filed against Suzuki. Gosh, one would think that Suzuki would recall the SUV. 
|
|
You are here:
Forums
SUVs Suzuki Grand Vitara/Vitara Suzuki Grand Vitara 2006 through 2008
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
