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SUVs Suzuki Grand Vitara/Vitara 2006 Grand Vitara vibration problem
122 messages, Last post on Aug 28, 2009 at 12:06 PM
You are in the Suzuki Grand Vitara/Vitara Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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Replying to: i3oyet (Mar 08, 2007 1:15 pm) Thanks. We got ours from Richmond Suzuki. For its first oil change, I dropped it off after work. They gave me a loaner for free, which I returned when I picked up the GV after work the next day. That minimized the hassle for me, and gave them plenty of time. But it still meant I did over two hours driving in rush hour traffic. I had also had to make a trip back to them to pick up the owner's manual etc. which they failed to put in the vehicle when I bought it. I'm not happy with how they handled (or failed to handle) the baggy leather in the front seat bottoms, and the warped drivers side mirror. I don't like being told the regional rep will contact me about the seats, and never did. I don't like being told the mirror is not warped when I can see damn well that it is. (And why did they remove and replace my blind-spot mirror if they saw nothing wrong with the glass?) Those are minor things compared to your problem, but the result is that I'm getting the warranty interval servicing done somewhere else where it's cheaper, vastly more convenient, consumes less gas, and the staff are straight across with me. I should say I had a good impression of the N. Van Suzuki dealership. I stopped by there one Saturday or Sunday to see if they could check a check engine warning light, caused by my wife failing to screw the gas cap on properly. The only person around cheerfully did it on the spot, and for no charge. You have a manual transmission, and I don't. So I can't compare our GV. Usually such noises are indicative of abnormal wear in a manual transmission. There are lots of manual transmission GV's being sold all over the world, and I don't see much "buzz" about this problem. There's an issue with drivetrain/engine vibration, but not much about manual transmission problems. Do you participate in suzuki-formus.com? Have you tried taking it to a different dealer? I know how much hassle that is because we have to work at the same time the service depts. are open, but some other dealer might know how to handle this. Maybe it would drive home how much hassle this has been for you if you counted up how many trips to the dealer you've made on this issue, phone calls, letters etc. and tally up the total number of hours. Suzuki representatives don't seem to recognize what an impact this has on your life. Assuming the vehicle has manufacturing or design defects (and I see no reason why you would make up this hassle)I find their apparent lack of empathy particularly offensive. ----------------------- Reviewing your posts...just wondering about your crossbar noise problem. broncododge's suggestion about the height of the rack didn't make sense to me. Did you carefully install the filler strips after you mounted the towers? Any open slots on the rack are going to be really noisy. And after mouting this rack, go around and push up on the ends of the crossbars. It is difficult to mount this rack so it's really locked into the crossrails, even if it looks ok. I've read a report of one of these racks coming right off, and even if you know exactly why it has a problem, it's still hard to get it on right. Needs to be recalled, if you ask me. |
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Ok, another update to the vibration problem. The dealership called and told me to pick up my Grand Vitara. I was told by the service writer that it had been fixed/ problem solved/ game over. I told the dealership that I was NOT going to give up my gas-sucking Nissan Murano AWD rental until I test drive my GV. Well, the vibration is much less, but it is still there. Granted, I can see out of my mirrors now while accelerating, but it IS still there. They did however, fix the rattle coming from the back seat. Seems that the last dealer (out of business), had stripped one of the studs that holds the seat down. Remember that I had all the carpet replaced in my 2006 Grand Vitara because the floor had become so hot, that the insulation, sound padding, and foam backing had melted and turned into black Jell-O. Anyway, the only thing I won't try again is tow with this vehicle. The 2006 Grand Vitara has a 3000 pound towing capacity....or does it? I tried to tow a small U-Haul open trailer to Las Vegas (I rented the smallest, lightest trailer U-Haul had), and the Grand Vitara almost caught fire. I was climbing a hill (outside temp was 65 degrees F), and the engine and transmission decided that 3rd gear at 6,000-6,500 RPM would be a good choice. Well, the exhaust system became very, very, very hot while climbing the hill. So, unfortunately, I no longer trust the Grand Vitara to tow anything long distances. Now, if you want to tow around town, no problem, but on the freeway; forget it! Not unless you like melting floors and shoes. (Yes, the heel of my right shoe melted as well). The Grand Vitara has enough of a problem pulling itself up a hill, much less a trailer. In fact, before you decide to purchase a Grand Vitara, put your whole family in it, plus luggage, and go find a hill somewhere. You will find that 18-wheelers will be honking at you to get out of the way. So, SuzukiWoman, what is the name of that company that buys back vehicles that vibrate, melt, and get 6 MPG while towing up a hill? (Yes, I almost ran out of gas in the middle of the Mojave Desert. I left Ontario, California with a full tank, and ran dry about ten miles north of Baker, California) Thanks, Vitara4me 
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Replying to: vitara4me (Mar 23, 2007 10:31 am) See, I towed my 2200lbs camping trailer with my wife, 2 kids,all the luggages and 2 bikes for a 1300 miles trip crossing the Adirondaks and the CatSkills. When climbing hills in the mountains I was selecting "4" instead of "D", I was able to maintain a good cruising speed (around 70-75 mph), passing cars and 18-wheelers. The engine was doing just fine and never suffered. It performed as good if not better than my previous Cherokee, with less gas (average of 20 miles per US gallons over the 1300 miles at an average of 70-75 mph, which is very good), and braking power of the GV is better than the Cherokee too. So I'm more than pleased with it. I think you just got a lemon.
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Replying to: vitara4me (Mar 23, 2007 10:31 am) We have highways near here through the mountains, where there are one or two black patches on the shoulders every kilometer, from vehicles catching fire on the long steep climbs. (Coquihalla Highway and the Connector) The GV, fully loaded, happily zooms up these hills at 120kph, faster than anything other than performance vehicles and things like pickups with huge engines and no only a driver for a load. 18-wheelers? We go past them like they're standing still. One time another 2006 GV fell in behind us, and the two of us were passing everything in sight until they turned off after a couple of hours of doing this. I never tow anything, though. |
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Replying to: vitara4me (Mar 23, 2007 10:31 am) I have also been reading "suzuki womans" posts about reprogramming the ecu. I find It hard to believe that "HER"(and only her) Dealership has a mystical fix that Suzuki Motors does not know about. If SUZUKI motors does not know about any fix than there Is no fix at this time for the Issue. If you bought a car and had the ECU re-programmed as she said to do(at her mystical dealership) and then went to another dealership still having a problem SUKUKI MOTORS would most likely void you warrenty for tampering with the ecu without no offical recall.... BEWARE........... |
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Spied: Suzuki Gets Aggressive It's a tall order By Paul Horrell "Suzuki plans to triple North American annual sales from 80,000 to 250,000 in five years. That's a tall order because it means biting into Hyundai's and Kia's growth. But the company plans to roll out a fleet of imaginative new vehicles to help it succeed, according to Hirotake Ono, board member in charge of U.S. and European marketing. First up for the U.S. is the 2006 Grand Vitara, now on sale in Japan as the Escudo. The five-seater maintains true off-road capability, but becomes more civilized on-road. Equipped with a 2.7-liter V-6, its body is integral with its box-section frame, and the front- and rear-suspensions mount to subframes. Three big launches make 2008 Suzuki's Big Year • Mid-2007, Suzuki replaces the XL-7 with a bigger five- and seven-passenger SUV designed for North America. Based on the 2005 Concept X Detroit show car, it uses the Saturn Vue's Theta platform. A 3.6-liter Japanese-built V-6 based on GM's high-feature engines will power the 192-inch-long truck. • A 2008 Verona replacement will again be built at GM's Daewoo facility in South Korea. • A 2008 Aerio SX replacement, codenamed New Sport Crossover (pictured) plays a big role. A 2.0-liter engine will power the front-drive U.S. version. The body was "mainly designed" by Italdesign Giugiaro and finished in Japan. Based on an all-new platform, it employs front struts and a rear torsion beam and exhibits little body roll despite its tall bodywork. Suzuki and Fiat versions go on sale in Europe next year, and Ono expects a hybrid-powered version in calendar-year 2008. A new sport/utility wagon, with a transverse-engine front-drive layout and all-wheel-drive capability, is set for the 2009 model year. Ono says it matches the Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series wagons in size but not in price. It'll also have the 3.6-liter twin-cam V-6. Meanwhile, U.S. dealers chose not to take a car as small as the new Swift, until they saw what it looked like. Too late. They'll have to wait until a new 2010 model. Finally, Suzuki wants a sports car, though it hasn't decided on a layout. Accountants nixed a front-drive two-seater for 2007, in part because it was designed just for Europe and Japan. A new project entails the U.S. market, but again not before 2010." Ok, Suzuki......what about the 2008 Grand Vitara? Any changes? Bigger engine? Rear discs? DVD player? Better MPG? Regards, Vitara4me
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Replying to: vitara4me (Apr 23, 2007 4:07 pm) Suzuki is running new ads for both the XL7 and the Grand Vitara, plus a very funny fake newspaper page about the XL7. |
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Hello guys, I am back and this time very happy. After all the pain and misery that My Grand Vitara has caused me, I decided that the whole thing was going nowhere and problems after another and keeps getting BS from the suzuki dealer mechanics. I am now a proud owner of a 2007 Nissan Xterra (off road version) I can tell you guys how glad I am that I got rid of that car. There is definitely a big difference in terms of the design quality. Some people may say that there is a price difference but when you experiance what I had been through with the Suzuki Grand Vitara that I owned for two years. You will say that the few thousand dollars differrence is nothing. When I think back to what I had been through getting that car back and forth to the dealership shop for repair time and time again since I bought it. I just smile and say to my self. I wish I never bought a Suzuki Grand Vitara (It is the worst vehicle I have ever drove) The only thing I can say now is good luck and hope that Suzuki will treat you a lot better than how treated me because if you ask me, They have given me zero customer service after sale. All i got was a bunch of BS. This is my message to all...I! in my lifetime will never ever drive anything that is made or design by Suzuki. Thank you all |
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Hello again, I just want to clarify that on my last post. I was not compairing the capability of the Xterra and the grand vitara. I was compairing the quality of the two vehicles. For example, On my previous car(Grand Vitara)when ever I put it on second gear I hear the very annoying noise from the transmission. Well shouldn't I be hearing just the engine running instead of some other noise that isn't suppose to be there? This is just one of the things I experienced with it. Thanks all |
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Hello everyone. I called Suzuki of America corporate office to discuss my ongoing issues and I was told by a rather rude individual to "pound sand". In other words, Suzuki said that there is no way that they will buy back my vehicle, or give me another vehicle. Oh really? You sure about that? Well, I have found a very nasty Lemon-Law attorney that has dealt with Suzuki before, and told me to start looking for my next car, because Suzuki is at fault, and is liable for my loss. I'm sure glad I took pictures and documented everything, including all my warranty repair invoices, showing miles and date/time in service. I even recorded all my phone calls to Suzuki of America and all the dealerships I have dealt with. (four Suzuki dealerships in my area have gone bankrupt and shut down). I now have to drive 35 miles to the nearest dealership. I'll let you know how it turns out. Regards, Vitaranot4me
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