Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7 Complaints
73 consumer complaints on file.
- #10039280September 22, 2003SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
THE BRAKES ON THE CAR FAILED, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS PRESSED AND IT WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR BUT THE CAR WILL NOT STOP. THE HAND BRAKE WAS PULLED AND THE CAR WAS DIRECTED OUT OF THE ROAD INTO THE GRASS TO MAKE IT STOP. *JB THE DISTANCE WAS MEASURED AND IT WAS 75 FEET FROM THE POINT WHERE THE BRAKE WAS APPLIED TO THE POINT THE CAR STOPPED. THE CAR WAS GOING 35-40 MPH. THE DRIVER FINALLY GOT THE CAR TO STOP BY PULLING THE HAND BREAK BUT THE CAR HIT THE BUMPER HIT THE REAR OF PICK UP TRUCK IN FRONT AND THE TOW HITCH OF THE PICK UP TRUCK CRACKED THE FRONT BUMPER OF THE CAR THE CAR IS BRAND NEW AND HAS 1300 MILES ONLY ON THE CAR. *JB
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 1
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10036812August 28, 2003TIRES:TREAD/BELT
TIRES WEARING OUT FAST WITH LOW MILEAGE ON THEM, BRIDGESTONE P235-60-16 DUELER H/T. BEEN COMPLAINING TO SUZUKI DEALER ABOUT TIRES AND STEERING ON THE CAR. IN ONE MONTH FROM LAST VISIT HAD TO REPLACE ALL 4 TIRES BECAUSE OF CUPPING ON ALL FOUR TIRES. STEERING WAS SHIMMING AT 60 MILES PER HOUR BAD ANDALSO MAKING STEERING GO FROM LEFT TO RIGHT. DEALER WONT DO NOTHING. BUT SERVICE MANAGER AT TIRAPELLI SUZUKI STATED SUZUKI KNOWS OF A PROBLEM WITH THESE TIRES BUT THE DEALER DOESNT WARRANT THE TIRES. ALL THEY SUGGESTED WAS REPLACE TIRES. IF YOU LOOK AT THE COMPLAINTS FOR THE SUZUKI XR-7 YOU WILL SEE THAT THIS TIRE HAS BEEN REPLACED BEFORE BECAUSE OF BAD WEAR AND CUPPING. HAD TO PUT OUT 361.00 TODAY FOR THE TIRES AND NOW THE CAR SO FAR DRIVES OK. BUT ONLY HAS 28161 ON TIRES IN WEAR AND CAR ISNT 1 YEAR OLD.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10032877August 15, 2003POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
TRANSMISSION MAKES HUGE GRINDING SOUND WHEN SHIFTING INTO REVERSE - THIS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED IN WRITING BY AUTHORIZED SUZUKI SERVICE CENTER AS NORMAL YET SOUND. NLY OCCURRED IN 24TH MONTH OF OWNERSHIP.*AK
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10025920July 11, 2003TIRES, VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
I PURCHASED A VEHICLE IN FEB. 2002 FROM CORPORATE MOTORS DBA SUZUKI OF HAYWARD CA. THROUGH ADDISON AVENUE CREDIT UNION HELD AT HP CORPORATE IN PALO ALTO, CA. ON MAY 17TH 2002 MY NEW SUZUKI XL7-4WD BLEW A HEAD GASKET @ 4,057 MILES. IT WAS TOWED TO THE SAN JOSE BOB LEWIS SUZUKI DEALER. WOULD NOT PROVIDE A CURTSEY LOANER AND DUE TO PARTS NOT IN STOCK IT TOOK THREE WEEKS BEFORE I RECEIVED MY XL7 BACK.ON MAY 15TH 2003, I TOOK IT IN FOR A MAINTENANCE INSPECTION AT SUNNYVALE FOREIGN CAR SERVICE. AT THIS TIME THE MILEAGE WAS 17,956. ALL WENT WELL, BUT WAS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT I GET ALL NEW TIRES SOON, TIRES WORN.ON JULY 2ND THE CHECK ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON. I TOOK IT BACK TO SUNNYVALE FOREIGN CAR SERVICE, AND THEY DID A DIAGNOSTIC CHECK. THE READING STATED A PROBLEM WITH THE ENGINE COOLANT. THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THE VALVE HEAD WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED, AND THAT I SHOULD TAKE IT BACK TO THE DEALER SINCE IT IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY.MONDAY JULY 7TH 2003, TOOK IT TO CORPORATE MOTORS DBA SUZUKI OF HAYWARD. PRIOR BEFORE TAKING, I CHECKED ON RECALLS AND COMPLAINTS @ WWW.NHTSA.DOT.GOV ON SUZUKI GRAND VITARA XL7. PRINTED OUT LISTING AND GAVE A COPY TO THE CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT. ALSO NO CURTSEY LOANER WAS PROVIDED.WINDSHIELD RECALL/SUSPENSION/TIRES AND STEERING/ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.THURSDAY JULY 10, 2003 SPOKE WITH VICTOR FLORES; HE INFORMED ME THAT THEY WERE GOING TO REPLACE BOTH HEAD GASKETS. THE WORK DONE FROM SAN JOSE BOB LEWIS ON THE BLOWN HEAD GASKET ON MAY 17TH 2002 DID NOT USE THE NEW REPLACEMENT PARTS. THE TIRES WERE WORN BUT NOT ABLE TO REPLACE THEM. NO MENTION ON WINDSHIELD RECALL. *AK
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10023688June 24, 2003STEERING, SUSPENSION
VEHICLE WONDERS LEFT AND RIGHT ON ROAD. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER , AND THEY PERFORMED A FRONT END ALIGNMENT. VEHICLE STILL THE SAME PROBLEM. *JB
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10020968June 3, 2003ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
A BURNING ODOR IN THE CAR FOR OVER A YEAR. HAVE TAKEN IT TO DEALERSHIP TWICE. HAVE SPOKEN WITH SUZUKI COMPANY WHO HAS TOLD ME TO CONTINUE TAKING IT TO DEALER. THE DEALER ONLY STEAM CLEANS THE ENGINE. *NLM
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10016954May 3, 2003TIRES
WE PURCHASED 2 NEW SUZUKI'S XL7 2002 WITH BRIDGESTONE DUELER HT687 P235/60/R16. STARTED VIBRATING ALMOST FROM THE START. TERRIBLE PULSING WHEN USING THE BRAKE. HAD TIRES FORCED ROAD BALANCED 3 TIMES. NO CHANGE. 4 WERE REPLACED ON ONE CAR AND ONE ON THE OTHER. PROBLEM STILL EXISTED. WE WERE TOLD BY FIRESTONE DEALER THAT IT WAS NOT THE TIRES. HE SAID THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE CAR, SUCH AS BRAKES OR SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE FRONT END. WE HAD AN INDEPENDENT DEALER CHECK ALL THE ABOVE AND COULD ONLY FIND A PROBLEM WITH THE TIRES. AFTER FEELING LOST, I WROTE FIRESTONE WITH THE COMPLAINT AND FINALLY WAS CONTACTED BY THEM. FIRESTONE/BRIDGESTONE FINALLY AGREED TO REPLACE ALL 10 TIRES A YEAR LATER WITH WHAT EVER TIRE WE CHOOSE. THEY AGREED TO PAY $80.00 PLUS MOUNTING AND BALANCING TOWARD THE 10 TIRES WE WANTED AFTER SOME ARGUING. THE DUELER 687 EMITTED A LOUD BUMPING WHEN DRIVING AND VIBRATION WHEN BRAKES WERE APPLIED. WHEN TIRES THE WERE REMOVED, WE NOTICED CUPPING ON SOME. ALSO NOTICED TIRES WERE NOT ALIKE, SOME WERE STEEL PLUS POLYESTER OTHERS WERE STEEL PLUS POLYESTER PLUS NYLON. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THESE TIRES AT ALL. WE WERE TOLD BY THE CAR DEALER, THAT THESE TIRES WERE DESIGNED FOR THIS SUV.*JB
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #10009534February 27, 2003ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE FLUCTUATED, THE VEHICLE RAN OUT OF ANTI- FREEZE. THE DEALERSHIP STATED THE VALVE HEAD NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *JB
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #765625August 14, 2002POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
TRANSMISSION SLIPS BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD GEAR AT NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE. THIS WAS INCONSISTANT BUT RECURRING PROBLEM WHICH USUALLY OCCURRED WHEN PULLING INTO TRAFFIC FROM A STOP. THE TRANSMISSION WOULD SLIP UNDER ACCELERATION AND NOT SHIFT INTO THIRD GEAR UNTIL STOPPED ACCELERATING. THIS CIRCUMSTANCE CREATED A SAFETY HAZARD WHILE ATTEMPTING TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC. THE VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALER AND THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. THE SERVICE ANALYST AND TECHNICIAN COULD NOT CONFIRM THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM , BUT ACKNOWLEDGED THIS WAS A RECURRING PROBLEMS W/ THIS TYPE OF TRANSMISSION SINCE THE 2000 MODEL YEAR AND CONTINUES THROUGH THE 2003 MODEL YEAR. A TSB REGARDING THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN ISSUED.*AK
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #8016119August 13, 2002SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
SEAT BELT ON THE PASSENGER'S SIDE IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. WHEN LOCKING THE SEAT BELT BELT WILL GET STUCK, AND CONSUMER IS NOT ABLE TO TAKE BELT OFF. CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER IS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING. *AK
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #8015293August 1, 2002SUSPENSION:FRONT
VEHICLE WONDERS LEFT AND RIGHT ON ROAD. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER , AND THEY PERFORMED A FRONT END ALIGNMENT. AT 14000 MILES, ALL FOUR TIRE WERE WOREN OUT. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #8013932July 15, 2002VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
BRAKE FAILURE. *AK CONSUMER STATES WHEN APPLYING BRAKE PEDAL, 11-1/2 SHOE CATCHES LOWER LEFT CORNER OF GAS PEDAL ALLOWING ENGINE TO REV UP. *TT
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #885669April 11, 2001TIRES
CURRENT TIRES HAVE INSUFFICIENT WEAR RATINGS TO CARRY PASSENGER LOAD. CURRENT TIRES ARE BRIDGESTONE (P235/70R16) WITH A RATING OF 300. CONSUMER FEELS THAT RATING ON TIRES SHOULD BE 400 TO 450. DEALER HAS INFORMED CONSUMER THAT PRESSURE SHOULD BE LOWERED TO 28 PSI, CONSUMER FEELS THIS PSI IS LOWER THAN IT SHOULD BE. *AK *SLC
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0