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Suzuki Verona

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Comments

  • bartley7bartley7 Member Posts: 4
    Hello people, I have 3,100 miles on my 3 month old Verona and I must say it is running fantastic. No mechanical problems whatsoever. It takes off so much quicker than it did brand new. I think the acceleration is great. The transmission shifts very smoothly for me. I don't even notice it shifting through the gears. I would recommend this car in a heart beat. Does anyone know where to get chrome trim for the wheel wells ?
  • pciro2180pciro2180 Member Posts: 43
    Finally after 1 year of going to car dealers, and them telling me I was nuts, I demanded that the service tech ride with me. He drove it himself and said he did not hear it, and the dealer was trying to blame me for using an aftermarket filter. i told the dealer they are full of crap, why would all of these companies be selling them if they did not work with the car. I took the tech on the highway and drove about 10 miles at about 70MPH. I then got off the highway, pulled over and popped the hood and told him to listen while I revved the car. He said wow that is loud, i guess I have to replace the Head on this one too!!! I asked hoe many heads he has replaced on these cars, and he said about 15 or so!!! Note to everyone, next time you drive on the highway, leave your radio off, and listen for what sounds like a mini-diesel motor when you get off, it looks like Suzuki has a major problem with the heads on these cars. Yes, I am going to get a free rental, but the tech told me it would probably be a month or so before it was fixed, so I am going to call Suzuki just like I did last year during the recall and chew them a new a**hole, and demand that they give me back a car payment. i will let you know how it goes, I think I deserve something for a whole year of dealers telling me that I was nuts!!!!
  • brainfertilizebrainfertilize Member Posts: 46
    Full props to csandste.
    It looks like synthetic is making no difference on my car.
    17 mpg on the first fill-up after the change. Halfway through the next tank, and it looks like I'm still getting 17, maybe 18 max.

    I don't know...I got 20 the first few weeks here in Hawaii. The car seems to be getting slightly worse on mileage. I'm now trying to be a little less lead-footed. I'll report back after a few tanks if there's any improvement. I'm going back to my theory of trying to keep the RPMs under 2500 as much as possible, and see if that helps.

    Still, the car does run slightly quieter with synthetic, that's for sure. So I'll probably continue as long as I change the oil myself.
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    "He said wow that is loud, i guess I have to replace the Head on this one too!!! I asked hoe many heads he has replaced on these cars, and he said about 15 or so!!!"

    I have always blamed GM for some of the problems with this car (ECM, etc.). But it looks like this problem was clearly made by Daewoo BEFORE GM TOOK THEM OVER! It's just not normal to replace the heads on a new car-I don't care what kind of bargain it is. I thought the guy from Mercedes designed this motor. How can you get a screw up of this proportion? When you look at 15 heads replaced at this dealer alone-on cars that are selling that great to begin with-it's a matter of concern! :sick:
  • nace818nace818 Member Posts: 140
    Hey guys, a page or so back in this forum one of you advised me to just let the lifter noise alone if it did it only on startup. I should have listened to you. I had the job done as per the TSB, but not only did it not fix the problem, now I sometimes hear the noise when driving. One of the selling points of the car for me was the silky smooth quietness. I put in the synthetic oil which helped some, but I don't feel I should have to do this to keep the car quiet. The service guys told me to drive it a while longer for the lifters to "seat themselves". I drive 140 mile a day round trip to work.It's been about a month. They should certainly be seated by now.Maybe the head is my solution. I still like the car, I just want the noise to be gone.By the way, did the new head solve your problem?
  • grzeticgrzetic Member Posts: 3
    I had the same problem and explained exactly the way you did. They finally replaced the engine and all i had were even more problems.
    I contacted there corporate and argued with them for about two months till they finally replaced my car with a new one.

    Guess What - the new replacement is doing the same thing after 5000 miles just like the other one. I called corporate again and i am awaiting the area manger to call me back.
    ANY SUGGESTIONS!!!!
  • grzeticgrzetic Member Posts: 3
    I am so disappointed in Suzuki - I bought a Verona in June 2004 and after just a few months a noticed my car sounded like a diesel truck. After going back and forth to the dealer they decided to replace the engine. This made matters even worse. Now mind you this took about 35 days for them to complete and im making car payments on a car i dont have - i finally get and all it does is leak oil and the check engine light comes on.
    OK! Now im angry and i decided to call corporate and demand a new car - finally the area manager contacts me and after a while i got the car replaced.
    Yeah!!!! a new car that does not sound like a truck - WRONG!!! after 5000 miles on this new one we are back to square one.
    ANY SUGGESTIONS I GIVE UP :mad:
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    Sorry to hear about you misfortune times two!
    GM needs to forget about this motor and pull one of their reliable "corporate motors" like the 3.4 or something like it! These cars are showing WAY TOO MANY PROBLEMS for people to have confidence in them. Is there anybody who thinks they will get 150,000 miles out of these things?
  • brainfertilizebrainfertilize Member Posts: 46
    I think I'll get at least 150k out of my engine.
    I'm above 8k now and haven't had a problem yet.
  • pciro2180pciro2180 Member Posts: 43
    I don't know, becuase the dealer is telling me it is going to take 1 to 1.5 months to get the parts in to fix it. i got upgraded for free coutesy of Enterprise rent a car from a compact car to a Toyota Camry, but I am agruging with Suzuki because there is some new law that says the customer must pay for sales tax on rental, which i thimk Suzuki should cover since this is their screw up. Why should I have to incur the costs involved. I am also trying to get a car payment back from Suzuki like I did last year when they had my car for the recall. The 05 camry I am driving is a sweet and smooth ride, I like it, but not for the price of the car. Some models of the camry are more expensive than a Solara, which is what I just bought for my wife. I will keep you guys updated on my problems.
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    I think I'll get at least 150k out of my engine.
    I'm above 8k now and haven't had a problem yet.

    I hope you do!
  • dkuhajdadkuhajda Member Posts: 487
    Like GM's 3.1 or 3.4?
    Anyone hear of piston slap and intake manifold gasket failures both causing premature failure on those wonderful GM engines?
  • 04veronaowner04veronaowner Member Posts: 2
    I left a message on this forum a few months ago discussing the poor MPG I was getting with my '04 Verona. Since then I have taken it in for an oil change and ensured that they used 5w30 synthetic. But I'm still having the same problems. I got blank stares from the mechanic when I took it in for an oil change, as they don't quite know how to "fix" poor mpg. (And that was the mechanic at the dealership where I purchased the vehicle.)

    I called the customer service line at Suzuki's corporate and spoke with a rep. name Tonya. She said they have no control over MPG and the EPA does the measuring. I asked her if thought my car getting 5 or 6 miles less than advertised was a problem and she said no. I continued to ask if there was anything they could do and she hung up on me.

    I have taken other measures to try and improve my MPG… no AC, drive slower, drive more consistently, etc.. but with no luck. So, BUYER BEWARE of poor mpg with the Verona.

    If anyone would like a spreadsheet of gas usage for the Verona, e-mail me at jfearn@ameritech.net. I have kept detailed records
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    Yea, your right-but the number of problems compared to the number of cars sold are very, very small.
  • grzeticgrzetic Member Posts: 3
    I like to know where your getting your statistics from. Are they just from what people post?
    Dont you think its funny how this is my second 2004 verona with the same problem?
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    "Dont you think its funny how this is my second 2004 verona with the same problem?"

    My previous post referred to the GM motors...not the Verona.
  • kctomkctom Member Posts: 47
    We just finished a 3000 mile road trip with my Verona. It has about 8500 miles on it now. I drove from KC to Yellowstone and back. During that trip we traveled from an altitude of 800 ft to over 9000 ft. We experienced temperatures of 50 to 95 degrees. I burnt both regular gasoline and gasahol (10% ethonol). Mileage seems to be in the upper 20's. I am missing one gas receipt. I recorded 29 MPG from Rawlins, WY to mid Nebraska on I-80 with air on traveling at 80 mph.

    Many people have criticized the ECM module on this engine. About the only complaint that I have is that it didn't have coffee ready for me in the morning. What a wonderful driving experience. The car ran great. No stalling, no sputtering, no hard starting. I had pleanty of power even when climbing mountain passes at 8 or 9 thousand ft. I couldn't ask for anything more.

    I do use synthetic oil in my engine. I am using a 7500 mile oil change interval. Just the labor, the extended oil drain interval plus the cost of the oil filter justifies the use of synthetic. Now figure that for every 1% increase in fuel economy, you net a savings of $8.15 in fuel consumption over this 7500 mile interval (based on 23 mpg and $2.50 pe gal. fuel costs, if it ever gets that cheap again). Now add the peace of mind knowing that you are protecting your engine with a superior lubricant. Pennzoil dino can cost near $2 a quart at Walmart. They sell Quaker full synthetic for $3.85.

    So far my Verona has been great.

    Tom
  • kctomkctom Member Posts: 47
    I don't think that you have much of a case about the sales tax. You are putting miles on someone elses car instead of your own for the cost of the sales tax. We should all be so lucky. Figure $1000 a month rental fee ($30 per day). That's $75 per month sales tax or 7.5 cents per mile cost to you. For that you are putting no wear and tear on your vehicle. A $20,000 vehicle with even a 200,000 mile life, wears at a rate of 10 cents per mile not counting maintenance.

    Hell, you are coming out ahead. Tell them to take their time.

    Tom
  • kctomkctom Member Posts: 47
    I really get tired of all the garbage on this board. First all I heard was how defective the ECM was. Well after the last software upgrade, that's garbage. My Verona runs great. Like I said before, the ECM was fine, the software just needed tweeking.

    Then we heard how Suzuki dealers had moved the Veronas to the back of the lot and Suzuki was going to discontinue the car. That's garbage.

    Now we hear about all of these valve tappet problems and how it is so extensive that Suzuki has issued a TSB concerning it. That's garbage. There is no TSB on Suzuki's site concerning valve tappet noise.

    People say that GM should have put one of it's own V-6's in it. I don't think a 60 degree V6 will fit in that engine compartment. Anyone think that may be the reason Daewoo spent so much money developing this inline 6. This car was originally developed and sold to the rest of the world with a 4 banger.

    God forbid that I would ever have another GM engine in my car. GM gets most everything correct but one thing. I had a 1991 Grand AM with the quad 4 in it. It had head gasket problems. GM said it was because of new technology. The heads were aluminum but the block was iron. Thermal expansion coefficients. I would have bought that story if it wasn't for my 1980 Ply Champ (Mitsubishi) with aluminum heads and a cast iron block. Never a problem, 156,000 miles and the engine was running strong. Maybe GM was just too proud to learn a little something from Mitsubishi.

    Like I said before, this is the closest that I ever want to get to owning a GM car.

    Tom
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    "I really get tired of all the garbage on this board."

    I am really sorry you are "tired" of all the garbage. First of all.... there are many, many people on this board who have spent $15,000.00 plus dollars and are having SERIOUS PROBLEMS with this car. You don't replace heads unless there is a serious issue. All these people with problems...ARE THEY MAKING THEM UP?

    It's a shame, the (Verona) is a beautiful car--with many problems. The thing is, after GM (or GM/Daewoo-whatever they are calling themselves) fix the problems, it will probably be a good car. BUT, with the reputaton this car has--people looking at a new car will STAY AWAY...FAR AWAY!! BTW.. you are right about the 2.4 "Quad" motor---it did have head gasket issues. But the 3.1 and 3.4 GM motors have been very reliable "work horses". Ask anybody who has an old Lumina or Corsica.
  • dkuhajdadkuhajda Member Posts: 487
    "First of all.... there are many, many people on this board..."

    What many,many people?
    Without actually going back, I am sure there have been less than 5 people here with SERIOUS problems (valve tappet noise requiring major work).

    Maybe 5 people here having problems getting the early ones with the ECM issue resolved on the first reprogramming try.

    The anecdotal evidence here does not by any stretch of the imagination equal many, many people.

    The pre-1993 3.1L GM engine was a work horse. Model years 1994-1998 a very large number plus the 3.4L had the intake manifold gasket issue by 120K miles and usually it destroyed the engine as people don't maintain the car and see the signs early. Any used car manager with years taking cars in on trade knows to stay away from that era GM engine unless the new intake manifold gasket has been replaced, just like the Chrysler transmission.
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    Go over on the Lumina board. Many owners are getting between 150K and 200K out of the 3.1 and 3.4 motors........

    I personally do not think a Verona will ever see these kind of miles. With all the problems, most owners will trade or find out it is economically unpractical to keep them.
  • nace818nace818 Member Posts: 140
    kctom, My service manager was the one who told me about the TSB. When I described th noise to him, he said he didn,t even have to hear it to know what I was talking about because he haid already repaired about five others. Don't get me wrong, I still like my Verona alot. This to me is just an irritation that I think they will get fixed right when I bring it in again. I, like you, didn't have a single problem with mine until recently. I have almost 29,000 miles on it now.If they treat me right and get it fixed to my satisfaction,I'll be in love with it again.
  • marvinleemarvinlee Member Posts: 21
    Our early-production 2004 Verona now has just under 27,000 miles, including one long summer trip from Oregon to Georgia and back. I have mixed reactions to the car. It has been very reliable in mechanical terms. An early idling instability was permanently cured by redoing the chip. Dealer service was very poor. The repair disabled the radio and the service desk manager tried to convince me to take the car home and repair the radio myself. The dealer then agreed to repair the radio but it has never worked well since.

    The engine has a slight vibration at idle that would be very acceptable in an older four cylinder car but is a surprise in a modern inline six cylinder engine. At any other RPM the engine is very smooth, though quite audible at high RPM. Theengine has a slight clicking sound at idle which is unusual. All our previous cars have had quiet idling engines. The sound has neither improved over time nor gotten much worse.

    The looks of the car continue to please and the leather upholstery shows no sign of wear. Body fit and finish are excellent. The white paint does chip easily and I have purchased touch up paint to correct these flaws.

    Fuel economy is poor overall. Our best mileage was on one stretch of our trip where we obtained 27 MPG. Normally, suburban driving is less than 20 MPG and often near 18.

    The greatest flaw in our car is a poorly developed transmission. Although a five speed automatic would be nice, there are far better four speed automatics than in the Verona. the chief design blunder seems to be an inablility to apply throttle without an immediate downshift. The result is that the engine is often at at higher RPM than is truly needed for a modest acceleration. Earlier upshifts under light throttle and less-eager downshifts would significantly improve fuel economy, reduce engine sound, and contribute to a more serene driving experience.

    There is a notable contrast between the Suzuki Verona and the Hyundai Sonata. The Sonata makers are aggressively pursuing product improvement and customer satisfaction. The Verona product managers appear to have given up.
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    . "The Verona product managers appear to have given up."

    Yes, it's too bad....the Verona IS a pleasing car to look at. It would appear that one's money would be better spent elsewhere....even if you get slightly less equipment. :cry:
  • pciro2180pciro2180 Member Posts: 43
    I would go to the dealer about the clicking noise, it might be the same issue I had with the lifters knocking. I had a vibration at idle with that sound and had very poor gas mileage, took it to the dealer and went out with a tech, and they found that they had to replace the head on it.
  • pciro2180pciro2180 Member Posts: 43
    I finally got my car back from the dealer, Suzuki rushed the part from Korea so they did not have to refund me a car payment. Warranty work costed Suzuki almost 2,400.00 to replace the head. I have had the car for about 3 days now, no knocking, no vibration or rough running at idle, it actually is running like when I bought it, very smooth. This was a nightmare, they had my car for three weeks, the dealer never called me, I had to call them to check on vehicle, and I only called 2 times over the three weeks and the service person named Carol was a total BI***. I drive mostly highway and before the head repalcement I was only getting 22 MPG on the highway, I hope it goes up now that the engine is running correctly. We will see.
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    The J.D. Power study measures problems reported by auto buyers after the first 90 days of ownership. Suzuki had 151 problems per 100 vehicles in this years study, up from 149 last year. The industry average was 118. This DOES NOT INCLUDE the Verona, with only 12,874 sold-the number was considered too small for sampling. :sick:
    MORE
    http://autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102991
  • nace818nace818 Member Posts: 140
    Hello everybody, I realize how much I care for my Verona now that I may not have her anymore. I left her at my office Friday afternoon and took a company SUV since I had company business Monday morning which woul require some light hauling, not really thinking that Katrina woul be as bad as it was.Well my office is in New Orleans and live in Baton Rouge.As from what I can get from news reports, the area where my car is is under 7-10' of water.The worst part is they are not letting anybody back into New Orleans right away. I sure wish I had her back right now lifter tap and all. If it is under water, I think it would have to be totalled.I wouldn't want a repaired car that has been submerged for several days. Do any of you think they would try to repair it? Sad day on the Gulf Coast.
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    I don't think they like to repair flood damage on a car. Hopefully, you will get a nice settlement and can buy another car of your choice.
  • nace818nace818 Member Posts: 140
    Hello all, Well I got lucky, Our office parking lot was one of the few unflooded places in New Orleans, so the Verona was O.K. The only trouble I had was getting her out I had to drive some water that really wasn't that deep. The problem I am having now is that the dealer I bought it from, who was supposed to fix the lifter tap (which has gotten really bad,embarassing really), was hit pretty hard. I don't know when they will be back in business. I took it to the Baton Rouge dealer and they said that since the original service department had not done the work properly Suzuki may not want to pay for the service twice. I can't keep driving it because they said it me leave me on the side of the road. We will have to see if Suzuki come through for me and allows Baton Rouge to do the repair this time. This is a national disaster and I would hope they would allow me to have my car repaired at the only dealer I now have access to. I'll let you know.
  • nace818nace818 Member Posts: 140
    Well guys, I really appreciate Suzuki now. They are allowing the Baton Rouge dealer to correct the work of the original service department even though they are probably paying twice for the same thing. But I guess under normal circumstances they woul have me me go back to the first dealer for the re-fix. One thing is different though,this dealer is replacing the cylinder head.They feel this will solve any future problems. I sure hope so. Talk to you guys later.
  • jkobty2jkobty2 Member Posts: 210
    I think these problems with the valves is all due to using the incorrect grade of oil. Suzuki dealerships were incorrectly using 10W oil for oil changes which is not correct. Make sure that you only use 5W30 oil in your veronas. I suspect the heavier oil was not properly reaching the valves.
  • nace818nace818 Member Posts: 140
    I have always used 5W30, but now I am using full synthetic 5W30. It helped some with the noise at first. But then the tap got progressively worse until I was embarassed to drive it. It is now getting a new cylinder head. The dealer said the district manager instructed him to do this and that it should solve the problem. I certainly hope so.
  • krstnvnckrstnvnc Member Posts: 2
    i hate to burst your cloud you're coasting on, but this VERONA owner knows exactly what the deal is with the ECM and in no way is it being blown out of proportion. my car is in the shop right now. dealership admits that this is a problem and they were waiting on some techs f/suzuki to get there so that everyone could get together and try to find out why they are unable to fix it. no one seems to be able to find a source to repair. they have tried many diff methods, one was even putting a 2005 computer in my 2004. they did, thought that had solved the problem after putting a couple hundred miles on my car to see if had fixed it. they thought it had, returned my car to me just before closing on a saturday and i drove it approx 3 miles and guess what...PROBLEMS!!!, needless to say, my car was back in the shop first thing monday morning and i'm back in a rental again. the 2005 also has issues so don't even go there, that's why they decided not to make any more VERONAs. i'm real close to painting my car as a lemon and advertising it that way in as many places as i can in areas that are well traffic'd. so unless it's not happening to you, don't put down the ones that it is effecting. at this point in time, there are 3 other VERONAS along with mine in the shop with the same issues, and from what i've researched on this vehicle, this is only the beginning of the problems. my odometer reading is over 24,000. not to mention i now have a car with all of the 2004 problems along with the issues of the 2005 model :lemon:
  • krstnvnckrstnvnc Member Posts: 2
    please read my posting #1347
  • dkuhajdadkuhajda Member Posts: 487
    How can you know exactly what the deal is with the ECM with your experience with a SINGLE Verona that you own?

    Without full statistical data on how many of the Veronas were sold, how many developed any given problem, how many were fixed with the ECM upgrade, there is no way to know exactly how widespread or serious this or any other problem is at this point.

    There is a really good chance that the dealers technicians are overlooking the actual cause of the problem that is not related to the ECM, but due to the ECM problems in the past cannot get past the tunnel vision. In any case if they cannot repair the car under warranty within a reasonable effort, you can always see if you need an attorney. Then wait up to two years while you cannot drive the Verona waiting for the courts to decide. This is assuming they will not do a voluntary buy back.
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    It's too bad that you are having problems. What kctom doesn't tell everybody is that he sells these cars. So he naturally wants to minimize these problems. What Suzuki should do; is offer a GM car as a trade straight across for the Veronas. Offer the Verona owners a new car at no-charge! Maybe just pay for the miles used on the Verona. While the Chevy Malibu has gotten mixed reviews for it's style, it is turning out to be a fairly reliable car. Shame on Suzuki/GM Daewoo for these monsters of an automobile. GIVE THE OWNERS A BREAK!!
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    There were only 12,000ish (Veronas) sold last year. Furthermore, if they are replacing heads (as many owners have stated) this goes to the serious of the issues. These things are going to go the way of the Edsel... and for good reason!! :lemon:
  • suzivsuziv Member Posts: 1
    Just to have my 2 cents thrown in I bought my 04 Verona in Oct of 04 and I drive for a living. I have put over 26k miles on it and have not had a single problem with it except for the check engine light a few times. Maybe I'm just lucky. :)
  • nace818nace818 Member Posts: 140
    Well guys, its been nearly 2 weeks that I put mine in the shop for the cylinder head and I still don't have it back. They are still waiting for the part which they said is delayed because of the hurricane. To make matters worse there is not one Enterprise car rental that has a car to rent in Baton Rouge according to the dealer. I know this to be true because I found that hard to believe and called several of them myself. Since this city literally doubled in population overnight, all the evacuees must have rented the cars. So I am having to beg for rides when I can't get a company car. For all of my trouble, it had better be fixed right this time.
  • evergreenevergreen Member Posts: 213
    Guess I am one of the lucky few, too. I have 24k on my 04 Verona and it has only been in the shop for oil changes. It runs like a fine Swiss watch. Almost as quiet, too.
  • dkuhajdadkuhajda Member Posts: 487
    It is not a matter of being one of the lucky few. There just is no solid evidence of how far the problems are be they the early ecm problems or the later valve seats wearing out (which might be isolated to dealers using the wrong weight of oil).

    Don't worry about the very few people posting here with problems as most people who do not have any problems are not likely to complain about nothing, but almost everyone with a problem will want to complain.

    While I take anecdotal evidence seriously, I also consider the whole picture and will wait until the data from the servicers comes through in a couple of years to make my real judgment. The early information does not look good, but time will tell. When the Verona first came to the US, it really seemed like it was not quite ready for prime time. The Ford Focus also was a car that was not quite ready for prime time when it hit the market the first couple of years, but look at it now.

    I can agree that of the Suzuki dealers I have had to take cars in for service had less than the best service departments. This does not mean that all the Suzuki dealers service departments are less than stellar, just a two that I had to deal with.

    I would not worry myself too much with the isolated anecdotal evidence from a few people here. At this point it could mean the problem is widespread or it could mean that there are a few bad cars.
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    "I would not worry myself too much with the isolated anecdotal evidence from a few people here. At this point it could mean the problem is widespread or it could mean that there are a few bad cars."

    It would appear just on this board that the problems are substantial. With only 12,000 sold last year ( according to Consumer Reports and others) just based on the problems posted here, I don't see why anybody with a rational mind would possibly purchase one of these cars. If there were some "fire sale" and they got rid of these new for less than 10K, then that is a different story!

    I can understand the current owners suffering through these problems. I am sure most are still making problems and driving a car that is essentially worthless. It is a certainty that the Suzuki dealers were not prepared for all the problems.......
  • dkuhajdadkuhajda Member Posts: 487
    So far I see nothing that can indicate the problems are currently widespread beyond the very few people who have posted here, less than 10 individual car owners with the latest reported problem. There are also a few people posting that have had essentially zero problems. People often confuse anecdotal evidence with real substantial evidence, that is how the info-mercial industry parts so many people with their money.

    I am waiting to see the TSB that refers to replacing the heads for the valve train noise. So far Alldata does not show it.

    As for me, I don't buy new model introductions the first three years they are out. It typically takes about 3 years to find out the real story. Anecdotal evidence may or may not be an indicator of the real problem history of a car. Even though the Magnus was sold in other countries, it typically had the Holden 4 banger with the Aisen tranny, not the inline 6 that has the GM engine controls along with the GM tranny.

    As for the ECM stalling problem, it was three fold. The first attempt in August '04 wasn't quite there. In Sept. '04 they had the new ECM and fix in place, but it was plagued by incorrect information in the factory service manual on the computer idle relearn procedure. The TSB to give the correct idle relearn didn't come out until November of 2004. That is a long time to not have a firm handle on correcting the idle stalling issue indeed.
  • mm9351mm9351 Member Posts: 72
    For all the folks out there who find this forum an opportunity to bash the Verona, I'd like to point out ***hard to believe*** there are some people who are indeed satisfied, to say the least. It's true, the contented buyer does not feel the need to publicize every complaint, no matter how minor, and then seek the support of others in their "fight" against Suzuki. I do not work for them, but I believe they make fine cars, as is the case with the Verona. My '04 EX has had the ECM upgrade and hasn't seen the shop since. I change the oil exactly as recommended, 5W30 (I do it myself) and the engine is barely audible at idle and quite subdued at full throttle. The interior and exterior look as good as the day it was delivered, and the performance has way improved now that the engine is broken in. I do think there are a handful of people who pay a low price for a value-leader car such as the Verona and expect it to measure up to a Lexus. I'm not disputing that there has been a large audience of unhappy folks out there, but it happens with other high end vehicles as well...just look to the reliability problems with Mercedes and BMW. Remember, the Verona was a GMDAT design picked up by Suzuki to market here in the USA. It's not an original Suzuki design off their drawing boards, so why are you bashing Suzuki? They are doing everything possible to correct the defects they have inherited. Just trying to put things in perspective.
  • tonyc4tonyc4 Member Posts: 14
    I'm new to the forum and after reading some of the postings it sounds like Daewoo designed some kind of engineering disaster. Luckily I haven't had any major problems, just the usual stuff, ECU upgrade, brake light switch recall, plus a window track realignment, check engine light ( O2 sensor, in need of a software patch ) and yes my tappets are a little noisy...

    I purchased my Verona not for the value but for the engineering, Dr. Ulrich Bez was director of Daewoo during the Veronas development, it's his baby...Dr. Bez is former director of BMW, Porsche, and after a fallout with Porsche he was scooped up by Daweoo, and is now director of Aston Martin. This guy knows a thing or two about automotive development...The best part of the Verona in my view is the engine..all aluminum construction, fully counterwieghted crankshaft ( 12 ) seven main bearings, ladder frame for the main bearings ( clamps the crankshaft much better than individual bearing clamps ) and a nicely finned 8qt oil pan. The head is a twin cam with twin rocker shafts and roller rockers..The cylinder liners are Silitec, developed for Mercedes, they are thin, ultra strong and super slick..I cant even think on another car for the price with so much engineering. I also love the chassis, this car drifts nicely at 90mph ( fully controlable ) and feels like a missle at triple digits. As long as the car runs I'll keep it, thank you.
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    The Verona is a car with a totally different powertrain in the rest of the world. Yes, the motor is very sophisticated. It is widely known that this motor can put out much more power than currently tuned for (right now it doesn't put out anymore horsepower than most 4-cyls. out there!) However, GM got involved the last minute due to the bankruptcy of Daewoo and changed the transmission and the motor controls. It doesn't matter how good the motor is if the transmission is not suited to the rest of the powertrain. BTW, if the motor is so good, where does the responsibility lie for the tappet noise and the need to replaced the head? :confuse:
  • dkuhajdadkuhajda Member Posts: 487
    So far there is no TSB on the lifters in the Verona engine from Suzuki.

    In June they did issue a new software upgrade for the transmission computer to improve the shifting. There is a TSB available for that if someone is having some odd shift behavior they would like checked out.

    They also issued another software update for the ECM in June 2005, apparantly the earlier updates they performed didn't quite meet EPA standards for California emissions.

    BTW anyone can order TSBs from Suzuki's pit stop web site or get copies from the dealers service department.
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    They also issued another software update for the ECM in June 2005, apparently the earlier updates they performed didn't quite meet EPA standards for California emissions.

    Haven't they issued something like THREE UPDATES? It would seen getting the transmission to perform properly is problematic.............
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