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Although I didn't have any real mechanical problems with my Verona, I never really liked the way the transmission shifted. It never held the gears long enough, and never shifted at the right time. I believe the car could have been soooooo much better with a 5 speed automatic like the Hyundais have. The interior was fantastic, switchgear, paint, fit, finish all good. I bought my EX brand new Jan 1, 2004 for around 15000, kept it two years, and traded it for around 10,000. There are great deals to be had on cars in January, when everyone is broke from Christmas, and noone is buying.
The new Sonatas are tremendous. Bigger, quieter on the highway, much faster, and better on gas.
I do miss the 4.25% loan I had on the Verona, however, and I always got good service at my dealership. However, Hyundai is trying to build reputation, and you can get the same good service with them.
I'm sad about the Verona. It missed being a really good car because of the transmission sucking the life out of the engine. The transverse straight six was a brave idea, and I believe with a more efficient (read Asian) transmission, I think it could have been a whole different car. Oh well, I guess we'll never know. I'm sure somebody at Suzuki headquarters does, and if they are reading this, they are saying Yeah! That's right! I said that all along!
I sure hope they get it right next time, because Hyundai is a juggernaut right now.
I think the main problem here is that these Veronas are warmed over Daewoo Leganzas. They were made in Korea in the Daewoo factory using all the same parts as before.
The Forenza seems to be fairing much better and it is also based on Daewoo designed car and is made in Korea.
The discussion of oil weights seems unimportant. The viscosity difference between 5W-20 and 10W-30 is less than the viscosity differences caused by a few degrees of temperature difference. Engines in general are not critically dependent on precision of viscosity index, as shown by the many millions of cars running successfully on every conceivable oil that consumers dump into them. The real problem was quality control at Daewoo. The auto industry move to lower viscosity oils is primarily driven by fuel economy considerations, not engine life issues.
I checked the gas tank cap and it is tight. (Read that on this board) Will post how it goes later.
Ken04
AKA Veronaowner
Hope the check engine light stays out.
Ken04
AKA Veronaowner
PS--Suzuki bought my '05 Verona back, I'm turning it in tomorrow and this took all of 60 days. Will update with details later.
Veronaowner
The final two weeks before the Verona was bought back was rough, though; it was pretty much choking just to go a few feet. I pretty much garaged it until it was time to go bye-bye. (Plus, I didn't want to risk it stalling itself into an accident and then leaving me to pay higher insurance premiums while I'm in a hospital bed sucking my meals through a straw!)
Overall, my experience with going the Lemon Law route was pretty quick and all the lawyer did was send a nice letter on his company stationary before Suzuki settled. However, this little experience hasn't made me a fan yet of lawsuits, I just felt I got lucky.
The check engine light does not come on anymore since the dealership reset it after the transmission fault, which is why they can't diagnose my problem and fix the dang car once and for all. At least when the engine light came on, the car would ride smoothly again! Anyway, I called Suzuki in California this morning, and a case has been opened. Can anybody tell me what, if anything, I can expect from that, please?
I see a lot of postings about the engine stall issue. That's me. I push on the gas and it stalls initially from a dead stop and then sputters and lurches at any speed thereafter. I got a new transmission after it stalled going up a hill on the interstate, and I dropped from 75 to 40 mph in about two seconds -- much to the surprise of me AND the semi driver riding my bumper. I got new gaskets about a week after the new transmission because that's how long it took for the problem to reoccur.
It's an intermittent problem; and, of course, when it happens I'm never near the dealership or they're closed. And without the check engine light, all they do is scratch their heads and look dumbfounded. The new transmission and gaskets were only guesses, y'know. The Suzuki rep told the dealer to put them on.
Only one time was the dealership able to get it to stall. I got new oxygen sensors as a result, even though the engine light never came on. I drove it four days, and now it's baaack!!!
I don't know if it's because I'm a woman or what, but why won't they listen to me that it seems like a fuel mix issue, like fuel injectors, perhaps? But I'm told fuel injectors wouldn't be intermittent. Well, if it's not the engine, transmission, or oxygen sensors, what's next on the replacement list???
Has anybody here ever had the engine stall problem fixed; and, if so, what was the problem with the car?
Thanks much!
Oh! And the web address for the nthsa won't load for me. I'd be happy to add my complaint to the list. Could someone please provide me with the correct URL?
Thanks again.
Suzuki has NO CLUE what is causing the problem and dealerships are waiting for an answer from them also. I previously thought I was a Verona savior when I wrote on this forum about the header being machined wrong [see posting #1648], but after a buttload of Suzuki parts and money were spent the car returned to it's sputtering self in 6 days.
Presently, I think you're officially at that point where you realize that Suzuki rather shell out thousands in warranty bills and rental cars than buy back your car. Just remember, communications with Suzuki come to a grinding halt if you even mention the word "lawyer", so make sure you have one if you take the litigation route.
Any ideas?
Thanks
The store here in Alabama stated they
had a replacement that would fit.
Don't know the cost.
Ken (Veronaowner)
Did you have to do it? Otherwise I am heading to the dealership in the morning.
Ken ( Veronaowner)
You will need a card that came with the car that has a radio code on it - 4 numbers - to get the radio to work after the battery has been disconnected, or I had to do that. Turn the radio on and then punch the numbers in from the keyboard of the radio.
Hope all works out for you.
Ken
Nope, it was the entire module, brain, motherboard, whatever it is. The light came on one night, never went off again. Took over six months -- the length of an entire Wisconsin winter -- to find a new module to put in the car. New brain, no problems with that.
Oh, and the Suzuki district manager said I needed a new fuel filter. I've gotten a new transmission, catalytic converters, sensors, pistons -- everything but the engine block and fuel injectors -- and the Suzuki district manager said I needed a fuel filter. Can you believe that!?! Dealership installed a new fuel pump, for good measure, and I didn't even get home before the sputtering resumed.
Nobody's ever had this issue resolved??????????
Since I put up that original post, I've gotten a new fuel filter and fuel pump; drove it for a week; took it back; and just picked it up again today, having gotten a new throttle body. The Suzuki DSM actually came and spent a day at the dealership with my car. The dealership was told to install a new fuel filter. I laughed when they called to tell me. With all the expensive parts put on this car thus far, wouldn't fuel filter be something they'd check first?
The dealership is trying everything they can. I don't fault my dealer at all. It's warranty work, and they have to do as Suzuki instructs.
But on the bright side ... I've driven so many different loaner vehicles, I know what other cars I'm not gonna buy in the future, too! And ... if I keep driving loaners for weeks at a time, it's going to take that much longer for my Verona to hit the magic 100k end-of-warranty mark.
Thanks for letting me know about the recall. I'll call Suzuki tomorrow and see if my VIN's on the list.
I don't know why the dealerships are not able to service these cars.Lack of interest due to low sales maybe.The 6 cyl engine in the Verona is a mystery as well as the tranny to service techs.I think if you can find a good independent shop you will be better off.
I thought the warranty would save Verona owners the cash outlays Daewoo owners went thru-seems I was wrong.You will find some answers to your non engine related problems in the Daewoo Leganza forum-as it is the same car.
GOOD LUCK
The dealer said I needed a new harness that would take weeks to get.I found the harness end on ebay -$10.00.I took it to the dealer-a day later they said it was fixed.When I arrived they gave me a bill for $550.00.The service manager told me DAEWOO no longer would pay for warranty work-a lie.GM set up a company just for this purpose.
Sounds like you have found an honest dealership.I found that for routine service a good shop can work on any car.The non engine parts are available on ebay.Things like plugs,oil filters,plug wires etc are probably available at any parts store.The mix up over what weight oil should be used just illustrates the lack of communication between the dealerships and the factory-typical.
The other areas of potential problems with these DAEWOOS are-window motors,peeling door handle trim,dashpad coming unglued,rotors warping-not big deals and may not apply to Verona.
1. you have a reliable and honest dealer nearby to make any warranty repairs
2. you can get a very good price. I have been amazed what Hertz has been getting for their Veronas and I wouldn't pay anywhere near what some folks are asking.
That's my two bits worth.
Did you ever find out why your abs light was coming on? Mine has started coming on while I drive. Odd thing is that it is while I am crusing on the highway and havent used my brakes for a long time. When I stop the car and restart, the light is on at initial startup and then goes off like it is designed to. I am just concerned that this might mean my abs are actually not working which could be bad this time of year. Or is this probably just a sensor that is dirty or a bad fuse for the light?
My ABS module was shot. They had to replace the "brains" of the ABS. The light came on in September, and it took almost six months to get a replacement part. I drove almost all winter -- in Wisconsin!! -- without ABS.
By the way, my car is running okay now. It idles a little rough, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my days of lull-n-jerk are over. I'll know for sure next June when we once again welcome heat and humidity to the region.
So for those of you who've had as much replaced as I have -- head gaskets, transmission, sensors, fuel pump, catalytic converters, etc. -- you might suggest the dealer replace the throttle body. That's the last repair I had, and it's been okay ever since, but for the slightly rough idle ...
The six cylinder Verona engine seems to have tuning issues that Suzuki can't or won't resolve.I've seen numerous posts about reflashing the computer for both the engine and the transmission.I would think that in 3 years they would have figured that out.
The good news is the warranty-if you can wear them out they just might fix the car or you can lemon law.It's a shame how Suzuki has botched this.I've heard GM kind of pushed the Daewoo product line on Suzuki,BUT that is no excuse -they put the big S on the car and sold them.
The legroom is impressive for a car this size, particularly when contrasted with a similar sized BMW.
The same basic car, with styling updates and a five speed automatic is now being sold in Australia to poor reviews. Since I've not read of reliability woes, perhaps the quality issues discussed on this forum have been corrected. I would not buy the Australian model if sold here, but would consider a new generation car of the same size with the same concept of a cross-wise positioned inline six cylinder engine. A small turbo and variable valve timing could make the engine world class.
Say what you will, but this automobile delivers as a daily driver in every aspect imaginable, and asks for very little in return.
General Motors made a serious initial mistake in not making sure that Daewoo (GM owned) achieved high initial quality. Had it done so, I believe that the car would still be sold here in respectable numbers. The basic engine design is similar to the much more costly Volvo six cylinder S80 but in a smaller and more affordable car.