Suzuki's "Sludge Defense" to deny warranty claims

Comments

• nlbeggar Member Posts: 2

  November 2010

  My email should be visible in my profile section but you can reach me at:
  
  nlbeggar "at sign" schnobble.com

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• lasergil Member Posts: 1

  July 2011

  I too had a recent issue with engine timing belt problem. Tor replace it they want to charge me 2700.00

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• stevenheaney Member Posts: 1

  August 2011 edited August 2011

  I have a 2009 suzuki xl7 with 38000 miles. I took my car in for a oil change. the car is running fine but the engine light came on. the dealer says they checked and my engine has sludge and needs to be replaced. They said it would be covered if i could document all my oil changes. i had 3 oil changes done at service station last year plus i had changed it myself. Now they say thats not enough documentation and im stuck with a bill for a new engine. I told them the engine was running fine when i brought it in and i want my car back but they say they cant put it back together without a new engine. I am furious

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• ms_flo Member Posts: 1

  October 2011

  Add me to the list msflo.ama@gmail.com

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• skeemers Member Posts: 1

  November 2011

  Same problem with the oil sludge scam. Purchase the XL7 used, and the crooked dealer told me after i commented that I needed a dependable car that if anything went wrong it was still under manufactors warranty. 8 months later, I have no truck for transportation, because i need a new engine and Suzuki will not honor warranty. I came up with a couple of receipts for oil changes, including a oil change for the same day of purchase. but I suppose to have had up to 6 oil changes in 8 months because of the mysterious miles that seem to have multiplied while I drive around this city to work and back. At a lost of paying finance company monthly payment or paying my full coverage insurance. Just replace my engine,because I don't have money to just throw away on a vehicle that can't miss a oil change. give me my down payment and my trade in back. Its sad that car companies are not honest and truthful when it comes to the customer. Don't just rip the little people off and act like its OK cause its not. Let me know if its something I can do to stand up for myself!!!

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• hynboy Member Posts: 1

  April 2012

  My 2007 Suzuki XL7 went to the dealer today for a check engine light. They called and told me that they will have to replace the timing chain and it will be covered by the powertrain warranty. But they also said that if they find any sludge in the engine the warranty will be void. I bought this car used 1 year ago and have been taking it in for regular oil changes. I'm not sure about the previous owner though. The parts are going to take about a week and a half to get here. So I'm going to pick the car up today and take it back when the parts come in. Should I take the car in to get an engine flush and try to clean out the sludge? I've read that it's not a good idea for a higher milage car. Mine has almost 93K on it.

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• overwhelmed78 Member Posts: 2

  December 2012

  I bought a 2007 suzuki xl7 with about 400 miles on it and hadn't had any major problems until this past year. The jerking, sputtering, shaking, sounding terrible overall. I won't post names on here but I did take it in to a reputable repair shop. It's been there for months. We've gone through everything from the battery being too small to bad camshaft sensors to something with the engine harness needing to be rebuilt to the pistons being "off". I'm not an idiot but I'm not a mechanic either so I'll explain the best I can. This engine has 2 compartments which will fill up with oil and sludge and crap causing the above problems. It can be cleaned out, parts replaced, and things set right for roughly $2000. I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be more but the manager felt really sorry for me so he found coupons and what not. Anyway, one of the reasons he felt sorry for me (aside from the big bill so close to Christmas) is because of the response he received when he called the local dealership as well as the manufacturer. Get ready: Suzukis are known for this problem but there's no recall because not enough people have gone through the process of filing a complaint. If a customer brings this problem in to the dealership, they are told that it happened because the oil changes weren't kept up properly. And when my mechanic asked what he was supposed to tell his customer, they basically told him "She can replace the head gaskets and that should fix it." Needless to say, my mechanic was floored and said he couldn't believe they even admitted that to him. I have found a link online to file a complaint and as soon as I can pay off that bill and get my paperwork together, I will file. In the meantime, I won't be able to drive it much once I get it out of the shop because it will happen again if the original problem isn't fixed. And that wasn't my mechanic's 1st call to suzuki but it was one of the last (in case you're wondering why the gaskets weren't fixed first). Regardless of the gaskets though I still would have the huge "clean up" bill.

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• stever Guest Posts: 52,454

  December 2012

  If you were recently denied auto warranty coverage for a surprising reason, please email PR@edmunds.com no later than Wednesday, January 9, 2013 to tell your story to a reporter.

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• sfenske Member Posts: 1

  January 2013

  My XL7 just broke down, they say I need a new engine. I just saw these posts and the January 9th deadline. Is there anything I need to know regarding this matter? The dealership says it is past warranty 100,500 miles. I cannot afford to fix it. What do I do with it?

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• stever Guest Posts: 52,454

  January 2013 edited January 2013

  You could try opening a case with Suzuki.
  
  The Secret Warranty

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• suzukineedsued Member Posts: 1

  April 2014 edited April 2014

  My Email Is [Email removed] i'm with all you i just bought the 08 suzuki xl7 i have only owned it for 6 months and already have every problem under the sun heater core not working correctly the window switch quit working had to replace that then check engine light came on took it to suzuki dealership in Erie,PA called off road express they deleted the code telling me nothing is wrong and gave me my car back not even 1 week later it happens again but now the car will barely move so i took it to another suzuki dealership and they are telling me that the engine needs replaced and ask me when the last time i did a oil change. lol I tell them it just had a oil change and they say it could not have had one there was sludge in the engine from lack of oil maintenance but what they failed to know is that i had just bought the truck for 11,000 dollars and just did a oil change then they wanted me to prove i just bought it and did a oil change witch i did then they told me the engine need to be replace after another suzuki dealership just try's to get me past that warranty point witch was only 2000 miles left on the warranty so that they would not have to fix it finely i got the other suzuki dealership to replace the engine but now i'm having even more problem with the dang car after they put the engine in a month later i get my car back middle of winter and they is no heat at all coming out of the heater the windows wont defrost at all i had to take my car out there 6 times just to get that one problem fixed this is how they get you past the mile maker if you could imagine all the problems and time and miles i have already spent trying to get this 11,000 dollar truck right witch still is not right and still 2000 miles under 100,000 mile marker i bought this truck with only 93,000 miles and i'm at 96,000 so i have put 3000 miles on this car and have just about changed everything its a 08 suzuki xl7 and it defiantly should not have this many problems now think after all this now i'm hearing a dropping noise coming out of the dash witch don't sound good at all and the middle vents wont blow any air. I'm also getting a engine light coming on for my Cadillac converter but they keep telling me its probley just a loose gas cap and they are telling me its not covered under my warranty but the problem with the Cadillac's come from the problem with the engine and sludge and missing firing that happens with their flaw i want to file a lawsuit either they give me my money back or they are gonna start a war IF ANYONE WANTS TO BE PART OF THIS LAW PLEASE SEND ME A E-MAIL TO [Email removed] THIS CAR IS FLAWED BECAUSE OF THEM NOT N E ONE ELSE THAT'S JUST THEIR WAY OF NOT PAYING AND FIXING MISTAKES THAT ARE CAUSED BY THEM AND THEIR DESIGN ALL I KNOW IS I WONT STOP UNTIL I HAVE INFO TO GO AFTER THE WHOLE SUZUKI CORP WHY BUY FROM SUZUKI IF THEY ARE THIS SHADY I WONT EVEN EVER BUY A SUZUKI MOTORCYCLE OR CAR OR TRUCK EVER AGAIN AND BEFORE THIS THAT'S ALL I WOULD RIDE BUT I DO NOT USE COMPANY'S THAT HIDE BEHIND THEIR EMPLOYEE'S AND USED THEM TO LIE TO YOUR CUSTOMERS SO THAT YOU CAN SAVE MONEY AND GET RICH QUICK THIS IS WRONG THEY SHOULD HAVE TO GIVE EVERYONE'S MONEY BACK OR FIX ALL THE CARS AND TRUCKS RIGHT IF YOU STAND WITH ME PLEASE SEND ME YOU NAME AND NUMBER TO THAT E-MAIL I LISTED AND YOU COULD BE PART OF THIS LAWSUIT AS WELL I NEED NAMES,PHONE NUMBERS,AND YEAR MAKE AND MODEL OF YOURS THANKS AND LETS GET TOGETHER TO PUT ALL OF SUZUKI OUT THERE SO EVERYONE KNOWS THAT THEY ARE A RIP OFF AND FRAUDS THAT LIE TO JUST GET YOUR MONEY THEN SCREW YOU IN THE END ONE WAY OR ANOTHER THANKS KRISTINA AND GREGORY B[Email removed]

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• stever Guest Posts: 52,454

  April 2014 edited April 2014

  Venting is fine but we frown on soliciting (including soliciting for class actions). It's easy enough to find lemon lawyers for doing class actions on the net.

  (We also frown on posting email addresses or other individual contact info).

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