Suzuki Aerio Wagon

allfiredup

I have always found the Aerio to be an intriguing, quirky little car. The fact that there aren't many around and most people don't even know what they are makes them that much more appealing to me.

I'm in the market for a new car and considering several small wagon/SUV type vehicles. My favorites are the Mazda3, Chevrolet HHR and Kia Spectra5.

I have ran across two '05 Aerio SXs at local dealerships. They're both slightly used, manual transmission and I think they look great. One is red, the other silver. The best part is the price, both under $13,000.

My biggest concern is how such new cars wound up on a used car lot!? I know this happens a lot, but it still raises a little suspicion. On the other hand, a virtually new $17,000 vehicle for less than $13,000 is awfully appealing.

Any recommedations or input? Everything I've read indicates that the Aerio is a very reliable car. Is that the experience everyone here has had?

spmrebel

Hi allfiredup,

I use to have a 2003 Aerio SX. I bought because I liked the digital dash and the looks. It was a very reliable car and had no problems with mine until I sold it with 57K miles. The only weak spot seems to be the brake pads seems to wear prematurely. My front pads wore down to around 80% by 23K miles so had a front brake job at that point in time. The car was very easy to maintain as I did all maintenance work I could do. I averaged around 27 mpg.

I think the 2005 Aerio SX is the best of the model years. The interior improvements are great especially with the automatic climate control.

Good luck with your purchase agreement. You can't go wrong with the SX.

Happy motoring

kenboiler

Hey. I just got a new Aerio SX. Roomy, powerful, I really like it so far. But I don't understand the gas guage. I drove it to the point that the low fuel lite came on. I immediately went and got gas and I filled up with 9.2 gallons. No big deal. But the specs say that the tank holds 13.2 gallons. I can't imagine that I show low fuel with still 30% of my gas still in the tank. Is this correct? Does something need to be adjusted?

Thanks.

carthell

My car usually requires 10.5 - 11 gallons when the light is on. How many times have you filled up? Not all fuel pumps give dead accurate measures of the fluid put in your tank.

mesx

:lemon: :lemon: I bought my 2005 Aerio SX AWD seven months ago and now have 13,000 kms on it. It fell apart as soon as I drove it off the lot.....had front sway bar bushings come out of mounting brackets 4 times before it was fixed by replacing the bushings and mounts, had 2 ,4 wheel alignments done because tires were destroyed at 5,000 kms. As a result of that defect the all 4 tires had to be replaced. Had viscous coupling for all wheel replaced, had power door lock replaced, the styrofoam on the rear bumper ( under the outer plastic ) fell off. the car clunks, shakes and vibrates and the rims are now all scratched and gouged from all the repair attempts........I've taken cars to the wreckers that have given me less grief than this.... :lemon: :lemon:

trgbassguy

Hey I'm seriously looking into getting a 2006 Suzuki AerioSX and wanted to hear what others thought. MPG, how it rides,do the tires wear fast, you know all the good stuff.

Thanks,
Rob

harveyea

There's an '03 Aerio SX AWD for sale in my area for $5999. It has 74,000 miles on it, but it looks clean...sweet onynx black! Anyone out there have this year with similar miles? Any glaring problems that I should be thinking about? I'm really tempted to look into this. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

fredoasis

I bought mine new in 03, its even black. 37k miles so far. The only issue i've had that had to be corrected is that the back wheels needed camber bolts. If you take the wheel off it is bolt on each back axle above the disc brake that allows for proper adjustment of the back wheels. This is about $150 if you have it done yourself, check this out and weigh the cost. The car is fun, AWD is great! These are all japanese and are a great value!! Go drive it as ask about tire wear, how many sets have been put on.

harveyea

Thanks for the advice. I guess a test drive would be the ultimate thing to do, I'm just afraid I'll really like it! I'm not truly "in the market" right now, but when I saw that price my eyes lit up. I've been an admirer of the Aerio for a while now, but at this point it's something I WANT not NEED. I'll keep you posted. Thanks, again, for your input.

aeriofallingap

DO NOT go with the Suzuki. I own a 2003 I have 200,000 Kms. of highway millage on it and it's been terrible.

There is a MAJOR engine design defect in the 2.0 litre. (pinging). The drivers side driveshaft falls out of the transmission (there's a TSB on that one). The electrical system is fragile. Sensor failures and the lights on the Temp/Time display die out and its $100.00 to replace that board. The rear hatchback gas lifts die after 3 years and cost $135.00 EACH to replace. Front disc brakes are horrible and expensive. Mine were replaced after driving only 8 KMS. from the dealer the day I got the car!
The rear suspension camber can't be adjusted so when it goes negative from spring sag ... you'll spend a fortune fixing that one. Tires will wear out quickly if you don't fix it. Bushing are noisey and require replacement. The remote key is defective. Suzuki replaces it with the same components. So they die in 2 years. Buy a Honda

killerb

I have an 05 SX with AWD and 6k on it. I seem to be getting about 24 MPG on the average. I also have a 04 SX FWD and we have had up to 35 MPG. When we bought the 05 the dealer said that the difference should be minor. Any one else getting better mileage?

chrisducati

I have to say that when people have trouble with their cars they are more often than not very out spoken about it. People that have great luck with their cars usually dont say much. Its not nice to brag I guess. We normally buy a new car every 2 to 4 years and have been doing so since 1982. We put between 20 and 60 thousand miles a year on them. We have owned every US make, even old AMC, and most of the Japanese brands. We now have a Toyota, a Hyundai, and a Suzuki. The Suzuki has been the only car we have kept after we normally trade them off. It is the run to the store car now. It has about 300.000 US miles on it. Total repairs to it have been a set of CV boots at somewhere about 200.000 miles. Brake pads last about 80.000 miles. We change the oil at 3000 miles and flush the tranny and radiator every 30.000. Tires last between 20.000(generals)and 60.000(Dunlops)which is pretty good for the low profile i5 inch tires. Over all it has been a very good car. We have had Toyotas that have more problems than this car. One camry we owned had to have cv joints and motor mounts at under a hundred thousand miles. Over a grand in repairs. Another Camry had valve seals replaced twice at about a grand a setting. Our little Toyota paseo thru a rod at about 120.000 miles if I remember right. So even the best have their share of problems. If you really like the car I would buy it. If it is a lemon then you know the next car will be a different make.

aeriofallingap

A few bad apples???? Oh please give me a break!! When Suzuki issues a Tech Service Bulletin on a major issue it's fair to say that more than a few units are effected. Goto Suzuki's own website. Look at ALL the TSB's!! I have experienced almost ALL of them. Maybe yours is the odd one. I too follow all the scheduled oil changes (5000 Kms.) The transmission (manual) oil gets dumped at every 25,000 Kms. The 200,000 + Kms. on my Aerio SX are all highway miles and I always use Suzuki factory replacement parts.... or should I say almost always........

A rear wheel alignment requires aftermarket parts to complete because the engineers at Suzuki forgot to make the rear wheel camber adjustable. This is a good thing?

It's also curious to note that Suzuki Canada doesn't issue many of the U.S. TSB's in Canada. It's the same car. Same parts.

zeebo

Hello. There was once a area, called Suzuki Aerio - complaints,problems and fixes?? that people could discuss problems and cures for their Suzuki Aerio. What happened to this section. Please advise.

Zeebo

PF_Flyer

We're doing a bit of reorganization around here, so you might have lost track of things. If you go to the Suzuki Wagons folder, you'll find that discussion there. Just click on the Track This Group link once you get to the folder and you'll be able to track all the discussions in that gorup. That will also add that group to your CarSpace page. If you haven't set up your CarSpace yet, just click that baneer at the top of the page. If you have any questions about it, there's a CarSpace discussion over on the News & Views board, or just ask any of the hosts!

aeriohawaii1

Where did you get the parts for the Rear Wheel Camber Adjustment from?

aeriofallingap

I purchased my Aerio rear camber adjusting bolts at :www.drivewire.com. They are available from other sources also. (maybe cheaper) If these don't provide enough offset. You may need to grind the bolt holes to permit further offset. By the way. Check the Suzuki web site for a TSB on new alignment specs for your Aerio.

aeriohawaii1

Do other companies Charge to look at their TSB?
Don't you think it should be Free!

mesx

:lemon: Well at 15000 kms I just had Suzuki give me my 3rd alignment and replace my front tires again (6 tires in total). I had to go tighten up all the front suspension mounting bolts myself, because the dealer said that the constant clunking noise was normal. Have pretty much resolved that issue, now I need too get rid if the horrible rattle in the dash......After 9 annoying months of constantly repairing the piece of junk it is almost to the point were it should have been when i drove it off the lot......The joy of Suzuki ownership?.....BUY A HONDA :lemon:

anotherscott

I would appreciate it if someone could post the dimensions of the cargo area of the Aerio SX... height, width, depth with the rear seats folded down... thanks!

jenntbow

I own a 2003 Aerio SX with a built in 6 disc CD changer in the dash. My brother and I are trying to put an amp and speaker box in it & i cannot figure out how to remove the radio or find any audio jacks under the dash to hook it up. If anyone knows how to do this or has gone through the same thing please let me know it would really be appreciated because we are getting frustrated and i don't want to have to bring it to & pay a professional. Thanx

ryoushi

My fiance' and I have purchased the above model. Of course the AWD model is better in snow, but we preferred gas mileage and went with the base model. Though Chicago doesn't get dumped on, we still have our moments.

-Any experiences on handling w/o AWD in snow with this particular model?

-Is the base model wired for fog lights, and the rear hatch light? I just took a quick look and I swear I felt a bracket with connections.

-We both did our homework with this one. Looked at Mazda P5, Ford Focus, VW Golf, Toyota Matrix XL, Scion, FIT, etc. Great buy! (imo) Bigger motor(a must for expressway), decent gas mileage, better automatic trans, power options standard, nice headroom.

chrisducati

Congrat's! Handling in the snow will depend on the tires you have. We always switch in the winter but most people do not. Because the Aerio has a powerful engine you will need to use a light foot to keep it from spinning. Other wise it is like any other Fwd car in the snow.
Suzuki usually has the connectors on the wire harness. The fog light wiring most likely stops at the radiator support. There will be an empty plug located somewhere behind the bumper. Since fog lights are usually available from the dealer as an accessory you should have no problem getting them. Same goes for the light. You will have to locate the plug and order the light, switch, and wiring parts from the dealer. Should be a plug in affair.

ryoushi

much appreciated chris. ty

katanabr

i have a 2006 aerio that needs tires. i would like to get 17" wheels with a/s tires that will handle very good on dry as well as wet pavement. if anybody out there has a opinion or better yet experience let me know. thanks

stolguy

Those big wheel/skinny sidewall tires suck on wet or snow. Too much
shear on the footprint. I went the other way and stuck my alloy 15"s in
the corner of the garage and put on 14" steel with touring tires. -Great
ride and great grip.
BTW, those guys who think they REALLY NEED that doofus "cold air intake"
with the cone shaped filter on it. -grow up, they don't do crap for performance.

twain

I personally like the Aerio SX better than any of the Korean cars. But just the '05's. Earlier dash too strange for me.

... Count me as one who likes the digital dash. I like being able to instantly see my speed. Can't really do that with analogue gauges. They could have done the tach portion better but I like the speedo.

jfl99

My 03 Aerio SX seems to be having a thermostat problem. I'm a good distance out in the Texas boonies from the nearest dealer.

Does anyone know where the thermostat is located? I am guessing on the "front" of the engine on the driver's side where the top radiator hose is located. If I knew where it was I could probably fix it myself.

I guess I can find out when I drive in to town and go by the dealer but wondered if anyone here knows for sure where it is.

My wife has 72,000 miles on the car and this is the first problem we've come up with...and the same day my beater stops running, too. :mad:

Thanks

mic5000

I washed my silver SX this weekend after a few days of wild weather. The sun was shining, it wasn't cold, the weather was beautiful and my car is shiny new again.

Over the weekend we saw a blue one on the same road as us and a yellow one on the other side of the freeway. This is a good sign!

frenchcar

Thats 2 of us with good city mileage but less than expected on the highway. Your Lancer is much lower than the Aerio and I have been able to improve the gas mileage on most cars I have owned but it is always both in the city and on the highway and not city alone. Synthetic oil and K & N filters really do make a difference and the car is much faster now. It almost has to be drag resistence due either to the tall body or the big side mirrors or both. Those mirrors might be causing wind noise too. I wonder what would happen on the highway with the breakaway side mirrors folded in against the body. Might be quieter and better highway gas mileage too but Im afraid to try it since Im lost without the left mirror and it is dangerous. I like to fold that mirror in when going through a bank drive-up window and then you can get really close. I probably should be happy with the mileage I get compared to many other vehicles that have this much room and load space including larger vehicles that dont have as much to offer. See post # 628 for my mileage.

chrison

Hi guys,
   Nice to meet you all here! We are thinking of replacing our old 94 Camry with a smaller and more versatile car with AWD capabaility. We have nailed down our shopping list to 4 cars: the Fastback AWD SX, Matrix XR 4WD, Vibe AWD and Impreza TS SE. I have test driven all four of them and so far I do like the Fastback the most. However, I would like to hear from those of you who have the SX AWD. Thank you in advance.
    Actually I emailed Suzuki Canada asking for more info regarding the AWD system. They gave me a PDF file explaining all the details. We all know it's basically a passive system with 5% of torque under normal condition. What I would like to know are the following: 1) Does the AWD system react quickly enough when the front wheels begin to slip? 2) Is the transition of power smooth enough that oversteering is minimized? 3) How does the added weight (together with the AWD and auto) affect acceleration and fuel economy? (I have only test driven the AWD so I don't know about the FWD)? 4) Is the ride as jittery as published by Consumer Report?
 
  Again guys, thank you so much for your inputs. Your opinions are very important in our final decision.

Chrison

guickg

I took my 2002 Aerio yesterday to have the dealer service dept. check the clanking noise again. My car has already had the brake springs replaced under the Suzuki technical service bulletin that everyone in this forum is so familiar with by now. The noise has not, however, disappeared. In fact, there is also now a squealing noise that occurs when I apply the brakes backing up. Well, after checking the car, the dealer dept. said that there is a problem with the wheel bearings, not the brakes. WHAT?! They have to order parts in order to repair it. In response to my question as to when they would be able to fix the car, they said 1-2 weeks for the parts to arrive, but they are just not sure. Very casual about it, especially considering that it was my third trip to the dealer regarding the noise problem. They said I could drive the car in the meantime. Mind you, the car is only one year old and has 7,000 miles on it. Then I mentioned to them that I sometimes have a buzzing noise in the right-hand passenger doors at highway speeds. Their response was, since we are in the city and can't take the car out on the highway, and can't replicate the noise, we can't fix it. What the heck is going on? I keep taking days off from work to go for service, and it leads nowhere. That's why I wrote in my previous comments that Suzuki will never be successful until they fix quality control and customer service problems. Sure they don't have any official recalls, but there is no denying that there are legitimate problems that they are unable or unwilling to address. I am upset even more because I took a chance on the new Aerio when it just came out and have to deal with the consequences. And as I said before, Suzuki's flap with the warranty coverage is totally amateurish. How could they start selling the car and then change their warranty a couple of months later? Don't they have anybody planning these things? It's business 101. So what do you guys know about defective wheel bearings?

wheelz4

We have a fairly early '02......no recall notice as of yet. Intonge...is there any info out on the recall?.....Model years affected, # of vehicles etc.? I find it hard to believe that the problem is so unfixable that Suzuki would replace the entire vehicle....Is there any cost to the customer? I can't see them replacing a 2 year old vehicle for a completely new one free of charge.
If that's true, then talk about customer relations! (Either that, or the number of vehicles affected is really small).

davidd5

Other than chocoxtaco,I have not heard of anybody having that code come up. Mine came on last winter. I just had the dealer clear the code, had them put it in my history. Code has not come back in over 20,000km of driving.

galvanize

I own a 2004 manual trans Aerio Sedan and have been experiencing a rattling sound associated with acceleration.

Dealership has basically told me "they have spent enough time on the car", and they can't find the problem.
 
The rattling seems to happen when you hit the accelerator, and it is a quick annoying loud noise (sounds like something loose). I do use high octane gas, as I was told this could be the infamous "ping", but the car still rattles.

The noise reminds me of my old toyota tecel, when the valves went-- the embarassing noise being one reason I got rid of it----- now my brand new car sounds like this! Yikes!!

Other then handing the keys over to the dealership and saying "keep it till you fix it", does anyone else have this problem or could lend some insight into some possible solutions?

Thanks

nomo

I've been trying to find fog light covers for my 04 SX with no luck; Suzuki doesn't offer them, and the companies I've tried don't have them either. The fog lights are very vulnerable to stone damage, so they should be covered. Does anyone know where to get covers for them. Thanks.

generaltso

So I was tooling around in my 2004 SX AWD with Winterforce snow tires after our 30" snow storm, and the snow traction was great! It didn't do as well as my wife's CRV in the really deep stuff because it's so low to the ground.....it was plowing a fair amount of snow in front of it. But, on the snow covered roads, the AWD system worked great. I never spun the tires and the ABS did a great job of stopping the car. The snow performance (both starting and stopping) was noticably better with the Winterforce tires than the stock all-seasons. For anyone who lives in an area where it snows a fair amount, I highly recommend the Aerio AWD with snow tires.

That clunking noise definitely was more prominent after there was a snow buildup in the wheel wells. I still need to get it into the dealer to make sure there isn't a problem.

chrisducati

Check out the tirerack or discounttiredirect. either place can set you up.

PF_Flyer

New discussions have been popping up all over the forums. What's going on is that we're moving away from larger, everything in one pile type of discussions where users have to go through thousands of posts to find the info they want, and towards smaller, more focused discussions.

Here in the Suzuki Wagons Group, you'll notice some new discussions including:

Suzuki Aerio Wagon Brake Problems
Suzuki Aerio Wagon Accessories & Modifications
New Suzuki Aerio Wagon Owners - Give Us Your Report
Suzuki Aerio Wagon: MPG - Real World Numbers

So check the discussion list before posting to find the appropriate discussion. If one doesn't exist on the Aerio issue you want to discuss, feel free to start one up or click on my username and drop me an email with your suggestion for a new discussion.

As time goes on, I'll be creating more new topics and moving misplaced posts that belong in them. Thanks for your help and understanding as we slide the furniture araound a bit!

PF_Flyer

Since we didn't have one, and someone posted about it, we now have a Suzuki Reno Wagon discussion.

I've moved the post with questions on the Reno to that discussion and you may continue there.

kenboiler

I bought my Aerio SX premium package in December. Something must be the matter with me. I really like the car. It has power and absolutely no problems over 14k+. Now I find out that it will no longer be made/sold by Suzuki. What does that mean? Does the resale value take a hit? Will Suzuki, which doesn't have a lot of dealerships anyway, be able to support the car? In other words, is it the smart thing to do to keep this car? I don't want to take a financial hit, but I don't want to get out of warranty and find out it's not worth anything.

Anybody got any advice?

carthell

The car is being replaced by the SX4. Looks very nice.

Resale value? I think you should have gone with a Toyota or Honda vehicle if resale was a big concern to you. Suzuki isn't a big seller of vehicles in the U.S.. My SX is grossly outnumbered by every other type of vehicle on the road.

I have found no articles declaring the Aerio an orphan.

-d

sparky20

I have a 2003 Aerio SX and it has been absolutely troble free for 3 1/2 years now. In my opinion, this is twice the vehicle of the Honda Fit and a much better warranty.

The only problem I have with the vehicle is the absolutely stupid 195/55/15 Yokama OEM tires. Those tires stink and give you terrible traction, especially in snow.

Now the good part, I changed the orinal OEM tires with BF Goodrich Traction T/A 185/60/15. My Aerio is a snow plow through snow now. The new sizes are nearly the same diameter and it even makes the car look nicer. Plus you don't have to chang the original aluminum rims and the cost of the tire were about $67 a piece.

4ever18

Hi everyone,
I am an international student here in U.S and I'm about to buy my first car. I found two 2003 Suzuki Aerio Wagon in my area and both of their mileage are under 55,000. How much would be a proper price for them? And since I'm a student and have no job, how should i concern about damages and problems that this car will make? Any advises would be helpful. Thank you!

bren

I own a 2004 Suzuki Aerio SX (wagon) with AWD. I am planning to sell it soon, so I am aware of values. I would say a proper price would be in the $6000-$7000 range (without knowing FWD or AWD and automatic or manual) --cheaper if you are buying from a private seller.

You can investigate used car pricing on www.kbb.com (Kelley Blue Book) and www.edmunds.com. Expect to pay considerably LESS than the prices these tell you because the Suzuki Aerio is not a popular car and a car salesman will be eager to get rid of them.

One thing you should know is that car insurance is very expensive for the Aerio compared to other small cars. Also, fuel economy for AWD models is not good... I usually get about 21-22 mpg.

If you have more questions about Aerios, I would be happy to help you. You can email me at brancrsp@aol.com

4ever18

Thank you so much bren. That is very helpful.

lostinspce2

Just bought an 03 sx FWD aerio in black with 69k miles well cared for pampered car... ok now 3 months and 4k miles later the 2nd gear goes crunch.. in when upshifting and downshifting.. dealer says its the box and the syncro (which isnt under warranty because its an"EXPENDABLE" part") how nice.. WTF.. cost to fix? $2K.. called corperat, got sidelined and a lot of BS.. seems the driveline is covered under the 7yr 100k warranty, but not the transmission?????
who they BSing here? was told the desision to fix was up to the district rep (in GA) to make final desision...and I am in NY.. go figure. I owe nearly $8k on this piece of [non-permissible content removed].. my options are... drive it till it croaks and live with it.. fight it with the dealer $$$, dump it and loose $$$, or find a tree and put it out of its (and mine misery).. any help here folks? email me directly
lostinspce2@yahoo steve.. soon to be exAERIO owner..

csandste

I did a quick check on car-part.com. There's about 40 used manual transmissions out there averaging about $4-500 a piece. This might be an option if you're stiffed by Suzuki.

http://www.car-part.com/

lostinspce2

update: dealer put off the tranny rebuild (didnt want to do it) started looking elsewhere, while at the dealer (1st) complaining about the transmission the engine was knocking, they say its "fine", drove home 12 miles, the engine died and squeeched knocked and nothing.. flatbeded to dealer, engine is [non-permissible content removed]..spun bearings, piston slap, tranny second gear is out, AND both front wheel bearings are gone! what a piece of [non-permissible content removed]!
if suzuki wont fix it I am out $8000. :-( if they do, I am dumping it for something reliable.. never had a car with so much trouble in such short time.. BTW the oil was changed @ 3k on the dot. oil looked like tar, poured out like tar. and loss of 1 1/2 qt every 1500 miles.. after using PERMIUM OIL TO BOOT! what a JUNKER>>
buy another suzuki! I DONT THINK SO!
ANYONE ELSE HAVE SUCH PROBLEMS EMAIL ME DIRECTLY
lostinspce2@yahoo

landd

what is the K&N filter that you are talking about. I love my car but it is not getting good gas mileage at all.