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2006 Grand Vitara vibration problem
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I will drive it for a few days to see what its like, the vibration isn't consistantly the same intensity. Usually its just tires out of balance that causes this, at least thats what it was in all my other vehicles. I just don't know if the dealership has sensitive enough equipment to balance them perfectly.
I still want to know more details on the ECU flash, like the manufacturer's release notes on the software update.
I do think that the service department is being very careful in what they disturb on the vehicle.
Have you heard of a rattle in the moonroof? I talked to the service manager today and they sre still waiting on Suzuki to direct them on what to do. He stated that the 2007's that are arriving have the same rattle in them. You can push on the glass and it stops...I just about had it with the vehicle.
Regards.
I understand when Suzuki mounts the wheels and rims, they take care to match up tires and rims, and position the tires on the rims, to cancel out any imperfections. This is what the colored dots on the tires and rims are for. I assume that if you upset the tire/rim matching, presumably you will get vibration. I add that for info, not because I have any idea what's causing the problems being sorted out here.
Don't remember the Clipper photos either.
The pictures with the canoe were taken at the Tsawassen ferry terminal, about 15km south of Vancouver. Ferries leave from there for Vancouver Island.
My wife is into palm trees lately but she hasn't discovered the ones in Tsawassen .
This message is is mainly for Suzuki woman. I live in Vancouver Canada and I bought a 2006 Manual Transmission Grand Vitara JX last year. Now since I bought the car, It's been in and out for repair. Number 1 problem was a really high pitch noise in fourth gear @ around 100 to 110 K and it took the dealer 4 months to address the problem (noise is signifficatly lower but didn't completely go away). Number 2 problem is the heat/ac fan blower died and was address by another dealer because i was told, (my dealer do not have time to do it on Saturdays or week end)number three problem is when ever I get stuck in uphill traffic about 20% slope, My clutch would smell really bad. Even getting out of snow my clutch would smell and was told it's normal have the clutch smell when vehicle is new (i have been driving manual transmission for about 12 years 2 new vehicles and 3 used and never had that really bad smell and never even heard of such thing). Number 3 problem i bought the roof rack from suzuki dealer and it makes so much noise it feels like you have your windows open. Number 4 problem At about 20,000 K I started having problem with my dashboard vibrating starting @ about 40 kilomters. Number 5 problem I now have a problem with a loud whining noise on first and second gear that seem to be comming from either ther drive shaft or transmission which when I first took it back to the dealer I was told it is normal. and so I sent and email to suzuki with a little bit of anger demanding to fix the problem and told if they need the car for a reasonable time frame I would be willing to give it to them just to fix the problem for as long as they give me descent car to drive as a replacement. I sent the email before cristmas last year and called them two weeks ago and was told they are going to contact me to setup and appoinment but never heard from them since then. I am now in contact with canvap to file a complaint. and also I am looking for a reputable shop to do extensive testing on my car so I can share to everyone all the result that I will get from it. Suzuki Canada doesn't seem to wan'a address the problem. Any suggestions on what I should do to get my problem solved?
You are correct when you stated that you can detect it while sitting still. Slowly rev it to 2500+ and it's very distinctive. I believe that when it's driven it gets worst.
This sounds crazy but I'm going to see if the DM will try this: Drive the car for about an hour and then stop. Raise your feet up while your in the vehicle...your feet will feel like that have had a nice workout.
I believe there are multiple issues with my car. Road noise, vibration from the engine and steering, air leakage from the moonroof, etc.
I've had a new noise from the engine that I'm getting checked out. When your driving it around 45 mph in fifth gear, the engine sounds like cheap gas?
I'll let everyone know what happens next week.
Regards.
The Problem is mentioned only for 2006.
By the way, I don't know if it is a tranny issue but rather an engine imbalance of some sort.
Regards.
The dealership replaced the "transfer case", and they called today to tell me that the vibration is still there. Now, the area service rep is going to take another look at it again. I mentioned the ECU flash to the dealership, and I was told that they cannot do a re-flash on my ECU if the ECU has the latest flash. In other words, it can't be "flashed". The computer will not let them flash the ECU. They say that the re-flash procees is halted when the computer reads the flash date, or serial number. If the old serial number is the same as the new serial number, the flash process stops.
Perhaps Suzuki Woman can shed some light on this, as I was told that my software IS the latest version.
So back to square one.....
I just hope that Suzuki plays fair with me when it comes time to have "Suzuki buy the car back" from me. I have a feeling they don't have a clue as to what is causing the vibration. Perhaps they will replace the transmission next, then the front diff, then the rear diff, then as a last resort, they will put in a new engine!:confuse:
Just give me a new '97 XL7 with navigation and we will call it even
Actually, the new Saturn Sky Redline is very tempting!
Suzuki Women, care to share your opinions?
Regards, Vitara4me :lemon:
Now, five minutes ago, I get another call from the same dealership telling me that the transfer case replacement DID fix the vibration. Ok, which is it? Fixed or not?
They are saying now that the vibration is "much less" than before, and it is now within acceptable limits. I was told that they test-drove another 4x4 GV Luxury Edition and the vibration is "consistent" with the other vehicle. Ok, how can any vibration be acceptable and consistent? Just because other vehicles of a particular model vibrate does not make it right, or acceptable. If it is a design flaw, then Suzuki must either make it right, as in COMPLETELY right, or take back the defective vehicle. There is no “middle” ground.
They told me to drop off the rental car and take the GV home. I say, "hold on there, I want to DRIVE the vehicle before I give up my rental". So tomorrow, I go drive my lemon, err, I mean Grand Vitara.....
I even mentioned the re-flash to the guy on the phone and he just ignored me and kept saying, "your car is fixed, your car is fixed, you car is fixed".
So then I mention the letter that I wrote to Suzuki of America, and he says, "your car is fixed".
I'll keep you posted as the saga continues.
Regards, NoVitara4me
Suzuki women: Who is this independent company buying the defective cars back?
I wonder what the proportion of vehicles with this problem is, and I wonder if it's confined to the US/Canadian market. I don't see much "chatter" about this on the Suzuki fan websites.
While I greatly appreciate your input, and think you're technically right here, I don't think this position on accessories is fair. We buy vehicles with certain expectations, and should not have to leave them stock in case it turns out they have problems no one can fix. Is it not enough that owners of such vehicles get no compensation for the incredible hassle they go through dealing with the vehicle itself? What is their time worth? $90 per hour like the dealership's mechanics? If that seems silly, bear in mind again that people buy new vehicles with certain expectations.
This accessory business sounds like good material for a small claims case, unless buyback terms preclude any such action. What would happen in the case of a "tuner" car, with tens of thousands of dollars of stuff added (none of which related to the problems.)?
I guess any damage done to buyers will eventually translate into future sales. I have friends who had a new Outback that Subaru spent a year failing to fix. They did a buyback /trade for a Forester. Hated it, traded for a new Toyota, and love it. Needless to say, they will never buy another Subaru.
i3oyet,
Which dealer did you buy the GV from? The city/town name will do if you don't want to name them.
IF the buyback means purchase price, then I wouldn't sweat the accessories. But if it's a depreciated price, AND the accessories AND the hassle are ignored, then I think there would be "damage" in the sense of a lost customer for the brand. If I were in this situation, and got either full purchase price back, OR some compensation for accessories, then I'd say to people that Suzuki resolved the issue as reasonably as could be expected. Otherwise I'd tell people my story and suggest they shop elsewhere. I'm not trying to offend you by saying that, it's just what I believe reasonable people will do. And of course Suzuki knows this. I do hope they handle it the best way, since as a GV owner, I want Suzuki to do well. But not at any special expense to me.
Thanks. We got ours from Richmond Suzuki. For its first oil change, I dropped it off after work. They gave me a loaner for free, which I returned when I picked up the GV after work the next day. That minimized the hassle for me, and gave them plenty of time. But it still meant I did over two hours driving in rush hour traffic. I had also had to make a trip back to them to pick up the owner's manual etc. which they failed to put in the vehicle when I bought it.
I'm not happy with how they handled (or failed to handle) the baggy leather in the front seat bottoms, and the warped drivers side mirror. I don't like being told the regional rep will contact me about the seats, and never did. I don't like being told the mirror is not warped when I can see damn well that it is. (And why did they remove and replace my blind-spot mirror if they saw nothing wrong with the glass?) Those are minor things compared to your problem, but the result is that I'm getting the warranty interval servicing done somewhere else where it's cheaper, vastly more convenient, consumes less gas, and the staff are straight across with me.
I should say I had a good impression of the N. Van Suzuki dealership. I stopped by there one Saturday or Sunday to see if they could check a check engine warning light, caused by my wife failing to screw the gas cap on properly. The only person around cheerfully did it on the spot, and for no charge.
You have a manual transmission, and I don't. So I can't compare our GV. Usually such noises are indicative of abnormal wear in a manual transmission. There are lots of manual transmission GV's being sold all over the world, and I don't see much "buzz" about this problem. There's an issue with drivetrain/engine vibration, but not much about manual transmission problems. Do you participate in suzuki-formus.com?
Have you tried taking it to a different dealer? I know how much hassle that is because we have to work at the same time the service depts. are open, but some other dealer might know how to handle this.
Maybe it would drive home how much hassle this has been for you if you counted up how many trips to the dealer you've made on this issue, phone calls, letters etc. and tally up the total number of hours. Suzuki representatives don't seem to recognize what an impact this has on your life. Assuming the vehicle has manufacturing or design defects (and I see no reason why you would make up this hassle)I find their apparent lack of empathy particularly offensive.
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Reviewing your posts...just wondering about your crossbar noise problem. broncododge's suggestion about the height of the rack didn't make sense to me. Did you carefully install the filler strips after you mounted the towers? Any open slots on the rack are going to be really noisy.
And after mouting this rack, go around and push up on the ends of the crossbars. It is difficult to mount this rack so it's really locked into the crossrails, even if it looks ok. I've read a report of one of these racks coming right off, and even if you know exactly why it has a problem, it's still hard to get it on right. Needs to be recalled, if you ask me.
I told the dealership that I was NOT going to give up my gas-sucking Nissan Murano AWD rental until I test drive my GV.
Well, the vibration is much less, but it is still there. Granted, I can see out of my mirrors now while accelerating, but it IS still there.
They did however, fix the rattle coming from the back seat. Seems that the last dealer (out of business), had stripped one of the studs that holds the seat down. Remember that I had all the carpet replaced in my 2006 Grand Vitara because the floor had become so hot, that the insulation, sound padding, and foam backing had melted and turned into black Jell-O.
Anyway, the only thing I won't try again is tow with this vehicle. The 2006 Grand Vitara has a 3000 pound towing capacity....or does it?
I tried to tow a small U-Haul open trailer to Las Vegas (I rented the smallest, lightest trailer U-Haul had), and the Grand Vitara almost caught fire. I was climbing a hill (outside temp was 65 degrees F), and the engine and transmission decided that 3rd gear at 6,000-6,500 RPM would be a good choice. Well, the exhaust system became very, very, very hot while climbing the hill.
So, unfortunately, I no longer trust the Grand Vitara to tow anything long distances. Now, if you want to tow around town, no problem, but on the freeway; forget it! Not unless you like melting floors and shoes. (Yes, the heel of my right shoe melted as well). The Grand Vitara has enough of a problem pulling itself up a hill, much less a trailer. In fact, before you decide to purchase a Grand Vitara, put your whole family in it, plus luggage, and go find a hill somewhere. You will find that 18-wheelers will be honking at you to get out of the way.
So, SuzukiWoman, what is the name of that company that buys back vehicles that vibrate, melt, and get 6 MPG while towing up a hill?
(Yes, I almost ran out of gas in the middle of the Mojave Desert. I left Ontario, California with a full tank, and ran dry about ten miles north of Baker, California)
Thanks, Vitara4me :lemon:
See, I towed my 2200lbs camping trailer with my wife, 2 kids,all the luggages and 2 bikes for a 1300 miles trip crossing the Adirondaks and the CatSkills. When climbing hills in the mountains I was selecting "4" instead of "D", I was able to maintain a good cruising speed (around 70-75 mph), passing cars and 18-wheelers. The engine was doing just fine and never suffered. It performed as good if not better than my previous Cherokee, with less gas (average of 20 miles per US gallons over the 1300 miles at an average of 70-75 mph, which is very good), and braking power of the GV is better than the Cherokee too. So I'm more than pleased with it.
I think you just got a lemon.
We have highways near here through the mountains, where there are one or two black patches on the shoulders every kilometer, from vehicles catching fire on the long steep climbs. (Coquihalla Highway and the Connector) The GV, fully loaded, happily zooms up these hills at 120kph, faster than anything other than performance vehicles and things like pickups with huge engines and no only a driver for a load. 18-wheelers? We go past them like they're standing still.
One time another 2006 GV fell in behind us, and the two of us were passing everything in sight until they turned off after a couple of hours of doing this.
I never tow anything, though.
I have also been reading "suzuki womans" posts about reprogramming the ecu. I find It hard to believe that "HER"(and only her) Dealership has a mystical fix that Suzuki Motors does not know about. If SUZUKI motors does not know about any fix than there Is no fix at this time for the Issue.
If you bought a car and had the ECU re-programmed as she said to do(at her mystical dealership) and then went to another dealership still having a problem SUKUKI MOTORS would most likely void you warrenty for tampering with the ecu without no offical recall.... BEWARE...........
It's a tall order
By Paul Horrell
"Suzuki plans to triple North American annual sales from 80,000 to 250,000 in five years. That's a tall order because it means biting into Hyundai's and Kia's growth. But the company plans to roll out a fleet of imaginative new vehicles to help it succeed, according to Hirotake Ono, board member in charge of U.S. and European marketing.
First up for the U.S. is the 2006 Grand Vitara, now on sale in Japan as the Escudo. The five-seater maintains true off-road capability, but becomes more civilized on-road. Equipped with a 2.7-liter V-6, its body is integral with its box-section frame, and the front- and rear-suspensions mount to subframes.
Three big launches make 2008 Suzuki's Big Year
• Mid-2007, Suzuki replaces the XL-7 with a bigger five- and seven-passenger SUV designed for North America. Based on the 2005 Concept X Detroit show car, it uses the Saturn Vue's Theta platform. A 3.6-liter Japanese-built V-6 based on GM's high-feature engines will power the 192-inch-long truck.
• A 2008 Verona replacement will again be built at GM's Daewoo facility in South Korea.
• A 2008 Aerio SX replacement, codenamed New Sport Crossover (pictured) plays a big role. A 2.0-liter engine will power the front-drive U.S. version. The body was "mainly designed" by Italdesign Giugiaro and finished in Japan. Based on an all-new platform, it employs front struts and a rear torsion beam and exhibits little body roll despite its tall bodywork. Suzuki and Fiat versions go on sale in Europe next year, and Ono expects a hybrid-powered version in calendar-year 2008.
A new sport/utility wagon, with a transverse-engine front-drive layout and all-wheel-drive capability, is set for the 2009 model year. Ono says it matches the Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series wagons in size but not in price. It'll also have the 3.6-liter twin-cam V-6. Meanwhile, U.S. dealers chose not to take a car as small as the new Swift, until they saw what it looked like. Too late. They'll have to wait until a new 2010 model. Finally, Suzuki wants a sports car, though it hasn't decided on a layout. Accountants nixed a front-drive two-seater for 2007, in part because it was designed just for Europe and Japan. A new project entails the U.S. market, but again not before 2010."
Ok, Suzuki......what about the 2008 Grand Vitara? Any changes? Bigger engine? Rear discs? DVD player? Better MPG?
Regards, Vitara4me
Suzuki is running new ads for both the XL7 and the Grand Vitara, plus a very funny fake newspaper page about the XL7.