2.8

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
52,052 miles

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problem #4

Oct 022014

Forenza 4-cyl

  • 58,230 miles
I was driving on the interstate and just passed a semi truck going about 65 mph and then my car suddenly switched gears into neutral on it's own. I was able to pull over to the side of the road safely and restart the car a couple times for it to reset and go back to normal. I was on my way to the dealership when this incident occurred. There had been an issue with the park/neutral switch previously in my car but this was the first time that the gear switched while I was driving and not when I first started the car and put it into gear. That had happened frequently when I started the car and put it in drive but it said it was in neutral but then after a couple restarts it would reset and work correctly for a little while before it happened again. Once I replaced that switch I haven't been having any issues with it again so far. Now I'm just dealing with the power locks sticking and locking on their own (the guy at the dealership mentioned that problem three years ago when I bought the car but only now am I having that issue) and also the driver's seat belt not staying fastened when I first click it. It finally does after jiggling it a little bit.

- Bourbonnais, IL, USA

problem #3

Jan 022012

Forenza 4-cyl

  • miles
Sometimes the drivers seat belt comes unbuckled while I am driving even though I clearly heard a click when buckling it. Sometimes it seems to come unbuckled almost every day and then it stops for a while. The occurrence is random but continuous, it has not stopped.

- Raymore, MO, USA

problem #2

Oct 312012

Forenza

  • 55,000 miles
I purchased this car used from carmax in October. Since then it has been in the shop 3 times for airbag lights. The airbag light has now been on for 2 months and I have not had time do get it fixed. The airbag light has been on since I purchased it, the seatbelt light also comes on frequently. This concerns me because the cars safety is so poor- with airbag system being deactivated and seatbelts being out of whack, this car is a death trap! I went to carmax to see if they could help me and the manager wouldn't even take my name.

- Salt Lake City, UT, USA

problem #1

Jul 192012

Forenza 4-cyl

  • 94,979 miles
The tcm switch on my 2008 Suzuki Forenza was replaced in November of 2010 and was found by an authorized service center for Suzuki as being defected. I was told that it caused the transmission to switch itself into neutral, which caused the car to fail attempts to accelerate at times. I had taken the car to the Suzuki dealership where I purchased the car within 30 days of buying the car and complained about acceleration. I was told the was new and would take a little while for the parts to work out their newness. Within the next two years this issue persisted and would cease to happen after taking the car in and being told there was no problem found. The issue seemed to go away and would return again within 90 days. I was even told that I was used to driving cars with better performance and my perception of how the car drives was the issue. It was only after going to different service center that I was told the tcms are often replaced but the failure to accelerate issue could also be the engine or transmission. Failure to accelerate could happen after coming to a complete stop or acceleration above 40mph. The issue returned after having the tcm switch replaced within 90 days as it had done after each visit where I was told there was no problem found. The incidents were intermittent and if left past 90 days would increase in frequency. My latest visit was to the original dealership on 7/14/12 where I was told that no problems were found with the tcm switch. When asked to see the read out for the test, I was denied and given $1,500 in estimates to clean my engine and general maintenance that was due. The engine light came on this time, so, I could have errors read. I found out in September that the tcm switch is failing. This complaint is the first step to getting this addressed.

- Columbus, OH, USA