Owners have filed 83 complaints on the Suzuki Vitara, covering 1999–2004. The system named most often is Suspension (17 reports). Worst years by volume: 1999, 2000, 2001; cleanest: 2003, 2004, 2001. 9 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire. On average the car was 2.7 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Suzuki Vitara
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 83 Vitara complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Suspension 17 Read
While driving at any speed vehicle will swerve, and its very difficult to control. Vehicle is too light weight to be swerving in strong winds
The cigarette lighter pop's out when it done to were I can't find it, it has burnt several items in my tray,and floor. Also the gas pedal stick's when you push down on it to give a verbal acceleration to get around someone etc. The air in the tire's are always going down. The oil says it low everytime I look at it…
2001 grand vitara 4 door r235-60-16 tires; vehicle dramatically swerves suddenly to the side at highway speeds; forces constant control of vehicle; experienced by at least 2 other drivers of the vehicle; tires replaced; alignment done; no change; vehicle appears to be unsafe on te highway; if tires encounter an…
Engine And Engine Cooling 12 Read
Dt: the caller said vehicle will not start. He has cranked it until the battery died. He said that there was a burning smell under the hood. It started doing it a few times, and now it does it all the time. The caller took vehicle to the dealer 5 times. He said that after the dealer fixed the vehicle it will start for…
Oil leak that has been a known engineering defect and not yet corrected by suzuki
2001 suzuki gr.vitara 25,000 miles on engine. Ticking noise from engine,loss of power. Suzuki stated timing tensioner is the cause. Repaired under extended warranty 3 times, within 6 months. Extra costs placed on comsumer. Suzuki recommended replacement of timing chains,and would not cover the cost. The engine from…
Power Train 10 Read
Driveshaft came loose while driving 35-40mph. Vehicle stopped accelerating and acted as though it was in neutral. Consumer rearended another vehicle. Transmission fluid leaked completely out, consumer got beneath the vehicle, and saw that drivetrain was dislocated from the transmission. Suzuki was notified, and stated…
When driving over 60 mph rear end would start to rattle. The noise got louder and louder. Took vehicle to dealer, and they stated that differential needed replacement. 5000 miles later, noise resurfaced. This will make the third differential that had been replaced. Please provide any further information
While driving 70 mph the front end of the suzuki grand vitara xl7 (2001) the steering wheel began to shake violently in my hands. I pulled over to the side of the road and noticed that there was a rip in the rubber boot under the SUV on the drivers side (front). I believe it was called a 1/2 shaft. I stuck my finger…
Service Brakes 7 Read
Power assist booster failed while applying brakes and caused brake pedal to go to the floor. Feel free to provide any further information
Brakes went up only after putting 11032 miles on the vehicle, brakes pads on the vehicle were not the proper pads for the vehicle
Defects air conditioner condenser damage behind fan assembly. Failure of condenser in location consistent with other failures by other owners. Pull to right while driving even after alighnment, similar to other owner complaints. Vibration while braking and premature wear, similar problems with other owners. Items…
Air Bags 6 Read
Dt: the contact stated the air bag did not deploy when the contact's vehicle went into a median and hit a tree. The front middle of the vehicle hit the tree. The vehicle was turning when this happened. Therefore, she was unaware of the speed. She moved the vehicle to a nearby parking lot. It was then towed to a local…
Dt: ran off the road going about 25 mph onto the sidewalk. Consumer hit an electrical box and street sign. The car stopped and the police and emv came. The police stated that the air bags did not deploy. Consumer was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Consumer did have previous back problems and didn't know if it…
While driving 30 mph vehicle had a frontal impact, and driver's/ passenger's air bags did not deploy, which did not protect the occupant in this crash. There was no previous problem with airbag system. *ak
Structure 5 Read
The contact owns a 2003 suzuki vitara. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle was rusted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the frame needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and provided no assistance because of the…
The contact owns a 2000 suzuki vitara. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle began to shake and lose steering ability. The mechanic stated that the subframe rotted at the point where the lower control arm attached. As a result, the front control arm detached from the cross member. The mechanic replaced the cross member…
Plastic used in the door trims is very brittle. Suzuki says it is not a warranty issue. There is no support under it
Steering 4 Read
Consumer was driving at 5-10 mph going around a left hand curve when steering spindle failed ,completly snapped, causing loss of vehicle control, and resulting in an accident.consumer claimed it was already 1/3 snapped, defective from the factory
The first problem I had was the 3rd gear shaft grinding, then transmission, heater didn't work, turn signals don't work half the time, and steering belt had to be replaced
Consumer states that when starting to drive over 60 mph the car begins to shake and when going over bumps it also vibrates. Dealer was contacted and the tires were rebalanced but the problems still stands. *ak
Fuel System 4 Read
2001 grand vitara xl-7 4wd, fuel line feed (pipe) to throttle body had crack causeing gas to leak onto engine. Fuel pipe is located on rear of throttle body, left side (looking from front), towards firewall. Gas line has "banjo" fitting with banjo bolt holding line onto throttle body. Gas leaks onto fitting and drops…
Check engine light came on. My wife brought it in to royal suzuki tucson,, arizona repeatedly while still under warranty. Dealer kept telling her it was her fault for not closing gas cap tightly enough. This happened several times at a charge of $50 , extended warranty deductible, each time. I even bought a new gas…
Consumer received recall notice, consumer will attach copy to complaint form for fuel pipe hose in the beginning of july, dealer notified consumer twice on 7-25-01, and 8-20-01 because the parts were not available, dealer name sansones, auto mall rt 21, woodbridge phone# 732-815-0500.*ak consumer states as of october…
Vitara years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 2003 | Structure | — | — | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 70 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.2 |
| Worst single series | 3 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 2.7 years |
A model average of 1.2 hides a worst series at 3. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Vitara?
By complaint volume, 1999, 2000, 2001 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Vitara years are the cleanest?
2003, 2004, 2001 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Suzuki Vitara have?
83 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1999–2004. Of those, 9 describe a crash and 1 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.