Major Problems with Suzuki Vitara Derived from Complaints & Recalls

Learn about the common problems with a used Suzuki Vitara to avoid purchasing a bad year of the model.

Suzuki Vitara complaint overview

79 recorded complaints across model years
Years covered 1999–2003
Most recorded categories SUSPENSION (10), FRONT (7), GASOLINE (6)
Highest recorded count 40 in 1999

Complaint counts are reports, not confirmed defect rates. Older model years have had more time to accumulate reports, and sales volume and reporting coverage differ by year. A higher count does not by itself make a year the least reliable, and these figures are not a failure probability.

Compare two model years

Year A Year B

Problem category

Suzuki Vitara FlawScore

Best and Worst Years for Suzuki Vitara

Explore the chart showing how many complaints have been filed for each year of Suzuki Vitara.

Model Year	Complaints
2003 Vitara	1
2001 Vitara	17
2000 Vitara	21
1999 Vitara	40

Worst 3 Suzuki Vitara complaints

2000 Suzuki Vitara FRONTAL Victims: 1

2001 Suzuki Vitara TAIL LIGHTS Victims: 1 Mileage: 50000 miles

Browse Suzuki Vitara complaints by category

Problems with SUSPENSION, FRONT and GASOLINE are the most frequent issues recorded by the NHTSA from Suzuki Vitara owners.

Problem Category	Number of Problems
SUSPENSION vehicle lifts when tight turn to left or right is taken to the point of rollover....	10 ~ 6 miles
FRONT > SUSPENSION while driving at any speed vehicle will swerve and its very difficult to control. vehicle is too light weight to	7
GASOLINE > ENGINE > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING vehicle burns 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles. 2nd row safety belts are frayed on passenger & driver side	6
UNKNOWN OR OTHER i have been dissatisfied with my suzuki grand vitara since i got it. my husband has had to change the...	5
ENGINE > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING rental from dollar rental returned it to boston logan airport. while driving 50 mph consumer noticed flames coming from bottom	5 ~ 25800 miles
FRONTAL > AIR BAGS while driving 30 mph vehicle had a frontal impact and driver's/ passenger's air bags did not deploy which did not	4 ~ 52000 miles
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN since date of purchase while driving vehicle developed severe vibration presumed from transmission lasting approx. 10 miles afterwhich vehicle resumed...	4
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING i have been dissatisfied with my suzuki grand vitara since i got it. my husband has had to change the...	3 ~ 100000 miles
AIR CONDITIONER > APPLIANCE > EQUIPMENT condenser fins behind electric fan are bent/smashed fan blades appear not to have contacted fin area no front end damage...	3
DOOR > BODY > STRUCTURE consumer stated that the keyless remotes would not work consumer was informed that the wrong module had been installed on	3
SWITCH > BRAKE LIGHTS > EXTERIOR LIGHTING brake lights kept blowing out on their own. the brake lights failed six times. dealer was contacted. *ak...	3
LOWER ARM > CONTROL ARM > FRONT the lower connector on the left front tire snapped in half causing the tire to fall off. auto body shop...	2
DIFFERENTIAL UNIT > DRIVELINE > POWER TRAIN when driving over 60 mph rear end would start to rattle. the noise got louder and louder. took vehicle to...	2
INTERIOR LIGHTING consumer stated that the keyless remotes would not work consumer was informed that the wrong module had been installed on	2
FOUNDATION COMPONENTS > SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC consumer was driving and she applied the brakes and vehicle pulled from left to right. *ak...	2
AIR BAGS while driving 30-40 mph consumer lost control of vehicle and hit a tree and vehicle rolled down into a 15	2
TIRES since date of purchase while driving vehicle developed severe vibration presumed from transmission lasting approx. 10 miles afterwhich vehicle resumed...	2
MANUAL TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN transmission shifts hard grinds when putting into gear and sometimes won't go into gear. dealer replaced transmission but that did	2
FLOOR SHIFT ASSEMBLY > MANUAL TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN while trying to shift out of 5th gear the shifter gets stuck in the neutral gate between 5th and reverse	2
TRANSFER CASE (4-WHEEL DRIVE) > POWER TRAIN the vehicle jumped out of the 4 wheel drive and skidded on hitting ice and crashed. yh...	2
FRAME AND MEMBERS > STRUCTURE while driving at night brakes were applied in an emergency stop to avoid hitting a deer running across the highway....	1 ~ 235300 miles
UNDERBODY SHIELDS > FRAME AND MEMBERS > STRUCTURE tl*the contact owns a 2000 suzuki vitara. while driving 25 mph the vehicle began to shake and lose steering ability....	1 ~ 29000 miles
HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS > DELIVERY > FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE whenever the vehicle runs over a bump it causes the engine to stall. vehicle was taken to the dealer. the	1 ~ 28900 miles
IGNITION > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM it is very difficult to remove the key from the ignition of my 2001 suzuki vitara. i was told by...	1
TAIL LIGHTS > EXTERIOR LIGHTING driving at night i have been stopped on numerous occasions for faulty rear taillights. it seems the light bulbs will	1 ~ 50000 miles
BODY > STRUCTURE tl* the contact owns a 2003 suzuki vitara. the contact stated that the front end of the vehicle was rusted....	1 ~ 160000 miles
CRUISE CONTROL > VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL while driving at 75 mph with the cruise control on the vehicle became stuck in cruise mode. when trying to...	1 ~ 42214 miles
HYDRAULIC > POWER ASSIST > SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC power assist booster failed while applying brakes and caused brake pedal to go to the floor. feel free to provide	1
DRIVESHAFT > DRIVELINE > POWER TRAIN driveshaft came loose while driving 35-40mph. vehicle stopped accelerating and acted as though it was in neutral. consumer rearended another...	1
DISC > FOUNDATION COMPONENTS > SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC the right front brake springs snapped while driving causing brakes to lock while car was in motion thank god it...	1
AXLE ASSEMBLY > POWER TRAIN while driving 65 mph passenger's side rear axle broke and tire completely came off cause unknown. no collision/ injuries occurred.	1
FUEL RAIL > FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM > FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 2001 grand vitara xl-7 4wd fuel line feed (pipe) to throttle body had crack causeing gas to leak onto engine....	1 ~ 13000 miles
FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM > FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE consumer received recall notice consumer will attach copy to complaint form for fuel pipe hose in the beginning of july...	1
EQUIPMENT vehicle burns 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles. 2nd row safety belts are frayed on passenger & driver side	1
SEAT BELTS vehicle burns 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles. 2nd row safety belts are frayed on passenger & driver side	1
CLUTCH ASSEMBLY > POWER TRAIN when the clutch is pressed the engine will die. this has happened 10+ times since 2/2000. it happens sporadically and...	1
FRONT UNDERHOOD > WIRING > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM while driving vehicle caught on fire underhood. manufacturer has been notified.*ak...	1
HEATER CORE > DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM > VISIBILITY the first problem i had was the 3rd gear shaft grinding then transmission heater didn't work turn signals don't work	1
PUMP > HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST > STEERING the first problem i had was the 3rd gear shaft grinding then transmission heater didn't work turn signals don't work	1
STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR > STEERING consumer states that when starting to drive over 60 mph the car begins to shake and when going over bumps	1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM whenever vehicle is started it would stall out. also brake lights would not come on until the clutch was pushed.	1
COOLING SYSTEM > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING bumpy/vibration felt at 35+ mph smooths out to some degree above 45 until you reach 60+. vibration above 60 feels...	1
SELECTOR DEVICES > AUXILLARY TANK > STORAGE bumpy/vibration felt at 35+ mph smooths out to some degree above 45 until you reach 60+. vibration above 60 feels...	1
CONVENTIONAL > PARKING BRAKE engine oil pan cracked causing an oil leaked which may have caused a fire. there are many other problems with	1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL when applying the brakes accelerator pedal did not come up causing the vehicle to continue to accelerate had to manually	1
TREAD/BELT > TIRES the vehicle was taken to a bridgestone dealer to get the tires rotated. dealer stated that tread on the tires	1
ARM > SPINDLE > KNUCKLE consumer was driving at 5-10 mph going around a left hand curve when steering spindle failed completly snapped causing loss	1
SWITCH > TAIL LIGHTS > EXTERIOR LIGHTING the tail lights unexpectedly went out without warning then came back on some hours later. the cause is unknown. please	1

FAQ

What year Suzuki Vitara is the most reliable?

Speaking of the models produced in the last 4 years, Suzuki Vitara models of 2003, 2001, 2000 year of manufacture have had the least number of complaints.

What year was a bad year for Suzuki Vitara?

Suzuki Vitara models of 1999 and 2000 are probably the years to be avoided like the plague due to a higher than an average number of issues reported.

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