Comments on: 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara Road Test

By: hannah

hannah — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:12:51 +0000

My 2006 Grand Vitara was almost perfect until 6 weeks ago when the CD player stopped working with 5 CD’s trapped inside. It would not allow me to eject any of them, or to load a 6th CD. The Suzuki garage had no idea & didnt even attempt to fix it – instead I was told it would have to be sent to the manufacturer who would charge US$200 for diagnostic testing!!!! Then goodness knows how much money to actually fix the problem! Today, I tried the CD player for the millionth time & it randomly started again – it ejected 4 out of the 5 CD’s. The final CD is still trapped, & the error message ‘Push Eject’ is displayed. The manual indicates this is a mechanical fault. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thankyou !

By: Romy

Romy — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:59:19 +0000

I just bought a 2009 Grand Vitara. Am very happy with it except with the fuel economy. IT’s 12.5Km per 100L. Am still breaking it in with around 500km mileage. Hope the fuel economy improves after the 1000km range.

By: Rob W

Rob W — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:45:51 +0000

“2.I had trailer on, It was slightly uphill so I tried to put it in 4wd low. It would not engage! (ALL drive is disengaged!) I had to take trailer off and push/rock vehicle until computer engaged 4wd!
NEVER try to change to LOW range unless you are STOPPED! WHEELS STRAIGHT! and in NEUTRAL! otherwise you can get STUCK with NO DRIVE!!! ”

Jeesus what the bloody hell were you thinking? No wonder the computer locked you out. You might as well try changing into reverse on a Commodore. It’ll have the same effect if it goes into gear.

Low range is not for road use. Period. The only time I’ve ever used low range and it wasn’t off road was putting the 4wd onto a trailer.

By: quentin mclachlan

quentin mclachlan — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:02:35 +0000

anybody had a problem with pain bubbling and peering. my red 2006 3 door started doing this 5 months ago. suzuki say there is no factory pain protective coat on this colour. there is nothing on the suzuki website or in there warranty or manuals to say this. help

By: Pilbara

Pilbara — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:09:12 +0000

I have a 2006 2.7L V6 5spd manual, i havent had any issues with it to date. Have driven a 4000k round trip in comfort, and its brillaint offroad and is great fun on the beach, shamed a hilux driver when i rocked up with a snatch strap. I live in a very hot climate, and the car does rev to 2000 rpm when started but returns to 8-900RPM within 2-3 second which i think is relatively normal. I’ve had it in Perth in winter and it didnt change between climates. The car does pull 2700rpm at 110-120Ks on the highway, but power delivery is best at 3000rpm so overtaking is easy in fifth and great fun in fourth! Overtaking with my jetski (680kg) on the back presents no problems and have pulled the boat (1600kg) with no issues. Fuel economony is about 10L per 100K but that isnt my concern, i’d have bought a swift if it was. First suzuki i’ve bought and i would definately consider another.

By: Fraser

Fraser — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:09:20 +0000

Does anyone know about converting an 06 vitara to gas?? Have called a few people, some say its ok but others say they wouldn’t recommend it. Just wondering if anyone has done it and if its working ok? Thanks

By: rud80y

rud80y — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:59:26 +0000

I have a 2.7l V6 Grand Vitara and just experienced a problem with the cd player. Took it to Suzuki, apparently it has happened to other people as well. The mechanism that ejects the cd is stuffed. 35,000km’s on the clock, that’s about the only problem I have experienced thus far. I wish it had cruise control as standard, auto-manual shift gearbox and bit of extra torque down low…Reliable but nothing out of the ordinary…

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:21:21 +0000

My 2006 1.9dds has a problem in cold weather, 2nd gear is hard to engage the first few attempts. Has anyone experienced this anoying problem?

By: bluey

bluey — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:37:53 +0000

have a v6 grand vitara late 2006 45000klms auto

the reving @ start up is a temperature related problem, mine will on a cold witners morning rev up to 2000rpm or so when stone cold. ( can’t imagine this really helps the life of the bearings in the engine).
but in spring/summer no problem.

as for aquaplaning, the standard tyres are pretty ave, so when they wore out i replaced them with coopers,
straight away there was a sizable drop in tyre noise and the grip levels in big downpours were nuch better, ( the geolanders are pretty much a car tyre, the coopers have much bigger blocks and deeper tread but are still quieter.

when i pick up low range the trick is to stop and flick it to neutral in the automatic trans then turn the dail to low range and you will hear it go in then put it back in drive and continue on.

By: Rohin

Rohin — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:14:18 +0000

I am looking at getting a Grand Vitara Prestige.

Does anyone know if Suzuki has sorted out the cold start/idle issue? Did it affect Auto’s or just manuals?

Other than that from peoples comments the car seems excellent value for money!

By: Ecka

Ecka — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:41:36 +0000

I have a 2006 V6 2.7 manual with 36000k I have had two major issues -
1. driving through left right left bends (such as roundabouts) with less than 1/4 fuel in tank, the computer shuts down engine to idle (throttle does not do anything) then check engine light comes on. (dealer said nothing wrong) There was no error fault in computer????
2.I had trailer on, It was slightly uphill so I tried to put it in 4wd low. It would not engage! (ALL drive is disengaged!) I had to take trailer off and push/rock vehicle until computer engaged 4wd!
NEVER try to change to LOW range unless you are STOPPED! WHEELS STRAIGHT! and in NEUTRAL! otherwise you can get STUCK with NO DRIVE!!!

By: Duck

Duck — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:44:26 +0000

I like the new Suzuki Vitara but the 3 door is cheap but nasty and id by the V6!

By: john baker

john baker — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:23:00 +0000

2007 grand vitara 6cyl auto 15,000 kms my mechanic says change oil regularly 10,000 km because of small pick up to lube motor. dont let it get like varnish. i too have high rev at startup but not excessive.good run so far pulling caravan no problem.Love the air con.

By: weaver

weaver — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 02:09:40 +0000

I have a 06 grand vitara about 30,000 and just noticed a loud knock in the motor. Just wondering if anyone else had the same problem.???

By: Kathera

Kathera — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 08:48:08 +0000

I want to change the rims on my ‘02 grand vitara as the originals look like they are off a morris. Can you fit a bigger wheel, including some decent tread, without going as far a a lift kit???

cheers

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 03:03:22 +0000

No problems with my car running fast in idle after starting it up, no problems with CD Player either.
Had problems with door switches, seats, transmission all taken care of by warranty. Seems like Derek needs to bring his Suzuki to another dealership that knows how to fix his problems. Sometimes you get a dealer that doesn’t care or has incompetent techs. Find a dealer that can fix problem especially if it’s still under warranty sounds like a cold idle problem on the ecm on the 4cylinder model only. Should have gotten a 6, they don’t have that issue. Mines a 6 cylnder, it runs super quiet, super smooth, quiet on start ups more power too. Eats gas average 23mpg on highway even with cruise control on.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 02:43:51 +0000

Suzuki is one of the best looking small SUVs out on the road. Suzuki did thier homework. I bought it because of the style and the way it looks, it’s a very attractive looking SUV. Mine’s a 2006. Very comfortable, reliable, user friendly, room for five, love those headrests and rear seats that fold up and out of the way, very versatile. storage compartments and cupholders everywhere plenty of 12v outlets for cell phones and laptops. Satellite Ready Radio, CD player works great and discovered the button on the dash that allows you to skip to the next track on the CD is also the button to fast forward the song if you hold the button down it also allows you to fast foward the song, somebody was complaining in an earlier post that the CD player has no such feature, they were wrong, it does have fast forward ability, just have to know how to use it. AC has a nice feature to get you cooled off in a hurry just set the temp switch all the way to left in the blue cold setting, depress the A/C button and the green light AC ON button will illuminate, then push “auto” on the vent setting and turn the fan speed setting to “Auto”, you’ll be blasted by hurricane force AC that will cool you off in no time at all. Over all it’s a very good car with lots of nice creature comforts. Just wish it had a compartment for change on the dash. I have to keep a paper coffee cup from work in one of the cup holders for change on the parkway – this is my only complaint. Other than that, I love this vehicle.
The heating/AC system is the best I’ve ever experience of any car. Wiper stalk has a dial on it that let’s you adjust the speed of the intermittent wiper speed which is a nice feature to have for those days when you’re driving in a light mist. Auto lights feature allows you to set the lights to Automatic mode where you never ever have to worry about turning on or off the lights, just leave it in auto and forget about it.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 02:19:41 +0000

I have a Dark Maroon 2006 Grand Vitara with 5speed Manual and V6 187hp. I opted for basic model for $18,900 with upgraded hot looking 18″ wheels and wheel cover on the back spare tire that matches the color of the car. Just no Suzuki logo on it… :( ….. but still a sharp looking car. Good Torque, fairly responsive acceleration, handles well, is fairly quiet except it revs too high when going 70mph on highway in 5th gear it revs at 3000rpm ? That’s kind of odd for a 6 cylinder? Why does it rev so damne high while going down the highway? I like the read out for mpg and outside temp and time while you’re driving. Fan on air runs super fast and cold, plenty of cup holders. No problems with CD player, I might opt for hookup to Satellite ready radio soon. Had problems with switches on power door lock power window on passenger side, problems with passenger seat a sensor was sticking up out of the seat when new, problems with 2nd gear on gear shifter transmission they had to replace the synchro, all covered under warranty no charge !!!!!. Other than that, now the car is great. Suzuki has taken care of all my problems and gave me 4 free oil changes and another 9 oil changes at only $9.95 each. So far I have 16,000 on the odometer. I keep it clean, not a scratch on it, now that it’s broken in, looks and performs great. I’m taking it easy on the gas/brakes/trans, I hope to have this car and hope to be happy with it for many many years to come. I understand this is the choice vehicle most people drive down in Puerto Rico. These little Suzuki’s have a good reputation for holding up in the stifling heat and humidity down there according to my friend at work he’s from Puerto Rico and he says they’re very reliable cars, he says these cars rarely break down and they last forever, cooling system is great, they almost never overheat. That’s good to know.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 08:41:46 +0000

I have a 2003 Grand Vitara and it has a loud knock that is felt through the accelerator pedal when driving over the smallest of bumps. I have taken it to a Pedders specialists thinking it is a shock or springs problem, but no fault found, then to Ultra tune and no fault found, then a 4wd specialist and no fault found. All mechanics expeienced what I have experienced but cannot find the fault. It only occurs on the drivers side, will not occurr if its raining, and more prominent on hot days. It is drivng me nuts, can anyone help me, could it have something to do with the ABS brakes???. Please help.

By: Haydn

Haydn — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:10:15 +0000

Just bought a Grand Vitara albeit a 4cly, Lovely car. Couldnt warrent the extra $ for higher fuel consumption rego etc etc of the V6. anyhow Your high idle faults you describe would indicate a fault with the cars COLD IDLE setting in the ECM (computer) or perhaps a fault with the coolant temp sensor. Cant imagine why your suzuki tech’s couldnt work that out. They should be able to re-flash your ecm memory or replace the ecm, both should be covered by your warranty. If you have no luck dealing with service staff, then go to the dealer principle. If still no satisfaction then approach suzuki australia and explain the situation.