2008 Suzuki Forenza

I NOTICED MY CAR HAVING DIFFICULTY ACCELERATING AND IT WOULD OCCASIONALLY FEEL THE ENGINE JUMP WHILE DRIVING. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. I WAS GOING DOWN THE INTERSTATE WHEN THE ENGINE SHUT ITSELF OFF. LUCKILY IT TURNED ITSELF BACK ON AND I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY ACCELERATE TO SPEED. THE SHOP SAID THAT IT WAS THE TRANSMISSION RANGE SENSOR AND THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL SENSOR. A YEAR AGO THE CAR WAS DISPLAYING FUNNY SYMBOLS AND WOULD NOT START OCCASIONALLY. AGAIN THE SAME SENSORS HAD TO BE REPLACED. A THIRD TIME THE CAR CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR WAS AGAIN HAVING DIFFICULTY ACCELERATING. THE ACCELERATION ISSUE AND THE LIGHT ARE INTERMITTENT, IT HAS NOW AGAIN BEGUN DOING THE ENGINE "JUMP" IT IS SCARY BEING AT A LIGHT AND NOT BEING ABLE TO MOVE. IT IS VERY SCARY STOPPING TO TURN LEFT INTO MY APARTMENT COMPLEX AND NOT KNOWING IF MY CAR WILL RESPOND WHEN I HAVE A GAP IN TRAFFIC TO TURN. TOOK IT TO A SHOP TODAY TO FIND OUT THAT THE CODES FROM THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT ARE AGAIN THE TRANSMISSION RANGE SENSOR AND THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL SENSOR. THE CAR HAS UNDER 65K AND I HAVE HAD THESE ISSUES THREE TIMES. I AM THANKFUL THAT IT HAS NOT CAUSED A MAJOR ACCIDENT. *TR

WHEN SHIFTING FROM PARK TO REVERSE, THE TRANSMISSION THUMPS AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON. CAR WILL ONLY DRIVE SLUGGISHLY. GOES AWAY EVENTUALLY, BUT HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES. LOOKING ON INTERNET, IT APPEARS TO BE TRANSMISSION RANGE SENSOR. ALSO, THE BRAKE SHIFT INTERLOCK FAILED, AND COULD NOT GET THE CAR OUT OF PARK. USED THE OVER-RIDE HOLE TO GET CAR OUT OF PARK. *TR

FOR A FEW WEEKS THE CAR HAD BEEN RUNNING A BIT OFF--NOT REALLY CHANGING GEARS RIGHT-BUT NOTHING TO RAISE SERIOUS ALARM-CLUNKED ONE TIME A WEEK AGO WHEN SLOWING DOWN. YESTERDAY THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON THE CAR MADE A LOUD CLUNK AND WOULD NOT SWITCH INTO GEAR. AFTER TURNING THE CAR OFF AND ON THE ENGINE LIGHT WENT OF AND THE CAR WAS ABLE TO BE DRIVE. TOOK IT INTO THE LOCAL AUTO PARTS STORE--THEY RAN A TROUBLE CODE WHICH CAME BACK PO700 AND PO705. WE LOOKED THIS UP AND IT REFERRED TO THE TRANSMISSION RANGE SENSOR---THE AUTO PART FELLOW SAID GET IT IN NOW TO BE FIXED. $200 LATER THE CAR IS NOW RUNNING ACCEPTABLE AGAIN. THE CAR MECHANIC WAS ABLE TO GET THE PART IN A COUPLE HOURS BECAUSE THE WAREHOUSE SAID THIS PART HAS AN EXTREMELY HIGH DEMAND FOR IT SO THEY STOCK IT. WE HAD A LONG DISTANCE TRIP PLANNED NEXT WEEK AND THIS COULD HAVE BEEN DISASTROUS TO HAVE COMPLETELY LOST THE ABILITY TO DRIVE OR SOMETHING ELSE. *TR

OWNER STATES THAT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND LOSES POWER..CAR WILL GO FROM DRIVE TO A DIFFERENT GEAR. THIS HAPPENED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS (WHEN AT RED LIGHTS..GOING UPHILL ( WHICH IS DANGEROUS IF THERE IS A VEHICLE BEHIND YOU) AND REGULAR DRIVING. TOOK VEHICLE TO TRANSMISSION SHOP 6 TIMES AND AFTER SPENDING OVER 750.00 ON RANGE SENSOR AND COMPUTER BOARD PROBLEMS...STILL HAVING THE SAME ISSUES WITH CHECK ENGINE LIGHT..LOSS OF POWER AND GEAR SLIPS. *TR

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. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SUZUKI FORENZA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STARTED TO HESITATE AS IF IT WERE ATTEMPTING TO STALL. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT THE TRANSMISSION RANGE SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT HAD THE DEALER REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION RANGE SWITCH FOUR TIMES, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED TO RECUR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER THE SECOND REPAIR, THE MANUFACTURER ASSISTED WITH 100 PERCENT OF THE REPAIR COSTS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 49,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 73,000. *TR

SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE AND OTHER SIMILAR MODELS GOING BACK 4 YEARS. CAR HIT 80000 MILES AND THE TRANS RANGE SENSOR WENT OUT. CAR GOES INTO "LIMP MODE" BECAUSE THE COMPUTER THINKS THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH IT, WHEN THE REALITY IS A BAD SENSOR NOT AN ACTUAL MECHANICAL PROBLEM. THAT AND THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT. SOMETIMES OCCURS JUST AS CAR IS STARTED AND PUT IN GEAR, AND SOMETIMES NOT AT ALL. (CHECK ENGINE LIGHT GOES OFF AND ON WITH EACH INCIDENT OR NEW STARTING OF THE VEHICLE.) THE SAFETY ISSUE IS THAT BECAUSE IT IS IN LIMP MODE, YOU CANNOT ACCELERATE QUICKLY AND THE CAR MAY EVEN ROLL BACKWARDS ON HILLS IF YOU HAVE TO STOP, AS HAPPENED TO ME THIS MORNING WHILE TAKING SON TO SCHOOL, HAD TO HOLD THE BRAKE AND REV THE (AUTOMATIC!) ENGINE UNTIL I FELT IT PULLING TO MAKE IT UP THE HILL. CAN SOMETIME STOP AND TURN THE CAR OFF, THEN BACK ON AND ISSUE GOES AWAY. HAVING A HARD TIME BELIEVING THAT AFTER 7 YEARS OF COMPLAINTS A RECALL HASN'T ALREADY BEEN ISSUED SINCE THIS IS AN OBVIOUS BLATANT DEFECT. *TR

I BOUGHT MY CAR 3-29-09. AT 4,000 MI. I BEGAN HAVING PROBLEMS. AT 57,059 MI. 4-9-13 WAS THE 18TH TIME MY CAR HAS BEEN IN FOR SVC. I'M ON MY 3RD DEALER (ORIG. OUT OF SVC.) I AM HAVING MY 3RD TRANS INSTALLED.CAN SOMEONE SAY "LEMON LAW ?" 1ST THEY COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM AS NO CODES WERE SHOWN BY THE COMPUTER. MY CAR AT ONE POINT WAS AT THE DEALER FOR 34 DAYS STRAIGHT! AT TIMES IT WOULD NOT EVEN GO INTO GEAR OR WOULD JUST DIE. I HAVE HAD THE TCM,ECM,& TRANS RANGE SWITCH REPLACED MULTIPLE TIMES.SINCE OCT 2012 HAVE GETTING AN INTERMITTENT CK ENG LIGHT, I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO BRING IT IN ON 3-29-13 & THE ECM WAS REPLACED. ON 4-8-13 I WAS BARELY ABLE TO MAKE IT IN TO THE SHOP AS MY CAR WAS STUCK IN 3RD GEAR AND I WAS ON THE HWY THE CK ENG, LIGHT WAS ON. IT WAS THE TRANS RANGE SWITCH AGAIN! IT WAS JUST REPLACED OCT 2012. MON. EVE. THE CAR WOULD STALL IN NEUTRAL WHEN IN DRIVE, SLAM INTO GEAR, THE CK ENG LIGHT REMAINED LIT, IT WAS STUCK IN 3RD GEAR AND THE NEWEST DEVELOPMENT WAS THAT AS I WAS DRIVING ON THE HWY, THE LIT D (DRIVE) BY THE ODOMETER WAS FLASHING NORMAL & THEN WITH A LINE THROUGH IT. I GOT TO THE DEALER, PULLED THE CODE & THE TRANS NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AGAIN! I HAVE ABSOLUTELY HAD IT WITH THIS CAR AND AM ATTEMPTING TO RE-INSTATE MY ARBI- TRATION WITH THEM (I DROPPED IT WHEN THE SUPPOSEDLY FIXED THE PROB.LAST YR). 14 OF VISITS WERE MAJOR. SUZUKI'S TECH EXPLAINED TO ME THAT THERE IS AN ENGINEERING DESIGN FLAW. MY CAR IS DANGEROUS AND I NO LONGER WANT MY LIFE IN SUZUKI'S HANDS. I CANNOT CONTINUE TO DRIVE A CARE THAT CAN BECOME FAULTY AT ANY TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN I AM DRIVING 55-65 MPH ON THE HWY AND THE CAR GETS STUCK IN THIRD GEAR! MY HUSBAND HAS ALSO HAD THE ENGINE DIE ON HIM WHILE DRIVING.(I TOOK A SHORT VIDEO WITH MY PHONE THAT SHOWS THE CK ENG LIGHT ON AND THE D FLASHING WITH A LINE THROUGH IT.EVERY TIME THAT THE CK ENG LIGHT COMES ON LATELY, IT'S A NEW CODE. *TR