21st Apr 2010, 22:11
I'm sorry your car is giving you so much grief. My previous 1998 Suzuki Swift was a very tough, and reliable car. Suzuki never should have bought into these rebadged Daewoos. I thought of buying a Swift+ in 2007, but research told me that it, and its twin the Chevy Aveo were poor in reliability and mediocre in fuel economy.
I ended up by buying a 2005 Toyota Echo sedan with 60,000 kilometres. It was very reasonable in price. It now has close to 100,000 on it, and not one single problem, or mechanical issue has come up. It's also great on fuel.
Maybe you can trade in your car for a used Toyota Yaris, or even a Hyundai Accent if you want a more reliable car.
4th Jan 2011, 11:35
61k update - nothing has really changed. No new real issues. I have a feeling it will just cruise into the end of warranty period at this point... Some noises I don't like (ie rev the engine when warm, and you get a metallic rattle from the block - been there for the last 30k, sometimes a light startup 'tap' above idle) - seems to be between engine and trans). Very slight oil at the back of the block on the oil pump gasket (original composite oil pump gasket - would like the new metal replacement gasket, but am not going to pull out the timing chain/oil pump if I don't need to).
Good mileage, but not the trouble-free car as advertised in some of the press...
13th Apr 2011, 17:16
How did you learn to do all these things to fix your car? Those problems would have driven me insane with grief.
20th Apr 2011, 12:07
65k update - so far so good - replaced ignition wires with NGK ones (lifetime warranty - old ones looked OK, but they are recommended to be replaced at 100k), and changed the transmission fluid to PetroCanada Duradrive MV Synthetic. Shifts really well now (smoother), and the mileage improved by about 15% (not sure what of the 2 caused it to get better). Finally getting below 10L/100km consistently (sometime close to 8 if I really accelerate slowly).
Have a small bit of oil 'seeping' past the oil pump gasket (for more than a year now), but apart from that, it is actually doing very well. Lots of initial quality issues - makes me think if I had bought one at 60k vs the 35k I bought it at, I would have had a much less painful experience.
4th May 2011, 15:55
65.5k update - drivers side front wheel bearing went - humming noise at 80 km/h, roaring noise at other speeds, and the 'mechanic trick' - jack that one side up (safely secure the vehicle), and in neutral, spin the tire around, and see if you can feel vibration when compressing 2 coils of the coil spring (may need to safely extend the brake pads a bit so they don't drag and cause vibration themselves). Dealer replaced under warranty, and better now. Braking seems to be becoming vague (pulls right only at the end of an extended stop, initial or slow stops are fine) - I think I am losing a rear brake slave cylinder. City mileage consistently under 10L/100km now.
7th Oct 2011, 08:02
70k update - other side front wheel bearing went (humming noise above 40km/h, as above, vibration in spring when spinning tire by hand), and replaced by dealership under powertrain warranty. Noticing with both new front wheel bearings replaced, much less vibration at 100km/h. Otherwise no real big issues.
Address the 'weak spots' on the car, and it becomes a useful daily commuter. Great driving around the city, nimble in traffic.
7th Oct 2011, 08:07
Oh - one additional update - A/C stopped working - could see RPM kick up, but no A/C compressor noise - turns out electrical connector to A/C clutch/solenoid had broken. Soldered the wire back into the connector (they are a pain to get apart, but there are some tricks to get the connector apart - can find specifics online), and back to all OK.
20th Mar 2012, 11:48
72k update - leaking/seeping oil from likely oil pump gasket (my dealership is claiming an AC leak - not sure how an AC leak puts oil on either side of the front of the block and down the oil pan).
Thermostat appears to be stuck open (takes a long time for the engine to warm up, even with warm ambient temperatures), and the front vibrates at 100km/h (need to investigate further - likely front control arm bushings). I plan on ripping into the engine shortly to change oil pump gasket, thermostat, timing belt and water pump gasket.
Friends joke - this is my 5 year old car that acts like a 10 year old car... No rust on the body at least.
29th May 2012, 08:29
75k (km) update - changed oil pump gasket - old one was starting to leak more. Found a few metal flakes in oil, and saw some scraping in the oil pump (which I had removed when changing the oil pump gasket) - likely shavings from the oil pain drain helix thread starting to move.
Changed timing belt/water pump/tensioner/idler at the same time (found the old water pump was leaking out of its seep hole, and idler pulley was leaking grease). New timing belt is making howling noise when warm, so need to re-tension it (confirmed last night, too tight).
Idle was starting to get rough - fixed by cleaning the throttle body/throttle plate with throttle body cleaner and a toothbrush.
Still have an irregular metallic 'tick' noise from between trans/engine - happens at 1500 rpm now when warm in park (quiet when cold) - has been there in some form since I got the car - trying to check flexplate bolts now. Acceleration seems sluggish/lots of carbon in the exhaust/mileage has been getting worse - got a new upstream oxygen sensor, and hope that will help... Wow - mine has not been a low maintenance car!
13th Aug 2012, 20:24
80K - replacement water pump was leaking out of seep hole - so got a solid AC Delco water pump to replace the 1 month old leaking ###### pump - but set the belt tension too tight (have to only loosen water pump one way when setting tension - if you tighten, it will be too tight - now it growls/chatters from the tensioner/belt when it is warm/idling) - so have to go back in there and fix it...
28th Feb 2010, 17:24
Up to 53 000kms - had to replace front rotors/pads - old pads were contaminated, and rotors pitted (very loud/bad braking at highway speed). Drivebelt squeal when startup cold/wet - car doesn't seem to like Dayco belt - going back to OEM drivebelt. Pitting on camshaft lobes, but likely to do with the last rebuilt head they put on (the pitting is wearing the cams down slowly to remove the pitting - not the way I would like to do it, but dealer won't touch it unless it makes an 'unusual noise', or check engine light comes on).
I think the trick with this car is, if you get good warranty service, you should be good to go. There are a few weak areas of this car that thankfully will very likely fail in the long warranty coverage of this car (freezing throttle valve, valve sealing, rear hub bearings, timing belt idler, radiator/radiator shroud). If none of these fail for you - great (my dealer confirmed one of these come back per month with the valve sealing issue). Other things like the transmission is solid, fit and finish is good (doors dent a little too easily), mileage is still good (all over the map - really depends upon how you drive it).