1st Sep 2009, 01:59
Oh, and we only have 43,000 miles on the car! After research, we have found that almost everyone is having to get their throttle sensor replaced anywhere from 30 to 50 thousand miles, and to me, this sounds a bit fishy. The TPS is their own patented design! They should be recalling these and replacing them on their own dime.
Also, the tires are worthless, and I also had the drive belt replaced at 18,000 miles! Worthless car.
28th Sep 2009, 12:13
I am having nothing but problems with my Suzuki Reno 2005. The problems all started around 45K. The engine starts revving on its own, and we sometimes cannot get it to stop unless we shut the car off. The car has been checked over several times and I feel like the Suzuki service person did not believe me.
I took it in last week because it started shutting down at every stop light. We had a fuel induction service done, and $300 dollars later the car was still having issues.
Now I turn it on and it won't stay on unless we push the accelerator. I took it into the Suzuki Dealer and now they "think" the problem is a throttle body. It will cost almost $1000 dollars to fix. Not to mention the timing belt and the struts are going out now too.
I only have 65K on the car, it should not be having this many problems. This has been a big learning experience. I will not purchase a Suzuki again.
21st Feb 2010, 14:24
2006 Reno - Similar experience, the factory supplied tires wore out about 30K miles, and purchased an American branded tire with a much better tread life and warranty.
First change of spark plugs found out BOSCH discontinued the factory installed plugs, had to buy the BOSCH replacement plugs at the dealership after visiting every major auto parts retail stores and none carried them.
Now, at 73K miles, both front struts are leaking to the point they need replacement, and struts are not cheap or easy to change out!
11th Sep 2010, 15:20
2007 Reno. 49139 miles.
Same issues with the throttle position motor. Had a sensor burn out in the transmission @ 38569 miles. Just last night at 49112 miles, the 02 sensors decide to take a crap. Had to limp the car home doing somewhere between 5 (uphill) and 40 (on the flats) at two in the morning.
Figured this would be an easy fix. I figured wrong. Nothing on this car is an easy fix. We have taken this thing in twice before for the two previous reasons. Once was not covered by their "fantastic" "warranty". The quotes are for emphasis because as it turned out, their warranty is neither fantastic nor a warranty. They weaseled their way out of the warranty for the tranny since Jiffy Lube noticed the transmission was two quarts low and replaced what was missing. Ended up paying about $600 to get that fixed. Since it is Saturday, all dealerships are closed, leaving me with a broken car that can't be fixed till Monday and will probably cost me an arm and a leg to have fixed.
This is completely the opposite of my last Suzuki purchase of an 02 Esteem GLX which got much better gas mileage (52 MPG @55 MPH) vs the Reno (23 MPG @55 MPH). It had way better performance. And all on a smaller powerplant (1.8l for the Esteem vs 2.0 for the Reno)
Aside from me driving the first 10k miles with a gearbox that was totally devoid of anything that could resemble lubrication (never trust a dealership, watch them with that checklist in hand and make sure they check everything), which resulted in the transmission being replaced. I never had a single problem with the car, short of the water pump shooting an impeller through the pump housing at 130k miles. I would still be driving the thing had it not been for a couple car thieves stealing the thing and destroying it.
All in all.
GM... er... Daewoo... err... Isuzu... errr... Suzuki has permanently lost a customer. Think I will stick with Ford or Toyota for my next purchase.
15th Oct 2010, 22:12
My Reno tires went at 24,000.
Needed water pump, belt tensioner, timing belt, 3 cam sensors, headlights, harmonic balancer.
Engine finally went at 76000 miles, struts need replacing, on third set of tires.
Brakes; I have spent probably 1100 out of pocket.
Suzuki did stand behind me for a new engine, but had the car 23 days.
23rd Jan 2011, 14:12
I have always liked the look of this car, but after test driving one and finding out that this car wasn't really a Suzuki, I would never buy one. It's really a rebadged Daewoo product. Suzuki makes a reliable car when THEY make them, but a rebadged Korean Daewoo is a far cry from a real Suzuki. I can see why the Forenza and Reno were both discontinued so quickly.
24th Jan 2011, 15:51
I agree these rebadged Daewoos did nothing but frustrate customers and ruin Suzuki's reputation. However they do build good Japanese cars. The SX4 is a real Suzuki, and it's been getting very positive reviews.
22nd Apr 2011, 12:37
I've got 60K on mine and love it. There were a few recalls on it that the dealer took care of. The TPS went out on mine as well, but that was an easy fix to do myself (1 hour?). I don't remember what the part cost.
I replaced my tires at 30k - but I've never had ANY new car (US/foreign) that the original tires were any good.
The car handles and rides like a dream. Acceleration is perky. The mileage could be better (23-24 lifetime average (I log all my fill-ups and services in Excel).
For me personally, it's been the best car I've ever had. Especially for the money!
1st Jul 2013, 16:32
I have to agree with the positive comments by a previous submitter. I have a 2005 Reno and it's been one of the best cars I've ever owned - but I've always have had lower end models, so keep that in mind.
Performance, handling, ride comfort, etc. have been top notch - especially compared to similar (but pricier) friends'/rental cars.
The factory tires being bad at 30K is true for about every car out there.
I'm at 88K now - warranty took care of a nasty oil leak (oil pump gasket) and some other minor things. It had one vacuum leak that I couldn't find myself ($140 at a garage).
The only stupid thing (in my mind) was it's gone through two cam position sensors ($30 each) - easy fix, but why would these go out? Otherwise, great car!
One other thing, the gated shifter is one of the unsung glories of this thing. You can push the automatic into territory it has no business being in!
1st Sep 2009, 01:54
I am having a horrible time with my 2006 Reno as well. The throttle positioning sensor is going out, and yeah they won't replace it without charging me almost $400.
Really, this car has been a nightmare, mostly because of the dealership cheating us, but also because since we bought it, the engine light has been almost steadily on, and the shop was just telling us it was a faulty O2 sensor and that they had been replacing good sensors (they replaced ours three times). They said they would be looking into the issue and letting me know something, but they never let me know anything, and the light is still on.
I owe twice what the car is worth, because these cars don't keep their value at all, so we've been running into roadblocks trying to get rid of it.
I will never drive another Suzuki as long as I live.