Suzuki Problems

It’s a pity you left it so long before booking it in, but I would again contact Suzuki and explain your dilemma and ask for their help again.

Finding the cause of a problem can be challenging, particularly if it is intermittent, or like yours, only when the radio was turned on. You have to pity the mechanic sometimes, but it does highlight the need to be observant when you find a problem. Write down as much information as you can about what happens, when it happens and anything else that might help the mechanic diagnose it.

Take it back and have the seal replaced again, and suggest to your dealer that they make sure there are no visible problems with the new seal before it's installed, and that it is installed correctly.

All of those avenues are open to you, but before you go any further I recommend we try opening a dialogue with Suzuki. We have spoken to Suzuki Australia on your behalf, but we discovered that Suzuki Australia, the factory importer for Australia, doesn't handle Queensland. That's handled by another, separate importer. Our contact at Suzuki Australia has told us he would communicate with the Queensland importer in the hope if a resolution. If that fails to provide an answer to your concerns, go to Fair Trading first, and resort to legal action last.

The car’s official Suzuki fuel ranking is regular 91 octane.

The retail price for such a car is between $10,000 and $14,000 depending on the model and condition. A front-wheel drive version will be towards the lower end of that range, an all-wheel drive version towards the upper end. I would want to pay around the $10,000 mark.

Even though the car is out of warranty it's certainly worth approaching Suzuki to get them to fix it, particularly if you have the paperwork showing what you have done to try and fix it. A carmakers responsibility doesn't end when his warranty runs out, they have a responsibility under law to fix defective products, and yours would seem to have been defective since new.

It's hard to believe that something seemingly so obvious could not be found and fixed quite quickly. It's always worth checking the obvious.

The noises are most likely caused by a worn or over-tightened bush, or bearing, in the front-end. The people who were doing the work appear to have been on the right track, but hadn't yet found the solution. Trading the car in would seem to be a drastic solution to your problem, but it's good that you are happy.

You're right, the noise is the park brake releasing when you take off, or releasing after a short time, it's not the ABS system checking itself.