NHTSA — Power Train Problems

2008 Suzuki Forenza (Page 2 of 4)

CarComplaints.com Notes: Even an optional bluetooth upgrade couldn't save the Forenza after the 2008 model year.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
60,669 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2008 Suzuki Forenza drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2008 Suzuki Forenza Owner Comments (Page 2 of 4)

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problem #49

Nov 132013

Forenza

  • 100,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2008 Suzuki Forenza. The contact stated while driving at any speed, the vehicle would shift out of gear and fail to accelerate. The contact stated that the vehicle would pull in reverse, shift gears and would not return to the proper gear. The problem recurred three times. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

- Belton, SC, USA

problem #48

Apr 012014

Forenza

  • 111,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Suzuki Forenza. The contact stated that while shifting gears, the vehicle lunged forward. The contact also stated that the vehicle erroneously shifted into neutral. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 111,000 and the current mileage was 111,027.

- Temple, TX, USA

problem #47

Sep 012013

Forenza 4-cyl

  • 70,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Suzuki Forenza. The contact stated that while he shifted gears he heard a noise and the gear shifter could not be released from second or third gear. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who advised that the transmission sensor was defective. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 70,884.

- 201 Jay Street Stowe, PA, USA

problem #46

Oct 102013

Forenza

  • 100,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2008 Suzuki Forenza. The contact was driving approximately 20 mph when the vehicle would not accelerate as the check engine light illuminated. The contact stated the dealer was contacted and the transmission range switch was replaced, remedying the defect. The contact was unable to contact the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 100,000.

- Lebanon, OR, USA

problem #45

Apr 102013

Forenza

  • 85,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Suzuki Forenza. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the transmission independently shifted into neutral. The engine was turned off and restarted, however the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic numerous times. The transmission range sensor, head gasket and transmission were replaced at different times. In addition, the catalytic converter and coil pack were replaced. The failure continued after the repairs were performed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.

- Van Nuys, CA, USA

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problem #44

Aug 142013

Forenza

  • 53,000 miles
I turned on the car, when I put into reverse it clunked and the screen that usually says R just had scrambled letters going then when I put it into drive it clunked again and when I drive it like that it starts in 2nd so I have to put a lot of gas onto it then it won't switch into 3rd gear, and every time I take it to a mechanic the check engine light goes off and it works fine.

- West Jordan, UT, USA

problem #43

Oct 092012

Forenza 4-cyl

  • 95,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have replaced the transmission range sensor in my 2008 Suzuki Forenza 3 times in the last year. Once at 95,000 miles, another at 101,000 miles, and now again at 109,000. I have attempted to contact Suzuki to no avail. The second time the sensor went out, I was merging on the highway and was nearly hit by a semi truck and trailer because I could not accelerate properly. The 3rd incident was yesterday 10/16/2013, I was pulling out of a parking lot onto a main road, when the sensor decided to slip, it moved the transmission into a high gear, causing me to inch out of where I was at in the middle of the road. Luckily, I was not hit. I would like to see Suzuki acknowledge the fact they need to do something about this issue. It appears to be a very common problem that multiple people are having online.

- Imperial, MO, USA

problem #42

Nov 142012

Forenza

  • 122,000 miles
Transmission range sensor went bad, had it replaced multiple times since the first incident yet the issue continues. Manufacture offers no solutions. Aftermarket part are just as faulty.

- Redmond, WA, USA

problem #41

May 012012

Forenza

  • 20,000 miles
Multiple times the transmission thuds when shifting from park to reverse. Dash display does not show "R" but has an "X" through it. Turn car off and on about three times to try to get it to work properly. Eventually works ok for a while. Has happened multiple times. Car is sluggish to drive after this happens and engine revs too high. Check engine light comes on but goes off in a few days. Transmission range sensor is bad.

- Fishers, IN, USA

problem #40

Sep 182013

Forenza 4-cyl

  • 15,000 miles
The contact owns 2008 Suzuki Forenza. The contact stated that the vehicle became unresponsive while attempting to accelerate from a traffic stop. The contact heard a loud bang as the vehicle began to roll away in reverse. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where the technician stated the transmission range sensor would need to replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000.

- North Huntingdon, PA, USA

problem #39

May 152013

Forenza

  • 55,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2008 Suzuki Forenza. The contact was driving approximately 50 mph when the vehicle stalled as the contact down shifted. The engine RPM's then decreased abnormally low. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The failure mileage was 55,000.

- Hamilton, NJ, USA

problem #38

Jul 012013

Forenza 4-cyl

  • 49,885 miles
Every time I change gears, my car thunks under the hood and my check engine light is continuously on. A machine was hooked up to my car and it reads that there is a bad transmission range sensor. I've done my research, and notice an unbelievable amount of complaints due to the same issue/part. When this happens in my vehicle, it drives very poorly and feels like it cannot shift into the correct gear. This is unsafe.

- Muskegon, MI, USA

problem #37

Jul 292013

Forenza 4-cyl

  • 64,500 miles
My family and I were going down the road and there was a weird noise and the engine started to rev up and the speedometer was going down to 30 miles an hour, at the same time the RPM"S were going higher. I pulled to the side of the road because the shift gage on the instrument panel was flashing weird. It had a D with a line thru it. We had to shift it manually from 1st gear up to drive. It was scary since there was a truck with a trailer behind me coming up fast. It has done this to us twice in the last two weeks.I have seen that there are other people having the same problem or similar. Something should be done. When we have a warranty we still shouldn't have to pay a deductible for some problem with this brand car" power train and speed control sensors. Going out and needing to be replaced.

- Brainerd, MN, USA

problem #36

Oct 092012

Forenza 4-cyl

  • 78,000 miles
While sitting at a stop sign, I decided I was a little to far into the road. I shifted into reverse and noticed it shifted really hard. I put it into drive and pulled out onto the road - again it shifted hard. When trying to speed up, the car wouldn't shift out of 1st gear, the check engine light came on and I couldn't speed up. I've been told it is a bad transmission range sensor.

- Carthage, NC, USA

problem #35

Jul 302010

Forenza

  • miles
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.

- Decatur, GA, USA

problem #34

Jul 152013

Forenza 4-cyl

  • 42,677 miles
The car will not shift correctly. Displays a scrambled message on the dash information console. Dangerous almost caused me to be struck and killed by a 18 wheeler. Something must be done by this. Is a serious problem.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #33

May 012012

Forenza

  • 25,000 miles
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.

- Fishers, IN, USA

problem #32

Jun 262013

Forenza 4-cyl

  • 79,000 miles
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.

- Shelton, WA, USA

problem #31

May 012013

Forenza 4-cyl

  • 49,789 miles
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 on range sensor and computer board problems...still having the same issues with check engine light..loss of power and gear slips.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #30

Feb 092011

Forenza 4-cyl

  • 49,000 miles
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.

- Wylie, TX, USA

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