We called to schedule a service appointment after Bryn noticed the airbag warning light lit on the IP of our 2009 Suzuki SX4.
So what was our first impression of Suzuki service? There aren't many dealerships. We racked our brains to recall a local shop. Nothing. On the Suzuki website we found the nearest dealer in Van Nuys, 10 miles away. Not bad. But the next-closest was 25 miles, then 35 miles. We chose Cerritos Suzuki since a handful of us live nearby.
Our advisor was polite. He called us an hour after we dropped it off to report that it was likely parts would need to be ordered. And since it was an airbag issue they weren't comfortable returning the car to us until the problem was fully diagnosed. The next morning our phone rang.
"Your car is ready for pick up. When we lifted the seat cushion to check the problem we found the ground pin wasn't fully connected. We plugged it back in. No charge."
Days out of service: 1
Cost: None
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 3,030 miles
mopar424 says:
09:06 PM, 03/23/09
So they didnt need parts? All they had to do was re-attach a ground and they kept it overnight?
foxtrot685 says:
02:02 AM, 03/24/09
i really love this little car a lot! im glad they didnt need to order parts, that could have taken so much longer!
adavis2493 says:
07:58 AM, 03/24/09
How's the stereo system? I have an XL7 Rental a couple of weeks ago and the stereo was the worst I have ever heard in a car.
bankerdanny says:
08:36 AM, 03/24/09
mopar,
Electrical problems are typically easy to fix but NASA level difficult to diagnose.
An overnight for electrical diagnosis (especially airbag related) is not out of line in my opinion.
felonious says:
09:09 AM, 03/24/09
No charge? That's some good service, considering they did take some time to diagnose it.
rick8365 says:
09:58 AM, 03/24/09
I know this is negative and cynical....but....shouldn't there be an "of course" after "no charge" since this is a warranty item - no doubt? And, I think it's entirely possible that the car did need the part and it was harvested from another SX4 on the lot - from Peter to fix Paul? I have seen the practice in action as well as the evidence of such on car lots. In this case the dealer would rather say loose wire then explain how they got the part so quick.
bankerdanny says:
10:43 AM, 03/24/09
Why wouldn't a dealer admit they scavenged an inventory vehicle to save the customer time?
That sounds like customer service to me. Get the customer's vehicle on the road sooner and put the new part in the inventory vehicle a couple days later. That's not an action to hide or be ashamed of.
rick8365 says:
11:52 AM, 03/24/09
I dunno.... I think it'd be something that they wouldn't mention...probably wrong on all accounts.
foxtrot685 says:
10:46 PM, 03/24/09
when i had a problem with the windshield wiper arm on my jeep liberty (it was bent from day one), the service tech walked out to another 2007 liberty on the lot, yanked it off and put it on my car and said "fixed. have a great day", no joke :)