13th Oct 2005, 15:38
Update...It is obvious to me that the Dealer Technicians cannot find the problem. Instead of the car getting better, they are making the car worse... I finally gave up and traded the car in for 2005 Forenza Wagon. I bought the wagon from a different dealer. We now own 2 (2005 Forenza Wagons). In short, I like the cars, but it seems quality/experienced service will probably be hard to find.
20th Feb 2006, 14:30
Sorry to hear about your problems with the '04 Forenza, although it sounds like you had more problems with the dealer than the car. We too have an '05 wagon and love it. The only problem we had was the engine light came on. It needed a new thermostat which, of course, was replaced under warranty. When we bought it we were looking to buy a Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix, but liked this better and could get a new one with a warranty for the same price that we were looking at buying a used Vibe/Matrix.
24th Mar 2009, 04:26
I bought a 2004 Suzuki Forenza... really nice looking car that was very affordable, and sporty for a compact car too.
Well I had the spoiler option, which has the 3rd light (LED). Well when these started to burn out, I figured I have them replaced when getting the car serviced. The 1st time was a success, they (dealer) were replaced etc... but the next time I needed another LED light replaced... they told me the whole spoiler would need to be replaced... that there was no history of ever fixing the problem the 1st time.
Then the engine light stayed on for a 2 months, but every time I headed to dealer, magically it would be off... This car is sneaky ha ha. Eventually I gave up trying and so did the light, it did finally go off.
3- The moon roof stop working.
4- Would lock you out after a rainstorm/car washing... still does that occasionally.
5- Radio burned out.
Some things were fixed with the warranty, other were never figured out. I've owned her about 5 years, still dependable. I assumed these were quirks all new named model cars go through the 1st year, and with time work themselves out. OH... and as for the staff at the Suzuki dealer... they sucked.
But all in all, I still enjoy my little sneaky Korean/Japanese mutt ride.
It's a shame the Forenza models have been discontinued (2009), I would have definitely gotten another one. In other parts of the world, it's the same car, but some have different names.
19th Sep 2005, 09:58
Just another update... The 2004 Forenza Sedan has developed a clunk when going over bumps or irregular pavement. the noise sounds like a loose pipe/tube or maybe a defective/loose mount... So far the dealership has thrown multiple parts at it (struts 2 times, upper strut mounts, lower control arm) and on the third visit has kept the car for a week. So far, no luck... It appears to me that the techs have been guessing at things and have yet to find the problem. The last visit (the car was there for a week), I got the car back from them with the front hood mal adjusted on the right front corner, the right front fender lip was pulled out of shape and the steering wheel was now off-center. To make matters worse, the car was filthy when I received it. In short, the tech's and the "factory rep" have yet to resolve the issue and are making matters worse. I have no confidence that this problem will be resolved anytime soon... The car now has 7000 miles on it... More updates to come...