The slant of the rear cargo area with the third seat down required that we purchase a net to extend across the tailgate area. Without the net when we had a load in the back and opened the door we had to grab fast to keep things from falling on the ground.
Other than that absolutely NOTHING has gone wrong with the vehicle.
Previous vehicle was a Saturn SC2 coupe. We also have a 1998 Chevrolet Tracker 2 door. We wanted something in a SUV that was as reliable as the Saturn. We looked at the VUE, but didn't like the full time Four wheel drive system that comes with the V6. We really like our little Tracker so looked at the XL7 and fell in love. We've owned it for about a year now and took it from Phoenix, AZ to Yachts, OR. We went on 2 lane highways going through Nevada, Northern California and Southern Oregon to the coast. Coming back we took all freeways through California and Arizona. It handled the twisty turns excellent (like the road from Crater Lake, Oregon to the coast), with plenty of power to pass on short straightaways. On the freeways we cruised at about 80mph for hours, while getting 19 - 20 mpg. This is my 6th SUV going back to my first a 73 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 30 years ago, and my second favorite (the first was a 1980 International Scout II Turbo Diesel with ranger overdrive/gear splitter auxiliary transmission and 3 inch lift).
It's now March 2005 the vehicle now has 28,000 miles on it and other than a problem with tires nothing else has gone wrong. I average 18 mpg in the city and about 21 on the highway.
It is now January 2006 and the vehicle has 37,000 miles. It is at the dealers today to have an accelerator cable replaced under recall and to have the #1 timing chain tensioner replaced. According to other sites on the web this is a common problem with the 2.5 and 2.7L V6 engines. If you hear a ticking sound like a lifter get it in and get it fixed. If the chain slips the engine seizes. The problem is a design fault and Suzuki won't repair it for free. If you don't have the extended warranty (late 2002 models and on) which I don't, expect to pay around $1,200. Consumer Reports and MSN auto rate the engine very poorly. Now I have to decide whether to keep it or unload it. I'm not going to put a new tensioner in it every 40,000 miles. I still really like the vehicle, but I demand reliability.
Discovered I had paid for an extended warranty to 60,000 miles when I purchased the vehicle, forgot about it. I paid $50 deductible and the Insurance Policy paid $1,400.00. They had to replace all three tensioners. Couldn't give me a reason they went out. I have used Mobil 1 (synthetic oil) since after break-in (5,000 miles) changing it and the filter every 3 – 4,000 miles. I’m going to hold onto the vehicle at least until the extra warranty is up. Hopefully there will be no more problems.
It's now March 25, 2007 since the tensioners were replaced I've had no other real problems with the vehicle. It now has 49,243 miles on it. It does have a check engine light that comes on, stays on for a week, and then turns off by itself. Vehicle has been correctly serviced, code reading is inconclusive about what the problem may be.
Just spent the last three weeks helping my daughter pick out a used car. Went from dealerships to private sellers looking at condition, mileage and drive-ability. We used my XL7 to visit these places. I can honestly say that in the 20 - 25 vehicles I drove and gave my opinion on the only vehicle I might have considered its' equal was a 95 Acura Legend (she bought a 98 Honda Accord). My opinion.
It's February 14, 2008. The XL7 now has 58,000 miles. Check engine light turned out to be a bad thermostat. Once that was replaced the light went out and hasn't come on again. Nothing else has gone wrong with the car. Lots of complaints about the air conditioning compressor at this and other sites. I've had no problem with it.
I just bought 2002 Suzuki XL7 with 87000 miles on it. Vehicle is in almost new condition. I paid $ 6500 for this vehicle. I have been driving it around. This vehicle is very smooth no noises or problem with air conditioning. It's got good power. what are the trouble areas I should be looking at as I use this vehicle.
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