2005 Suzuki Reno S from North America - Comments

I have a 2005 Reno. I will not have this Reno by this winter. The car is horrible in the snow. There could be only a dusting on the road and the car is all over. I even had new tires for this past winter. Today, my engine light came on. I drive 50 highway miles to work every day. The gas mileage should be much better than what I am getting. I get about 20-23. A compact car like this should atleast get close to 30. I do not recommend any one to get a reno. My neon was better than this car!!!

I recently purchased a 2006 Reno in May 2007. It had a little under 16,000 miles when I purchased it. I almost immediately had problems starting the car. I just brought it home from the dealer after they said they "fixed" the problem. They said it was a matter of resetting the computer, they also told me to turn the key to the "on" position without starting the car and wait for about 10 seconds then start that should help the computer recognize all the settings-they alos told me that the gasoline in this area is transitioning from winter to sumemr fuel and that affects the starting as well--HUH???. Needless to say, a whole 1DAY after I brought it home from being "fixed" my car will not start again. My question to the forum is has anyone tried lemon law with this issue and if so how did it turn out?

I purchased a new 2005 reno s in February of 2006. In May of 2006 at 2800 miles the car had hard starting. Repair entailed the cylinder head being replaced. Under warranty of course.

The feeling after this is driving a new car with a rebuilt engine. The time to diagnose and repair took over 3 weeks.

No more problems starting, but the mpg for city/highway is now 15 mpg. (cause was one of the cylinders was leaking oil)

This car is going to haunt suzuki down the road. I give it 5 years before it goes belly up in the USA. This car was a bad choice to use as an initial entry into the US market.

In response to June 21st comments:

Did they repair the cylinder head? And, if so, did your gas mileage improve?

Answer to 6/22/07 comments:

As I said, the cylinder head was replaced by a new one.

As for mileage the following is my history:

Received car new on 2/6/06 with 38 miles on the odometer.

Results after the first fillup were 17 mpg city/highway.

My experience with new cars, as I have had a few, (I am 76 years old) is that this is when the car shows it's best mileage. After that it's all downhill.

This past winter was a bummer. 15 mpg city/highway.

Replacing the cylinder head in my opinion had nothing to do with the low mileage. It is the nature of the beast.

I stopped using the car often since april. Too expensive.

Gas at $3.30 a gallon.

I have never used a full tank on highway driving or city driving. Always city/highway. My feeling is that every time you stop the engine takes a big gulp.

The best I ever got was 19 mpg I never saw 20 or higher.

Followup to 6/23/07.

I have complained to dealer service and to SUZUKI by mail.

This car is a gas guzzler.

Had a factory rep. check the car out back in april of 2007.He had a technician check all settings on the engine, and then did a consumtion test on the car. He took it for a drive of 52 miles and said he got 31 mpg. As you know any test can be doctored. I was not present to see the test. He insinuated that I don't know how to drive. My other car is a '98 PONTIAC grand am,2.4L engine,at least 2000 pounds heavier, 4 cyl. My city/highway mpg is 23 mpg.

You can see what I drive more of.

On long trips I get 28 mpg. (PONTIAC has 49,000 miles on it which I bought new in '98)

I brought a 2005 Reno with 20,000 miles for my wife. The steering wheel began to shake and rumble Dealer said I needed a full service. 400.00 later I was told that it was likely the transmission, that was changed to no avail, next I was told it was the drive train/axle. This corrected after about two weeks with no car. Four months later and I am experiencing the same issue. The low beam lamps are also not working (I understand there is a recall for this). Although I like the Grand Vitara, I will not buy another Suzuki (poor customer service).

Ps gas mileage is horrible for a compact car...

Just bought an 08 and am hopeful that I won't regret it. This is our third Suzuki, (we also had an 06 Forenza and traded it for a Vitara which we still own). we have never had any problems and our dealer & service department are awesome. So far it feels better than my 03 Hyundai Elantra, which I never had any mechanical or gas problems with- just never loved it and it drove like a ton of bricks that didn't want to move. While the Reno is no V-6, it does the easy 50-60 mph I need it to do, but it did drink down a tank of gas pretty quick this week. Was hoping it was just all the extra driving I did, but from reading the other reviews, perhaps not. We shall see!

I bought a 2007 Reno back in November of 2007 and it is now March of 08 and I have already put 6900 on it. I don't really have a problem with the car yet. I researched for about 3 years before I bought a new car and found that it was the best deal on the market. I know people who have had Suzuki vehicles before, for example a Samurai,

Sidekick, Swift, and Vitara 2 door. I haven't heard any problems from them except for the swift and it was only because the car was driven extremely hard, never had oil changes, filter replacements etc. I love my Reno and I put the miles on it. It gets up to speed excellent on the highway and that says a lot because of the fact that I live in the Appalachian mountains and we have many big hills. Anyway I just think all cars have problems and they all get old. You can't expect to get a Benz for a small price.

We bought our 2006 Reno new. It currently has over 31,000 miles on it and the gas mileage has seemed to improve over time. I love the way it zips around thru traffic, and my husband, who is 6'2" has plenty of leg room. We have had the air bag sensor issue, but that's been its only problem. I got rear-ended by an SUV going 30 MPH and while the damage was fairly significant, I feel like the car protected me well. The body shop had problems getting parts, tho. Overall, I think it's a great little car for the money.

The Reno and that other Dae-zuki, the Forenza, will be history after 2008. That can only cause their resale value, which is not that great already, to plummet even further...

I don't think discontinuing models that are 4 years old will adversely affect their retail value. It's called a model auto manufacture life cycle.

Spares and servicing will continue to be available by Suzuki.

I think the styling of the Forenza and Reno has aged pretty well actually.

We just bought a 2008 Suzuki Reno and so far love it. It is getting about 400 miles to a tank of gas and we are loving it.