The contact owns a 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara. The contact stated that the door ajar warning light was constantly illuminated while the doors were securely closed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the front passenger’s side occupant classification system sensor was inoperable. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.
The worst 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Airbags50
- Lights31
- Electrical26
- Steering22
- Engine11
- Acceleration10
- Brakes10
- Seat belts10
- Seats10
- Transmission8
- Visibility7
- Suspension6
- Body5
- Tires5
- Fuel system4
- Driver assistance3
- Locks1
- Wheels1
Specific symptoms reported on the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara
Headlights 37Airbag light 23Check engine light 10Loss of power 6Power steering loss 6No deployment 5Grinding brakes 5
Recalls 6
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification
- What is wrong
- Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (Suzuki) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Kizashi and 2006-2013 Grand Vitara vehicles. The front passenger leather seat may shrink due to high humidity and high temperature. As a result, the occupant classification system (OCS) sensor mat may not accurately detect if an adult or child is occupying the seat.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating airbag deployment, an incorrect classification may result in the passenger frontal air bag deploying even if there is a child in the front passenger seat, increasing their risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Suzuki will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seat bottom cushion, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on May 3, 2019. All second letters notifying owners of the remedy were mailed by April 10, 2020. Owners may contact Suzuki customer service at 1‑800‑934‑0934. Suzuki's numbers for this recall are 4011 and 4012.
Recall number 19V187000 · Recall details
Steering: hydraulic power assist system
- What is wrong
- Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (Suzuki) is recalling certain 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara vehicles. The power steering pump belt tension adjuster pulley has an outer portion that is made of plastic. Repeated heat stress can cause the plastic material to deteriorate, causing pieces of the pulley to break off.
- Risk
- Broken pieces of the pulley can get caught between the pulley and the drive belt, causing the drive belt to come off, resulting in a sudden loss of power steering assist, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Suzuki will notify owners, and dealers will replace the power steering pump drive belt tension adjuster pulley, free of charge. The recall began November 9, 2018. Owners may contact Suzuki customer service at 1‑800‑934‑0934. Suzuki's number for this recall is 4009. Note: The vehicles included in this recall were not previously recalled under 10V‑250.
Recall number 18V667000 · Recall details
Air bags
- What is wrong
- Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (Suzuki) is recalling certain model year 2006-2011 Grand Vitara and 2007-2011 SX4 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, over time, the OCS sensor mat installed in the front passenger seat may fail due to repeated flexing of the mat from use of the seat. As a result, during a crash necessitating deployment, the air bag will deploy regardless of whether the front seat occupant is an adult or a child.
- Risk
- Air bag deployment with a child in the front passenger side seat increases the risk of injury to that child.
- Remedy
- Suzuki will notify owners and dealers will replace the front passenger seat cushion assembly (which includes the OCS sensor mat) free of charge. Sufficient quantities of parts are not currently available to fix all of the affected vehicles. Owners will be notified of the recall in October 2013 and will receive a second notification when parts are available to have their vehicle repaired. The recall began on May 23, 2014. Owners may contact Suzuki at 1‑800‑934‑0934. Suzuki's recall campaign number is VD.
Recall number 13V405000 · Recall details
Steering: hydraulic power assist: pump
- What is wrong
- Suzuki is recalling certain model year model year 2006 grand vitara and model year 2005-2006 xl-7 vehicles. The tension adjuster pulley for the drive belt that operates the power steering pump and air conditioner compressor (if equipped) has an outer portion that is made of plastic. Repeated heat stress can cause the plastic material to deteriorate and pieces of the pulley can break off.
- Risk
- Broken pieces of the pulley can get caught between the pulley and the drive belt, causing the drive belt to come off and resulting in the driver needing increased effort to steer the vehicle increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the power steering pump drive belt tension adjuster pulley free of charge. The safety recall began on june 28, 2010. Owners may contact suzuki at 1‑800‑934‑0934.
Recall number 10V250000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission: lever and linkage: column shift
- What is wrong
- Certain vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 114, 'theft protection. ' the automatic transmission selector lever "park" lock function may be inoperative due to a sticking shift lock arm. The shift lever may be able to be shifted out of "park" with the key removed and without depressing the brake pedal.
- Risk
- This can give rise to increased incidents of crashes resulting from the rollaway of parked vehicles as a result of inadvertently moving the shift lever from the "park" position when the parking brake is not fully engaged.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the shift lock module free of charge. The recall began on january 7, 2008. Owners may contact suzuki at 1‑800‑934‑0934.
Recall number 07V554000 · Recall details
Power train: driveline: driveshaft
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles, the left side of the retainer rear drive shaft may crack and the gears may get stuck due to oil leakage by the retainer.
- Risk
- This can lead to the rear differential gears locking up and the vehicle may become disabled increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the left side of the retainer rear drive shaft. Suzuki will call owners on or about december 15, 2005. Followup letters to owners were mailed on february 13, 2006. Owners may contact suzuki at 1‑800‑934‑0934.
Recall number 05V548000 · Recall details
See all 6 recalls for the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara
Defect investigations
Occupant Classification System Failure
Suzuki Motor of America is conducting a safety recall to remedy the occupant classification system's (OCS) sensor mats in approximately 193,936 model year 2006-2011 Suzuki Grand Vitara and 2007-2011 Suzuki SX4 vehicles (see the federal safety agency recall 13V‑405 for more details).The sensor mat installed in the front passenger seat can develop an electrical circuit disconnection as a result of repeated flexing of the seat from use of the seat.According to Suzuki, when the failure occurs, the OCS system, by design, will not suppress the frontal passenger air bag for a seated child or small-stature adult.A deploying passenger air bag can cause serious injury to such an occupant.The recall population excludes those vehicles that previously had proper remedies under the special coverage campaign for this issue (~11,600) that began in July 2012.The recall remedy will be to install a new front passenger seat cushion assembly that includes an improved OCS sensor mat and an OCS control module with updated algorithms designed to properly identify the type/size of the seated occupant.Consequently, this recall action will address various OCS related problems, including a programming error (associated with diagnostic trouble code B1318) related to detecting a change or shifting in load on the front passenger seat in the model year 2009 Grand Vitara and SX4 vehicles.This Preliminary Evaluation is closed.The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at http://www-odi.the federal safety agency.dot.gov/owners/Searchreference under the following identification numbers: 10178750, 10185778, 10200217, 10200123, 10206368, 10217021, 10250561, 10254251, 10263756, 10283309, 10285166, 10294320, 10316125, 10323718, 10324530, 10326910, 10332645, 10347204, 10348957, 10349038, 10350237, 10353604, 10354901, 10355400, 10364190, 10367631, 10369777, 10371056, 10373558, 10375165, 10375789, 10376071, 10376621, 10378154, 10380794, 10382860, 10392447, 10392434, 10392599, 10393975, 10395430, 10395602, 10395821, 10395983, 10398172, 10400092, 10400035, 10401106, 10401424, 10404772, 10405359, 10406459, 10407500, 10409412, 10409993, 10413235, 10418162, 10419237, 10419578, 10425035, 10425212, 10426703, 10434905, 10435090, 10435091, 10437600, 10437892, 10437994, 10438100, 10438501, 10438613, 10439357, 10439979, 10440088, 10442968, 10442759, 10442883, 10443173, 10443592, 10443594, 10444434, 10445034, 10445447, 10446215, 10446580, 10447689, 10448161, 10448446, 10448499, 10448554, 10449238, 10450746, 10451260, 10452961, 10453168, 10453403, 10453376, 10454445, 10454978, 10455231, 10455529, 10456043, 10456367, 10456407, 10459063, 10460417, 10460510, 10462016, 10463337, 10464941, 10464693, 10467988, 10468641, 10479583, 10479929, 10481120, 10484053, 10484863, 10486369, 10486729, 10487379, 10491755, 10499622, 10506034, 10508282, 10511057, 10511439, 10512962, 10521656, 10521779, 10523512, 10523931, 10524266, 10526435, 10533196, 10535513, 10537314, 10537619, 10543672, 10544287.
PE13021
Technical service bulletins for the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara 22
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- Reminder of the importance to conduct safety inspections for rust damage to suspension and related parts...
- This Service Bulletin was sent by Suzuki Motor Corporation to its authorized Suzuki automobile...
- Suzuki: fuel gauge takes a long time moving, after fill up, because of two (2) different fuel meter modes,...
- Suzuki: warranty extension for 'air bag' warning light illumination
- Suzuki: the front passenger seat bottom cushion assembly has the sensor mat located within and the...
- Suzuki: on certain vehicles, within the front passenger seat bottom cushion, the sensing sensor mat, an...
- Suzuki: correction of the terminal layout of an ignition switch illustration
- Loose or noisy wheel hub front or rear
- DTC C1230 (transfer actuator circuit malfunction) detecting condition and troubleshooting
- Engine RPM flare when shifting gears nj
2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara fuel economy
Official EPA estimates in miles per gallon (MPGe for electric). Ranges cover trims that share the same engine.
| Engine | Drive | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.7L 6‑cyl | RWD | 15-17 | 20-22 | 17-19 |
| 2.7L 6‑cyl | 4WD | 15-17 | 20-21 | 17-19 |
What 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
I bought this car used one year ago and have had to change the low beam lights twice and now they are out again. At night I drive with the high beams on and they are so weak no one can tell. Last month the engine started surging making the car try to take off wether in neutral, park or drive. I have to hold the brake very strongly to keep the car from taking off. This is extremely dangerous for obvious reasons and someone is going to get seriously hurt or killed because Suzuki will not acknowledge or fix this problem. This will be my last Suzuki product ever. I can't afford to get another vehicle right now so I'm having to drive this nightmare daily.
The contact owns a 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the headlights failed to illuminate as needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the headlight bulbs several times; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.
Tl* the contacts owns a 2006 suzuki grand vitara. The contact stated that the instrument cluster failed to provide the speedometer reading, fuel gauge reading, and ABS reading. The contact took the vehicle to germain toyota of naples (13315 tamiami trl n, naples, fl 34110, (888) 722-4941) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the instrument cluster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 56,675.
I was involved in a front end collision where I t-boned another vehicle and my 2006 suzuki grand vitara became immobilized because the impact was so hard that the driveline broke. But the driver airbag did not deploy at all!
The headlights, parking lights and brake lights burn out constantly. Major safety hazard. I have had to replace the headlights, parking lights and brake lights every 3-4 months for the 3 1/2 years we have this vehicle. Very careful with bulb handling and installation. Bulb connections appear to be burned and melted.
My 2006 suzuki grand vitara has blown at least 4 head lights since I bought the vehicle. Suzuki says that there is a problem with the transistor to the lights,in that it gives too much power to the lights, thus causing it to blow prematurely. They have not issued a recall, suzuki needs to do something asap!!
Air bag wont go out on drivers side when seat occupied passenger seat belt wont goout when engage before in motion was offand on now stays on
Record accident
A recall notice has been issued on the ocs sensor mat installed in the front passenger seat, which may fail due to repeated flexing of the mat from use of the seat. Unfortunately, there is no local service center to my area to fix the issue. The nearest contracted service center is 60 miles away and in los angeles traffic, freeway time alone is a 3+ hour round trip - not including wait time for repair. Do I need to wait until the airbag explodes and decapitates a front seat passenger, prior to the part being transferred to a local service center?
Compare the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara
Other model years
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Questions about the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara
Is the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara reliable?
Owners have filed 161 complaints about the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 8.1 times a typical Grand Vitara model year. It is one of the years we flag to avoid.
What is the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara year score?
The 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara scores 5 out of 100 (poor). The score compares it with the other model years of the Suzuki Grand Vitara: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.
What is the most common problem with the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara?
Airbags, with 50 complaints, typically around 60,000 miles. Next is lights (31).
How many recalls does the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara have?
6 recalls, covering air bags, steering and power train.
Was there a recall on the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara airbags?
Yes, 2 recalls: 19V187000, 13V405000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Suzuki Grand Vitara have bad airbags?
The Suzuki Grand Vitara model years with the most airbags complaints are 2006 (50 complaints), 2007 (19 complaints) and 1999 (12 complaints).
What gas mileage does the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara get?
Official estimates for the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara range from 17 to 19 mpg combined. The most efficient version (2.7L 6-cyl, RWD) gets 15-17 city and 20-22 highway.
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