3 YEARS AGO I BOUGHT A SET OF 4 GOODYEAR WARNGLER DURATRAC TIRES FOR MY SUZUKI VITARA. AFTER APROX 1,5 YEARS I GO TO TIRE SERVICE SHOP TO REPAIR AIR LOSS AROUND THE RIM. WITH TIRE UNMOUNTED WE FOUND INNER LAYER SEPARATION. I REPORTED THIS TO THE SELLER AND AFTER CHECKING WITH GOODYEAR REPRESANTIVE THEY CHANGED THE TIRE WITH NEW ONE. AFTER ANOTHER APROX 1,5 YEARS I HAVE TO GO TO TIRE SHOP FOR ANOTHER REPAIR AND FOUND ANOTHER TIRE WITH SPLIT LAYERS. WE CHECKED ALL OTHER TIRES MINUS WARRANTY REPLACED ONE AND THEY ALL ARE SPLIT FROM INSIDE. I REPORTED THIS TO THE SELLER AND GOODYEAR REPRESENTIVE BUT THEY DIDN'T OFFER ANY SOLUTION YET.
1998 Suzuki Sidekick
Owners filed 27 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the air bags › frontal. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags › Frontal | 6 | 5 | 0 | 8 | |
| Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Visibility › Defroster/Defogger/Hvac System › Windshield › Electrical Heating Element | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tires | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Suspension › Rear | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Suspension › Front | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Suspension | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Disc | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsWAS IN A FRONTAL ACCIDENT. FRONT END OF CAR PRETTY MUCH TOTALED. AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, AND NO PROBLEMS WITH THE CODES OR LIGHT BEFORE THIS.
WHILE TRAVELING AT NORMAL SPEED AND WITHOUT ANY INDICATION AIR BAGS DEPLOYED AS A RESULT OF A VEHICLE CRASH. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH VEHICLE STALLED. TOWED TO DEALER, WHO FOUND IGNITION COIL WAS TOO CLOSE TO ENGINE BLOCK, AND HAD SHORTED OUT. DEALER REWIRED IGNITION COIL.*AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
POSSIBLE ENGINE FAILURE CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO CATCH ON FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT ONE DAY AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED (CASE # 01-250-843-501, REPORT # 1023282). NLM
CONSUMER WAS TOLD THAT WRONG SIZE GAS TANK IS EQUIPPED ON VEHICLE. *AK PREMATURE CLUTCH FAILURE, DRIVESHAFT FAILURE. BOLTS VIBRATED OUT OF EXHAUST NAMIFOLD. RECURRING NOISE FROM ENGINE PULLEY AREA. *SLC
EXHAUST BOLTS VIBRATED LOOSE/BROKE OFF (7/15/98;1/4/99;11/19/99) IDLER PULLEY HAS BEEN CHANGED 3 TIMES(1/4/99;11/17/99;11/19/99); DRIVE BELT HAS BEEN REPLACED 2 TIMES(1/15/99;11/19/99); MOTOR MOUNTS NEEDED TO BE SECURED (2/26/99); CLUTCH SLAVE CYLINDER NEEDS TO BE REPLACED (COMPLAINED 7/15/98;1/25/00. DIAGNOSED 6/12/00); NOISE COMING FROM TRANSMISSION(6/12/00 TOLD NOISE NORMAL); DRIVESHAFT CV JOINT BAD (6/12/00 TOLD BY DEALER NOISE NORMAL. 6/14/00 TOLD DRIVESHAFT CV JOINT BAD DUE TO POOR DESIGN. 6/16/00 2ND ESTIMATE DRIVESHAFT CV JOINT BAD). THE MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED NUMEROUS TIMES BUT CONTINUES TO STONEWALL REGARDING ISSUES WITH MY CAR. *AK ALSO WRONG , SMALLER SIZE GAS TANK WAS INSTALLED VEHICLE. MANFACTURER IS NOT SENDING NHTSA INFORMATION REGARDING TSB OR RECALLS.
I SUDDENLY HEARD A WHIRRING AND SOUND AND THE BRAKES STARTED TO GRIND WHEN TRYING TO STOP. I HAD NOT EXPERIENCED ANY BRAKING PROBLEM PRIOR TO THIS EVENT. *AK
CONSUME RWAS TRAVELING ABOUT 45MPH ON HIGHWAY AND WAS GOING UP A HILL. WHEN REACHING THE TOP OF THE HILL, REAR END CAME FORWARD, AND VEHICLE WAS SIDEWAYS ON THE RAMP. VEHICLE VEERED OVER INTO AN ENBANKMENT, AND THEN AT THE AND THEN CAME OUT OF ENBANKMENT. VEHICLE WAS STILL RUNNING . REAR DRIVER'S SIDE TIRE HAD EXPLODED.*AK
INSTABILITY WHEN CORNERING, SEVERE INSTABILITY IN WINDY CONDITIONS, TOP HEAVY, AND TRANSMISSION SHIFTING ROUGHLY WHEN ENGINE IS COLD. *AK
ON APRIL 12TH 2000, WHILE DRIVING MY SUSUKI SIDEKICK MY AIR BAGES DEPLOYED WITH OUT BEING INVOLVED IN A COLLISION. AT NO TIME DID I HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE OR WAS I HIT BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. BOTH MYSELF AND THE PASSNEGER INTHE FRONT SEAT WERE WEARING SEAT BELTS BUT WE DID SUSATIN MINOR INJURIES. INCLUDING AIR BAG BURNS AND LACERATIONS ON HTE FACE. I HAVE CALLED SUSUKI DERECTLY AS WELL AS THE DEALER. NO ONE HAS ACKNOWLEDGE THER IS A PROBLEM AND THE COMPANY IS EXPECTING ME TO PAY FOR THE DAMAGES AND TO HAVE THE CAR REPAIRED. I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT A CAR FOR THE TIME SINCE THE ACCIDENT BUT I HAVE NOW AGAIN STARTED TO USE THE CAR BECAUSE I HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE. I DO NOT FEEL THAT THIS VEHICLE IS SAFE AND I WOULD LIKE TO RETURN IT TO THE COMPANY AND BE LET OUT OF MY LEASE. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BE COMPENSATED DOR MY TIME I DID NOT USE THE VEHICLE. I CONTINUE TO PAY THE LEASE ONTHE CAR BECAUSE I AM OBLIGATED TO PAY PER THE AGREEMENT. I FEEL SUSUKI IS OBLIGATED TO GIVE ME A VEHCILE THAT IS OPERATING PER THEIR AGREEMENT. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET ANY WEHER WITH THEM. I WOULD APPRECIATE AND HELP YOU COULD OFFER ME IN THIS SITUATION. SINCERLY MICHELLE BUTEAU. *AK
ROADMASTER TOW BAR THAT WAS INSTALLED ON THE TRUCK CONTINUED RUBBING AGAINST THE TIRES, CAUSING EXCESSIVE WEAR OF THE TIRES. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED MANUFACTURER. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
WHILE DRINVING AT ABOUT 65 ANOTHER VEHICLE RAMMED INTO THE BACK OF CONSUMER'S VEHICLE ON RIGHT HAND SIDE. UPON IMPACT, DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SEATS TOTALLY CALLAPSED. ALSO, GAS TANK BURSTED, AND FUEL SPLASHED INTO CONSUMERS FACE. CONSUMER FELT SEATS SHOULD NOT HAVE BROKEN LOOSE BECAUSE THEY WERE DESIGNED TO HOLD PASSENGER IN PLACE. *AK
MOTORCYCLE EXPERIENCED ENGINE OIL LEAKAGE FROM THE REAR MAIN OIL SEAL. *MJS
OUR SIDEKICK IS A 98 AND THE ENGINE BROKE DOWN ON THE HIGHWAY WE HAVE ALSO HAD TO BUY NEW HEAD LIGHTS EVERY TREE MONTHS. *AK
THERMOMETER, TEMPERATURE GAUGE.
ON 6-28-99 AIRBAGS DEPLOYED VIOLENTLY WHEN VEHICLE WENT IN A DITCH CAUSING SERIOUS INJURY TO THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER. *YC
CONSUMER WAS IN AN ACCIDENT, AND AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK
WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55-60MPH FRONT RIGHT TIRE STARTED SMOKING. PULLED TO SIDE & CHECKED. NOTICED A PROBLEM WITH BRAKES. HAD VEHICLE TOWED. MECHANIC FOUND NOTHING. HAD PADS, ROTORS & SHOES CHANGED. AFTER TRYING TO STOP, HAD NO BRAKES. BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR. *AK
20 of 27 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.