Poor thing... So Sad... :'(

 

My sympathies. I don't see how Suzuki can avoid paying for this despite all your mods.

I would imagine that there is a possibility of designing a suitable guard and that might mean you can keep this vehicle since you've spent so much time and money on it.

While searching for photos of that area of the engine I found this post:

F9Q 1.9 Dci won't start after repair! [Archive] - Renault Forums :: Independent Renault forum

And this:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=6965

And this:

http://www.renaultforums.co.uk/archive/index.php/t-135089.html

and:

Recalls
... All 1.9 diesels built 1997-2000 with gold colour alternator pulleys recalled because pulley can fail and cause the timing belt itself to fail or jump a few teeth.

 

My sympathies. I don't see how Suzuki can avoid paying for this despite all your mods.

I would imagine that there is a possibility of designing a suitable guard and that might mean you can keep this vehicle since you've spent so much time and money on it.

While searching for photos of that area of the engine I found this post:

F9Q 1.9 Dci won't start after repair! [Archive] - Renault Forums :: Independent Renault forum

And this:

Renault 1.9 DTi recall - any ideas why?? | Technical matters | Back Room Forum | Honest John

And this:

Auxiliary Belt on MK1 Megane 1.9DTI Keeps Splitting? [Archive] - Renault Forums :: Independent Renault forum

and:

Recalls
... All 1.9 diesels built 1997-2000 with gold colour alternator pulleys recalled because pulley can fail and cause the timing belt itself to fail or jump a few teeth.

That is insane!!

Now I see the problem is Very common!!

Definitely selling car! I want noting to do with that engine!!

& the way they are avoiding to pay is by saying, the belts are not warranty items. Thus No pay. $3000 they want to do the job. Replace the timing belt & serpentine belt.

 

Sorry about news.

Being such a popular engine across many makes of cars, i guess your mechanic has seen this before. I dare say not on a Suzuki though, but none the less it's happened to yours.

The real question is, why your serpentine belt failed in the first place. Maybe faulty from new?.

One thing is for sure though, i never rev mine to 4000RPM.
Mine is a 4x4, not a drag car.

Good luck with Suzuki, i hope it works out for you.

 

Sorry about news.


One thing is for sure though, i never rev mine to 4000RPM.
Mine is a 4x4, not a drag car.

Good luck with Suzuki, i hope it works out for you.

That's within the normal range as specified by the manufacturer tho.

 

Im sorry to hear this Paul, as im sure all other GV owners are. I think us diesel owners should be keeping a very close eye on our serpentine belts!

$3000 is stupid to replace the timing and serpentine belts.....the timing belt kit (including new water pump) can be bought aftermarket for around $300. The serpentine belt cost around $60. I have had the timing belt done at my local Suzuki dealership (i supplied parts) and they quoted me 3.5hrs @ $100/hr. So a total of $710. I can understand using genuine parts it will be dearer......but over $2000 more?

 

I feel your pain, but I might be shot down in flames here but could the underside guard which does protect the underside from ground damage etc maybe had a stone or something get on top of it and not being able to drop out and catch the belt ? See there are quite a few holes in the guard but don't know what the gap is between the bottom of the belt and the guard and just wondered if that was possible.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. But you missing the point. I'm not concerned about the fact that the Serpentine belt broke early. They break on cars everyday!

The problem we have is the fact that WHEN the serpentine belt breaks, it can actually affect the timing belt!! It can make the timing belt skip only 2 teeth at best, leaving the car stranded, or throw the timing belt off completely & destroy the engine!

THAT is the problem we have. & the fact that that can actually happen is INSANE!! How they can mass produce an engine all over the world when this is a common occurrence is mind boggling!!


& This is exactly what the dealer is doing, concentrating too much on the serpentine belt breaking, Nope, not covered under warranty!

I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE SERPENTINE BELT BREAKING! The fact that the Serpentine belt affected the Timing belt!! THAT IS A WARRANTY ISSUE!!!

Im Very Angry About this!!

 

I feel your fight with Suzuki will fall on deaf ears. But then again, try dealing with Renault direct and you might have more luck winning the lottery.

I'm still wondering how your belt became frayed enough in the first place to get caught up and stuff things up. These belts are designed to do a lot of km's, so either it got missed in servicing, OR, there is a pulley problem causing the belt to fray/split.

Point is, if the serp belt is fine, then there is nothing to worry about.

 

Well it didn't slowly get frayed. It broke with a bang without any prior warning & nearly destroyed my engine.

I serviced it recently & the belt was just fine. It was the close to 4K RPM that made it go off with a bang.

Breaking a belt should only be a nuisance. Not a potential for engine catastrophic damage & $12K+ bill...

As sad as I will be to see it go, I cant live with owning the car if that's a possibility for the future.

I should have got the petrol Sport... & I would never had had a problem. :'(

 

I know your aux belt stripped and took out the other belt but the way it stripped is never normal. Like mentioned if changed when required its very rare they let go and if an old one does give they usually just snap. I was just wondering if a stone/rock got caught between the belt and underplate which caused the belt to strip like that as its only stripped on one side.

 

Its done 54 thousand km's. & just 2 years old.

Yes in hindsight I would have changed the belt sooner than 54K km's

When you say, changed when required, When is it required to be changed? In the book it says, check belts condition. Does not say change belt at 50K service. The belt looked fine at the last service @ 52500km's. No cracking, no damage nothing...
When would have you changed it if you bought it from new & done 54K km's & the belt looked just fine at the 50K service & you knew nothing about them breaking & doing major damage?

Not knowing about the design flaw of it hitting the timing belt, I wasnt really overly concerned even if it Did break one day. No big deal. Just put a new belt on... Little did I know...

Yes its possible for these serpentine belts to just snap completely, but I disagree that its never normal for the belt to strip like mine did, Its very normal. They do that so you can at least limp to a garage.
Just like I SHOULD Have been able to do! But I couldn't because it hit the damn timing belt!

Its the old Vee-Belts that will just snap in one go.

I havent gone 4x4ing in 6 months & a stone off the road wouldnt have gotten past the bash plate.

But yes something has obviously shortened the life of the belt. If I had have known I should & would have changed it at the last service.

& the fact that the belt doesn't look cracked or perished or anything, its just let got & damaged my timing nearly completely destroying my engine... Is horrifying...

 

You cant see in the attached photo, the belt is not cracked up, worn out or perished (apart from the obvious damage that is).
Exactly what it looked like at the last service, just fine.

Its just let go all by its self at close to 4K rpm.

 

Hi Paul.

While I understand your concern you need to keep a bit of perspective.

Two things:
Plastic timing BELT covers are perfectly normal and found on nearly every engine fitted with a timing belt. Timing CHAINS are covered by alloy housings because they are an internal lubricated engine component.
You suffered a catastrophic failure of the serpentine belt. This can cause unpredictable damage.
My serpentine belt (on a 2.4) failed. It simply dropped to the bottom of the engine compartment. My daughters 2.4 also did a belt. It frayed, caught on the a/c compressor pulley, and self destructed under the bonnet. Luckily, the only damage was to one idler pulley and black marks everywhere.
What happened to you was unfortunate, but not exactly a huge design flaw.

 

Hi Kev, Thanks for explaining it to me

But I do understand all those things.

Other engines like you described, don't have this problem mine does. That's why you didn't have a disaster, only a nuisance. The timing belt is obviously well protected on your engines. (&/or the serpentine belt does not run in-line with the timing belt)

Mine, the timing belt is NOT well protected, its completely open at the bottom to be affected by an outside influence. That is my problem & that is the design flaw.
This problem has been going on with this engine for the last 20 years! & Renault has been repairing some of them. I would call that a pretty bad design flaw.

Breaking a serpentine belt should never be a disaster. They break on cars everyday, the timing belt should never be in harms way of that.
Breaking one should only ever be nuisance, like it would have been for your engines, not a potential for catastrophic engine failure. Which mine nearly was.. (The mechanic said the last one of these he saw break a serpentine belt, it made the timing belt jump off completely & destroyed their engine)

Fair enough if the serpentine belt smashed though the plastic timing belt cover. But no, the bottom of the cover is just open. That's no good & that's what the problem is.
I want nothing to do with this engine if this is what happens when the serpentine belt breaks.

Have you read this?F9Q 1.9 Dci won't start after repair! [Archive] - Renault Forums :: Independent Renault forum

And this:

Renault 1.9 DTi recall - any ideas why?? | Technical matters | Back Room Forum | Honest John

And this:

http://www.renaultforums.co.uk/archi.../t-135089.html

and:

Recalls
... All 1.9 diesels built 1997-2000 with gold colour alternator pulleys recalled because pulley can fail and cause the timing belt itself to fail or jump a few teeth.
Renault 1.9 DTi recall - any ideas why?? | Technical matters | Back Room Forum | Honest John

 

Hi Paul, I'm shattered to hear this mate. You've obviously spent a lot of time and money on setting up a great rig and taken it to some fantastic places.

I couldn't agree with you more in terms of the Diesel GV. Not just in the lack of lower timing case protection but the DPF (I'm going for a blow through pipe as soon as I'm out of warranty) and any workshop manual that instructs me to change a thermostat by first removing the engine ..... far from perfect..... I could go on.

Unfortunately, and maybe like other Diesel owners, I've spent way too much on this tourer to turn back now and am gonna have to roll the dice for at least a couple of years yet.

One thing that did strike me as odd is the holes in your underbody plates. The Ironman and Piranha plates are solid and although this doesn't promote good airflow, almost encapsulates the bottom end. For the little protection they give, even the plastic OEMs are called 'Stone Guards' and are designed to keep anything from being picked up off the road and ending up bouncing around in the engine bay.

Again, I agree, there are more than a couple of design flaws in this model but I'm thinking this is really, really bad luck, either a crap belt or something getting up there and jamming between the belt and a pulley. Are there any abnormal markings on any of the pulleys driven from the accessories belt?

You may have already made your mind up based on this design flaw but if not, push hard for warranty repair, grab some solid underbody protection and continue to enjoy your GV like you always have. Lightening never strikes twice......or so I'm told.

Cheers
Wes

 

I'm going for a blow through pipe as soon as I'm out of warranty)

be very careful and make sure you fit one with a comparable back pressure to the DPF unit and you will need to get the ECU modified to stop limp home from happening when it can't sense a "burn" occurring.

the back pressure issue is important because the turbo's fitted to these engines are known to over rev and fail if theres less restriction in the exhausts.

We have DPF units on most of our newer diesel fleet both cars and trucks and never have issues except for those drivers that do short runs and shut them off mid burn. Do a manual burn when needed and you will have no issues.

Remember to use the correct low ash oil.

 

Serpentine ribbed belts tend to fail catastrophically due to their design, and I have had them fail 400 km's after a check where they looked fine and had no signs of fraying.

Due to the tensions involved, if only 1 strand in the belt backing lets go, the belt starts to bend perpendicular to the ribs making it ride hard against one side of the pulley ribs causing fast wear and heating. This results in a vicious cycle and the belt failing in short order. Most will snap and flick off, but some will strip into 2 or more sections which will then disintegrate and take out things in the vicinity like hoses, covers and in one case I have seen, the radiator hose.

Taking out a cam belt while uncommon, has happened to me, but on a mitsubishi 4G63 motor when the A/C compressor siezed and flicked the belt off and thru the cam belt cover.

However, I also had a 2 litre ford cortina that did 60,000 kms mostly on dirt roads with no cam belt cover because I got sick of stones getting stuck under the cover and never lost a belt. Those covers were never great and a lot of the belt was exposed both at the top and bottom.

grit and items trapped in the ribs will also cause rapid failure.

 

I Know Your Pain

Hello,
This is my first post here, but I had to say that I have had a very similar experience with my 2008 Diesel GV. I've owned it for two whole weeks now and the relationship hasn't all been smooth sailing. One week in, I am driving through some back streets and change into second (nowhere near 4k RPM but that's only because I was too afraid to test it just yet) and the car suddenly sounds like a tractor. I pull over, look under the bonnet, and while the accessory belt hadn't let go, it had shed one rib off the belt closest to the motor. I'm no mechanic, but I know enough about cars to be sure that wasn't causing the noise.

The engine still had power and I drove the car home for a better look, checked fluids, fuel, turbo, no smoke from the exhaust, no errors from the ECU, then as a last resort removed the top timing cover and was greeted with a mess of rubber and thread from the accessory belt inside the cover. The timing belt was in okay condition and the engine turned without interference so I was left wondering if this junk had caused the timing belt to slip just enough to make it sound knocky, but not enough to destroy the engine.

I tracked down a manual thanks to this excellent forum and checked the timing and it appeared to be well out. With the camshaft at it's timing mark the crank was almost 90 degrees from TDC. This could mean bent valves left right and center, but the engine still made power? I timed it by the pulleys then turn it over by hand and soon hit a dead end. At this point I seriously considered trying my luck with the dealer warranty. Being new years day I couldn't get a hold of anyone so I decided to wash those dirty thoughts out of my head with foamy beverage and do some more exploring.

I removed the camshaft cover as I figured a bent valve might cause the lifter to sit lower with a significant gap between it and the cam shaft. Checking back to the manual all seemed fine with the lifters and valves. What I did find is that the camshaft pulley was not properly aligned with the shaft itself. With renewed enthusiasm I set the timing by the camshaft and ignored the pulley, turned it over by hand 1, 2, 3, 4 revolutions clean as a whistle. Put it back together and it starts and runs as quietly and smoothly as it ever has.

I left the timing cover off, and it's still running with the same 4-ribbed accessory belt (just picked up the new one then =S). So apart from the misaligned cam pulley (can a guru tell me how much of an issue this will cause for the camshaft angle sensor?) on my motor our issue seems to be identical, even down to one rib tearing off the belt. I did a lot of reading before buying this car and was aware of the number of people with DPF and timing belt issues. I get over 80km/h on my way to and from work so I was not worried about the DPF and everyone with timing belt issues seemed to have done 75000+kms so I resolved to replace it every 60000kms as it's not that expensive or difficult to do yourself. To me if you are aware of a reliability issue, it becomes a maintenance issue. I do wonder how many of these "timing belt failures" were actually caused by this same accessory belt issue.

To wrap up this novel, I still love the car. To me it is the perfect compromise of suburban-car-park-ability and serious-weekend-escape-ability. I love the look, the ride, the seats, the torque, and the space. If I have to pay a little more attention to the motor to have that then I am happy to do so. I'll fabricate a new, gap-free timing cover; replace both belts and make sure nothing could be causing the accessory belt to fail early, to be sure and hope to sit back and enjoy the show. To anyone that took the time to read this, thank you for making my second day back at work have some purpose and I wish you a happy new year.

 

Hello,
This is my first post here, but I had to say that I have had a very similar experience with my 2008 Diesel GV. I've owned it for two whole weeks now and the relationship hasn't all been smooth sailing. One week in, I am driving through some back streets and change into second (nowhere near 4k RPM but that's only because I was too afraid to test it just yet) and the car suddenly sounds like a tractor. I pull over, look under the bonnet, and while the accessory belt hadn't let go, it had shed one rib off the belt closest to the motor. I'm no mechanic, but I know enough about cars to be sure that wasn't causing the noise.

The engine still had power and I drove the car home for a better look, checked fluids, fuel, turbo, no smoke from the exhaust, no errors from the ECU, then as a last resort removed the top timing cover and was greeted with a mess of rubber and thread from the accessory belt inside the cover. The timing belt was in okay condition and the engine turned without interference so I was left wondering if this junk had caused the timing belt to slip just enough to make it sound knocky, but not enough to destroy the engine.

I tracked down a manual thanks to this excellent forum and checked the timing and it appeared to be well out. With the camshaft at it's timing mark the crank was almost 90 degrees from TDC. This could mean bent valves left right and center, but the engine still made power? I timed it by the pulleys then turn it over by hand and soon hit a dead end. At this point I seriously considered trying my luck with the dealer warranty. Being new years day I couldn't get a hold of anyone so I decided to wash those dirty thoughts out of my head with foamy beverage and do some more exploring.

I removed the camshaft cover as I figured a bent valve might cause the lifter to sit lower with a significant gap between it and the cam shaft. Checking back to the manual all seemed fine with the lifters and valves. What I did find is that the camshaft pulley was not properly aligned with the shaft itself. With renewed enthusiasm I set the timing by the camshaft and ignored the pulley, turned it over by hand 1, 2, 3, 4 revolutions clean as a whistle. Put it back together and it starts and runs as quietly and smoothly as it ever has.

I left the timing cover off, and it's still running with the same 4-ribbed accessory belt (just picked up the new one then =S). So apart from the misaligned cam pulley (can a guru tell me how much of an issue this will cause for the camshaft angle sensor?) on my motor our issue seems to be identical, even down to one rib tearing off the belt. I did a lot of reading before buying this car and was aware of the number of people with DPF and timing belt issues. I get over 80km/h on my way to and from work so I was not worried about the DPF and everyone with timing belt issues seemed to have done 75000+kms so I resolved to replace it every 60000kms as it's not that expensive or difficult to do yourself. To me if you are aware of a reliability issue, it becomes a maintenance issue. I do wonder how many of these "timing belt failures" were actually caused by this same accessory belt issue.

To wrap up this novel, I still love the car. To me it is the perfect compromise of suburban-car-park-ability and serious-weekend-escape-ability. I love the look, the ride, the seats, the torque, and the space. If I have to pay a little more attention to the motor to have that then I am happy to do so. I'll fabricate a new, gap-free timing cover; replace both belts and make sure nothing could be causing the accessory belt to fail early, to be sure and hope to sit back and enjoy the show. To anyone that took the time to read this, thank you for making my second day back at work have some purpose and I wish you a happy new year.

Just before New year, the wife starts the car in the driveway to go to work, starts and runs, warms up, and then switches it off. Comes out to start the car again to go to work - will not start. Turns the engine over several times, still will not start.

Yes, you know what I'm about to write next. On inspection the serpentine belt has split a groove, with the thread/groove going in through the cam belt cover to snap the cam belt, and jam around the inside of the pulley. How? The split trailing through the engine compartment at idle.

Apart from my culpability - there was wear on the serpentine that I should have picked up, it had a full service in march and nothing mentioned for attention, and the crap design of a cover that didn't cover, that left the engine for inspection. Quotes for a whole block, with or without turbos and pumps coming in around the cost of whole replacement secondhand car when adding belts lifts gaskets etc, oh and labour.

An obvious bent valve but a rebuild - replace guides and valves, and skim if required, pistons so far seem fine, will be checking crank etc.

BTW, that engine compartment is seriously cramped.

WOW.... Another 2!!.... Sorry to sear that!

Its happening to others! I knew it... But such is the design flaw, I'm not surprised!

Its been happening to many others in Europe over the past 18 years!


Mine is still sitting at the dealer, waiting for the reply from Consumer Protection to make Suzuki fix it.

I've decided not to sell it, I test drove another car, didn't like it & reminded me how much I love my GV.
I'll just have to keep a close eye on the serpentine belt, Change it every 40K or so...

 

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for sharing that rat.
I guess the name of the game is maintenance, and i'm glad yours had a fairly good ending.

 

Just before New year, the wife starts the car in the driveway to go to work, starts and runs, warms up, and then switches it off. Comes out to start the car again to go to work - will not start. Turns the engine over several times, still will not start.

Yes, you know what I'm about to write next. On inspection the serpentine belt has split a groove, with the thread/groove going in through the cam belt cover to snap the cam belt, and jam around the inside of the pulley. How? The split trailing through the engine compartment at idle.

Apart from my culpability - there was wear on the serpentine that I should have picked up, it had a full service in march and nothing mentioned for attention, and the crap design of a cover that didn't cover, that left the engine for inspection. Quotes for a whole block, with or without turbos and pumps coming in around the cost of whole replacement secondhand car when adding belts lifts gaskets etc, oh and labour.

An obvious bent valve but a rebuild - replace guides and valves, and skim if required, pistons so far seem fine, will be checking crank etc.

BTW, that engine compartment is seriously cramped.

 

i should change mine i have 70k on it now and a brand new spare in the boot. In mines defense, it should of imploded already givin how much stick its been through.

 

YES CHANGE IT NOW!!

Because before you knew this you would have thought, broken Serpentine belt, No big deal... But It actually IS a big deal, it can hit the timing belt & kill your engine!

Sounds like that's the key despite that there are apparently two design problems present. But, no accessory belt breakage = no problem.

For what it's worth under "normal" use the mid-2008+ FSM calls out a change of both belts at 75,000 km. Under "severe" conditions ("driving on rough, muddy or dusty roads") it's 30,000 for the accessory belt and 45,000 for the timing belt.

Sweet! That's very good to know, I'm going to change it every 40K I think.

 

Ive attached the photos the dealer took of my timing cover & belt being 2 teeth out.

The first photo he is pointing to the gap at the bottom of the cover where the fragment of serpentine belt got caught up in the timing belt & made it jump 2 teeth.

That do you think the chances are of making some sort of aluminium cover to fit across the bottom of the timing cover to protect the belt from broken serpentine belt fragments? :huh:

 

I have looked the images of that area in several documents and it seems to me the basic problem is that the accessory pulley seems to be mounted tight up against the timing belt pulley, so there is no gap to provide a guard.

The only option I can see is to cut away the plastic area (where the finger is pointing) and substitute a steel arc that runs very close to the accessory pulley flange, say within 0.5mm.

It doesn't help that the accessory belt is routed over the top of it's pulley, contrary to most other engines (that I'm aware of.)

Overall I don't see an easy solution and I think the best option is (as you say) monitor the belt condition carefully and ensure you have the splash panels (or substitutes) in place. The underside of the accessory pulley could be vulnerable to catching pebbles at the left, in the area where (I assume) the turbo oil drain pipe is.

If you get a chance to take more photos, take some with the plastic guard in place, and another with the pulley in place additionally so the gap can be seen.

 

Wow very interesting! & just as I suspected too.. Not an easy fix...

Yes I'll definitely take photos one I get the car back, thanks for the info!

 

An aftermarket accessory would be a must, even a factory fix/part, but I suspect thats not going to happen

Change the serpentine at 30k + km and timing 45k + km, each at 250gbp+ a time. We are talking engine removal, or the front of the car

Someone is having a serious giggle at the owners expense.

Thats 20k+ miles and 30k+ miles

Mileage thats easily done in a year, if not 18 months.

If I'd have known that I wpuld have laughed all the way to the Nissan dealer and asked to be pointed at the Qashqai's

 

If I'd have known that I would have laughed all the way to the Nissan dealer and asked to be pointed at the Qashqai's

.....which also uses a Renault engine with it's fair share of problems as well

Karl

 

Is there any vehicle that Renault do not provide an engine for?:lol:

My point is, are these other vehicles having the same problems will reliability that is appearing with GV's.

it would appear not.

guess I better keep walking past the Nissan dealer, heading for the Land Rover dealer.....

 

It is a common issue across the board in the motor industry, mixing and matching different manufacturers engines and transmissions very rarely works
I have owned way too many Suzuki 4x4's for the last 30 years and never had any issues, then again I have only ever had Suzuki petrol engines and Suzuki's built in Japan, not Spain, Canada, India or Hungary where a lot have been built as of late

It has always been well known that until Suzuki develops a diesel engine you should always buy a petrol engine (which will never happen with the diesel car engine being banned in Japan)

I work in the motor trade and trust me owning a Land Rover you will soon be on first name terms with their warranty department

Karl

 

Canada hasn't built Suzukis for awhile (unfortunately, being that I am Canadian). I have a 2012 GV 2.4 petrol, built in Japan. Verified by the VIN.

I was annoyed that they didn't offer the diesel here, but seeing this post eases my annoyance.

 

Hi Karl

Comments were meant to be tongue in cheek..

We got the GV because it looked good, was a switchable 4x4, big family sized car, high body height, good reputation for a tough old bird, couldn't afford a mercedes eurotank. It also suited where we live, and adverse weather, where my wife would have to get in to work, a 42 mile round trip.

I've kind of moved on from the anger/annoyance of the belt failure, and am stuck in to getting the repair sorted

Can the serpentine pulley be spaced out, to give room?

Can the cover be metalised?

What about 3d printing the cover in abs plastic, extending it down over the cam belt?

I know theres issues with a lot of stuff, but i'm sure this can be fixed

 

Hi Karl

Comments were meant to be tongue in cheek..

understood hence the smile after the Land rover comment

Im not sure of any modification to the Renault diesel to prevent further issues but plenty of advice here regarding servicing/belt changes etc here....

View forum - NEW Suzuki Grand Vitara (2005-present) ? Suzuki Forum

Karl

 

Main dealer prices, perhaps? I had all the belts changed on my 2001 Gv. That and an oil service was £550.

The Renault forums are awash with tales of woe about the belt issues; 'had to take the entire front of the car off' etc. But this is how stuff works today.

I do like the torque and economy of diesel engines, but there is a lot to be said for the relative simplicity of the GV's (later) 2.4 petrol, with 20:20 hindsight.

Especially if the current low fuel prices stay.

Re: Land Rover: yes, been there done that. Once was enough.

There are problems though appearing on Renault engined Nissans, for what it's worth.

 

Fyi... My GV is still at the dealer fighting Suzuki on the warranty claim.

Turns out now there likely IS engine damage, bent valves. They want to remove the cylinder head, they want my approval to do it, but I wont approve it unless its warranty. They say, they wont do the warranty claim until I approve the work...

I've handed it over to Consumer protection to sort out now.

Coming on 2 months... Serpentine belt broke taking off from traffic lights... Gave me bent valves. No Warranty!!

 

How many km's again Paul?. We all wish you well with your claim by the way.

All someone has to prove is the difference between normal driving and severe driving conditions. That will state when your belt should of been changed.

Book states serp belt change at 90k in normal driving conditions, and severe conditions, every 45k.
Either way it will drag out as usual.