[Paul82]

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!!

 

[Oldtrack]

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.

 

[Paul82]

It's done 54K...

No it doesn't matter the fan belt broke, they break on cars every day. The point is the belt broke & was able to get tangled up in my timing belt causing catastrophic damage. THATS The problem.

Even when I rang the dealer when it happened I said I was concerned about the timing, he said, oh you don't have to worry about the timing, the belt is sealed away behind a cover, nothing can affect it...

The next day he had to eat his words... The Broken serpentine belt DID effect my timing belt! There is a Damn gap in the cover!!

 

[SeanMurr123]

I'd recon they will say that because of the gap and the risk that a broken belt can cause further damage is the reason they set the service intervals when they did, to reduce the risk of it happening.

You are trying to claim warranty against poor design which isn't a manufacturing failure like what most warranty's cover.

You could also argue that because the engine was designed so the valves can hit the pistons if the timing is out that it should also be covered under warranty. There are some engines that are non interference but most choose a more efficient combustion chamber/valve lift and set their belt service intervals accordingly.

I'm not saying that it's not a silly design (and I have just changed my belt again after following your story) but I feel you are fighting a losing battle.

Good luck though.

 

[dantegigante]

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.

 

[Paul82]

The latest with my GV is, Im VERY Thankful of my insurance company RAC, in the end they decided to approve my insurance claim & pay for the engine repairs now, after dealing with Suzuki warranty & declining the claim, then trying to get Consumer protection to help me make Suzuki pay for the damage, they did a back flip & screwed me over. Definitely no warranty for me!

But in the end we went back top RAC, after they originally denied the insurance claim, stating it was a warranty issue. We went back to them, wrote to the BIG Boss & they approved it!! So very happy! (maybe they took into consideration I've been with them for 14 years??)

Anyway, finally the mechanic was able to get stuck into it & the total bill to fix it has come to $10500!

Still not done yet, they are waiting on some parts from Japan...

 

[Paul82]

Oh & it didnt have bent valves. The mechanic said; "The camshaft locating dowel sheared off when the timing belt jumped teeth,there was no damage done to the valves due to this, The head & valves were completely stripped & inspected & the head face was machined."


10 & A HALF GRAND for that!

 

[SeanMurr123]

$10500 is criminal!

Many years ago I had a timing belt break in my 300tdi defender with 70000k's and I was nervous waiting for the bill.
A new set of push rods , timing belt and 1 rocker arm was under $300 in parts and all up labor was under $500 including being towed from where it went bang! Needless to say it wasn't at a dealer..

I wasn't aware insurance covered mechanical. Is this an extra in the policy?

Good news though.

 

[Oldtrack]

It would have been a lot cheaper if Renault had have done the work.

 

[SeanMurr123]

I keep hearing that but I'm not so sure.. I had to buy a new afm last week and Suzuki quoted $650 and Renault $800. I bought it online from the UK for $160 delivered.

 

[Oldtrack]

Obviously Suzuki forgot to put a 1 infront of the 6