[Tipper]

I’m starting to think the same,I was getting all the gears,the car was working fine but there was a ticking noise that matched the wheel speed when ever I let off the throttle completely.
It seems to get worse as the engine warms up.

I called the dealer and was told they would call me back but they didn’t and it’s closed now. I’ll be calling Suzuki again in the morning.

 

[The Ignis]

Just got my car back finally. She didn’t go into great detail but she said a fork in the gearbox snapped off 🤷🏻 They hadn’t heard of the issue before. They replaced a lot of the gearbox to fix it………..

Drove ten miles home and after the first few minutes I noticed a noise,a ticking noise. The problem is still there!!

Ive called the dealer and am waiting for a call back. Losing my patience a tiny bit.

Very disappointing! It’s unlikely that a selector fork had snapped. This would have caused a great deal of damage and it’s likely that gear selection issues would have ensued. I just don’t understand why Suzuki didn’t just fit an exchange gearbox. Gearbox strip down is a specialist job, very rarely carried out by a dealer. Personally I’d be very unhappy about a dealer dabbling in major repairs of a gearbox. It also seems, in this case, that the dealer has failed to identify the root cause of the issue.

 

[Tipper]

What I don’t understand is how they didn’t notice the problem was still there during a test drive. It does get louder as the engine warms up but I was about to hear it after 5 minutes max.

Looks like I’m going to be without my car for a considerable while longer but at least it’s all being covered under warranty without any quibbles.

I may take it to another dealer this time,faith has been lost!

 

[The Ignis]

What I don’t understand is how they didn’t notice the problem was still there during a test drive. It does get louder as the engine warms up but I was about to hear it after 5 minutes max.

Looks like I’m going to be without my car for a considerable while longer but at least it’s all being covered under warranty without any quibbles.

I may take it to another dealer this time,faith has been lost!

It may be worth talking to Suzuki Customer Services about your dissatisfaction. At least they can coordinate between your current and future dealer. Simply going to another dealer in this case may lead to blame issues. Personally I'd want Suzuki's area service manager to drive the car and oversee the repair and furthermore if this is a gearbox issue, to save time and potential further problems, I'd want an exchange gearbox fitted

 

[Tipper]

Just spoke to the dealer,I’ve got to go in next week to go for a test drive with their “master technician” so that they can isolate the noise then go back to Suzuki to figure out what to do next.

I have a feeling it’s going to be something simple and they’ll have spent all this time and money for nothing.

 

[The Ignis]

All sounds very fishy. You have the same ticking noise yet the dealer replaced a snapped gearbox selector fork which miraculously didn't cause extensive damage and gave you no issues regarding gear selection.

 

[Tipper]

Just got back from the test drive with the mechanic. It turns out that they heard a different noise to what I was hearing and fixed that 😂

There is a plate in the gearbox which holds in a bearing (I’m trying to find it in a parts diagram) this little plate has snapped and made it’s way through the gearbox damaging some of the gears.

Suzuki didn’t admit it but it’s obviously a known issue because the replacement part they sent had been beefed up. He showed me some photos of the broken part and the damage that was caused by it.

I don’t think they believed me about the noise but me and the mechanic went for a drive so that he could hear it. He has no idea what could be causing it but it’s booked in again on the 17th of Feb. The saga continues,im
Hoping they just give me the Jimny that was in the show room and call it quits.

 

[The Ignis]

Appears that the noise you first heard and is still present is a bit of an unknown pending further investigation. However the garage apparently heard a different noise which prompted them to strip the gearbox and they found a broken bearing retainer which had damaged other components. Yet the gearbox apparently performed normally! I presume the bearing retainer is item 9 on the gearbox casing drawing below. Personally I wouldn't want a dealer repair under warranty on a gearbox that had apparently been damaged by a lump of loose metal and indeed it would be more usual for an exchange gearbox to be fitted.

The biggest problem here is the dealer. You returned the car because they hadn't resolved the issue you complained about and instead of immediately continuing with the investigation and problem resolution, they've built in an additional 2+ weeks delay. On current form it will have taken the dealer the best part of 3 months to remedy a problem with the simplest of cars - it's just not acceptable.

 

[Tipper]

That's the one,part 9 on the bottom diagram. It's interesting that Suzuki are obviously aware of the weak link as they have re-designed it but told the dealer that they hadn't heard of this issue before.

To be fair to the dealer they did also fully inspect the gear box and replace any damaged parts, although it probably would have been quicker and easier to just swap out the gear box.

Im really not sure how they missed the noise I took the car in with,I described it to them,told them there were no other symptoms and told them exactly when the noise occurs. The car wasn't making any other dodgy noises so I am not really sure what the mechanic heard which lead to the gear box repair.

What Im worried about is some undiscovered damage causing problems further down the line,especially when the car is out of warranty.

What would you suggest?

 

[decro125]

Having already stripped the gearbox once, what do they intend to do when they have it mid February?
Surely the dealer should be arranging for someone from Suzuki technical to inspect/drive the car if they are uncertain what the problem is.

 

[Tipper]

The original sound I took the car in for doesn't sound like it's coming from the gearbox. It sounds like it'

Having already stripped the gearbox once, what do they intend to do when they have it mid February?
Surely the dealer should be arranging for someone from Suzuki technical to inspect/drive the car if they are uncertain what the problem is.

The original sound I took the car in for doesn't sound like it's coming from the gearbox. It sounds like it's coming from under the bonnet. When I take it back they want it for the day to try to figure out where it's actually coming from before they decide how to proceed.

 

[The Ignis]

That's the one,part 9 on the bottom diagram. It's interesting that Suzuki are obviously aware of the weak link as they have re-designed it but told the dealer that they hadn't heard of this issue before.

To be fair to the dealer they did also fully inspect the gear box and replace any damaged parts, although it probably would have been quicker and easier to just swap out the gear box.

Im really not sure how they missed the noise I took the car in with,I described it to them,told them there were no other symptoms and told them exactly when the noise occurs. The car wasn't making any other dodgy noises so I am not really sure what the mechanic heard which lead to the gear box repair.

What Im worried about is some undiscovered damage causing problems further down the line,especially when the car is out of warranty.

What would you suggest?

Firstly I’d want the car attended to now, not in two weeks time otherwise there’s no urgency and you’ll spend your life returning the car to the dealer,. I’d also want Suzuki technical involved to ensure the job was monitored and expedited and there was enough technical backup to ensure a correct diagnosis and remedy. I would point out to Suzuki my dissatisfaction with the timescale of carrying out warranty work to date.
There’s not much you can do now about the gearbox and it’s fortuitous that you have 18 months or so warranty remaining in order to prove the integrity of the repair. To allay your fears regarding the repair rather than replacement of the gearbox, I would be asking Suzuki to agree to replacing the gearbox should further gearbox issues arise.

I don’t know what to make of the gearbox failure. I’ve never heard mention previously, there’s nothing in the maintenance manual or TB’s regarding the failure described and certainly no mention in the parts list regarding the bearing retainer being superseded. There’s no point asking Suzuki or dealers if the failure has occurred previously - you’ll get the standard response that this is the first time it’s happened.

You made the point initially that as well as noise there was a vibration being transmitted through the gearstick. Has this vibration now ceased?

 

[Tipper]

I’ll give Suzuki customer care another call tomorrow,thank you.

The mechanic at the dealer mentioned that when he ordered the part it said that it had been superseded and the replacement was noticeably thicker 🤷🏻

There was an ever so slight vibration through the gear stick in time with the noise which has now gone and the noise it’s self is quieter than before.

It’s all very strange.

 

[The Ignis]

I’ll give Suzuki customer care another call tomorrow,thank you.

The mechanic at the dealer mentioned that when he ordered the part it said that it had been superseded and the replacement was noticeably thicker 🤷🏻

There was an ever so slight vibration through the gear stick in time with the noise which has now gone and the noise it’s self is quieter than before.

It’s all very strange.

I wondered a bit more about the broken bearing retainer plate and whether this was a wider issue. The original retainer, 24852-74P00 was fitted to all gearboxes up to 30th May 2021 manufacture and this was changed to part 24852-74P01 from that date - presumably this was the beefed up plate referred to above. Nothing else changed on the gearbox after 30th May so the two plates are interchangeable. Quite why the change - I've no idea but only 2 of the plates have been sold in the UK last 12 months. On the face of it - failure of the plate is a very uncommon issue. Given it's location, it's very surprising that the plate coming adrift didn't cause major damage to the gearbox!

 

[Tipper]

Car has gone back in today,I wonder what they will come up with next.

I have a Citreon C3 Aircross as a courtesy car.............meh.

 

[Tipper]

And Im back from the dealer again. This time they were advised by suzuki to change the gearbox oil for a "special oil".
I have to drive it for two weeks and then take it back if the noise hasnt gone by then. Im assuming they have just switched the oil for mineral oil to help bed in the new parts but that makes no sense as the noise was there before they replaced anything in the gearbox.

It sounds like total BS to me and I pointed out that I have now been driving this car with this unknown noise for three months so who knows what damage has been caused and what problems it could cause further down the line. The dealer didnt know what to suggest so I called Suzuki.

Suzuki said I could take it to another dealer for a second opinion which I am going to do. They said there are a load of notes about my car on the system so if there were any further faults related to this issue then she is sure they would take care of them.

What ever happened to getting to the root cause of an issue, attempting a fix and then testing to see if they fix has been successful?!

 

[2013GV]

What ever happened to getting to the root cause of an issue, attempting a fix and then testing to see if they fix has been successful?!

economics....simply put, it costs money and time. Better to guess, replace and let customers do the testing. Theres also a lack of skill involved too I think in some cases, listening to the customer also helps. I mean really listen, one word during a conversation can bring a light bulb on.
I hate it too, and work on a " no fix no fee" model in the majority of situations. Best advertising is word of mouth when it comes to repairs.

 

[The Ignis]

Thousands of Ignis cars utilise the original fill gear oil and the gearboxes are not problematic. It’s really clutching at straws to utilise anything but the recommended oil in an attempt to solve a problem. This is the sort of thing done 50 years ago when a higher viscosity oil was used to quieten noisy gearboxes and axles! I wouldn’t want my car used for experimental test purposes and would want the gearbox to be filled with the specified oil ASAP.

I guess you’re not going to progress further with the dealer you’re using and a change of dealer is the best course of action in the circumstances.

 

[Tipper]

It was Suzuki technical support who told the dealer to change the oil to this “special oil”,I don’t think the issues is actually in the gearbox,it doesn’t sound like it and the “master technician” said himself that it sounds like it’s coming from the engine.

Instead of actually investigating it seems like they have just called Suzuki,told them there’s a noise coming from the gearbox and Suzuki have told them to use magic repair oil that takes two weeks to work 😂

Hopefully the other dealer is a little more competent.

 

[decro125]

In case the special oil doesn't work Suzuki Technical will prepare a special running in additive otherwise known as sawdust.

My dealer recently referred my intermittent gearshift problem to Suzuki techs - their response was to "authorise" further investigation provided the customer agreed to pay. This is on a vehicle 12 months old!
How Suzuki achieve excellent customer service ratings is bewildering.

Good luck and persevere.