One problem related to front suspension control arm has been reported for the 1997 Suzuki Esteem. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Driving along big timber straight at 40 mph then all of a sudden car started pulling to the right and started to shake, I managed to stay straight until I turned left to meadows rd. I made it home okay in the complex but was unable to use the car again. Next day looked at the under carriage and then noticed the rusted out sub frame (cradle) by the right (passenger) control arm. This car is garage kept if that means anything. Well this certainly is a bummer, I'll have to figure on how to fix this problem at a reasonable expense.