Frame Rust Problems of Suzuki Esteem

2001 Suzuki Esteem. Steering was suddenly off center so I had an alignment completed which fixed the problem. About 1 week later, while driving, the steering wheel became very off center again. A few blocks further (I was driving in town at the time, at slow speeds) the front passenger sub-frame broke. This caused the front passenger wheel to slope and the suspension to pull out from the transmission, immediately making the car inoperable. Had this occurred at highway speeds, I am sure an accident would have ensued. Fortunately it occurs as I was pulling up to a stop sign. I had it towed to a repair shop, where I learned that it was caused by the frame rusting through and breaking. While there were small rust spots on the bottom of one of the doors, the car was not at all rusty. Due to expense to repair, I sold the car to the horseheads, NY pick-a-part used car parts lot and purchased a new car.

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1) driving from alabama to ohio - alignment felt "off" 2) frame rusted and dropped near right-front wheel. While driving/turning 5 mph in parking lot 3) junk car.

The contact owns a 1997 Suzuki Esteem. The contact stated that the part that supports the a-frame was rusted in half. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but they could not repair the failure. The contact also called the manufacturer, but they could not assist. The failure mileage was 125,000.

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2001 Suzuki Esteem wagon front cross member frame rusted out. Consumer wants to know if there are any recalls for this problem.

Sole owner 2002 Suzuki Esteem wagon with rotted k-frame and rusted wheels. Suzuki will only cover k-frame part and dealer wants $390. For labor. Are there other Suzuki vehicles with reported rotted k-frames?. I've owned this vehicle since April 2002. This vehicle will not pass state inspection due to rotted frame.

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The contact owns a 2000 Suzuki Esteem. While driving approximately 10 mph, the passenger wheel went out of the alignment. The dealer stated that the passenger front sub- frame had excessive rust. Updated 05/20/08.

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I was driving my 2000 Suzuki Esteem home from uptown with my sister and 8-year-old daughter in the car when a noise which was faint over the last couple of weeks grew quickly louder and all of a sudden my car jerked to the right, practically out of my hands. I grasped the steering wheel as hard as I could just to keep the vehicle on the road. I was only traveling about 20-25 mph. I fought the difficult steering long enough at a very slow speed to get the car to my sister's house. I parked the car there and called my husband at work to explain what had happened and to come pick me up. As I exited the car, I noticed the right front (passenger's) wheel was shoved clear back almost into the back of the fender well. When my husband and a colleague of his from work stopped by later, they crawled under the vehicle to assess what the problem was. To his astonishment, the front frame section of the car had rusted through enough to crack and crumple backwards far enough to allow the wheel to move into the fender well. He said that I was very lucky I was not on the highway doing 55-60 mph, because the speed could have been enough to throw the tire back into the fender well hard enough to lock the one front tire, causing the car to lose control, spin sideways and possibly flip over, killing all three of us. It was only by the grace of god that we were traveling at a slow speed in a remote area where no other cars were around to interact with at the time. The car is currently at my sister's house awaiting a decision on what to do with it. A seven-year-old car with an average of less than 12,000 miles per year on it should not have a frame rusted through long before the body shows any signs of significant rust. I just had a full brake job done on the vehicle and thought that something was wrong with them still. Suzuki should recall these vehicles to install a sturdier frame in the front section, before someone does get killed.

I own a 1999 Suzuki Esteem, 55,000 miles, car is kept in a garage. My sub frame rusted in half and broke. The aaa person that towed the car, 2 mechanics, and every male I have told are appalled that this could have happened. My mechanic called fred martins Suzuki, where is was purchased, and spoke to the mechanic there. He was told 3 subframes had been fixed during the month of July, but no recall was made. This is supposed to be one of the strongest parts of the car. Fred martin Suzuki has informed me that nothing can be done , after all the car is 6 years old, not under warranty, etc. Do I have a legitimate complaint, seeing as this could have caused a fatal accident had it broken while driving on the expressway. Is this something to be expected of a six year old car? the car was repaired at the cost of $1,100. I do not feel safe in the car, but haven't the option of buying a new one at this time.

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