2006 Suzuki Forenza Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2006 Suzuki Forenza most often describe jerking, hesitation, false or scrambled gear-display readings and intermittent loss of acceleration, typically traced by dealers and independent shops to the transmission range sensor. A second common theme is the airbag warning light staying on, often tied to a loose connector or a seat-occupant sensor under the passenger or driver seat. Headlamp failures and stalling/no-start complaints appear less often in the sample.

1. 1
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Jerking and false gear display (range sensor)

   • 127 complaints (45%)
   • median 63,000 mi at 5.9 yrs old (111 state mileage)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $350 (median of 5 quotes)
   • filed 2006–2018

   Complaints describe hard or delayed engagement when moving the selector from Park to Drive or Reverse, a clunk or lurch, and the dash gear indicator showing the wrong letter, a scrambled symbol, or a letter with a line or X through it. Some owners report the vehicle losing power or dropping into neutral while driving and having to restart or shift to a lower gear to regain speed. According to the complaints, dealers and independent shops often diagnosed a transmission range sensor (also called a shift or gear sensor) and replaced it, sometimes more than once. Reported from very low mileage up to well over 100,000 miles, with many complaints in the 30,000-70,000 mile range.

   3 related service bulletins

   What to check: Test Park-to-Drive and Park-to-Reverse shifts from cold and warm, watch the dash gear indicator for wrong or scrambled symbols, and ask whether the range sensor has been replaced and when. A service bulletin describes an automatic transmission shift lever that is loose in the gate and a key that cannot be removed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “For approximately year prior to the incident date indicated on this form, 06/05/2012, my vehicle has malfunctioned sporadically in the way(s) I am about to describe. Since 6/05/2012, the malfunction has occurred and worsened every time I drive. Upon the initial gear shift from park to reverse, my Suzuki Forenza jerks. After the shift, the dashboard displays a p, despite being in reverse. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10478168, filed 2012-10, 71,086 miles

   “I have a 2006 Suzuki Forenza with less than 50k miles on it. The transmission range sensor needs to be replaced. It begins when I put the car in reverse.the car will jerk and the RPM's will begin to rev but car wont take off and when it does, it goes very slow for a while. As I move the gear into park, drive or reverse, the car will jerk through each gear. This began happening once or twice a month and now has progressed to at least once a day. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10359975, filed 2010-10, 46,000 miles
2. 2
   Air bags

   Airbag warning light on (seat sensor or wiring)

   • 58 complaints (21%)
   • median 42,000 mi at 4.6 yrs old (51 state mileage)
   • 18 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2005–2017

   Owners report the airbag light staying on or the passenger-side indicator showing the bag as off while someone is seated there. Complaints describe loose or disconnected wiring and plugs under the driver or passenger seat, and some say a dealer taped a connector or replaced a seat sensing mat or airbag component, with the light returning afterward. A few complaints describe bags not deploying in a collision or a driver-side bag deploying as the window was operated. Appears across the mileage range, including vehicles with only a few thousand miles.

   Recall 07V3150003 related service bulletins

   What to check: Switch the ignition on and confirm the airbag lamp goes out after the self-check, then have a passenger sit in the front seat and verify the passenger indicator reads on. Bulletins describe a warranty extension and a seat-bottom sensor mat that can develop a circuit disconnection from repeated flexing; ask whether that work was done.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Air bag light has been on since I purchased the car. I have contacted Suzuki several times regarding it and they say it is normal. Or I can pay to have it diagnosed. It is a safety issue. Suzuki customer service is horrible. I have signed myself up for a class action law suit.”

   NHTSA complaint #10555713, filed 2013-12, 33,000 miles

   “The check trans/motor light came on in my car .I made an appt. At Suzuki. It was on for 6 days. It went off, then the air bag light came on. It stayed on. I mentioned that there were loose wires hanging under my seat when I dropped it off. They said a wire came loose and that I should not put anything under my seat .I say that the wires are so loose that if someone put there feet under the seat, there feet could get caught up in the wires and unhook them. Then my airbags won't work, correct? …”

   NHTSA complaint #10200531, filed 2007-08, 27,500 miles
3. 3
   Vehicle speed control

   No acceleration or throttle response loss

   • 62 complaints (22%)
   • median 56,950 mi at 6.1 yrs old (58 state mileage)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2006–2018

   Complaints describe the accelerator pedal being pressed with little or no response, sometimes at highway speed, and the check engine light coming on. Owners say some dealers replaced the throttle body or a throttle body sensor, and in some cases the symptom came back after replacement; others report restarting the engine restored normal operation. Mostly reported between roughly 30,000 and 90,000 miles, at both city and highway speeds.

   2 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask whether throttle body or pedal sensor work has been done and whether any check engine codes were stored. Bulletins describe diagnostic procedures for throttle body and accelerator pedal position sensor codes.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “While driving the cars check engine light will show up. I lose all control of speed even while pushing the gas pedal in. The only way to regain control is to cycle the key multiple times and let it idle in neutral for five minutes. After I regain control the check engine light is still on, and the car will jump revolutions randomly. This will occur on both city and highway speeds, it doesn't act up unless I'm in motion driving. It will rev I'n revolutions while I'm driving or at a stop.”

   NHTSA complaint #11096941, filed 2018-05, 86,000 miles

   “The contact owns a 2006 Suzuki Forenza. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stopped accelerating. The vehicle was shut off and restarted ten hours later. The contact then noticed that there was a hesitation between gears. The dealer was contacted but stated that they could not diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 67,000.”

   NHTSA complaint #10533874, filed 2013-08, 67,000 miles
4. 4
   Engine cooling

   Stalling, hard starting and no-start

   • 82 complaints (29%)
   • median 50,000 mi at 5.5 yrs old (65 state mileage)
   • 6 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2006–2017

   Complaints describe long cranking before the engine catches, having to shift into neutral to start, and the engine stalling at low speed. Some owners say dealers could not find a cause or told them the vehicle would not start until a fix was available. Reported from near-new mileage up to about 90,000 miles.

   5 related service bulletins

   What to check: Start the engine from cold and note any extended cranking, and ask whether the ECM software updates described in bulletins were applied. Bulletins discuss hard starting with extended cranking and control module performance codes.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Within the first three days of purchase,started to have trouble starting the car in the mornings. Took the thing back. They have had the thing almost two weeks now. They cannot tell me anything about the problem. All they have said to me is you have a rental .”

   NHTSA complaint #10160312, filed 2006-06, 100 miles

   “I bought a Suzuki Forenza 2006 in 10/2005 and since february 2006 I've been having the same problem, 5 out of 7 days it does not want to start, I have taken the car to the dealer for the same thing three times and I call every week for the same reason, now they are telling me that they are aware of this particular problem with the forenzas but they do not have a fix for this problem and there is nothing they could do for me. We bought new so we wouldn't have any problems, and we are paying for this car. Please help us.”

   NHTSA complaint #10161375, filed 2006-07, 11,000 miles
5. 5
   Exterior lighting

   Headlamps cut out or fail

   Mentioned in 4 of 60 sampled complaints

   Owners report low or high beams that stop working, sometimes both headlamps going dark while driving and coming back after a restart. Complaints mention a wiring issue under the dash and a melted splice pack in the headlamp circuit, and some owners say a dealer charged for diagnosis before performing recall work. Reported from about 20,000 to 76,000 miles, during night driving.

   Recall 14V262000Recall 12V397000Recall 07V452000

   What to check: Check that both low and high beams work and ask whether the headlamp switch, daytime running light module and splice pack recalls were completed. Recalls on this model year cover heat damage in the headlamp switch and DRL module and a splice pack that can melt.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The headlights stopped working. I've spoke to the dealership and was told it is a known issue but there is no recall and I was 500 miles over the warranty when they stopped working. I do have high beams and have checked the fuses. The dealership service person told me it is a wiring issue under the dash board.”

   NHTSA complaint #10199565, filed 2007-08, 36,450 miles

   “The contact owns a 2006 Suzuki Forenza. The contact stated that his vehicle caught fire. Two hours prior to the fire, he took the vehicle to the dealer and they checked the dashboard computer. It was discovered that the computer failed and another one had to be ordered; however, the contact was informed that he could still drive the vehicle. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle began to smoke and the wiring harness around the blow motors melted and burned. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10257299, filed 2009-02, 34,000 miles

Buying note. A 2006 Forenza deserves a careful test drive: check cold and warm shifting and the dash gear display, confirm the airbag lamp behaves correctly, and ask for records of range sensor and recall work. Pending open recalls on the headlamp circuit are worth confirming as completed before purchase.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.