New 06 Suzuki Forenza

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Hi all, about a month ago, I bought a new 06 Suzuki Forenza with a GM/Holden 2.0L I4 engine. It replaced my 1990 Mazda 929S that had 230k+ miles on it. I drove it about 1200 miles and had the oil/filter changed at the dealer because it was free. I noticed that the car specs 5w30, but the dealer used 10w30... no big deal I suppose, but needless to say it will not be returning to the dealer except for warranty work or things that I can't do myself. Anyhow, I now plan to drive to 5000 miles, and then start using Schaeffer 5w30. There is a local shop in town that has/uses that product. I will also switch to Pure-One Filters. Anyone have any experience with these GM/Holden engines? They seem to run pretty well.
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Not from what I've been reading. This line came from the merged GM/Daewoo line of cars. The engine is Austrailian manufactured, and the Transmission is Korean manufactured.
 
Keep us updated on how this commuting car and engine do. (I bet your doing the dreaded drive to LA?) anyway, does it have an automatic transmission or stick shift? Don't forget to go synthetic in that area soon too. You know, in the High Desert where you live and LA area, a 10-30 oil would be fine...I use it up here in the Cold/Hot Country.
 
Nope, no commuting to LA for me, thank goodness!
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It has the auto transmission, and it seems solid so far... almost 3000 miles on it now.. I've taken a few long trips.. Las Vegas and Reno, NV and gotten great mileage. The majority of miles it will be getting is city, but will also see some long trips too...I'm hoping that the Schaeffers will help out a little more in that dept, although I have nothing to complain about. Honestly I was going to buy a Corolla, but the guy at the stealer in town was a real jerk, so I left. Then I went by Honda, to look at Civics, but they were kinda outta my price range, so I went to Mazda, and was looking at the Mazda 3s.. I was not impressed, so I looked at this car and fell in love with it.
 
We just bought a Suzuki Aerio, and we looked real hard at the Forenza during the car purchase as well. It is a Daewoo built car, the interior is nice, and the quality of materials used in the car seem to be better than most cars in the price range.

However, during my research, I found that there have been some issues with some of the Forenza, Reno, and Verona that hasn't yet been solved. These cars seem to encounter electrical and ignition problems at relatively young age. Infact, one refused to start on the lot.

It seemed like just some of them encounter this problem. The owners without having to encounter these problems seem to be very happy with these cars.
 
Please keep us posted on this ride. I seriously almost bought a Forenza 1 year ago. I liked the interior/exterior looks, and the price was right. The financing was not, so I didn't buy it. I was leary about buying it due to the "mutt factor": Korean based (Daewoo) car, Australian motor, Japanese car company -- owned mostly by GM. There's also little/no aftermarket for these cars. I also haven't figured out why they do not put the 155 HP 2.3 Aerio engine in the Forenza/Reno? I still like the looks of them.

One more thing -- the EPA MPG was very poor compared to others in this class/engine size.
 
What I am thinking is OCIs at 5k miles or 6 mos which ever comes first. The schaeffers product looks like a very good product. I will be doing the same OCI with my 04 Tacoma after I complete this current OCI on Hav/5w30.
 
Ray,

Agreed... and I'm sure the dealers only buy bulk oil that fits the bill of most all of the cars they service, which is why I really don't trust people to work on my vehicles for the simple stuff that can be handled in my garage.
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I used to have a Daewoo and I loved it very much. Then a snowplow in Deleware plowed my car.

Anyways, The engine is reliable. I really liked my Daewoo, I've never had any problems. I've always used 10w30 in my engine and I had no problems.

GM Daewoo cars have no affiliation with Hyundai or Kia.
 
Hello! It's been a few months since I've visited.

Well, my '05 Forenza Wagon has just under 30k on the odometer. Aside from a minor few initial bugs, it's been rock solid.

The 2.0 litre Holden engine is a GM Family II model, originally an Opel design from the '80s, updated with fuel injection and DOHC over the years. The Holden plant is well into their second million of produced units. From what I've read it is a very durable engine . . . desirable for taxi service in Europe. The one weakness is the timing belt. To preserve your warranty, get it inspected every 30k and replaced at 60k. If you never break a timing belt, the engine should last about forever. If you break a timing belt, the engine will last about one revolution.

The ZF automatic transmission (German Design - Korean Built) is also a mainstream European design and is very solid. It's overlapping clutch design requires very precise shift performance. If you ever change the fluid, use only the factory spec fluid no matter what anybody tells you. You might pay upwards of $15 a quart for it.

My 2005 had some minor shift point and engine drivability issues. The respective computers have been flashed to the 2006 spec and now they behave flawlessly. The stalling issues on the Daewoo-built Verona engine have been overcome, and never affected the Forenza in the first place. The engine management system (computer) is made in the USA by Delphi. Whether that's a plus or minus in anybody's guess, but it is again a very mainstream unit.

The GM-Daewoo operation is the shining star in the GM empire. I think they made around a million cars last year. The actual car company has been around since the 1930's and have been affiliated with GM off and on for a long time. After they became part of the Daewoo empire, they were dragged into bankruptcy with the rest of the conglomerate. The cars have always been pretty good, they just suffered bad upper management under Daewoo and the car division was finally sold to GM and Suzuki. They are very common in other parts of the world, so it's not like the parts supply is going to dry up any time soon. Aftermarket replacement parts are now entering the US retail market. High performance parts are a little scarce. A company in Canada called 360 Dynamics used to import and/or make performance parts for Daewoo based cars, but they called it quits earlier this year.

The same basic car goes by many names: Suzuki Forenza, Suzuki Reno, Daewoo Nubira, Daewoo Lacetti, Chevrolet Optra, Chevrolet Lacetti, Holden Astra, and Buick Excelle (sold in China) to name a few. The Daewoo name hase been switched to Chevrolet in all but a couple of Asian markets.

The oil spec is a little vague, and is different for the same engine sold in different countries. My manual says that 5W-30 is good for all temps, and that 10W-30 is OK above 0 degrees F. This engine seems really easy on oil. At my OCI of 3,500 miles it's still almost amber. I experince no leaks and zero oil consumption. The engine is pretty understressed and just about any decent oil with a reasonable OCI should be plenty good.

The engine is capable of some serious horsepower. Chevrolet Europe is running this car in the WTTC racing series with the engine tweaked to something like 270 HP and it stays together. I think our underpowered Forenzas should be OK for a long time.

I've done a bit of reading. Anything else I can babble on about?
 
Thanks, BigAl... good to know the car stands up reliably... I did read that the timing belts need inspected at 30k and replaced at 60k.. other than that I really haven't heard of any first hand experience with these cars. What kind of oil/filters do you use?
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The original filter was an oddly numbered AC filter from Australia that isn't on the US charts. I have used the Korean filter sold by Suzuki, PureOne, AC Delco (Delphi AND Champ,) and an STP ECore I got free from Autozone. I have a couple of Wix filters in my stash too . . . anything but Fram, but they're probably OK too despite how cheap they look inside. I've mostly used AC Delco PF 47's. It's a GM car, so why not?

The engine does not require a filter with an Anti-Drainback valve, and the pressure relief/bypass valve is built into the oil pump, so the comparison of those features between brands is a moot point. A PureOne will probably give you the best filtration of the ones mentioned, but I think the engine is going to outlast the chassis no matter what you use.

If you haven't changed the oil yet, you're in for a real treat. It's best to access everything from under the right front wheel well. You'll need to remove a plastic splash shield to get good access to the filter. Before you remove the filter, you should shape a generous sized piece of cardboard to go pretty far back under the filter and direct the oil spillage away from a rubber isolator bracket directly under the filter. If you spill oil on it, it will run inside the hollow bracket and all over the rubber part and will dribble out for the next six weeks. It's such a pain that I would almost be willing to pay somebody to change the oil for me, except that they would probably spill the oil all over the bracket anyway and I'd be stuck cleaning it up.

OK, Rant over. It's really not so bad once you figure out how to prepare for the spillage . . .

[ September 08, 2006, 10:56 PM: Message edited by: BigAl ]
 
MysticGold04:

There is a Suzuki forum with a number of active members. I participated in the Forenza section for a while, but was disappointed with the level of discussion there . . . too much adolescent testosterone, plenty of profanity, and not enough real knowledge. You might find something wothwhile there if you look hard enough: Suzuki Forums
 
Well, I've kind of changed my game plan for the Forenza... We'll see... I plan to now change at 5k/6mo intervals with Havoline 5w30 and Pure one filters... Get an analysis, and see where to go from there, but I bet I'll be ok following this regimine.

I'm almost at the 5k oci mark on my Tacoma, and I bet I would be just fine following the 5k/6mo regimine on it as well with OEM filters. Can't beat $12-$15 oil changes!
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quote:

Originally posted by SSQ:
..Infact, one refused to start on the lot..

I wouldn't sweat that too much. I've seen many brand-new cars sitting in car lots not start due to dead or weak batteries.

quote:

Originally posted by kkreit01: ..I was leary about buying it due to the "mutt factor": Korean based (Daewoo) car, Australian motor, Japanese car company -- owned mostly by GM.

That's a pretty common scenario. Isuzu had the same combination from 1998+ on the rodeos. The 2.2 4cyl was a Daewoo/Holden/GM engine in a Japanese truck made in Indiana!

G/luck
Joel
 
Thanks Al!

I have registered on that site too, and and somewhat disapointed at the level of discussions on there as well... I noticed that some folks have had some starting issues with their 06, but I have yet to have ANY issues... and I now have 3500 miles on mine. Anyhow, I plan on fitting the drain plug with a fumoto as I have with my tacoma, and I appreciate the advice about the oil filter, as it has had its first change at the dealer. At 5k I'll put her up on the ramps and give it a try.
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Suzuki Verona is my favorite car when I rent one. I prefer it to the Chevy Malibus or Pontiac G6-s that Avis usually offers me. Although the G6 is a good car, Verona is far more comfortable and less noisy.

Quite impressive for a Daewoo. If I were not a CivicFan I would consider it if I were to buy a new car.
 
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