aerio knocking/pinging

[Aerio in Canada]

One of the pervious posts asked what the pinging could (will) do to the engine. Well .... a lot. ....serious pinging (detonation) will burn a hole through the top of the pistons. Sound bad yet??? ... Moderate pinging can cause compression ring failures, head cracking, burned valves and in weird cases .. bearing failures .... Oh just a pile of fun stuff, eh!!! And for those with environmental concerns ... a pinging engine is a dirty burning engine. Thats all we need ... pinging motors and the Sierra Club chasing us.

Basically it all comes down to this folks ...

Either Suzuki gets it fixed ... or we'll all be taking about what we were doing when we experienced our first catastrophic engine failure. Everyone has a fire extinguisher in their car?? If not. You may want to get one.

[Tim the Toolman]

Aerio in Canada,

There is a major difference between pinging and detonation. The Aerio is equipped with a knock sensor, not a ping sensor. If there were pre-detonation, the knock sensor would kick in and back off the timing… The pinging is not going to break pistons, ring, or burn the valves. Your car will still pass Air Care (or Drive Clean), so you know the combustion temps are not too high causing more NOX.
I had an ’89 Honda Civic LX that pinged on regular gas from the day I bought it new (was a very common complaint this model). It had over 220,000km’s on it when I traded it in (still pinging). It had over 300,000km’s the last time I saw it in Kelowna and the motor was still going strong.

My point is, don’t start worrying about it damaging the motor, it might annoy you, but the odds are pretty slim that it will cause any damage…

Tim

[Aerio in Canada]

Originally Posted by Tim the Toolman

Aerio in Canada,

There is a major difference between pinging and detonation. The Aerio is equipped with a knock sensor, not a ping sensor. If there were pre-detonation, the knock sensor would kick in and back off the timing… The pinging is not going to break pistons, ring, or burn the valves. Your car will still pass Air Care (or Drive Clean), so you know the combustion temps are not too high causing more NOX.
I had an ’89 Honda Civic LX that pinged on regular gas from the day I bought it new (was a very common complaint this model). It had over 220,000km’s on it when I traded it in (still pinging). It had over 300,000km’s the last time I saw it in Kelowna and the motor was still going strong.

My point is, don’t start worrying about it damaging the motor, it might annoy you, but the odds are pretty slim that it will cause any damage…

Tim

OK .... lets get this straight .... The dealers admit this is a serious problem ...Suzuki Canada is working on it offering various fixes .... It's VERY LOUD ... and you think this is acceptable???? I suggest you are dead wrong.

I know what engine knock sounds like ... just put an Aerio under any load on a hot day ond open the windows ....you'll hear it loud as HELL!!!! ....removing all the carbon seems to fix the problem for a short while .... and you still think its acceptable???? Are you a Suzuki employee?

One of the technicians mused that this could be a worse problem than Suzuki's defective timing chair problem on their V6 engines ... that one, he claims is a real nightmare.

I Know 2 people who have had their timing chains replaced under warranty ... one of them is on his 3rd chain ... both Vitara's are leased ... and neither is willing to buy the vehicle now because of this problem.

[Tim the Toolman]

Aerio in Canada,

You missed my point.. I was not trying to say that the pinging is normal, or acceptable (that's another issue ), I'm just saying it's not going to damage anything...

Tim

[iannicholson]

My engine was making sort of a knocking noise... Then it blew up... (No really, it spun the #2 rod bearing )

-Ian

[aeriosxny]

Engine - Ticking Noise
Section Title: Engine
TSB No. TS 02 12112

Division: Automotive
Category: General

SUBJECT
ENGINE TICKING NOISE

MODEL(S):
VITARA (SQ 420), GRAND VITARA (SQ 625), GRAND VITARA XL7
(JA627), ESTEEM (SY418), AERIO (RH 420)

YEAR:
1999-2003

CONDITION:

A condition may exist of a tick noise that is heard during cold or hot engine operation. The condition is most noticeable in a vehicle where the engine has not been run for extended periods of time. This condition also is noticed following lifter or camshaft repairs.

CAUSE:

This condition may be caused by oil drain down in which air may get trapped in valve lifters not allowing for proper lifter adjustment.

CORRECTION:

Perform the following procedure to purge air trapped in the valve lifters before any major engine repairs.

REPAIR PROCEDURE:

1. Apply the emergency brake and place the transmission in park or neutral.

2. Run engine at 2,000 RPM for approximately 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes has elapsed the air should be purged and the noise should stop.

3. Every 5 to 10 minutes check coolant temperature and instrument panel indicator lamps during the run time.

4. After the specified run time recheck for lifter noise at idle.

^ Note : If the noise is still present after performing above procedure locate the defective lifter(s) by using a listening device and replace it (them). Or remove the valve cover(s) with engine stopped and push lifter down by hand with a force less than 20 kg (44 lbs.) when camshaft is on the base circle. If clearance exists between the camshaft and the lifter the lifter is defective and should be replaced.

[ralphtaz]

Vic i have the same problem with my 2002 Aerio, have you gotten an answer or solution yet?

Originally Posted by Roof Top Pew Wee

Hey, all. This is my first post here, as you may see on the side. I just bought a 2002 Aerio a few weeks ago, and love everything about it except the gas mileage. Granted, the fuel gague acts funky, dropping 3 bars sometimes from time to time, then going back up, but on average, I am guessing that I am getting maybe 20 miles to the gallon.

Even more interesting is that I'm driving it EXTREMELY SOFT. We're talking slow start ups, neutral as often as I can, I anticipate lights and let off the gas coasting all the way to the light hoping to not have to brake and accelerate (annoying, I know, but for the test).

I'm kinda new to learning about cars, so I'm interested in finding out about the four things Aerio In Canada posted. Anyone have any reading or advice on this kinda stuff so I can fix my mileage problem? Thanks in advance,

--Vic--

Vic i hav

[Roof Top Pew Wee]

I changed the air filter, and that seemed to cure my low gas mileage problem. The gas guage is still funky, but oh well.

--Vic--

[brsexton]

My wife has a 2000 Esteem with the 1.8L which I think is the same as the Aerio engine. Anyway, the car has 67k and has been a great car. Since new, it has always seem to ping just a bit, but over the past few months, it is getting worse. The car has always been maintained by Suzuki. I don't want the pinging to damage this car and was wondering what I need to do to remove the carbon? I have seen that seafoam works great, but I have no idea which hose to use to suck it into the engine. Has anyone tried any of these carbon cleaners on their suzuki?

[carterjnw503]

I am curious how adjusting the timing of these engines (5 degrees advanced) is a fix, considering I just began researching these vehicles and stumbled across the below info.

"Low-maintenance features ensure that the Aerioís engine will be easy to live with. (Self-adjusting high-strength timing chains run in a continuous oil bath and never need routine service or replacement.) Compared to rubber timing belts used on most competitorsí engines, the Suzuki system saves their costly replacement. The valves adjust themselves automatically"

I'm wondering Particularly about the self adjusting timing belt design.

If you advanced the timing to where its supposed stay in the first place then would it eventually readjust itself out of whack again? Or did it just happen to be in the process of correcting itself when the dealer checked it? How much does it drift out before self correcting?

My point is if the timing truly self adjusted then it should never be out (unless its in the process of correcting itself) or need adjusting unless its design, or some mechanical component, fails.

Does anyone know how often the the dealer recomends replacing timing chains for this vehicle?

The quotation above found at the following link claims never.
http://www.hispanianews.com/archive/2003/05/15/06.htm

Does anyone know if Suzuki also makes this claim? If so then why are Suzuki mechanics making timing belt adjustments? Wouldn't they be aware of this.

Am I missing something?