Airbag complaints by model year
| Year | Complaints | Share of year's complaints | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2 | 50% | 63,000 miles |
| 2012 | 7 | 54% | 46,000 miles |
| 2011 | 4 | 36% | 39,000 miles |
| 2010 | 10 | 50% | 62,000 miles |
| 2009 | 3 | 21% | 35,000 miles |
| 2008 | 12 | 29% | 40,000 miles |
| 2007 | 19 | 33% | 40,000 miles |
| 2006 | 50 | 31% | 60,000 miles |
| 2004 | 1 | 13% | — |
| 2003 | 1 | 3% | 15,000 miles |
| 2002 | 1 | 2% | 82,000 miles |
| 2001 | 6 | 16% | 85,000 miles |
| 2000 | 6 | 7% | 66,000 miles |
| 1999 | 12 | 11% | 86,000 miles |
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
The airbag system defect light went on and stayed on. The diagnosis from an authorized former Suzuki dealer (Lincoln of Wayne, Wayne, New Jersey), charging approximately $270 for the diagnosis, was that the occupant sensing pad including the bottom seat on the passenger side had failed. This particular part had already been replaced under an NHTSA-related safety recall campaign approximately three years ago. The replaced part had not previously actually failed, but now the replacement part has failed. Contacting Suzuki headquarters in California, I found that they were saying the replacement part needed is not in stock and if it were in stock, they would be charging approximately $2700 for the part not including installation. Please contact Suzuki of America and have them produce more of the part and fund a campaign to replace the faulty replacement parts. Thank you.
On September 12 2016 aproximately at 2:00 am my wife was impacted on the drivers side door waiting for the green light. The vehicle was at a stanstill when a Jeep late 90s model hit her full force on the drivers side door, luckily the fortification of the bar inside the door that goes across took the blunt of the impact and my wife only came out with minoir bruises and cuts from the drivers window. Neither the drivers airbag or the passenger airbag deployed and that concerns me because the vehicle wass estimated to be going around 40mph when it impacted my wifes car. Ive notified my local dealer where Suzuki vehicles are dealt with and its been said that since theres no recall theres nothing to be done.
Lleve mi auto a triangle Suzuki en la ave. 65 inf. Km 5.4 en carolina con telfono [phone] ya que soy el cliente # 29676 debido a que tenia las luz del air bag encendida. Luego de ellos revisar dicho Suzuki quien tenia el tag 5406 encontraron el cogin defectuoso con cdigo b1312. Donde ellos facturan la cantidad de $267.00 por la reparacin del mismo. Tengo entendido que la Vitara tiene un recall debido a air bags. Podran orientarme al respecto.
2011 Suzuki Grand Vitara. Consumer writes in regards to air bag recall notice and air bag malfunction during an accident. The consumer stated he/she received a recall notice regarding a defect with the air bags. The consumer began having problems with the air bag light on and off since the vehicle was purchased in 2012. However, the consumer was involved in a front end collision, and the vehicle was declared a total loss. During the accident, none of the airbags deployed.
My most recent inconvenience with my Suzuki recall tensioner was on 2/5/2020, I was driving on a busy highway in the rain when my vehicle's belt tensioner and drive belt came off of the recall tension adjuster pulley. I could not turn my vehicle, the alternator light was on, and engine light was on. I have been trying to get all of my recall parts for my Suzuki Grand Vitara repaired since May 2019. Royal Nissan baton rouge, is the company responsible for repairing Suzuki's recalls, but they have failed to honor its warranty policy causing me to spend over $500 in repairs that should have been repaired. The belt has slipped on three separate occasions , I had no other choice but to pay for a new belt tensioner because my life was at risk. …
Previous recall repair by dealer in 2014 (recall id code "vd") has failed again. This time dealer will not guarantee the work performed since it was done almost 5 years ago. Part alone is $500 (passenger occupancy sensor mat). Original recall notice and dealer receipt from 2014 is attached. Suspect root cause of failure not found or addressed in repair. Failure mode and trouble code (DTC b1312) are same as before. (air bag and passenger seat belt reminder light remain on).
We own a 2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara. The passenger air bag light keeps coming on. We have taken to dealers 5 times in 4 months. We are told we need to watch how we sit in the seat, and do not recline the seat, there is nothing they can do since no codes show up on the computer. They state the airbag will not work with the light on but can not fix it. It is intermittent sometimes stays on. Has stayed on at the dealers.
I received 3 urgent letters telling me my2008 suzuki grand vitara has an airbag recall passenger side and needed to be repaired right away. But SUZUKI only has a few dealers left and none close to me so I have to drive my children in this unsafe car. So I called the dealer and they said I have to drop my car off 3 hours away and leave it for however long it takes to be repaired. And they said they have no loaner cars. They said for me to.go rent a car and then I can get reimbursed but I cannot do that I don't have the credit card neede to rent a car so I'm forced to drive this car I'm a single mom and disabled. I cannot go one hour without my car. But the recall is not being repaired because of this and my passenger airbag light comes on and off when just l Sitting still. It scares me and is unsafe. …
Related recalls (2)
Air bags › Sensor › Occupant classification
Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (Suzuki) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Kizashi and 2006-2013 Grand Vitara vehicles. The front passenger leather seat may shrink due to high humidity and high temperature.
Remedy: Suzuki will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seat bottom cushion, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on May 3, 2019.
Air bags
Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (Suzuki) is recalling certain model year 2006-2011 Grand Vitara and 2007-2011 SX4 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, over time, the OCS sensor mat installed in the front passenger seat may fail due to repeated flexing of the mat from use of the seat.
Remedy: Suzuki will notify owners and dealers will replace the front passenger seat cushion assembly (which includes the OCS sensor mat) free of charge.
NHTSA investigations
Occupant Classification System Failure
Suzuki Motor of America is conducting a safety recall to remedy the occupant classification system's (OCS) sensor mats in approximately 193,936 model year 2006-2011 Suzuki Grand Vitara and 2007-2011 Suzuki SX4 vehicles (see NHTSA recall 13V-405 for more details).The sensor mat installed in the front passenger seat can develop an electrical circuit disconnection as a result of repeated flexing of the seat from use of…
Frequently asked questions
Which Suzuki Grand Vitara years have airbag problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2006 (50), 2007 (19), 1999 (12), 2008 (12) and 2010 (10) model years. Airbag complaints make up 31% of all complaints for the 2006.
Is there a recall for Suzuki Grand Vitara airbag problems?
Yes — 2 recalls, including 19V-187 (occupant classification, Mar 7, 2019); 13V-405 (air bags, Sep 6, 2013). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Suzuki Grand Vitara airbag problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 55,000 miles; 48% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the frontal (15 mentions), followed by the frontal › sensor/control module (5).
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.