Car Safety Recall - Complete Ballache

I think recalls need to be done at a manufacturer's garage so they can be sure it has been done to their standard...which doesn't really help you at all, sorry.

I'm basing that on how it seemed to work 25 years ago when we had a car that needed recall work done on it. We had to take it to the manufacturer's garage for the work to be done and they wouldn't entertain the idea of it being done at the local garage (100 yards from my front door) as they were an independent.

If it requires an overnight stay or day off work etc you could try and ask for compensation? it's entirely their fault after all.

I'd be asking them to collect and return the car or find another solution.  Are they going to pay your ferry fares and petrol?

Doesn't look like it...

https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/tips-and-advice/101033/recalls-should-i-worry

It's pretty rough in your situation, but playing devils advocate, if every customer subject to a recall claimed a night in a hotel and fuel/food costs etc... it wouldnt really be financially possible for the manufacturer.

Can you make the best of it and use it as a city break for a couple of days? That's the best idea I've got 🙁

It’s pretty rough in your situation, but playing devils advocate, if every customer subject to a recall claimed a night in a hotel and fuel/food costs etc… it wouldnt really be financially possible for the manufacturer.

They'd reject 99.9% of the claims for overnight and fuel/food, as they are irrelevant/unneeded
Sensible and reasonable costs, like a customer who lives a long way from a dealer/authorised service location (doesn't always have to be a main dealer location, depends on the recall) will usually be met.

Source, i've been involved in recalls for several manufacturers/nameplates.

Best thing the OP can do is call the number/contact on the letter and ask.

Does the issue actually bother you

Keep driving it?

simondbarnes

Full Member

Keep driving it?

I would think it possibly depends on what the 'safety issue' is here. If it was me I'd want to get anything that the manufacturer is reporting as a safety issue fixed ASAP.

Would the car be insured if it was involved in an accident and the notified issue hadn't been fixed?

Don’t safety critical recalls get logged with VOSA / DVLA now? I would suspect only a dealer could update that info.  As above, give Suzuki a call. Shy bairns get nowt.

I have a car that has an outstanding recall, drivers air-bag could kill me if it deploys. So far we've had the letter saying it's due to be repaired but no timescale for the parts arriving and the repair!

To add insult to this the navigation software needs updating with a subscription that I have paid for. Instructions say use a 64GB USB drive formatted FAT32. The download is 16GB! This makes it a main dealer job whose service reception staff told me that if I bring the car in they will impound it as unsafe!

Thankfully we have a really good non-franchised specialist near the office who will get all my servicing business. I'm currently trying to get my software update fee refunded. One more go before letter before action time.

Assuming you were not born on the island and lived there all your life, surely one of the many things you took into account when moving there was the minor inconvenience of not being near as many facilities as there would be in a large town on the mainland?  So this type of thing should be of no surprise and all things considered, not a problem compared to the overall increase to your quality of life of living somewhere remote and beautiful, no?

64GB USB drive formatted FAT32. The download is 16GB!

I could understand it needing to be FAT32 if it's a firmware update, but otherwise...

The download is 16GB! This makes it a main dealer job

Why? Have you got shit internet?

Edit - been drinking, see the issue now 🙂

@Sandwich I can download a file onto SD card for you in minutes and post it. I have good broadband and loads of spare SD cards.

Properly daft thought, but why can't you download the 16gb update yourself? It might take a few hours and whilst it is doing that your connection might be a bit slower, but that doesn't appear to be a major issue to get the update yourself. Once that is done, can you install it yourself? If so, surely diy'ing that is the obvious answer. If it can't be installed by you then makes no odd how big the update is as it sounds like it needs to go in anyway.

Edit: sorry, I appear to be looking to argue - I'm not, sorry.

Thanks everyone for replies - I’ll give Suzuki a call tomorrow to see what they say. It concerns a vacuum pump valve in the braking systems and involves DVSA/VOSA.
Yes, we do accept that there are some disadvantages to island life - like rip off food prices, extortionate courier charges and businesses that don’t really appreciate you can’t just nip-out and sort stuff. Whilst we’re at it, to confirm we do have the internet - a genuine question someone from Basingstoke asked me.

@molgrips and @dovebiker The download is not the problem, there is a technical limitation on filesize with the file format. (4GB absolute limit, it won't play with ExFAT files). I have a file that I can't get onto the stick without some silly windows based trickery and a car that's likely to turn it's nose up at anything that doesn't fit the simple brief.

I had mine done in June this year (also a 2018 Vitara).

It was in the dealership for around 4.5 hours, which also included a wash and vac.

Fortunately for me, it was only a 30 minute ride to pick up the car when done. If you do need to stay overnight, you might want to factor that in for your stay and journey

Hmm, I don't think you have to copy a single 16Gb file onto a Fat32 card. It seems likely that someone's tested this process somewhere along the line, suspect there's an updater app (like I had on my last car) that unzips, or you can unzip the file manually as people are describing on the internet...?

You would think so, but the file size is due to it being basically unpatched for around 4 years!

Is there an owner's forum for your car anywhere on the interweb? I've updated my Vitara a couple of times myself, although it is a bit nerve wracking

But can't you unzip it?

I’ve updated my Vitara a couple of times myself, although it is a bit nerve wracking

Eugh. Stuff that for a game of sausages.
If theyre going to be doing software stuff, it needs to update itself.
Maybe not a full time 5G connection as youll get in fancy things, but at least a cheapy wifi chipset so you can log it into your home internet and it can update overnight on the drive.

@molgrips it's not zipped it's a 16GB bin file. All of the signs and junctions in the country along with the roads  between them. There's been a whole lot of effort expended on the damn thing a couple of months ago. (I do like a good software challenge)!

Every attempt was met by the car going 'nah' or the computer/download going 'nah'. We're well into I'd like a refund territory as the product was not fit for purpose (self install).

I've switched to after market android auto replacement screen which has better graphics and the navigation app mapping is updated 4 times a year for the princely sum of £26.