There are 1 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 1 of 1 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)PUT VEHICLE IN REVERSE AND THOUGHT I WAS BACKING UP, BUT WHEN I PUT SHIFTER IN DRIVE, IT KEPT GOING BACKWARDS. I REALIZED BEING ON A DOWN SLOPE, THAT SHIFTER WAS NOT WORKING AND I HAD IDLED BACKWARDS. I PUT SHIFTER IN DRIVE POSITION AND CONTINUED IDLING BACKWARDS INTO A SNOW BANK. I HAD TO SHUT OFF AND RESTART SEVERAL TIMES AND IT EVENTUALLY WENT INTO DRIVE. I WAS UNABLE TO TAKE IT TO WORK DUE TO A POSSIBILITY OF CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. I HAD SOMEONE LOOK AT IT AND THEY THOUGHT TRANSFER CASE WAS THE ISSUE, AS THERE WAS A NOISE FROM THAT AREA. I DID RESEARCH ON IT AND FOUND ALL OF THE SUZUKI VITARA, GRAND VITARA, FROM 2006-2009 HAD ISSUES WITH TRANSFER CASE LEAKING AND THERE FORE GOING OUT OF COMMISSION. THIS IS HAPPENING AT VARIOUS MILEAGES, BUT PRIMARILY AT 100,000 -138,000. I AM WONDERING WHY THERE WAS NOT A RECALL ON THIS, AS IT IS QUITE OBVIOUS ITS A FACTORY DEFAULT IN TRANSFER CASES. IT IS ALSO A SAFETY ISSUE, SHOULD THE TRANSFER CASE GO OUT WHILE DRIVING OR MANEUVERING VEHICLE AROUND TO PARK, WITH ONCOMING TRAFFIC. I AM VERY SURPRISED THAT SUZUKI HAS NOT GOTTEN A LAW SUIT FILED ON THEM YET, FOR THIS DEFINITE ISSUE. I ALSO HAVE TO WONDER IF THERE WERE ANY FATALITIES DUE TO THIS ISSUE, THAT SUZUKI OWNERS AND FAMILIES, WERE UNAWARE OF AT THE TIME. THIS IS A FACTORY MADE AND DEFAULT PART. THE 2006 - 2009 TRANSFER CASE ON THESE VEHICLES SHOULD DEFINITELY HAVE A RECALL ON THEM.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.