2004 Suzuki Vitara 5 speed 2 wheel drive

We have a Suzuki SX-4 and the former Suzuki dealers can still get parts.

We had a couple of recall issues fixed a couple of years ago.

bowalker: was it two or four wheel drive?

I towed a 1998 rear wheel drive Chevy Tracker, which is the same car for several hundred miles with 4 down with on problem. Perhaps the drive train has changed since then.
The Tracker was a very dependable vehicle and very convenient for towing.
I sold it to a car lot owner in Douglas, Ga and she sold it to an RVer in Pensacola, FL for a tow vehicle.

Oh never mind. I went thru the Yugo disaster and felt really bad for those owners. Hopefully this all works out for you.

Update
My husband and I took the driveline out in less than 10 minutes.
We want to tow it with all 4 tires down and this works for us
We have built hot rods and taking out 4 bolts are not a problem
AND we like our little Suzuki
I'm not worried about parts either
Thanks for all your inputs!!

Suzuki parts are available locally for me. I get from Auto Zone and O'Reilly's with in a day or so.
I guess it depends on what you need.

Bird Freak and Bucky,

The thing about getting "rid of it" is that they're very well built cars. The construction of my 2003 XL-7 is as good as our 2001 Honda Odyssey, and in many ways, MUCH MORE robust. It has been just as reliable over the years. And in snow, there is no comparison, of course. The XL-7 will just about go through anything. Also, seeing as they never gained the status of the Honda & Toyota equivalents, they were ALWAYS thousands of dollars less on the used market for, in my opinion, better built cars. Not great if you're selling one, but a real deal for buyers.

I haven't had a parts issue with mine, but, quite frankly, haven't needed that many. It needed an O2 sensor last year, and I got that without any issue.

A quick check with NapaOnline shows common parts (brakes, exhaust, etc.) readily available. So, I suspect parts will be around for quite some time.

These things were so underrated. Not sure why Suzuki was black-balled by the likes of Consumer Reports et al, but their 4WD models were second to only certain Jeep models in their off-road capabilities. The popular vehicles like the CR-V and RAV-4's weren't even close in off-road/snowy road capability, and they cost thousands more.

OP, I believe your vehicle is rear-wheel drive, correct? If so, if there is a drive-shaft disconnect available (Remco?), that might remedy the problem and allow it to be flat-towed fairly conveniently.

Good Luck,

~Rick

Bird Freak wrote:
Get rid of it. My buddy just trashed a clean XL7 because of lack of parts availability.

Agreed. Suzuki exited the passenger car market in the US several years ago. There are no dealers, and as sales to begin with were pathetic the used parts market is minimal at best.

Get rid of it. My buddy just trashed a clean XL7 because of lack of parts availability.

I am not sure when Suzuki changed transfer case and transmission.
My 2003 with mechnical transfer case owner's manual says two wheel drive is not towable four down.
Just sold my 2005 XL-7. IT had electronic transfer case, but two wheel dirves were not towable.
There was a separate section in the "05 for towing with wrecker.