A place for more technical discussions. Please make sure you post in the correct section on the site, this way it keeps the site tidy AND ensures you get a more relevant answer.
Suzuki NZ, who I originally contacted, asked me to get the vehicle inspected by one of their dealers. I did and said to the service manager I expected an unbiased report and that I expected a copy of the report. He said it wouldn't be unbiased and that I would receive a summary - should have walked away at that point, but stupidly didn't. Anyway the summary mentioned salt and sand being found, which was untrue, and the dealer wiped away the oily stuff that had leaked from the steering box - but I do have a photo of that. Considering taking both dealer and Suzuki to our Disputes Tribunal, like a Small Claims Court, but I need more evidence. Also to report the dealer to the vehicle industry professional association.
Warranty is 3 years, extended warranty is drive train only for five years. What we do have is the Consumer Goods Act, similar to the Sale of Goods Act which basically says things must be fit for purpose. What AI cam looking for is that the two failures are a known issue - but maybe it's just a Friday car. I've had a couple of off road vehicles prior this - a Isuzu Trooper and a Jeep Cherokee, both fir over 10 years, and never had problems like this
Suzuki introduced this model to the market in 2019, seven years ago, it's been hugely popular, and if the brakes were not "fit for purpose", there would probably have been a recall, there hasn't.
I don't see your chances of success using that approach as likely to be productive, especially since I think the onus is going to be on you to prove that it's not "fit for purpose".
Moving on, here's what I see as the cause of your pitted discs - the vehicle has been parked outdoors, in inclement weather, and left unused for potentially extended periods.
I live within two kms of the Atlantic ocean, my cars and those of my family are daily driven, at least Monday to Friday, but on weekends can sometimes be parked unused for the entire weekend.
I know from personal experience, that one rainy weekend is all it takes, and on Monday morning, I can hear the brake pads, rubbing the surface rust off of the discs. Leave that car parked for a few weeks or even months and that surface rust gets a chance to attack the discs.
It doesn't matter the marque or model, it doesn't matter the age of the car or the distance driven. All that matters is the cast iron disc rotors are sitting exposed to the weather long enough for the rust to pit them.
Last edit: 15 Jun 2026 10:44 by fordem. Reason: reword for clarity
My wife's car is an Audi Q3. It has covered 36,000 miles in 13 years. That's 10 MoT's. The last 5 have had advisory's regarding front brake discs. Each time I measured the discs and found them to be well inside tolerance. Eventually we found a specialist ( non affiliated ) Audi dealer who quoted for discs and pads but told her he would not do the work unless the wear warranted it. His comment was the wear was insufficient to justify the work. This saved Viv £520.
I used to have a testers certificate so I am well aware that there are unscrupulous dealers who will fill up spare labour hours with work from failed MoT work. Maybe our new member should find a different testing station.
