Absolute Disaster – Unacceptable Experience with a Brand-New Suzuki Fronx 2025

I am extremely disappointed with my recent purchase of a brand-new Suzuki Fronx 2025, which has spent more time standing in my garage than being enjoyed on the road. I bought the vehicle for my wife, expecting reliability and peace of mind. Instead, from the very first drive out of the showroom, the radio has been faulty, constantly rebooting whether Apple CarPlay is connected or not. On top of that, the wireless charger does not function correctly and overheats when attempting to charge a phone.

The very next day, I was contacted by the dealership’s marketing team for feedback on my experience with Suzuki. I immediately highlighted these defects. I was told the matter would be escalated to the sales consultant, who later called and casually suggested that I could take the car to any Suzuki dealership for assistance. Considering I purchased the car in Pretoria but live 3.5 hours away in Mpumalanga, this was already highly inconvenient.

When I approached Suzuki Groblersdal, the Service Manager was unhelpful and dismissive. Later, while in the West Rand for business, I took the Fronx to Suzuki Carltonville—yet again, another disaster. They kept the car for the day, only to return it claiming the radio “played the whole time” and showed no issues. Ironically, as soon as my wife got back into the car and turned on the radio, the fault occurred twice immediately. Their advice? That we should record videos of the issue.

We managed to capture multiple videos (despite the fault occurring randomly) and sent them through. Carltonville then admitted that we are not the first customers to complain about this problem. They requested we return the vehicle again, suggesting it might need a software update. After two more days, we were informed that the system already had the latest update. They promised to escalate the matter to Suzuki SA but later admitted that no paperwork had been started, because they “need the vehicle with them” in order to do so.

What makes this experience even more frustrating is the complete lack of accountability and support. There has been no effective after-sales service, no reliable technical assistance from dealerships, and absolutely no meaningful support from Suzuki SA.

This is not what one expects when purchasing a brand-new vehicle from a global brand like Suzuki. The ongoing excuses, delays, and lack of urgency are unacceptable.