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I own a 2004 Suzuki DF 250 and have experienced minor to major issues with this motor for the last three summers and I am looking to find a repair center in NW central Florida who can accually fix problems with my motor instead of wanting me to pay for items that might fix the issues.
The problem started 3 years ago when I got a check engine light and developed a rough idle. I took it in to a local Suzuki dealer in Lady Lake that I found on the Suzuki website as a repair center. Being out of warranty I knew the repairs would be up to me to cover but little did I know what it would cost me down the road.....
After 2 weeks the repair center keep giving me the blow off on finding a problem and that they were "working on it" and were about the nail it down. That afternoon I drove to the shop and demanded to talk to someone about my boat. Everyone there disapeared into bathrooms, office and broom closets hoping not to have to speak to me. Little did I know what the issue was until I walked to the back and saw the entire induction system sitting in peices on the ground. I was then told by the owner that there had been a slight "explosion" that had broken the collector while they were diagnosing the engine. He stated the motor needed a new ecm and that is what had caused the backfire that blew the collector off. He assured me that the Suzuki was going to warranty this issue as the ecm was part of an older recall and they know about this issue. 3 more weeks go by and they tell me they are still waiting for parts!
4 week, 5 weeks? Now I go down there again and am told the shop is not doing so well and they cannot pay for the parts up front from Suzuki as they are on a "cash only" list with Suzuki! After a thorough run down of my documentation with the owner he tells me to come back in 3 days and the boat will be ready. I come back, its done and I enjoy 8 months of trouble free operation.......
Same issue develops the next summer with low idle and check engine. Original shop is out of business (no suprize there) and I take it to a small shop south of me. They tell me the collector on my motor is all glued back together and they will have to fix this first before they move foward. Credit to them they call Suzuki and they cover the parts. That along with some adjustments are made and they found a supect connector. Boat runs fine for the most part other than a low idle at warm up. Use boat for 9 months and start having issues at mid range power. Here is a video clip to see what is happening: Suzuki DF250 mid-range issues - YouTube
Now I take it back to the last repair center that worked on it. They are very busy and only are able to do a leak down test in 2 weeks of having it. The leakdown on the rings was fine but I had a stuck exaust valve on one of the cyclinders. I decided to take the boat back home as I was considering selling the boat or repowering.
A couple of weeks go by and I spend a weekend decarboning the engine hoping to solve the stuck valve issue. Problem solved on the valve but engine still acting up under power. I now take it to a local Suzuki service center near the house as they stated they were slow and had time to take a look at it. A week later on Friday they tell me they will work on it first thing Monday....... Tuesday call....no word.....Thursday call..... Not sure what the problem is and "we don't git too many of these v6 motors in here" but we are still working on it.
Today they are telling my wife they don't have parts to swap out and try..... IE " We Don't Have a F&%$ing a clue what is wrong with your motor."
So now what? Suzuki is giving them a long laundry list of expensive proceedures to try as the ecm won't reset and won't go into IAC set mode. And even if it did I'm not quite sure it will address anything other than the idle. The main issue still is how the engine is stumbling and cutting out under power. My calls to Suzuki are falling onto deaf ears as the motor is not under warranty and I can't afford the 18k to repower.
Does anyone know of a repair center that can handle complex issues?
Should Suzuki help me out with this one as one of their own sponsered repair facilities fubared the motor from the git go?
I love this motor but why can't Suzuki get some qualified people to fix these things?
Any help, advice or contact #s to someone who could would be greatly appreciated. And if any Suzuki factory reps see this, please send me an email or pm as attempts to contact people at your company to help seems to fall on polite, but deaf ears.
The problem started 3 years ago when I got a check engine light and developed a rough idle. I took it in to a local Suzuki dealer in Lady Lake that I found on the Suzuki website as a repair center. Being out of warranty I knew the repairs would be up to me to cover but little did I know what it would cost me down the road.....
After 2 weeks the repair center keep giving me the blow off on finding a problem and that they were "working on it" and were about the nail it down. That afternoon I drove to the shop and demanded to talk to someone about my boat. Everyone there disapeared into bathrooms, office and broom closets hoping not to have to speak to me. Little did I know what the issue was until I walked to the back and saw the entire induction system sitting in peices on the ground. I was then told by the owner that there had been a slight "explosion" that had broken the collector while they were diagnosing the engine. He stated the motor needed a new ecm and that is what had caused the backfire that blew the collector off. He assured me that the Suzuki was going to warranty this issue as the ecm was part of an older recall and they know about this issue. 3 more weeks go by and they tell me they are still waiting for parts!
4 week, 5 weeks? Now I go down there again and am told the shop is not doing so well and they cannot pay for the parts up front from Suzuki as they are on a "cash only" list with Suzuki! After a thorough run down of my documentation with the owner he tells me to come back in 3 days and the boat will be ready. I come back, its done and I enjoy 8 months of trouble free operation.......
Same issue develops the next summer with low idle and check engine. Original shop is out of business (no suprize there) and I take it to a small shop south of me. They tell me the collector on my motor is all glued back together and they will have to fix this first before they move foward. Credit to them they call Suzuki and they cover the parts. That along with some adjustments are made and they found a supect connector. Boat runs fine for the most part other than a low idle at warm up. Use boat for 9 months and start having issues at mid range power. Here is a video clip to see what is happening: Suzuki DF250 mid-range issues - YouTube
Now I take it back to the last repair center that worked on it. They are very busy and only are able to do a leak down test in 2 weeks of having it. The leakdown on the rings was fine but I had a stuck exaust valve on one of the cyclinders. I decided to take the boat back home as I was considering selling the boat or repowering.
A couple of weeks go by and I spend a weekend decarboning the engine hoping to solve the stuck valve issue. Problem solved on the valve but engine still acting up under power. I now take it to a local Suzuki service center near the house as they stated they were slow and had time to take a look at it. A week later on Friday they tell me they will work on it first thing Monday....... Tuesday call....no word.....Thursday call..... Not sure what the problem is and "we don't git too many of these v6 motors in here" but we are still working on it.
Today they are telling my wife they don't have parts to swap out and try..... IE " We Don't Have a F&%$ing a clue what is wrong with your motor."
So now what? Suzuki is giving them a long laundry list of expensive proceedures to try as the ecm won't reset and won't go into IAC set mode. And even if it did I'm not quite sure it will address anything other than the idle. The main issue still is how the engine is stumbling and cutting out under power. My calls to Suzuki are falling onto deaf ears as the motor is not under warranty and I can't afford the 18k to repower.
Does anyone know of a repair center that can handle complex issues?
Should Suzuki help me out with this one as one of their own sponsered repair facilities fubared the motor from the git go?
I love this motor but why can't Suzuki get some qualified people to fix these things?
Any help, advice or contact #s to someone who could would be greatly appreciated. And if any Suzuki factory reps see this, please send me an email or pm as attempts to contact people at your company to help seems to fall on polite, but deaf ears.
It's an awesome feeling to know you have found a great repair shop!
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