Do I have a case against Suzuki???

[SoFlaEiger]

Ok, so I have my brand new Suzuki Eiger 400 4x4 AT.  The other night, I was in my garage working on the bike and cleaning it up.  When I was done, I was backing it out of my garage and turning it sharp to the right, slightly blurbing the throttle as to avoid hitting my truck.  All the sudden, I turned it harder to the right while giving it some gas, when BAM!!!! My THROTTLE hit the SHIFTER and floored my 4-wheeler into my TRUCK!!!!

Sunday when I was riding, I showed my friend Brett (yamaha660bsr) and asphaltdragon the way it hits, and I think that I may have a case against Suzuki!!

What do ya'll think?? Should they be required to pay for the damage and find a solution to this problem??

[LostCause]

only if it happens on other machines will you have a case.

[o4250]

You know how japanese pronounce suzuki


SUE-SUK-E

[GaryinSeffner]

It might be worth a call to Suzuki. Not sure how much of a case you have because it wasnt a mechanical problem. Maybe a design flaw but the bike didnt malfunction and ram your truck. If nothing else give your dealer a call and see if anyone else has complained about the problem. If it's only you then odds are not in your favor.

Not being a wise guy by why didnt you just move the truck if it was that close? I have a bad feeling that Suzuki wont care what happened to your truck.

Good luck to you anyhow and let us know what comes of it. Other owners would be interested I'm sure!!

[53yfz450]

ha ha thats funny sue-suk-e i got one for ya

[kawGIRL]

no

[big-daddy]

second that (no)

[dreth]

second that (no)

if you sue what did you accomplish other than drive the prices up and make more peolpe say they are unsafe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!think about it ! do we need more bad publicity?

[eiger_man]

sue your parents for not teaching you  proper hand to eye coordination, leave suzuki out of it!!

[SoFlaEiger]

sue your parents for not teaching you  proper hand to eye coordination, leave suzuki out of it!!

Well, I'll try and remember that, then I guess I should sue you for telling me to watch the throttle and the shifter instead of watching where i was backing up.  Next time I back out of my driveway, let me make sure nothing interferes with teh gas pedal on my car instead of checking to see if traffic is coming.

Your comment makes absolutely no sense.  If Suzuki flawed their product, they need to fix it and compensate people for damages.

I jsut thank God it didn't happen when I was on a levee or by water or something where I could have lost the bike and/or been seriously hurt.

And its easy for the other guy to say "why do it when it just jacks up the price" when you don't have a huge dent in door because they might possibly have a flawed product.

[Its_a_Jeep_thing]

MOMMA ALWAYS SAID... " Stupid is as stupid does"

[SoFlaEiger]

wow. I can honestly say im pretty shocked at the reaction of some people on here.  I'm coming to you with a potentially dangerous situation where an engineering error has already cost me several hundred dollars in damage and could cause someone else down the road a lot more if this is potentially a problem facing ALL automatic Eigers.

Yamaha660bsr and asphaltdragon have both seen for themselves the problem with this throttle/shifter connection and how QUICKLY the bike rips off in reverse without the riders knowledge.

For people who are so anal about helmets being in pictures and what not, you sure are quick to jump a guys bone for a problem with the bike, not the rider.

I bet those of you FOR Suzuki in this situation supported Ford covering up the explosive gas tanks in the pinto's in the 70's, because hey, it saves us some money  :rolleyes:

[dreth]

Do I have a case against Suzuki???

i appolagize if you feel that way but the above says to me that you want to SUE SUZUKI not HELP SUZUKI FIX A DESIGN PROBLEM! i never doubted that it is a design problem, i just felt that by your choice of words you were looking to get a quick buck!

i say you contact them and explain the situation and they might work with you  but to go in blazing with a laywer would just be down right wrong!

[Ida_Mann]

I remember a very reliable source telling me not long ago, that Suzuki has a problem with the throttle cables on some models that need to be tie-wrapped out of reach because they do just that.

now, as for suing,,,,give it up, it aint going anywhere.

Id@

[Kris_Moore]

My grandpa has an 03 suzuki eiger and it does the same damn thing. It has actually caused me to flip, on several occasions. The most recent flip happened about a week ago, I was trying to climb a msmall hill, but couldnt make it. So I started backing down, and about half way down the left front tire caught a root and snatched the bars to the right, and I grabbed the brakes. When that happened the throttle hit the Hi-lo-reverse lever, and went wot, which whipped the rear end right around and caused it to roll. On a different atv it wouldnt have happened, because even if the bars cut, when you grab the brakes it would have stopped.

Btw: I have never flipped or rolled any other atv, but I have rolled this one 7 times now.

[TRX350_On_The_Rack]

Should of bought a Honda

[jackinthebox23]

like Dreth said, call them and see if they'll work with you.  But you run the risk of running up some serious attorney fees if you take them to court and lose.  I'd bet it would be a lot cheaper to just fix the damage to your truck.  
Actually, I'd just leave the damage there...chances are that some woman driver will just back into you at the grocery store or something!   [smiley=Shocked.gif]

[TRX350_On_The_Rack]

I would talk to a lawyer about this after you find at least one other person having the same issue. Also check online for other people having this issue and see if there already is a class action lawsuit in place.

Also you may want to cut down on the drinking before you get on your quad

[kawGIRL]

Question...have you ever adjusted the throttle to be more comfortable? or your handle bars?
I know I do.
The same thing also happened on my Lakota while Jeff was backing it up.  But he is a big guy and the throttle hit his leg.

[shadow]

Lets rename this site ATV DRAMA!!!!

[TRX350_On_The_Rack]

LOL

[SoFlaEiger]

Ok, im sorry, I don't intend on suing suzuki.  I do plan on trying to work WITH them first to fix the problem and then if they refuse, taking it further.

Obviously someone else is having the problem because Kris Moore said he's flipped his several times because of this.  Good thing he was never seriously injured.

Anyways, thats two...anyone else have this problem?

And no, my throttle has not been adjusted or hte handlebars.  I just pulled the screw back so that it could run more throttle, but that doesn't adjust the design at all.

[dreth]

Ok, im sorry, I don't intend on suing suzuki.  I do plan on trying to work WITH them first to fix the problem and then if they refuse, taking it further.

im sorry too, if my words were mistaken! good luck and how much damage was done to your truck? in dollars.

[SoFlaEiger]

i'm not sure how much damage yet but it will definetly need a new door...that ding is nasty!  its about 8 inches long and 1/2 an inch deep...imagine running your hunting racks right into the door at full throttle with about 5-8ft to speed up and hit it...

ouch!

[KFXhead]

Sounds to me like a dealer setup issue. The atv comes with the handlebars off in the box & the dealer puts them on. The dealer should have turned the bars in all directions & tested the atv before it was delivered to you after the sale. The other thing that comes to mind is, you say you went 6-8ft at full speed before making impact Why didnt you just hit the freaking brakes? I will make a wager with anyone here that Suzuki says "You should have been more careful in a tight surrounding & hit the brakes"!!! It sucks when you make a boo-boo, but man up & accept that you did this not Suzuki.  You stated you turned the bars "harder to the right", my question would be to you as legal council for Suzuki, "Mr Eiger, at what point did you lose sight of the bars & the throttle lever when you turned hard to the right in you garage next to your truck in a very tight surrounding?" (case closed)My last suggestion would be to raise or lower the bars & check the location with the motor turned OFF. If the bars can NOT be raised or lowered to accomodate for this then you have an issue & the atv should have a steering limiter to stop this from happening or a relocated shifter. Good luck either way. Next time dont start out with the "case against Suzuki" part & I am sure people will not take it so hard, it looks like you are a sue happy type. BTW I am not a lawyer, but I do say at holiday Inns a lot.