Two snapped cranks. Flawed service in authorized dealership. Suzuki does not care.
Hello from Germany. This is not usually what I do, but after 8 months of "nothing" with Suzuki, I decided to share this story. A cautionary tale, if you want.
About myself: Very experienced rider and ECU tuner / software engineer. Done engine rebuilds, built extension parts ... love tech and engineering. Hundreds of thousands of kilometers on two wheels, on and off track. Purchased 6 GSX-R1000(r) after 2017 (so they were all the same new model / engine). Five of them brand new bikes, zero miles. Authorized Suzuki dealer, authorized Suzuki service exclusively to maintain warranty etc.
About the two engines in question: 4 bikes were okay, bikes 5 and 6 identical failure: Snapped crank, rod bearing number 4, both around 55000 Km. Too soon. Not normal. No racing, public streets only. Original hardware, original exhaust-system, original timings / fuel mapping. Absolutely no suspicious noise / rattle / sounds of any kind.
Symptoms?
- Engine barely starting. Slight smell of unburnt fuel. Also sometimes engine stall (warm idle).
- Brought bike to the shop (Suzuki dealership where I bought it).
- Shop says: All good, your fault (?). Shop says: You messed up the fueling (???).
- I ask them to check the ECU and see that they are mistaken. Of course, they will not.
- I ask for them to check thoroughly. Of course, they claim "nothing is wrong".
When I take back the bike after the "nothing is wrong" inspection, it stalls in front of the "maestro" before I even left the yard. Maestro also elected to replace the throttle body, by the way. Because ... nothing is wrong.
Few days later (which was also a few days after warranty): Engine failed, crank snapped.
I am unhappy. But I think hey, I did what I should have done, Suzuki serviced it, they will own their "mission statement" and they will then find, that there was indeed a problem, to no fault of mine, and THEIR service-tech failed to identify and fix the issue BEFORE the engine got smashed. They will own it. They will be fair. After all, I know what I am doing AND I am a loyal customer ... and it is Suzuki.
Hell no. I was told by the service-tech, that a Suzuki-Tech had come out to see the bike and then declined any and all support or warranty or cooperation. Mind you, the bike was NEVER disassembled, which in my book means "they were staring at the bike and chose indifference without information". It also means, I will never know what the Suzuki-tech was told when he got there. But I can assume.
All I know is: From a technical point of view, I did nothing to blow up this engine.
I thought to myself: It is possible that I was just unlucky. Reports of snapped cranks exist, especially for GSX-R, old and new generation. So I chose to kill my anger and move on. New bike (exact same model, because I know it inside and out and it is a great machine).
But now it happens again, around the same mileage:
- Severe and sudden power loss under load (random at first)
- A LOT of fuel (and water) in the airbox (shop says it is normal, I disagree)
- Lack of torque
This time, I am immediately all over this. I remind the dealership of "last time". I say: Check this out. Fix it. If you cannot fix it, open up the engine (as one should) and we do an overhaul. Do NOT let this one blow up for no reason and then tell me it is my fault. YOU are servicing it, do your job.
Of course, the dealership refused to comply: Cannot be anything wrong because these engines do not fail. Cannot be anything wrong at this low mileage, must be you. You ride too much. You ride too hard. You, You, You ...
Unfortunately, I no longer have my own workshop or the time for a clean engine disassembly and overhaul. But what I easily found/fixed was:
- Weak fuel pump (replaced it)
- faulty injector (replaced it)
- faulty MAP sensor (unusual, replaced it)
- Faulty thermostat (unusual, replaced it)
- Lack of coolant (cleaned system and replaced it)
Mind you, all of this in spite of regular service in that authorized Suzuki dealership. But who cares.
So after that, the bike ran flawlessly ... for about a week. With more power available again, it soon blew up: Snapped crank, rod bearing number 4. Same behavior. Same smell. Same feeling, same situation, same outcome. Gotta hand it to the engineers: Precision.
So after a thereby messed up birthday and having the bike towed back to the workshop again, I was "mildly" aggravated. Calm, but no patience. I confronted the "master". Respectfully, but not holding back on my doubts and suspicions. Obviously, he had absolutely no idea how ANY of this could be their fault. Their (proven) failure to identify and fix the obvious problems was deemed irrelevant, their word matters not and their disrespect to push blame without proof was of course justified in his eyes. Oh and also my fault.
So what happened then?
- I demand engine disassembly to clear things up based on FACTS (I will pay of course)
- I demand a Suzuki tech be present, for all three of us to assess and conclude together.
Surprisingly, the shop master agrees now. So time goes by. I get a call: The Suzuki tech is scheduled, he will be here. Rod bearing 4 is gone. Yeah, I know.
I arrive to the appointment. The Suzuki tech is there. But the workshop master is NOT present and the engine is NOT disassembled, never was. So I look like an idiot and all I can do, is explain the situation to the tech while looking at the bike from the outside (again). Which of course has zero value, because the customer is ALWAYS the idiot. Also the tech has no power what so ever (his words). Also it is totally okay that the shop only uses mixed-blend oil in my 999cc bikes (without telling me, I found out by accident), in spite of Suzukis own recommendation (and common sense) to use fully synthetic oil (their Type 4 is fully synthetic). Whatever. Facts totally irrelevant at this point and physics be damned.
What then? I confront the shop master again. Ooops ... that is his response, for not showing up and literally being a ... for not disassembling the engine as planned, agreed, requested.
I had been a customer for years and purchased 5 brand new GSX-R1000 from this guy, so my trust was what kept me there. Big mistake. Sure, he would always blame me by default whatever happened, but usually come around when facts were presented. Not this time. Because this time, there is money at stake. A lot of money. And money, mind you, can reveal who people (and companies) really are.
So I take the bike to a different Suzuki-dealership. The guy there already knows "the other guy and his reputation". Within a few hours, the engine is disassembled. I take high-res pictures, we investigate. It is immediately clear that I would likely loose any case in court because of the circumstances, but I knew that beforehand (little guy vs big company and complex technical issues). This disassembly is for my sanity and reality-checking my own intuitions. Disassembly reveals:
- poor service quality, water in system
- Silicone in oil (sealant)
- Considerable amounts of sealant (and black plastic fragments???) in oil-intake, blocking flow
- Broken Generator-Rotor, snapped timing chain etc ...
- Cylinder, spark plugs, rods and pistons in perfect condition (apart from number 4).
- Cracked cylinder head on all cylinders, even without any piston impact.
- cams and valves in perfect condition, only mild wear (would be even better with full synth oil).
A simple overhaul would have done the trick and easily saved the engine. But no. Let it fail and then blame customer WITHOUT any proof. Because reasons. Because Ego. Because money.
At that point, I had already written to Suzuki multiple times, initially without making claims or complaints, just asking for cooperation / disassembly to clear this up, if a new engine was out of the question. They said no (what else), which was why I had it done on my watch in the first place.
After that, a few more messages to Suzuki (mostly been ghosted, had to write letters).
Suzukis response in a nutshell:
a) you messed with the ECU (they did NOT check, I said I changed fan-temps and idle speed and reduced max RPM for the second engine, first engine untouched).
b) Second engine no longer under warranty, I could have requested it for the first engine when it failed (they refused back then, so either the shop never asked or someone is lying / totally uninformed)
c) Images and feedback from disassembly / the other shop master etc: No comment.
d) Unusual nature of failure, given low mileage in street legal config: No comment.
e) Proof of flawed service and factually irresponsible behavior in authorized dealership: No comment.
f) Simple common sense and physics: No comment.
g) Mission statement: Totally aligned (their words).
h) Life expectancy for this engine under street-legal conditions? No comment.
i) What does "we have investigated" actually entail when the engine is never disassembled by you?? What did the shop-master tell you? No comment.
Facts:
Lubrication failure + weak material (thrust bearings, crank, head ... all overloaded in standard configuration). Interestingly, the "all new 40 anniversary edition" GSXR got a stronger crank, oil system, bearings. Weird ... as if they knew something was up. No, it cannot be. I must be wrong, still. And all the others who experienced a similar game with snapped cranks on a gixxer must be wrong as well.
Consequences of it all:
I was patient, I went through the proper channels, I was fair (disassembly and investigation BEFORE blame), I was / am not an idiot (well, I trusted the wrong shop and brand ... ) and I lost over 20k € on two otherwise perfect bikes. I also lost a long anticipated vacation. I lost the most beautiful time of year on two wheels, I also lost an entire summer (this year, still counting days) and I lost that last bit of faith in "certified" other people when it comes to servicing my bikes and actually owning their words and deeds. That last one will recover, I hope. We all make mistakes! Solutions can be found. But not with Suzuki here.
Suzuki, I would love to have a call but of course, that was never an option to begin with. All anonymous, all hiding behind text and corporate wording. This is not how any issue should be resolved. Let me ignore for a second the whole warranty thing: The fact that you will not even investigate in the face of obvious questionable events (no engine disassembly) is a farce. The fact that you honestly claim to have "thoroughly investigated" anything WITHOUT engine disassembly or presence when it then happened in another of YOUR shops, is not only unprofessional at best, but a testament to your real standards, all mission statements aside.
I do understand that "a modified ECU" on paper frees you from all and any obligations. Except: When YOUR certified techs screw up repeatedly, the ECU has nothing to do with it and you refused to help with the first (untouched) engine as well. When I send you pictures of sealant in the oil intake, hinting that there is a lot more stuck on the sieve and silicone particles way past the pump, it has nothing to do with the ECU either. And if you actually cared, you would have checked the ECU to find that nothing had been altered to even remotely cause a snapped crank (on totally standard hardware).
Nothing justifies your behavior, Suzuki. Other than corporate BS and indifference.
If anybody reads through this: The engine of a well maintained and well-ridden GSX-R1000r should not fail at 55000 Km, unless abused on track or short-distance only (loads of cold starts). If you have any doubts in case of conflict with Suzuki, lawyer up immediately and get your bike / vehicle to a "safe" location for investigation when dealing with Suzuki (and most other companies). Make your case based on facts, be thorough and patient, be present, try. Even if success is unlikely, do not let corporate BS run wild too easily if you can afford it. At least check your intuitions: Sanity is worth something and you will know better next time :)
Stress fractures in head, coolant most likely contaminating system.
Clean snap, crystal structure visible.
Destroyed rotor, broken magnets. Likely from shock / failed thrust bearings.
Verdict: Great engineers making great hardware for a company as low and dishonest as any other, when it comes to problems and claims. This used to be different.
I have documented all communication with Suzuki of course and if you want to know the workshop in question, I will tell you. A few images of the damage for reference. Enjoy summer!