What's Wrong with the 1st Generation Esteem?

Front 3/4 view of a Suzuki Esteem

The 1st generation Esteem (1998—2002) has 4 owner complaints, mostly about engine problems. Overall it ranks 4th in reliability out of 14 eligible Suzuki generations.

Reliability rankings are based on our PainRank™ system. A higher number means you can expect more significant problems. The average score for a Suzuki generation is 1.80, while this generation comes in at 0.24.

What Owners Complain About

Sometimes it helps just to tally up the complaints and see where the biggest stacks are. Use this information to learn about troublespots or to run for the hills.

Worst Issues

What Breaks

Years to Avoid

1st Generation Esteem Key Numbers

  1. 2 model years

    Grouping all models by their year can reveal some baddies.

  2. 4 complaints

    Running tally of owner grievances filed to CarComplaints.com.

  3. 4th in reliability

    Overall reliability rank out of 14 eligible generations.