Suzuki Alto Fault Codes

About the Alto

Sold from the year 1979, the Alto is a small family car built by the Japanese automaker, Suzuki.

Also responsible for the Swift, Jimny and Vitara, Suzuki is still enjoying strong sales from the Alto although it has changed shape significantly.

Its first generation had three doors and folding rear seats allowing the little car to carry more cargo.

Quickly becoming a huge hit amongst buyers, Suzuki physically could not keep up with the demand, but despite this, towards the end of this era of Altos, it became the best-selling Kei car (beating the formerly popular Fonte).

A second generation had a style change with larger windows and a more slanted angular appearance.

Taken from the GM M-Platform (which it shared with the Suzuki Cultus), the Alto added a new engine to its range, including the turbocharged version.

Adding a four-wheel drive platform to the model, Suzuki created a number of high-performance vehicles which coincided with the external upgrade of the chassis.

Currently, the car is in its eighth generation and looks quite similar to its predecessors and is currently built upon the lightweight HEARTECT platform.

There are now five trim levels with four passenger vehicles, and one van, these are F, L, S, X and VP. Some common fault codes for the Alto are:

• P0420 – Showing a low catalyst system efficiency
• P0443 – A generic code showing that the ECM has registered a malfunction with the purge control valve.
• P0134 – There is an issue with the unit reading oxygen levels incorrectly
• P0500 – Showing a problem with the ‘vehicle speed sensor’ this is usually seen when the PCM picks up wrong speed readings.
• P0171 – The air/fuel mix in the engine is too lean, meaning too much car is circulating.