10' Kizashi CVT FWD transmission update???

Ask technical questions or post on problems/issues related to the Kizashi under this topic. Symptoms and pictures of your problem are a good idea.
NOTE: Any car related technical question can be posted here.
tarheelmt
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2014 12:17 am

Hello all, I'm new to the forums and on my first post I would like to say that I think the Kizashi is a really awesome car! That being said, I've had some issues as of late with my CVT. I noticed within the last few weeks that if I do a lot of stop and go around town on hot days, my transmission will start to have a whine sound. I know there is already a post about this extensively but I wanted to see if any one else had heard of the solution that Suzuki's technical support told my certified Suzuki mechanic. After taking it in, the mechanic ran all the diagnostics on it and found nothing wrong. However he called Suzuki and they stated that the problem is it needs an update to the transmission which includes a deeper drain pan, longer dip stick, new gasket, and new fluid. They stated that the drain pan on it doesn't hold enough fluid and therefore on hot days or when the tranny is running hot on long trips, it is cavitating the fluid in the drain pan and sucking air up into the pump. This is where the whine is coming from. So therefore they say it needs this "update so it will have enough fluid to run correctly. My car has over 100k miles however my mechanic argued to Suzuki that they should be responsible for paying for this because it wasn't made right from the factory and there are no bulletins/recalls on it. Suzuki's tech support apparently became smart with the guy and told him absolutely not. I called Suzuki myself and got the same answer saying that it wouldn't be covered because it is over 100k. Has anyone else had this same exact issue and did you have any luck with Suzuki? Thanks!
tarheelmt
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2014 12:17 am

Also to add on, I had a loss of power on Friday, which was an extremely warm day as well. It wouldn't shift right in manual and had problems getting above 65 etc but after letting it cool off, no issues. Just some extra info as I've seen some other may be experiencing this as well from reading the other forum topics.
toebridge
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2014 1:39 am

2010 Kizashi SE with 19,862 miles on it, the CVT went out and cost me $1140 in towing to get it to a Suzuki dealer. Took 2 weeks to get it fixed under warranty.The dealer was great. Suzuki wouldn't cover any of the towing because it was out of the 3 year or 36,000 mile warranty, but the engine and power train warranty was still valid. Suzuki USA was very difficult on the subject, would not transfer me to a supervisor, and got very rude with me at the end of our conversation. After I picked the car up, I drove it 100 feet from the service area and traded it in on a Jetta SE Turbo. CVT Transmission is made by Jatco, a subsidiary of Nissan. In my opinion, I don't think the CVT technology
is proven. If the Kizashi had a 5 speed manual, the car would still be with me. According to the dealer, the CVT cannot be rebuilt and must be replaced at a cost of about $6000. Suzuki dealers are fading fast, and soon will be no more. Parts will be more and more difficult to find, and the price of the parts will reflect their scarcity. I should have gotten rid of the car when Suzuki pulled out of the USA market. Lots of luck to you with your CVT and Suzuki Kizashi. It was a nice car, but Suzuki just couldn't market their cars properly. - Toebridge
Bizzenn
Posts: 168
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2013 12:33 pm

Well let's hope my new tranny has these updates!
tarheelmt
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2014 12:17 am

Yeah, the dealer I took it to used to be a Suzuki dealer but is now a Mazda only but they still have their Suzuki certified mechanic. Altogether the total repair will be around 600 bucks. The new transmissions are ridiculous however I found a few online for about a grand. But it sounds like even if I got a brand new transmission, I'd still have the same issue because apparently this isn't a repair, it's an "update". I got the same lack of service with Suzuki's corporate office...they said they have no supervisors. Called back a few times and informed them the final time that I would be contacting the attorney general in my state in order to file a consumer protection complaint as well as the Better Business Bureau. If it was a repair that something broke I'd be all for fixing it myself because as they stated, it is out of warranty, but how is anyone supposed to know that the tranny needs an update if they don't inform owners. Hopefully others out there read this post and call Suzuki or if they are still under warranty can get it fixed before it is out so they don't have to deal with the BS I'm going through!
toebridge
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2014 1:39 am

I know you paid a lot of money for the car, and you probably still enjoy it, but my advice to you is to trade it in and get as much as you can for it when you can. - I was "lucky" and got close to 9 grand for mine. - Toebridge
toebridge
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2014 1:39 am

Also, you made an excellent point about informing customers. Apparently, the 2010 SE I had had 2 recalls - one for a glove box issue and the other was for a serpentine belt tension adjuster. I never received anything from Suzuki about the recalls in the mail. The only thing I received from them was a congratulation letter when I paid the car off and aggravation when I called them. Great customer service. Maybe that's why they're not in the car business anymore in the states. - Toebridge
tarheelmt
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2014 12:17 am

Yeah, I'm seriously considering trading it in, I'd say I won't get but about 4 for it, maybe 5, but that's better than nothing. I think the car itself is good, just like you said, parts are going to be expensive and scarce for it in the future.
User avatar
KuroNekko
Posts: 5170
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

Sounds terrible. What a shit-show a CVT is. Honestly, they are the worst thing in modern automotive technology. Horrible to drive, not as efficient as claimed, and unreliable. I'd probably want to get out of a Kizashi with CVT if I went through what you guys did. (But to a Jetta SE Turbo? Really? I thought you didn't want to see dealerships for problems anymore...)

If the solution to this issue is really a deeper pan, then that's not hard to do at all. In fact, I've done this before in a few cars. To replace the automatic transmission filter in older conventional automatic transmissions, you need to drop the pan. Sounds like this remedy for the Kizashi's CVT is merely that: Drain the fluid, drop the pan, swap it for a deeper one, install a new gasket, bolt the pan back on, and then refill. The new dipstick is necessary because the deeper pan will require a dipstick designed for the altered fluid level to read it correctly.

Truth be told, this isn't really a Kizashi problem, but a JATCO CVT problem. Having one in a Suzuki in North America just makes it worse. Much much worse.
I'm glad I have the 6 speed manual. In fact, I'd never take a CVT over a manual for it will not perform as well nor be as reliable and that's in any car.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
tarheelmt
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2014 12:17 am

the labor I think they quoted was 2 hours of labor, the parts themselves including fluid is around 400 total...but yeah, it seems like it would be an easy thing to replace, just don't understand why they didn't put out any info on this update to begin with...it's been 4 years lol.
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