2012 Kizashi CVT issues
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 1:27 am
I hate to be the Debbie Downer here... I was very excited when I purchased my 2012 Kizashi Sport SLS AWD in December 2011. I drive a lot for work (roughly around 2000miles a month), and live in the North East, so I wanted a good snow car, that gets decent gas mileage, and has all of the gadgets (Bluetooth, streaming, iPod hookup, premium stereo, heated/powered seats, dual climate control) and I thought I made a wise decision buying a Kizashi. Initially, the CVT drone that everyone talks about drove me nuts. Being a car guy, it was a bit frustrating, as the car wants to struggle, instead of picking up speed. But, since 90% of my driving is on the interstates and turnpikes, I got used to it after a while. I only came across a few heavy snow storms this past winter, but this was the best car ever to drive in the snow(exaggerating a little.. lol). Anyway, 5months went past, and just about 9000miles on the car, I noticed that at the end of a 3hours drive, the CVT was whining very loudly whenever I step on the gas hard, and let the rev go over 3000rpm.
I called the dealer right away, and explained the issue, but told them that it only happens after the car was driven for at least an hour. They told me that there is a software update that they can apply it on to fix that issue (which was wrong. only applies to 2010/2011). So I took it in, and of course, they did nothing as the update didn't apply for my car. They said I need to bring it in when it is making the noise. Which frustrated me, because they are never open by the time I'm back in town in the evening. Fortunately about a week later, I found a chance to take it in while it was making the whining noise. A technician got in a car with me, and took it for a spin, and he heard it very clearly, the whining noise coming out of the CVT. They told me that I need to drop my car off for a week so that they can diagnose it. Well, pain in the a$$, but it's better to get it fixed, so I dropped it off for a week.
They called me back and told me that they attached these ear devices all over the chassis, and diagnosed that the noise was coming from the transfer case. And that they ordered one, and will let me know when it comes in. So they gave me my car back, and waited for 2 weeks before the transfer case came in. Dropped it off for a day, and had them replace it. I was very skeptical that it was the transfer case...
On the way home, my car started smoking a little. I thought, maybe they spilled some oil on the exhuast and that is what I'm smelling, but right away, the CVT started making the whining noise. By this point, the dealer was closed, so I decided to take it back and make them keep it until it's fixed, the very next morning.
I forgot to mention, but at this point, the car is 7mo old, and has 11400 miles.
On the way to the dealer the next morning, SNAP!!!! And I lost the transmission completely. Of course it had to happen on a hill, so I decided to coast it back down to a safe spot... called the road side service, and waited 1.5hours (not too bad) for the tow truck to show up.
I've completely lost confidence in my Kizashi. I drive long distance daily, and the last thing I need is breaking down in the middle of nowhere late at night. That's the whole reason why I bought a new car in the first place!
It's been 2 weeks since the break down. The dealer ordered a new CVT transmission, but they have no ETA, and told me it's on a "back order".
REALL?!?!?!??! Back order?!?!?!? What? Is everyone else getting their CVT replaced, that they are out of them?? what the &(*#&$(#@*&
Not only I don't want my Kizashi anymore, I really think the biggest issue is that the dealers are not getting enough support from the manufacturer. HORRIBLE SERVICE!, not because of anything that the dealer is doing, but because Suzuki isn't helping them enough!
I'm figuring out a way to get out of this vehicle, and going back to my Nissan. I've owned a Maxima, and my wife currently drives a Murano, and we love those cars. Plus, the dealer service is great.
Buyer beware. Warranty is only as good as the dealer's services. If the manufacturer isn't giving dealers a good support, the warranty work's performance will suffer. There are reasons why they sell so many Altimas, Camrys and Accords. Because so many people have them, mechanics are familiar with them, too. None of the guys at my dealer had worked on a Kizashi yet. Rare, cool car, sounded good at first, but not when you're getting it worked on.
I'm sorry this was quite long, but I just wanted to rant. Feel free to comment or ask me questions.
Thanks,
Spike
Pittsburgh, PA
I called the dealer right away, and explained the issue, but told them that it only happens after the car was driven for at least an hour. They told me that there is a software update that they can apply it on to fix that issue (which was wrong. only applies to 2010/2011). So I took it in, and of course, they did nothing as the update didn't apply for my car. They said I need to bring it in when it is making the noise. Which frustrated me, because they are never open by the time I'm back in town in the evening. Fortunately about a week later, I found a chance to take it in while it was making the whining noise. A technician got in a car with me, and took it for a spin, and he heard it very clearly, the whining noise coming out of the CVT. They told me that I need to drop my car off for a week so that they can diagnose it. Well, pain in the a$$, but it's better to get it fixed, so I dropped it off for a week.
They called me back and told me that they attached these ear devices all over the chassis, and diagnosed that the noise was coming from the transfer case. And that they ordered one, and will let me know when it comes in. So they gave me my car back, and waited for 2 weeks before the transfer case came in. Dropped it off for a day, and had them replace it. I was very skeptical that it was the transfer case...
On the way home, my car started smoking a little. I thought, maybe they spilled some oil on the exhuast and that is what I'm smelling, but right away, the CVT started making the whining noise. By this point, the dealer was closed, so I decided to take it back and make them keep it until it's fixed, the very next morning.
I forgot to mention, but at this point, the car is 7mo old, and has 11400 miles.
On the way to the dealer the next morning, SNAP!!!! And I lost the transmission completely. Of course it had to happen on a hill, so I decided to coast it back down to a safe spot... called the road side service, and waited 1.5hours (not too bad) for the tow truck to show up.
I've completely lost confidence in my Kizashi. I drive long distance daily, and the last thing I need is breaking down in the middle of nowhere late at night. That's the whole reason why I bought a new car in the first place!
It's been 2 weeks since the break down. The dealer ordered a new CVT transmission, but they have no ETA, and told me it's on a "back order".
REALL?!?!?!??! Back order?!?!?!? What? Is everyone else getting their CVT replaced, that they are out of them?? what the &(*#&$(#@*&
Not only I don't want my Kizashi anymore, I really think the biggest issue is that the dealers are not getting enough support from the manufacturer. HORRIBLE SERVICE!, not because of anything that the dealer is doing, but because Suzuki isn't helping them enough!
I'm figuring out a way to get out of this vehicle, and going back to my Nissan. I've owned a Maxima, and my wife currently drives a Murano, and we love those cars. Plus, the dealer service is great.
Buyer beware. Warranty is only as good as the dealer's services. If the manufacturer isn't giving dealers a good support, the warranty work's performance will suffer. There are reasons why they sell so many Altimas, Camrys and Accords. Because so many people have them, mechanics are familiar with them, too. None of the guys at my dealer had worked on a Kizashi yet. Rare, cool car, sounded good at first, but not when you're getting it worked on.
I'm sorry this was quite long, but I just wanted to rant. Feel free to comment or ask me questions.
Thanks,
Spike
Pittsburgh, PA