Another Transmission Failure ?

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2k10kizashi
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:01 am

Backstory:

Car had about 100k miles on it before it started to make a loud grinding noise that eventually kept the car from even moving. The car was towed to a Suzuki dealer who dropped the transmission pan and examined the oil. They also did some other diagnostics and came up with two conclusions after finding out nothing looked out of place.

1. was that the transmission needed to be replaced.
2. they could factory reset the computer and see if that fixed it.

well, later that day they called back and said they were now certain it was the transmission because they found "shavings" in the oil when they dropped the pan. The quote was for 12k which was worth way more then the car itself.
after finding it strange i decided to get a second opinion.

Short story is an aftermarket transmission repair shop had the car for over 2 years and replaced PCM''s and Transmissions repeatedly. they tried both rebuilt and re-manufactured transmissions and nothing. they even had a few electronic "experts" try and diagnose the car and the wiring. still had no clue what the issue was.

the car will start and drive but the RPMs will not engage correctly at around the 20-40 mark ( i cant remember). which leads to a slow acceleration. eventually the car will die out and shutdown and need a tow. the system has been reprogrammed repeatedly over the course of 2 years and i now consider it a loss.

im currently out of country but i have someone just turning it on and letting it idle or drive around the block just to keep the car running. i plan to use it as a project car of some sort when i get back stateside. i'm not sure what else i can do. i heard about the tcms needing to match with the transmission and that may be the problem but the parts are getting harder to come by as the years go by.

if that is the case is there a way i can search for the PCMs and their matching transmission?
or is it really a technical glitch?

overall, i'm at a loss and any help/advise would be appreciated. Thank you.
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Ronzuki
Posts: 2382
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 5:33 pm
Location: Lancaster County, PA

I you want to keep it as a project car, locate a salvage yard, insurance totaled rear-ender that was functioning perfectly well prior to wreck. Yank the entire drive train, techno-non-sense and all from it, and put it in your car. Otherwise, off to the yard it goes. Unfortunately, scrap prices are still dismal.
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
old tech
Posts: 705
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 1:51 pm
Location: n/w pennsysvania

A little more info would be helpful for a correct diagnoses. Is the check engine light on? What codes do you have on the engine and transmission? Is the vehicle an AWD? If it is an AWD, there is a chance that the problem you describe could be caused by the transfer case. The transfer case has two separate inputs and outputs and if they somehow became locked together it could give you a problem. This would be easy to check by leaving the vehicle in park, lifting the front end of the vehicle, rotating the left wheel and the right wheel should rotate in the opposite direction with little resistance.

On the issue PCMs and their matching transmissions, I'll try to shed some light on that. Attached to the lower side of the valve body is a 2" square electrical box with one connector called a ROM. This piece causes the issue of sometimes not wanting to pair up with the transmission computer. This is easily remedied by just using your original ROM that was installed in your car the day it left the factory. Encoded in the ROM is specific information to that vehicle such as wheel size and other specific information. If you have no diagnostic codes on the transmission, then the ROM in your case is not the problem.

Let me know your findings on the above questions and what area you live in.
2k10kizashi
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:01 am

Ronzuki- that's the plan once i go back stateside. it's a beautiful car in almost mint condition with a custom stereo install and top of the line theft system and a nice set of wheels. it's a shame to see it go out like that.

old tech- there are no error codes until the time it bites the dust (after some driving). it can take a week or two of driving in normal conditions before it does that. it is an awd vehicle like you mentioned so i can give that a look once i return.
but as far as the factory equipment...they are long gone. the transmission and the pcm are all re-manufactured.
the program was done at a suzuki shop and the transmissions were ordered from different places.

one was even shipped from japan i believe. i can't count the number of transmissions that have been put on it so far.
but there are no check engine lights and it shows no signs of failure.

to shed some more light on the history- on the first couple of transmission swaps and the car not starting they decided to swap the pcm also. after the first pcm it still wouldn't budge and then they decided to get another transmission and pcm altogether and re-program it that way. the car finally turned and began to be drive able.

it has been able to drive ever since which in itself was a relief. they said they never seen a transmission so finicky before. and they were stuck on that scenario ever since. they decided to cut their losses and refunded me my money and told me to take the vehicle back. they wrote it off as a wiring issue but had 3 different independent experts come and try and to diagnosis it and come up empty each time.

i checked with one of them and they were pretty legit. they did custom wiring for a lot of project cars in the area. they left off informing me that for some reason or another the car wont hit the correct rpms at a certain speed.
one of the findings that ended up correcting was that the wrong voltage was being sent to the transfer case for the longest time. but after it was corrected they still couldn't figure out why the system wasn't engaging like it should.

suzuki on the other hand provided no insight as they couldn't find anything wrong with the car. the only thing they could come up with was to replace the whole transmission at a cost of 12k. now, im sure that would get it fixed as they can match the parts but at 12k that's not a realistic option. they also checked the wiring and found nothing wrong.

i have 2 years of troubleshooting that i have to dig from memory but if anything else you need to know ill be sure to try and remember. i live in the Houston area.
PallyBoy
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2018 10:14 pm

My daughters car has experienced the same problem as yours without the loud banging sound that initiated yours. It's a '10 Kazashi with AWD. I'm going to try what old tech recommended. Haven't done anything yet, since I don't have the resources at this point to change the tranny. However, like yours, hers is near showroom condition.
old tech
Posts: 705
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 1:51 pm
Location: n/w pennsysvania

You havent given me anything hard and concrete to go off of and I dont think you need anymore guess work. When you can , drive the car and write down how ,when and what temperature it acts up. Also I need dtc from engine and trans. I would like to drive this thing but Im in n/w pa. If you dont have access to a scan tool , have Auto Zone read them. Just the numbers are fine.
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