Kizashi Problems

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.
mechrider89
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2011 11:25 pm

Hey guys/gal's I'm wondering if anyone's having any problems with their kizashi's?
I have a CVT AWD model and its doing a bunch of stuff like not starting and some of the clutch's in the transmission aren't engaging during moderate to heavy acceleration. Taken it to 3 dealerships across the country and of course on the test drive it never acts up but with in 4 hours after it does it again. The problems are causing me to get 22 MPG with slow acceleration and low speeds (that's highway mileage by the way, heven't figured out city mileage yet) Plus the paint quality I've noticed is junk, I love this car (wanted the manual sport version but the dealer screwed me with an AWD) But I'm VERY frustrated with mine and want to destroy it. I drive like a extremely cautious old person never tailgate or get close to other cars (never driven on gravel) yet my paints destroyed ($2200 in damage already) even with the "dealer" clear coat.

Is anyone else experiencing any problems mechanical/electrical/or paint related? supposedly I'm the only person in Canada to be reporting problems with the Kizashi model... True? I wanna find out.

and does anyone know how many special models their making? (turbo'ed versons)
Seen one at the last dealership, 373hp manual tran and it looks SICK nice.
~tc~
Posts: 999
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2011 3:33 am
Location: Houston, TX USA

CVT doesn't have clutches like a "normal" automatic transmission.

What is the car doing exactly that led you to that (incorrect) diagnosis?

What do you mean by not starting? There is a TSB out for extended cranking times.
2011 Sport SLS with nav Black Pearl Metallic
mechrider89
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2011 11:25 pm

It has a MULTI clutch system (one of the actual specifically trained kizashi techs even told me so) and they agreed my Diagnosis was correct, they checked the computer software and found no fault in it and said the mechanisms were probably slipping. But what its doing is reaching the rev limiter and not accelerating, it did it once when I first got it then around 25000km it did it every week now its doing it almost daily, virtually every time I have to pin it to merge onto busy roads. Plus when going from de-accelerating /stopped to accelerating its acting like a regular auto tran in the regards where sometimes it cant find the right "gear" so to speak, it just keeps engaging dis-engaging 3 or four times before it finally settles at a "gear".
And as for the starting problem it hasn't done it for awhile but when it does the engine just keeps turning over but doesn't fire. All you smell is gas, so obviously its a ignition problem, you can shut the car right off and try again but usually it still just keeps turning over, third time seems to be the charm.
I've driven this car enough to know when somethings wrong and something is very very wrong with it.
kdkiz
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 10:03 pm

I have got paint problems as well.Especially on the hood.I also live in canada but moved to California recently.Also you may want to check your rims for black specs,I have them an all 4 rims,and I went to the dealer and all the cars have them,its a defect.
mechrider89
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2011 11:25 pm

Have you complained to suzuki about your paint? My dealer wouldnt even look at it. where were you from in Canada? Toronto area?
Northernstar
Posts: 590
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 9:49 am
Location: Surrey Canada

my dealer repainted my car under warranty. i live in edmonton
Blackbelt
Posts: 167
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2010 3:18 pm

Take it to a different dealer. My transmission acted up in my AWD Kizzy and Suzuki gave me a new tranny, no BS, no problem. They even paid for my rental while mine was being replaced.
2010 Kizashi S AWD
2009 Suzuki SX-4 Touring AWD
2008 Smart fortwo Passion Coupe
2007 Dodge Caliber R/T AWD
kdkiz
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 10:03 pm

Yes i was in mississauga,they never said anything ,but I moved to cali,so I'm going to try to see if I can get something done here.
Megadan
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun May 05, 2019 2:09 pm

Hey guys I'm thinking of buying a kizashi with 225,500 miles with manual transmission. What do you think ? Oh it's a 2010 Gts sedan 4 doors
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5170
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

Megadan wrote:Hey guys I'm thinking of buying a kizashi with 225,500 miles with manual transmission. What do you think ? Oh it's a 2010 Gts sedan 4 doors
That's a lot of miles and the most I've ever heard of on a Kizashi. However, the manual trans doesn't have any vulnerabilities like the CVT so it should be fine. My only concern is that at that mileage, the clutch may be worn out and need replacing soon. You'll want to have a replacement handy and account for the cost of installing a new one. You may also need a new flywheel depending on things.

So while I think a high mileage manual Kizashi is as safe as any other reliable used Japanese car to buy, just consider that you may need to replace the clutch in short time. Make sure you pay only a few thousand for a manual Kizashi of that mileage. Honestly, it's not worth more than $2,500.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
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