2010 kizashi sport model transmission 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.
murcod
Posts: 2279
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 12:03 pm
Location: Australia

The lower hp/ torque output of the smaller vehicle's engines would be a big factor.

Most transmissions are rated by the amount of torque they can handle. It's interesting Jatco don't seem to give any torque figures, only recommended engine capacity.... A strange way of rating a transmission!

Apparently there have been well over 5 million of the JF011E CVT's made (they started production in 2004):
December 2004 
JF011E, the accumulated production of the CVT attained 5 million for the first time in the world

Because of its fuel efficiency and easy mounting, this global unit is mounted on various vehicles from manufacturers all over the world, currently being produced in Japan, Mexico and China. In December 2004, JF011E was first mounted on Nissan LAFESTA. In July 2010, it became the world's first CVT unit whose accumulated production attained 5 million.
So it's an old CVT that's been around for a long time. http://www.jatco.co.jp/ENGLISH/monozukuri/first/ http://www.jatco.co.jp/ENGLISH/products/cvt/jf011e.html
David
bdleonard
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 4:39 am

murcod wrote:The lower hp/ torque output of the smaller vehicle's engines would be a big factor.

Most transmissions are rated by the amount of torque they can handle. It's interesting Jatco don't seem to give any torque figures, only recommended engine capacity.... A strange way of rating a transmission!
The JF011E is a 250Nm (185 lb*ft) transmission. You can find it discussed in a handful of JATCO presentations / tech docs. I think the bigger JF010E was rated for ~370Nm, IIRC.
murcod
Posts: 2279
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 12:03 pm
Location: Australia

So the Kizashi (at 230Nm) is right near the design limit.
David
User avatar
Apostol
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 2:44 am

I figured I would throw in my 2 cents regarding this issue. So we have 3 kizzy's, and live in AZ where the temperature is easily 107 in the summer. We all have the CVT's and have encountered what is considered the Fail safe mode (pretty much complete power loss). When it enters this mode it we safely slow down and pull into a place or off the side of the road. After about 10-15 min you can start back up and be on your way without a problem the rest of the trip. I personally have entered this 4 times, but I know when it's coming. This only happens when we go on long trips from Phoenix to California about 3 hours at 80 or maybe up north to Flagstaff.

My dad and I drove up to Flagstaff this last weekend separately and see if we both ran into the issue. My dad was perfectly fine and I ended up hitting the fail safe mode :( The only difference was that he did not go above 80 MPH and I who went up a couple hours after was going approx 80-85 with the flow of traffic. The way home I remained under this speed and was just fine. We only really encounter this during the summer.

Aside from that they run great, all three of us are getting really close to the 100k mark. I'm at 94k amazing miles, I will most likely keep this car for a verrryyyy long time considering the awful resale value and low interest in the car. I still love it, looks amazing, one of a kind, and get tons of comments/questions. Does the trick for me. :)
20140823_185734.jpg
20140823_185734.jpg (227.04 KiB) Viewed 8707 times
coref1
Posts: 213
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:06 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Firstly Apostol I'll have to say thats the meanest looking Kizzie I've seen so far, love it.

Recently I've been trying to find out if Australian and New Zealand Kizzie owners are having cvt problems but so far haven't found any evidence at all. Obviously smaller numbers of Kizzies sold in this region is probably one factor but when you mentioned travelling at 80-85 mph that has made me think of another possible factor.
In Australia we have the heat in summer but almost no roads we're we can travel legally at those speeds.
I'd be interested to know if the other Kizzie owners who have had transmission problems have also been driving at those speeds. :drive:
murcod
Posts: 2279
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 12:03 pm
Location: Australia

CoreF1, you just need to find the right roads ;) http://www.caradvice.com.au/303436/nort ... mit-trial/ The NT has apparently started reintroducing highways with no limits.

I found it interesting that the "safety mode" was triggered by high speed "cruising". I would have thought the CVT wouldn't be generating a lot of heat under those conditions (even with high ambient temps.) Imagine how well the trans coolers would be working with that sort of air flow- compared to stop-start bumper-to-bumper city traffic (with the same ambient temps.)

It would be interesting for a couple of CVT owners to instal oil temp gauges in the CVT lines- to see what was happening when they were failing. Perhaps oil frothing/ aeration could also be a problem???
David
bdleonard
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 4:39 am

murcod wrote:It would be interesting for a couple of CVT owners to instal oil temp gauges in the CVT lines- to see what was happening when they were failing. Perhaps oil frothing/ aeration could also be a problem???
The transmission already contains a temperature sensor, but I don't know the proper PID to query for the value. When I get some time, I plan to grab my scan tool and try to figure it out. If I go nuts I may drop $400 on one of the Chinese made Toyota / Suzuki factory service tool clones, which would make it easy to figure out. I've been thinking about getting one just for the sake of having it, and seeing what gems are hidden in the dealer service software.

Aeration is a likely problem when very hot, since these transmissions are very sensitive to over filling. The additional expansion of the fluid from higher than normal temperatures can be enough to push it over the edge. One Nissan "fix" is to fill the transmission to the lower half of the hot range on the dipstick, while at normal operating temperature. This provides room for expansion if the fluid gets hotter than normal.
User avatar
KuroNekko
Posts: 5170
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

Apostol,

You've got a real head-turner of a Kizashi. I really dig the look. The wheels and front lip really give the car a sporty look.
What other mods do you have on it?
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
User avatar
Apostol
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 2:44 am

@CoreF1 Thanks! She's come along ways.

@KuroNekko I really wanted to make it mine, they stand out on their own being Rare in AZ but I like to stand out more than normal. :P I have some more plans for it but from what you see is about what I've done to it.

I'll list out everything I've done, even the small things:

RRM lowering springs
The RRM Wheels 0207
Rksport hood
Rksport front valance (Front lip)
RRM rear diffuser
RRM short ram intake
RRM Catback exhaust

As for smaller things:
Carbon fiber vinyl on the 2 S emblems
Matte black vinyl on center piece between the front grills
light smoked tint to the Headlights and taillights
6K HID's for headlights and fog's (Helps with the tinted headlights)
light smoke to the yellow side markers, but I'm thinking of going a bit darker
Replaced the dome lights with a clear white (hate the normal yellow glow)

I feel like I'm missing something but I think that's it. Still more in store but I love it, everyone recognizes my car immediately. It's a pretty good feeling when car's 3-5 times more in cost give you a thumbs up while driving down the road. :D
Bizzenn
Posts: 168
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2013 12:33 pm

Does anyone know if there is an actual TSB for a deeper pan for the cvt fluid or a larger cooler. I've had my trans replaced once and there is no difference when it gets up there in temp. I'm playing phone tag with Jatco so I'd like to be able to present something concrete to them for a fix to this overheating issue.
Post Reply