Kizashi Club

So Kitsune has started making this noise from her rear when I take some sharp turns, like something heavy is sliding around the trunk, even though I don't have anything back there besides a couple of empty shopping bags. Is it possible that the rear shocks/ mounts need replacing? It's kinda been on my todo list for a while, but the bump stops always seemed to be in decent condition when I would look up at them, so I've kinda just been putting it off. The noise has finally started to become something of a nuisance, and my family is planning on taking a trip to Colorado at the end of October, so I'm trying to figure out if I need to tune up the suspension before we go.

Thanks!

I recently swapped out a few rear suspension parts. Not sure what it could be by your description but in my experience, the one worn out part that caused the most noise was the anti-sway bar bushings...which could make sense since it's while cornering that the anti-sway bar is doing the most work. (It's also the easiest thing to change if you're going to start swapping parts!) Seemed too simple for the noises I had so they were the last things I replaced when they should have been the first! Also to consider while you're poking around back there, If you haven't seen the posts on here already, there has been discussion about the shock mount on the top of the rear shocks rotting out. Mine were fine but they seem to corrode in areas where they salt roads. Oh, and if your shock top mounts do need to be replaced, they are one of the more difficult items to find for our cars.

If you are going under the car to replace the rear sway bar bushings, you might as well replace the sway bar end links too. These parts are cheap and easy to replace. I have some aftermarket Moogs which are considerably beefier than the OE end links and also feature grease nipples to re-grease the fittings as needed.

Thanks guys! I'll check out the sway bar end links and bushings tomorrow. If those might be the culprits, that'd be great as those are a lot cheaper and easier to replace than the shocks.

We found a petrified lemon (fell out of a grocery bag at some point eons ago apparently) rolling around in a little plastic nook, I didn't even know was there in the back of the wife's SX4, after months of trying to figure out what 'that occasional noise' was. Just sayin'. Amazing how sounds travel through a car. Sounded like it was coming from the left rear shock's upper mount.

KansasKid wrote: ↑Fri Sep 24, 2021 4:51 am Thanks guys! I'll check out the sway bar end links and bushings tomorrow. If those might be the culprits, that'd be great as those are a lot cheaper and easier to replace than the shocks.

Now having replaced all the end links, all noises from my suspension and chassis are gone. The end links were the culprits of a creaking noise while making slow sharp turns.
That being said, the corrosion of the rear end link nuts/bolts made them far more difficult to deal with than the shocks I replaced at an earlier time. Bad end links make a creaking noise at sharp turns similar to bad sway bar bushings. However, the sway bar bushings creak far more often from normal driving than the end links, in my experience. Loose end links will clank around rather obviously even if they look and feel tight but are not torqued down.

Lastly, as Ronzuki exemplified, it's a good idea to occasionally check all the nooks and under the trunk floor to look for anything loose in the spare wheel well.

Ronzuki wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:21 am We found a petrified lemon (fell out of a grocery bag at some point eons ago apparently) rolling around in a little plastic nook, I didn't even know was there in the back of the wife's SX4, after months of trying to figure out what 'that occasional noise' was. Just sayin'. Amazing how sounds travel through a car. Sounded like it was coming from the left rear shock's upper mount.

LOL! Gives a whole new twist to 'car is a lemon'

Glad you were able to figure out the issue and thank you for posting the solution! At some point, we will each find this thread and be thankful the fix is this easy.

KuroNekko wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:44 pm Lastly, as Ronzuki exemplified, it's a good idea to occasionally check all the nooks and under the trunk floor to look for anything loose in the spare wheel well.

I can’t contribute anything of help to this thread, but I wanted to say that when I looked under the trunk mat and in the spare wheel well (which on my ‘13 is sort of empty because that MY didn’t get a spare) the previous owner left behind a business card (youth softball/baseball coach I think) and a ton of sunflower seed kernels. I’m assuming it was his card, anyway. Weird to put a face and name to the [expletive] who didn’t take much care of the Kizashi before I got it.
Anyone else find something unusual in the spare wheel well? Lol.

Jimmy Hoffa.

KlutzNinja wrote: ↑Sun Dec 05, 2021 11:22 pm

KuroNekko wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:44 pm Lastly, as Ronzuki exemplified, it's a good idea to occasionally check all the nooks and under the trunk floor to look for anything loose in the spare wheel well.

I can’t contribute anything of help to this thread, but I wanted to say that when I looked under the trunk mat and in the spare wheel well (which on my ‘13 is sort of empty because that MY didn’t get a spare) the previous owner left behind a business card (youth softball/baseball coach I think) and a ton of sunflower seed kernels. I’m assuming it was his card, anyway. Weird to put a face and name to the [expletive] who didn’t take much care of the Kizashi before I got it.
Anyone else find something unusual in the spare wheel well? Lol.

Thankfully, the previous owner of my then-1 year-old, 7,500 mile Kizashi appeared to be a car guy. Under the trunk in the spare tire caddy, there was an unopened Suzuki first aid kit and a set of gloves and a beanie. The previous owner also got the floor and trunk mats in addition to installing HID kits in the fog lights and low beams. The windows also had limo tint (5%) when I bought it. I had to remove the tint for my state inspection and eventually replaced the HID components to higher quality parts from Morimoto but I appreciate the former owner for the accessories and keeping it clean for the brief time they owned it.

Whenever I buy a used car, I check the spare tire area thoroughly to make sure all the parts are there for changing a flat tire so I come across any personal items that were placed or slipped through there. I've found some cool stuff over time. I once found a neat pocket tool set under the rear seats of my old Impreza. I also place emergency items in the caddy of the spare tire well such as emergency blankets, ponchos, gloves, bags, and other items for a breakdown or emergency.

Woodie wrote: ↑Mon Dec 06, 2021 12:32 pmJimmy Hoffa.