Leak under my kizashi

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Mikessuhan
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:30 am

I have a leak coming from the transmission under my 2011 Kizashi and want i to ask if any body here would know what i should do?thanks
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Woodie
Posts: 1167
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 10:09 am
Location: Laurel, MD

Mikessuhan wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:45 am know what i should do?
Yeah, get it fixed.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Welcome Mikessuhan !

If you don't work on your car yourself then you need to take it in and get it looked at, transmission is supposed to be serviced every 30K miles anyway. Could be that it's not transmission fluid, there's engine oil and antifreeze in that same area. Might be able to smell the difference. If you're anywhere near Pennsylvania, get in contact with OldTech here on this forum. He specializes in Kizashis and has a special fix for the CVT transmission that greatly extends it's life.
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Mikessuhan
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:30 am

Woodie wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 12:42 pm
Mikessuhan wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:45 am know what i should do?
Yeah, get it fixed.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Welcome Mikessuhan !

If you don't work on your car yourself then you need to take it in and get it looked at, transmission is supposed to be serviced every 30K miles anyway. Could be that it's not transmission fluid, there's engine oil and antifreeze in that same area. Might be able to smell the difference. If you're anywhere near Pennsylvania, get in contact with OldTech here on this forum. He specializes in Kizashis and has a special fix for the CVT transmission that greatly extends it's life.
Thank u,
But is it a bad sign that my transmission could be going out?thanks again
KlutzNinja
Posts: 286
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2019 6:58 am

Some more info is needed. Do you have a manual transmission or a CVT? What’s your mileage? Has the transmission fluid ever been serviced? Or any other fluids? (motor oil is a given, obviously)

And, just to check, it’s not water/condensation dripping from using the A/C, right? It usually drips from near the transmission pan area. Totally freaked me out the first time I saw it a couple years ago :lol:

Finally, where are you based? Some areas have qualified Suzuki technicians/mechanics or even Suzuki dealers that would probably be best for checking this out and fixing it, if you’re not one to work on your own vehicle in this manner.

I can’t say if the leaking is an indicator the transmission is dying (someone more knowledgeable might be able to), but it’s certainly not good, especially if it continues for a while. Might just need a new pan gasket or drain plug washer, at best. Hope you caught this early. Also welcome lol.
Current: Blue 2018 Mazda 3 GT 5-Door
Previous: Blue 2010 Ford Focus SES,
Black 2013 Kizashi Sport GTS-L (CVT; FWD)(RIP)
Mikessuhan
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:30 am

KlutzNinja wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 6:05 pm Some more info is needed. Do you have a manual transmission or a CVT? What’s your mileage? Has the transmission fluid ever been serviced? Or any other fluids? (motor oil is a given, obviously)

And, just to check, it’s not water/condensation dripping from using the A/C, right? It usually drips from near the transmission pan area. Totally freaked me out the first time I saw it a couple years ago :lol:

Finally, where are you based? Some areas have qualified Suzuki technicians/mechanics or even Suzuki dealers that would probably be best for checking this out and fixing it, if you’re not one to work on your own vehicle in this manner.

I can’t say if the leaking is an indicator the transmission is dying (someone more knowledgeable might be able to), but it’s certainly not good, especially if it continues for a while. Might just need a new pan gasket or drain plug washer, at best. Hope you caught this early. Also welcome lol.
Sorry,so i just bought the car 1 month ago from Portland OR.My car is an CVT AWD it has about 106 thousand miles so far so i just changed the oil to the car couple weeks ago too,and i noticed that there was a trail of oil coming from my car from my driveway so i went to look under the car and found oil residue from underneath my car and it came from the drain plug of the transmission,so i went to check the level of transmission fluid from the dipstick and it was low but i don’t know about cars that much too,so i hope it could maybe be loose or maybe something worse.lol
KlutzNinja
Posts: 286
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2019 6:58 am

When you checked the transmission fluid level, was the fluid dirty or relatively clean? If it’s the latter, it sounds like it’s possible the previous owner changed the transmission fluid, but didn’t tighten the pan plug to the torque spec, or maybe reused a plug crush washer that should have been replaced. The first time I changed my motor oil I made the mistake of not torquing it :lol:. I’ll try to find the torque spec on the transmission pan plug; it’s in one of the CVT fluid change threads.

Checking CVT fluid level from the dipstick can be really finicky if you don’t warm up the transmission first (by driving or idling), and maybe doing the P-R-N-D shifter ritual. The owners manual says what conditions should be met for checking the fluid level.

*Update* I couldn’t find the torque spec for the transmission drain plug on this forum, but according to the service manual available online it’s 34 Nm, 3.5 kg-m, or 25 lb-ft.
Also, it’s generally a good idea to change the CVT fluid every ~30k miles. And with that comes changing the filters (pan mesh-type and cooler line cartridge type), if you want. There are a couple threads here that can help with that. Ronzuki (who wrote one such thread) says it’s easier than a motor oil change. It’s a good idea at your mileage to check the transmission fluid pan for sludge buildup around the magnets, and the presence of any metallic flakes (the latter is bad news).
Current: Blue 2018 Mazda 3 GT 5-Door
Previous: Blue 2010 Ford Focus SES,
Black 2013 Kizashi Sport GTS-L (CVT; FWD)(RIP)
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