Personal experience with various Kizashi issues
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2013 3:29 am
No this is not a venting post. I have posted various issues of my Kizashi in the past few months. Most of them have actually been resolved and today for the first time I am enjoying driving the car, somewhat. So I am writing this to hopefully benefit others, as I have found many past posts beneficial through searching the forums.
Car: 2011 AWD SLS CVT. Almost 7K in miles and about 15 months old. Purchased new. Yes I do not drive a lot, which is probably not that great for the car to start with. Also why I have not addressed many issues until recently due to difficulty finding time to go to the dealership. The dealership I purchased my car from stopped selling / servicing Suzuki 3 months after I bought, and I was told to go somewhere else when asking for help.
1) Vibration issue. 6 months into owning the car at around 3K, started to experience more and more harsh under chasis vibration upon acceleration from stop, to the point that the center console resonates and makes very loud noise. Car also vibrates at low RPM when cruising. Went to dealership A, which is very close to me, dedicated Suzuki dealership and used car lot. Was belittled as crazy and that everything is normal. Went to dealership B, about 25 miles from me, was told cannot duplicate problem, though politely. After suffering with the acceleration vibration for 6 months and scared of stepping on the throttle, saw a past post via much searching: http://www.kizashiclub.com/forum/viewto ... 037#p10037
Realizing my car has the exact same symptom upon engine ignition as the poster's youtube video (which I was told normal by dealership A), I brought car to dealership C, 40 miles from me. Original poster reported his problem was due to a "loose exhaust", which was apparently similar in my car. Dealership C replaced exhaust system (says muffler and gasket on my print-out, I am not a technician). Ignition noise is gone, and harsh acceleration is gone. Can now accelerate from stop without fear. Knock on wood. Low RPM vibration sometimes still is evident but apparently may be related to CVT characteristics, though less prominent.
2) Rear passenger suspension noise. 10 months into owning car the rear passenger wheel/suspension makes high pitch noise on uneven road or road bumps. Sounds like I am driving loose cargo though nothing in the trunk. All spare tire accessory secured in place. Also sounds like things rubbing against each other, plastic or metal. Made me want to drive car even less. Problem was not corrected after "loose exhaust" was replaced. Brought car in past week to dealership C again, due to their prior helpfulness. Was told "Strut" was offset, and on sheet says "removed rear trailing arms and refit inding on frame." Apparently both rear suspension were not sitting correctly. Upon inquiry, was told there would be no permanent structural damage due to driving in that condition, hope that's true. Drove car for the past 3 days, suspension noise gone, no longer afraid of bumpy roads.
3) Car still average mixed MPG of 20 without much improvement. Granny driving style without hard acceleration. Conservative hypermiling techniques. Wondering if it's really just because of the stop and go traffic, even though my surrounding is more suburban with traffic lights than true city. Average speed on dash is 21 mph. Pure highway average MPG on dash reaches up to 34 (not calculated since never had to drive a whole tank of highway). In conclusion, mixed MPG still a disappointment for my car.
Hope 1) and 2) can help someone else out. Dealership C is located in Medford, NY and has been more than helpful and patient with their service. Was given a loaner car though had to wait for 2 weeks. They washed my car and vaccumed/wiped down the inside (I'd rather they dun touch the inside though).
Car: 2011 AWD SLS CVT. Almost 7K in miles and about 15 months old. Purchased new. Yes I do not drive a lot, which is probably not that great for the car to start with. Also why I have not addressed many issues until recently due to difficulty finding time to go to the dealership. The dealership I purchased my car from stopped selling / servicing Suzuki 3 months after I bought, and I was told to go somewhere else when asking for help.
1) Vibration issue. 6 months into owning the car at around 3K, started to experience more and more harsh under chasis vibration upon acceleration from stop, to the point that the center console resonates and makes very loud noise. Car also vibrates at low RPM when cruising. Went to dealership A, which is very close to me, dedicated Suzuki dealership and used car lot. Was belittled as crazy and that everything is normal. Went to dealership B, about 25 miles from me, was told cannot duplicate problem, though politely. After suffering with the acceleration vibration for 6 months and scared of stepping on the throttle, saw a past post via much searching: http://www.kizashiclub.com/forum/viewto ... 037#p10037
Realizing my car has the exact same symptom upon engine ignition as the poster's youtube video (which I was told normal by dealership A), I brought car to dealership C, 40 miles from me. Original poster reported his problem was due to a "loose exhaust", which was apparently similar in my car. Dealership C replaced exhaust system (says muffler and gasket on my print-out, I am not a technician). Ignition noise is gone, and harsh acceleration is gone. Can now accelerate from stop without fear. Knock on wood. Low RPM vibration sometimes still is evident but apparently may be related to CVT characteristics, though less prominent.
2) Rear passenger suspension noise. 10 months into owning car the rear passenger wheel/suspension makes high pitch noise on uneven road or road bumps. Sounds like I am driving loose cargo though nothing in the trunk. All spare tire accessory secured in place. Also sounds like things rubbing against each other, plastic or metal. Made me want to drive car even less. Problem was not corrected after "loose exhaust" was replaced. Brought car in past week to dealership C again, due to their prior helpfulness. Was told "Strut" was offset, and on sheet says "removed rear trailing arms and refit inding on frame." Apparently both rear suspension were not sitting correctly. Upon inquiry, was told there would be no permanent structural damage due to driving in that condition, hope that's true. Drove car for the past 3 days, suspension noise gone, no longer afraid of bumpy roads.
3) Car still average mixed MPG of 20 without much improvement. Granny driving style without hard acceleration. Conservative hypermiling techniques. Wondering if it's really just because of the stop and go traffic, even though my surrounding is more suburban with traffic lights than true city. Average speed on dash is 21 mph. Pure highway average MPG on dash reaches up to 34 (not calculated since never had to drive a whole tank of highway). In conclusion, mixed MPG still a disappointment for my car.
Hope 1) and 2) can help someone else out. Dealership C is located in Medford, NY and has been more than helpful and patient with their service. Was given a loaner car though had to wait for 2 weeks. They washed my car and vaccumed/wiped down the inside (I'd rather they dun touch the inside though).