Kizashi Club

Went to a subdivision garage sale today. The subdivision was very hilly so I took advantage of that and let the car roll downhill then popped the clutch to start the car. I do this whenever possible to save wear and tear on the starter. In this particular subdivision I was able to roll start the car 7 or 8 times in a row, then the check engine light came on. This is the first time I have seen the check engine light and the center display on the dash became orange with a small standard check engine symbol and a flashing triangle with a ! in it. Over the top annoying.

I then started the drive home to put my OBDII code reader on to see what code was causing this. On the way I stopped at three or four more garage sales restarting the car with the starter and on the third or fourth start the check engine light cleared itself. When I got home I connected the code reader to see what fault code caused this and it seems the code reader I have does not work with the Kizashi. I ordered a Elm327 bluetooh module and a Autel MS300 scanner. Hope one of them will be compatible with the Kizashi. Not sure how long fault codes are kept in the cars memory but I would like to know what caused this.

Modern cars don't like push starts. I would think the computer has now sorted it's self out.

Interesting. I haven't tried roll-starting my Kizashi, but it's practically how I get the VW bus started half the time due to it's unreliable ignition. I try to park it in places where roll-starting is possible. I need to really clean the starter solenoid and if that doesn't help, get a new one.

Save wear on the starter by putting stress on the clutch (sudden engagement) and possible catalytic converter damage? Just use the starter as designed.

Agree with golftango. Clutch is designed to have the engine engage the drivetrain not the other way around. I also never understood downshifting to save brake wear. Yes, on hills when they start to heat up of course, but not as a matter of course to slow the car to save the brakes. Brakes are easy and cheap and most do-it-yourselfers can do a decent brake job. Clutches? Not so much.

golftango wrote:Save wear on the starter by putting stress on the clutch (sudden engagement) and possible catalytic converter damage? Just use the starter as designed.

Catalytic converter damage? Wow these computer controlled cars sure are touchy.
It is surprising I don't get a error code when entering & exiting the car without starting the engine.

The code it errored on was P0616.
"The P0616 code is detected when the Engine Control Module (ECM) has detected an intermittent short to ground on the Starter Relay control circuit."

LPSISRL wrote:Agree with golftango. Clutch is designed to have the engine engage the drivetrain not the other way around. I also never understood downshifting to save brake wear. Yes, on hills when they start to heat up of course, but not as a matter of course to slow the car to save the brakes. Brakes are easy and cheap and most do-it-yourselfers can do a decent brake job. Clutches? Not so much.

You actually downshift to not only save brake wear, but clutch wear. If you're coming to a stop, you either need the transmission to be engaged in the right gear for the speed or have the clutch depressed and come to a stop. Having the clutch depressed = clutch wear. By engaging the appropriate gear, i.e. downshifting, the clutch is only engaged to switch gears = less wear.

Most of my cars have been manuals, and all these years I thought if the clutch wasn't being pushed in or let out, there was no wear. Now, finally, I know why my throwout bearings would go at 100k miles but the friction plate always looked like new. Live and learn, don't keep the clutch in at the stoplight!

When you press on the clutch pedal, the clutch disc is disconnected from the flywheel. I disagree that you are wearing out the clutch from this process unless one means "riding the clutch"; leaving the foot on a clutch pedal that is released. What wears out the clutch is not disconnecting the clutch via depressing the pedal, but the repetitive engagement of the clutch disc to the flywheel, much like a brake pad to a rotor. In fact, they both work very similarly and are rather similar in composition. The clutch disc is like a brake pad and the flywheel is like a rotor.

It's true that the throwout bearings get more worn out when you keep your clutch pedal depressed longer. It's a good idea to put the car into neutral and let out the clutch pedal while waiting for green lights. However, keep in mind that clutches, pressure plates, throwout bearings, and even flywheels are all wear parts. They will eventually wear out and need replacement, much like brake pads and rotors. Throwout bearings should be replaced along with the clutch and pressure plate at every replacement.
After all, you might as well replace all these parts while you have the transmission case disconnected from the engine. It's something you only do ever so often given clutches last 100,000 miles on average (but can last much longer). Given the time and cost just for labor, it's wise to get these parts all replaced.
The flywheel can often be just machined/resurfaced for single mass flywheels. Dual mass flywheels often get replaced when the clutch needs replacement. I'm quite sure our Kizashis have single mass flywheels.

golftango wrote: Having the clutch depressed = clutch wear. By engaging the appropriate gear, i.e. downshifting, the clutch is only engaged to switch gears = less wear.

That wears the throw out bearings and downshifting and engaging gears wears out the clutch