Kizashi Club

I'm old school Suzuki guy: Samurai, Sidekick, Swift GTi... I used to build off-road trucks then forayed into the Swift GTi scene by happen/chance. I recently took a look at a 2011 Kizashi GTS and am impressed. It has 130K on it but interior looks new. The paint has typical chips; the front bumper could use replacing as previous owner "curbed" it more than once. Seller wants $3000 for it. He hasn't performed any of the recalls or done the "spider fix." I know of a wrecked base model Kiz I can get the bumper cover from (same color) but it's not as sporty. I'm not really concerned about those aesthetics. Anything I should be concerned about / look for before I pick it up? I was going to let my 17yo daughter drive this.

Hello Cap'n. The safety of the car is top notch, so for your teen daughter, that's comforting. CVT auto I presume? If so, make sure it isn't whining excessively. Mine whines a little after a good romp through the twisties on a hot day. AWD? Again if so, rear diff fluid needed to be changed per FSM at 7500 miles, hopefully that was done. Check for seal leaks if you can get under it. Just had my t-case output shaft seal replaced under warranty as it was beginning to leave spots. Stay on top of the alignments and tire rotations, these things can eat tires. Other than that, nothing of concern. The cars are solid. 130k, $3k may be a bit much for an orphan. Be advised, parts are hard to come by and expensive. Fortunately, they don't need much other than the very basics.

One other thing, teens being teens...make sure when changing between gears that the car is completely stopped before changing and waiting until the car has fully engaged into the new gear before mashing the gas to take off. The CVTs don't like that hurry-up, no brakes, rolling directional changes.

Like Ronzuki hinted at, the weakest point of a high mileage Kizashi is the Continuously Variable Transmission. It's not that these are particularly bad in the Kizashi but it seems that CVTs tend to have a higher failure rate than conventional auto in high mileage. Other than that and the thin paint that chips easily, the Kizashi isn't known to have many issues. It's a safe, reliable, and rewarding car to own. These are offered in 6 speed manuals too which makes one immune from CVT issues, but the manuals are FWD only. The AWD models all have CVTs.

Also, try to get one for as little money as possible. These cars are orphans in North America and also no longer in production. This means getting parts is hard in the US and Canada. While technically a great car, it's one in bad circumstances so don't overpay for it.

My take:

Safety ratings are very good to excellent from the IIHS and NHTSA (even relative to current 2017/2018 models). Standard service parts are readily available (though choice may be limited). This covers fluids, filters, ignition (coils, plugs), hubs/brakes (rotors, pads, brake hardware, wheel bearings), and suspension (front struts, rear shocks, sway bar links). Model specific parts are still available from Suzuki, though they may be pricey, and should remain readily available through at least 2023 (at a minimum, 10 years after Suzuki leaving the US market). The CVT does not seem to be notably worse that most other automatic transmissions as far a long term reliability, but a "whining" noise when hot is an indication that there may be a problem. The early CVT cars (2010-2011) have a service bulletin on the CVT that prescribes transmission pan and dipstick replacement to help mitigate some CVT issues, but it is unlikely this has been done on the car you're looking at (in theory you could check by measuring the transmission dipstick, but I forget the exact difference other than the replacement is the longer of the two).

If you buy the car, I would certainly recommend arranging with the local Suzuki service center to correct any open recalls (tank vent, CVT shift mechanism, etc). The full Kizashi run has potential corrosion issues on the rear shocks, which with 130k has likely already occurred and/or been repaired at least once (this is a performance / handling issue more than a safety issue). This was mitigated by a re-design of the bump stop that is installed on the shock. If a rear shock looks oily, or the handling seems lousy, I'd plan on a rear shock replacement (aftermarket KYB is fairly inexpensive). I personally would not worry about the modest cosmetics (paint chips, wheel / bumper scrapes, etc. ) with a young driver, unless you're actively looking for something to yell about ...