Winter Abuse

[metatrox]

Well i dont know about most of you but here in Gallup, New Mexico we have had a good bit of snow and now we are into the VERY COLD part. Close to the -10F area.

Unfortunately the car seriously sounds like its being beat up when driving it. All the Ice and snow on the Ground and it has made some cringing Crack and Creak noises that literally sound like glass cracking.

Sounds pretty bad! Plus all of a sudden the TPMS light is going off. The wheel wells are packed full of snow. I'm not sure if this has caused it but i sure know that the suspension travel has been affected greatly because of it.

I attempted to use high pressure hot water to get rid of it but it just didnt work. Couldn't get it off for nothing.

I'm still pretty upset because the TPMS its quite annoying and i really hope nothing got damaged.

I really hate abusing my new ride is such harsh weather

[havinfun]

The TPMS system is probably functioning properly. When the outside temp drops, tire pressure also drops. On my Mazda, the TPMS always seems to trigger on the first fall morning with sub freezing temps. When I check the tire pressure, usually at least one tire is at 24 PSI or lower (that is the trigger point for my Mazda). Just pumping up the tires past 24 PSI is enough to reset the TPMS. My TPMS sensors are located in the valve stems (inside the tire) and are not likely to be effected by ice or snow. I am guessing the same is true for your Kizashi. Can't explain the "cracking" noise, however.

[TheHolyGhost]

My TPMS has been acting up as well. When I take my car in to have the headlight with the bad seal looked at I'm going to ask them to make sure I don't have a leak or something.

[AlexRuiz]

I also hear cracking noises when driving in the snow. I have always attributed it to water freezing and becoming ice, then braking.

[stapletondoc]

From my recent experiences with cold weather and significant snow accumulation, I think the cracking noise may be from snow buildup in the wheel well.

[TheHolyGhost]

Could be, I had a ton of snow built up in my wheel wells during the last storm.

[chevydually]

If you look undre your car the plastic under body shields underneath rear seat angle down and are sloted for air and water deflection, we have seen in deeper snow the shields are cutting the white stuff and when temp cold enough builds up and making noise. the good thing its keeping all that crap out of the alumnium rear suspension and out of awd units if you have one of them

[Hawkzilla]

The TPMS is most definitely NOT functioning properly. Mine is on right now and it's the 5th time it's turned on for no reason. Each time it does I can have 40+ psi in my tires and it won't make a difference. If the warning(s) weren't so f***ing annoying it wouldn't be so bad, but I am now at the point where I am going to call Suzuki and see if it's possible to disable this POS system. I have made it over 20 years without my car needing to tell me my tires are low, it's something I can do without.

As for the winter abuse, I live in a hilly city where it is -2 degrees today and I haven't had any issues with snow in the wheel wells (that wasn't normal anyway) or noises that sound like my Kiz is being destroyed. In any car, when it sits in subzero degree weather it's going to make a few creaks. You should take a ride in my gf's new Sorento... $35K car that really pops and creaks in the cold weather. Overall, I have been extremely pleased with how my Kiz has performed and handled the abuse of a nasty winter.

[TheHolyGhost]

I agree, I don't need 2 flashing lights and my info center dominated by the low pressure warning. I would be fine with it just telling me it was low on start up and then giving my my info center back and leaving the light on and/or flashing. It's brutal.

[gmoney91]

My TPMS warning came on 5 minutes after I left the dealership. It comes on every other drive. Yes, it's really annoying that it stays on. The blinking light is very distracting.