Looking to purchase a Kizashi

[DrAwesome821]

Hi folks! Looking to purchase a Kizashi as a daily to replace my pile of a Ford Taurus. I test-drove this one yesterday and loved it, but I do worry about long-term reliability and parts availability. What should I look out for? What should I be wary of? Is it possible to get 4-5 years out of one of these? Thanks!

[KuroNekko]

The car you looked at is an automatic so I take it you're looking for an Auto model. These use CVT transmissions and at about 120,000 miles, they can have issues if they were not serviced. Unfortunately, they were considered "service-free" for too long and many of these were compromised from a lack of fluid changes. If you are considering an automatic Kizashi, pay special attention to the CVT and ask for any service records.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Kizashi was available with a manual transmission but these are only Front Wheel Drive. The Automatics came in both AWD and FWD. All Kizashis share the same normally-aspirated 2.4 liter 4 cyl. engine. These are relatively problem-free but at 120,000 miles, I would recommend replacing the original radiator cap and the serpentine belt tensioner.

The Kizashi is a reliable car if it was taken care of. Again, the automatics with the CVT are far more fragile than the manual trans models but parts availability is a concern for either. Maintenance parts are easy to come by online but specific parts must be ordered from the internet, usually sourced from other nations.

Other minor issues include the fact that the darker paint colors, including red, chip easily. The wheel paint flakes off easily too. The headlight bulbs are also very difficult to replace and the halogens are known to not last too long for some reason. I have personally replaced my bulbs with HID and LED aftermarket kits which are far superior in performance and longevity.

Keep in mind that Suzuki left the US market about ten years ago so there are no dealers left. About the only thing left is recall work support by Authorized Service Dealers.

The Kizashi is a rewarding car to own and drive but I'd recommend finding a model with no issues and keeping on top of preventative maintenance.

Good luck!

[KlutzNinja]

Also of note is some people trade in or sell their Kizashis after or right before the CVT gives out, and then the new buyer gets to deal with a crippled car. It’s happened and been reported here at least once pretty recently. I think that’s probably less likely to happen with a more informal Facebook transaction than a used car dealer situation, though.
But on top of that, CVT failure can happen well before 120k miles (e.g. 100k miles), usually if the owner drove the car hard and never serviced the transmission.
Just something to keep in mind.
I would ask the seller if they ever had the CVT serviced before committing to buying it.

[DrAwesome821]

The car you looked at is an automatic so I take it you're looking for an Auto model. These use CVT transmissions and at about 120,000 miles, they can have issues if they were not serviced. Unfortunately, they were considered "service-free" for too long and many of these were compromised from a lack of fluid changes. If you are considering an automatic Kizashi, pay special attention to the CVT and ask for any service records.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Kizashi was available with a manual transmission but these are only Front Wheel Drive. The Automatics came in both AWD and FWD. All Kizashis share the same normally-aspirated 2.4 liter 4 cyl. engine. These are relatively problem-free but at 120,000 miles, I would recommend replacing the original radiator cap and the serpentine belt tensioner.

The Kizashi is a reliable car if it was taken care of. Again, the automatics with the CVT are far more fragile than the manual trans models but parts availability is a concern for either. Maintenance parts are easy to come by online but specific parts must be ordered from the internet, usually sourced from other nations.

Other minor issues include the fact that the darker paint colors, including red, chip easily. The wheel paint flakes off easily too. The headlight bulbs are also very difficult to replace and the halogens are known to not last too long for some reason. I have personally replaced my bulbs with HID and LED aftermarket kits which are far superior in performance and longevity.

Keep in mind that Suzuki left the US market about ten years ago so there are no dealers left. About the only thing left is recall work support by Authorized Service Dealers.

The Kizashi is a rewarding car to own and drive but I'd recommend finding a model with no issues and keeping on top of preventative maintenance.

Good luck!

UPDATE: The seller got back to me, and he says he has no record of the CVT fluid being changed. Is that an immediate walk?

I am getting a PPI done by my mechanic this week. Shot the seller a message asking if the CVT had been serviced. If it hasn't, is it too late to service it? As for lighting, I did test everything and it all seemed to work, but I will keep that in mind. What kind of HID/LED retrofit do you recommend?

Overall, the car was just about mint. Definitely loved by the seller, it's been detailed, has a new battery and (summer) tires. Looked near perfect minus a couple tiny dents and scratches. Drove really nice too, AWD toggle worked as expected. It was raining yesterday and I felt a tiny amount of wheelspin in FWD, and my friend commented the engine had a bit more vibrations than they're used to, but I think that's more just the nature of it being an I4 and not a boxer like their car.

[KuroNekko]

It looks very clean and likely garaged by the owner, based on the condition of the paint and headlights. I'm going to guess the car was owned by a mature homeowner, which is a good thing, IMO.
It's not too late to service the CVT at 100K but be careful for any indications of a worn and disintegrating CVT like whining or odd noises, especially when the vehicle is at normal operating temps. Definitely test drive it at various speeds. Have the mechanic check a sample of CVT fluid for metal flakes. Hopefully, more members who actually own CVT models will chime in (I own a FWD manual Kizashi).

As for headlight bulbs, I have a Morimoto HID kit from theretrofitsource.com for the low beams and a DDM Tuning LED kit for the high beams that double as daytime running lights. Keep in mind that such mods are not technically road-legal. Install after inspection.

As for vibrations, I consider the Kizashi's J24B engine rather smooth. If there are excessive vibrations, check motor mounts and the dirtiness of the throttle body. I've owned two Subarus in the past and don't really think boxers are "smoother" than inlines in any appreciable measure.

[DrAwesome821]

It looks very clean and likely garaged by the owner, based on the condition of the paint and headlights. I'm going to guess the car was owned by a mature homeowner, which is a good thing, IMO.
It's not too late to service the CVT at 100K but be careful for any indications of a worn and disintegrating CVT like whining or odd noises, especially when the vehicle is at normal operating temps. Definitely test drive it at various speeds. Have the mechanic check a sample of CVT fluid for metal flakes. Hopefully, more members who actually own CVT models will chime in (I own a FWD manual Kizashi).

As for headlight bulbs, I have a Morimoto HID kit from theretrofitsource.com for the low beams and a DDM Tuning LED kit for the high beams that double as daytime running lights. Keep in mind that such mods are not technically road-legal. Install after inspection.

As for vibrations, I consider the Kizashi's J24B engine rather smooth. If there are excessive vibrations, check motor mounts and the dirtiness of the throttle body. I've owned two Subarus in the past and don't really think boxers are "smoother" than inlines in any appreciable measure.

I'll definitely be sure to have them check the transmission fluid, and if I do buy it, it'll be first on my list of maintenance items. As for the vibrations, I think it's just normal inline 4 buzziness. I didn't really notice it.

I did punch the VIN into Carfax's maintenance reminder app (a great workaround to get the Carfax maintenance logs without paying) and it was serviced regularly. The current owner (a younger person, no older than 25, but really cared for it. proper enthusiast, was quite knowledgable.) bought it a year ago and is only selling it because he bought something he wanted more, and the Suzuki has to go as a result.

[DrAwesome821]

I did also find this second one for sale not too far away:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... tid=dXMIcH

[old tech]

If I were buying one of these at near retail price, I would really want to make sure that that transmission was not going to bleed you later. When you’re having the inspection done by the mechanic, I would recommend draining the fluid from the Cvt into a clean container And then lower the transmission pan and inspect the filter screen , magnets and pan floor for debris. What you’d be not wanting to see would be little shards of metal about the size of those push pins you get in your new shirt, not the pointy end but the other end. These would be towards the rear of the pan and look like chrome. You could take a high quality picture and post it here and I could tell you it’s condition. I offer a preemptive in car fix if the transmission is still working the deteriorazation isn’t to far along. I just did one yesterday that had 177,000 miles on it for $1000. This was to covert primary pulley to long pin.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DrAwesome821]

If I were buying one of these at near retail price, I would really want to make sure that that transmission was not going to bleed you later. When you’re having the inspection done by the mechanic, I would recommend draining the fluid from the Cvt into a clean container And then lower the transmission pan and inspect the filter screen , magnets and pan floor for debris. What you’d be not wanting to see would be little shards of metal about the size of those push pins you get in your new shirt, not the pointy end but the other end. These would be towards the rear of the pan and look like chrome. You could take a high quality picture and post it here and I could tell you it’s condition. I offer a preemptive in car fix if the transmission is still working the deteriorazation isn’t to far along. I just did one yesterday that had 177,000 miles on it for $1000. This was to covert primary pulley to long pin.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I will ask about it - I'm unfortunately in class during the inspection time (tomorrow morning), as that was the only time they could get me in this week. I did leave a note asking them to pay close attention to the CVT fluid, and to call me afterwards. Fingers crossed all is good, but I'll definitely be trying to negotiate the CVT service into the deal regardless, since it's at the point it needs to be done. With the overall condition, I think it's a winner.

[DrAwesome821]

Update: got the PPI back, with an overall clean bill of health. only minor issues: valve cover gasket is seeping a tiny bit, plugs could use changed, and the rear rotors have a small amount of rust. The good news, however, is that the transmission is clean and running smooth. What do y'all think, where do I go from here?