Kizashi Club

I asked my Dealer mechanic yesterday if he'd seen many Kizashi's with cvt problems and got a typical company response saying he hadn't heard of any Suzukis with tranny problems.
I'm just wondering how may NZ/Aus owners have had a problem with their cvt tranny. Mine has been fine so far touch wood.

I have a 2010 xls with 52500 km on the clock. A few weeks ago I asked my dealer the same question and got a similar answer. I then asked kow much an overhaul might cost and he guessed around $5 k. I might hang onto the car but the cvt is sometiing to think about.

I'm feeling the same way, I want to hang on to the car for long term but am concerned about the cvt.
I will say that one of my nieces has a 2006 Nissan Tiida with a cvt tranny which has done way over 200000 klms without problems.

How about asking your mechanic likely costs if it goes wrong and we can compare notes? Not urgent. - if I do decide to replace mine it would probably be next year some time. The trouble is what to replace it with. I like the look of the new Maxda 6 but read that it still. has nvh noise problems. I had a couple in the past and they were really noisy. I dont trust vw group technology. Nissan Altima looks like an old persons car - Im almost 70 but appreciate handling and dynamics and cars at the smaller end of the medium class.

I can ask but it will probably be an guesstimate unless something does actually go wrong and I'm still covered by warranty for a while yet anyway. I agree it'll be difficult to find a car with as much going for it for the money. Apart from fuel economy and in reality the minor possibility of transmission problems there isn't much to really complain about. I'd be more likely to go for the Mazda 3 then the 6 as the 3 seems to be closer to the Kizashi size and one of the reasons I went for the Kizashi was the other medium size cars are too big for my needs now. The reviews I've read on the Altima indicate it's only average and if you want good handling & dynamics I'd think Kizashi, Mazda 3/6 or Golf. Your've already ruled out VW for the same reason as me so there's not much left to choose. Suzuki does have a reputation for reliability so I wouldn't write off your Kizashi yet.

I agree about the Mazda 3 and Ive also thought about the Focus. What concerns me with the Kizi is so few have been sold. There has been no incentive to develop technical support like dealing with the cvt. Cars like Maxima are well established and there are procedures for dealing with them. Im converned I might be offered a new cvt from Japan at an astronomical price take it or leave it. I love the car and the cvt is my only concern about it.

[You guys might know this - I didn 't. From a bit of looking on the internet it seems that the Jatco cvt in the Kizi is used across a few medium cars, e.g. Mitsubishi Outlander. Car manufacturers install their own electronic settings. With the number of cvt equipped cars around today it seems to me that it mightnt be so hard to get an overhaul, if required.

Here is the link: http://www.jatco.co.jp/ENGLISH/products/cvt/jf011e.html

Yes, it's been discussed before in one of the (many?) CVT threads regarding the Jatco and many other models using it. Those other models also have people complaining about similar issues like the noises.

PS: I think the big problem would be the price to get one overhauled. Perhaps there will be a market soon with exchange CVT's being available?

One other thing my dealer mechanic said was he thinks cvt transmissions will become more widely used in the next few years so if that is true then their replacement cost should come down. Having said that hopefully we won't have to worry about replacing ours.