AWD MODE

Marcov71 · Fri Jul 15, 2016 5:57 am

pakizzie2015 wrote:well here we are the day before the trip to wildwood.. I can't make up my mind to take the kizashi or the G5... and as I thought it will be one of the hottest times going through philly in the 90's and no idea if there is going to be road construction (stop and go).. and the worries about over heating the cvt. UGH I am wanting to take it on a long drive from here.(3 hours), Should I leave it here safe and take the G5 or take the chance.

Oh man!! We could of had a mini meet!! LOL I got to wildwood yesterday, (Wednesday) but I'm leaving Friday Morning.

wobki · Sat Jul 16, 2016 2:01 pm

that rrm kit is crazy overpriced for a trans cooler and some barb fittings and some thru radiator ties. here is the stock cooler (mine is fugged)

https://www.pepboys.com/product/details/599265/00566 64 dollars plus say 20 more for the tubing and fittings. that thing is huge compared to stock cooler. I plan on doing this modification before a road trip up the coast in a week or so.

I'd imagine peoples trans overheating issues have more to do with bent and clogged fins than anything else, if this is a typical issue on the kizashi.

pakizzie2015 · Tue Jul 19, 2016 3:32 pm

Marcov71 wrote:
pakizzie2015 wrote:well here we are the day before the trip to wildwood.. I can't make up my mind to take the kizashi or the G5... and as I thought it will be one of the hottest times going through philly in the 90's and no idea if there is going to be road construction (stop and go).. and the worries about over heating the cvt. UGH I am wanting to take it on a long drive from here.(3 hours), Should I leave it here safe and take the G5 or take the chance.
Oh man!! We could of had a mini meet!! LOL I got to wildwood yesterday, (Wednesday) but I'm leaving Friday Morning.

LOL> sorry didn't see this while I was there I was there we could have met up .. How did you car handle the heat??? any issues at all.. on the way home yesterday.. I was behind a Altima.. and sure enough. he was was slowing down on the turnpike and had to pull over I am sure it was the cvt as he was trying to speed up and couldn't.. I let him move over.. with the blinkers on.. it was over 96 degrees on the area we were at just out of philly.

Engineer60 · Tue Jul 19, 2016 5:09 pm

According to the Suzuki drivers handbook in my Wife's AWD Kizashi the following should be observed

Driving Modes

2WD

If you drive on a dry, paved road, select this mode to save fuel. In this mode, the engine torque transmitted to the rear wheels is limited to the minimum. (As a result, the vehicle runs in a quasi-front-wheel-drive condition.)

i-AWD

This mode is for all normal driving. In almost all road surface conditions,the system keeps distributing engine torque to the rear wheels in the most suitable proportion for varying conditions under automatic control.

In the i-AWD mode, the i-AWD controller monitors the driver’s vehicle control operations and conditions of the vehicle. Based on the sensed conditions, the controller electronically controls the power coupling so that optimum torque is distributed to the rear wheels.

This function improves driving stability and driving performance on rough roads and stabilizes driving performance even on snow-covered up-hill roads or the like.

During constant speed driving, torque distribution to the rear wheels is reduced almost to the front-wheel-drive condition, thus improving fuel consumption.

Marcov71 · Thu Jul 21, 2016 1:35 am

I

pakizzie2015 wrote:
Marcov71 wrote:
pakizzie2015 wrote:well here we are the day before the trip to wildwood.. I can't make up my mind to take the kizashi or the G5... and as I thought it will be one of the hottest times going through philly in the 90's and no idea if there is going to be road construction (stop and go).. and the worries about over heating the cvt. UGH I am wanting to take it on a long drive from here.(3 hours), Should I leave it here safe and take the G5 or take the chance.
Oh man!! We could of had a mini meet!! LOL I got to wildwood yesterday, (Wednesday) but I'm leaving Friday Morning.
LOL> sorry didn't see this while I was there I was there we could have met up .. How did you car handle the heat??? any issues at all.. on the way home yesterday.. I was behind a Altima.. and sure enough. he was was slowing down on the turnpike and had to pull over I am sure it was the cvt as he was trying to speed up and couldn't.. I let him move over.. with the blinkers on.. it was over 96 degrees on the area we were at just out of philly.

It ran fine, no issues. I commute daily with my car. I frequent the up hill roads near Bear mountain on an almost daily basis with no issues. Gonna keep my fingers crossed. How did your car handle?

pakizzie2015 · Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:52 am

Marcov71 wrote:I
pakizzie2015 wrote:
Marcov71 wrote:
Oh man!! We could of had a mini meet!! LOL I got to wildwood yesterday, (Wednesday) but I'm leaving Friday Morning.
LOL> sorry didn't see this while I was there I was there we could have met up .. How did you car handle the heat??? any issues at all.. on the way home yesterday.. I was behind a Altima.. and sure enough. he was was slowing down on the turnpike and had to pull over I am sure it was the cvt as he was trying to speed up and couldn't.. I let him move over.. with the blinkers on.. it was over 96 degrees on the area we were at just out of philly.
It ran fine, no issues. I commute daily with my car. I frequent the up hill roads near Bear mountain on an almost daily basis with no issues. Gonna keep my fingers crossed. How did your car handle?

well I chickened out .. I took the G5.. I couldn't take the chance of having that happen.. but I got to get past this.
the drive train warranty is still in effect.. I have to believe in this heat it should be ok.. I think the Altima doesn't have the same cooling for their cvt. (although it is the same) I have been told ours has 2 radiators. one in the main and one by itself I think the Altima only has the one. and apparently over heats.. I have yet to see or hear about the kizashi having this issue. going to wedding in august that is about a 1.5 hour drive. hoping to take it.

Woodie · Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:54 am

I'm no fan of the CVT, but I think you're worrying yourself into a corner.

There are thousands of Kizashis out there working fine.

pakizzie2015 · Wed Aug 17, 2016 3:12 pm

Woodie wrote:I'm no fan of the CVT, but I think you're worrying yourself into a corner.

There are thousands of Kizashis out there working fine.

Hi woodie. Sorry I didn't see this response weeks ago.. your right I am.. I knew about the cvt issues with Nissan before I got the Suzuki.. I guess my worries are because of not having the greatest job in the world where I can afford new cars and I need the ones I get to last a long time. I had my ford explorer for a long time but it just rotted away I took great care of that truck but it just wouldn't stop rusting.. and things just got to the point of not trusting it anymore.. But I read great reviews of the kizashi online and really loved the look and Needed a awd car or truck to replace the ford. I do drive mostly HWY. and in the winter I need it. My G5 is just front and a tin can and even with awesome new tires can't go or stop so I park it when the salt and snow fly. Now this car as I read has protection from rust to a point and has awd and is a Japanese car. we had Toyota's in the family at one point and Mazda's that seem to be again bullet proof.. I have to learn to trust new tech such as CVT as most of the the Japanese cars are going with them as well.. I see a few of these cars around and just haven't been able to speak to their owners. but the people I have seen with the SX4's say they love them.. aren't these made by fiat????. Anyway. once winter sets in I will be driving it more.. as I have heard this winter will be snowier than last and will need to have the awd button pushed..

WESHOOT2 · Wed Aug 17, 2016 4:16 pm

Your Kizashi was manufactured by Suzuki in their Japanese plant.
Drive your car.
Enjoy it.

Wed Aug 17, 2016 5:14 pm

pakizzie2015 wrote:. but the people I have seen with the SX4's say they love them.. aren't these made by fiat????.

Not the ones sold in the US. Basically, the SX4 was co-developed by Suzuki and Fiat but the engineering for the USDM car is obviously Japanese. These cars were sold exclusively with a 2.0 liter Suzuki engine and the models sold in the US were built in Sagara, Japan just like the Kizashi. The European ones were built in Hungary and offered with optional diesel engines which I'm sure Fiat provided. In essence, you can't call the USDM SX4s "Fiats" as they have minimal Fiat or Italian influence in them other than design. It's a good thing as the SX4 is a reliable and capable car unlike Fiat 500s.

Honestly, you should just enjoy the Kizashi and stop worrying. If the CVT starts making unusual noises, then get it checked out but don't treat this car like some dainty, unreliable vehicle. It's not. The vast majority of Kizashis have CVTs and they have a good technical record. The Kizashi also has a 100% galvanized underbody and 90% of the entire car is galvanized. In essence, rust is unlikely a serious issue for the Kizashi. With AWD and the proper winter tires, I think your car is a very capable winter vehicle.