Front Passenger Seat Recall Round 2 (2021)

Information regarding future changes to the Kizashi. Press releases regarding the car and motorsports related topics go here.
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KlutzNinja
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As that one Grand Theft Auto meme goes, “ah sh*t, here we go again…”
Got a recall notice from Suzuki, dated October 29, that NHTSA is having them issue a recall for the front passenger seat. I’m guessing some folks here have either already gotten this notice or will get theirs soon. I thought it might just be the first recall that was reissued as a reminder, but it is indeed its own separate recall. I compared the two last night to see how they differed, and I’ll try to explain them here. Sorry for the length here; I try to be thorough :oops:. Skip to the third paragraph for info about the new recall, and to the second-from-last paragraph for a quick comparison summary.

To recap, this seat was first recalled a couple years ago, for both the Kizashi and 2006-2013 Grand Vitaras (and I think I’m one of the few here to have gotten the procedure…maybe the only one lol). It was recalled because on these vehicles with leather, the upholstery could shrink with excessive heat or sunlight, and affect the OCS (occupant classification system) sensors. The affected OCS might think a child sitting in the front passenger seat was an adult, and thus apply the airbags in a crash. It could also think an empty seat was occupied by a child, and trigger the alert chime (sometimes consecutively). I experienced the latter and it was a pain at times. The recall replaced the leather seat cushion with a faux leather version, and for me the erroneous alert chimes stopped. I’ve never had an issue since. The OCS was not replaced.

In this recall, Suzuki is now saying the
OCS sensors are faulty, and may mistakenly think an adult sitting in the seat is a child, depending on their posture or seating position, and not deploy the airbag in a crash. This scenario is considerably more dangerous than the one in the first recall, as most of us probably have adults more often than kids as passengers in the front seat.
The first recall campaign didn’t apply to Kizashis (or Grand Vitaras) with fabric upholstery, but this new campaign is applicable to everyone, fabric or leather, and whether you underwent the first recall procedure or not. It doesn’t mention the Grand Vitara this time around, however. That might be a separate recall since this is through NHTSA now.

“Suzuki Motor Corp has decided that a defect…exists in all 2010-2013 Suzuki Kizashi vehicles.” If I’m interpreting this right, it would suggest that it’s slightly possible the models with shrunken leather upholstery can think that a child passenger is an adult (and deploy the airbag), or an adult passenger is a child (and not deploy the airbag). Oof… I really hope I’m wrong about that lol.

The new seat bottom will have a “different cover material on the seating surface plus new sensor components which allows the OCS to accurately determine the occupant status of the passenger seat.” The replacement procedure is available now and is supposed to require around two hours.

You can test your OCS by sitting in the front passenger seat and see if the “PASS AIR BAG OFF” light turns on right next to the hazard lights button. If it does , the notice says to “unfasten the seat belt, sit upright in the center of the seat with the seat back nearly vertical with your legs outstretched. Then refasten the seatbelt.”

To quickly summarize, the first recall replaced only the seat cushion on leather-equipped Kizashi models, with a faux leather cushion. This new recall replaces the OCS and also comes with a new seat cushion.

Something tells me most of you will probably skip this recall, too, but I thought I’d share it here anyway and explain how it’s different from the first passenger seat recall.
Does anyone here outside the US get these recalls, too?
Last edited by KlutzNinja on Thu Nov 11, 2021 6:19 am, edited 2 times in total.
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KuroNekko
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I got the same recall notice last Friday and my understanding is exactly as you summarized. The first recall pertained to leather seats specifically but now, it's the sensors themselves that are faulty in likely all Kizashis. I'll get this recall done as I've frequently seen the indicator show the front passenger airbags off though I have a front seat occupant. I always thought it was due to their relative light weight but looks like there is more to it.
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KlutzNinja
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KuroNekko wrote: Mon Nov 08, 2021 9:49 pm I got the same recall notice last Friday and my understanding is exactly as you summarized. The first recall pertained to leather seats specifically but now, it's the sensors themselves that are faulty in likely all Kizashis. I'll get this recall done as I've frequently seen the indicator show the front passenger airbags off though I have a front seat occupant. I always thought it was due to their relative light weight but looks like there is more to it.
I had to reread both notices several times to fully understand them lol. I thought the original recall was for the sensor, thinking the shrunken leather upholstery damaged it, and that the faux leather cushion was what it came in. Now I know better, I think that first issue was like if you tried to speak but had your hands squishing your cheeks lol; you’re not damaging anything but you can’t speak normally, either, and if you relieve the pressure (i.e. the shrunken leather cushion) it’s fine.

I’m wondering if these sensors are made by Takata? The airbags in the Suzuki are by Takata, and for anyone who doesn’t know, they’ve been doing a massive recall on faulty airbags for some time now. It doesn’t look like the Kizashi was part of that recall, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they made other faulty safety equipment, too.

Might want to try that proper posture procedure the notice suggested. Hopefully that works. It doesn’t sound like a comfortable seating position, though.

I’d get this recall done if I lived or worked by the service center like you do lol. I was lucky that the pandemic was still in its early stages and traffic was pretty low when I last went there. But traffic is now seemingly worse than pre-pandemic levels and I really don’t even have passengers anyway. I can count on one hand how many times a year I have passengers. I’m sure most here have passengers more often than I do, however.
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Ronzuki
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I don't have leather and have received this recall. MANY years ago I reported my car experiencing this problem to the dealer on multiple occasions with both my adult daughter and wife. Nothing came of it. The response of no problem found even w/ photo evidence in hand pissed me off so I filed a complaint w/ NHTSA. Well gee, it really takes that long to do something? Really? Now many years later, I simply don't care, Another recall in the circular file. When I drive the car, 99.9% of the time, I'm solo. Besides, it'll really look like crap if they replace one cushion , w/ new and different upholstery, among the rest of the original faded interior fabric. I'm just happy we've never received a recall for air-bag grenades in the steering wheel. Hard to believe we actually dodged that one.
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KuroNekko
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I looked into the air bags for the Kizashi a while back during the height of the Takata recall. It was my finding that the Kizashi used Continental airbag modules, not Takata. This is very likely the reason why the Kizashi was never recalled for airbags.

I'm going to get this recall done because I'm sure it will affect my registration if I don't as I live in California. I have a whole year given I just renewed it. While I don't always have a front passenger, the ones who sit there are certainly susceptible to this issue due to their small stature. I also now work one freeway exit away from my Suzuki Service Dealer who did a good job on the fuel tank recall. I hope they are still a service location for recalls.
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KlutzNinja
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KuroNekko wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 6:45 pm I looked into the air bags for the Kizashi a while back during the height of the Takata recall. It was my finding that the Kizashi used Continental airbag modules, not Takata. This is very likely the reason why the Kizashi was never recalled for airbags.

I'm going to get this recall done because I'm sure it will affect my registration if I don't as I live in California. I have a whole year given I just renewed it. While I don't always have a front passenger, the ones who sit there are certainly susceptible to this issue due to their small stature. I also now work one freeway exit away from my Suzuki Service Dealer who did a good job on the fuel tank recall. I hope they are still a service location for recalls.
I just read about that airbag thread, too. Weird. I could swear I saw the Takata name somewhere I in the Kizashi, and assumed airbags. I tried looking where I thought I saw it, but couldn’t find anything in the short amount of time. So I’ll keep looking. I don’t think it was in another vehicle because I don’t really go in other cars much, and this felt pretty recent, too. Really hope it wasn’t from a dream :lol:. Anyone ever have dreams involving their Kizashi? I think I’ve had some.

You should be able to get this recall done at that Santa Ana service center; that’s where I got the first seat recall done. The technician they have on hand works exclusively on Suzuki recalls, so he must be pretty busy :lol:. I hope this recall doesn’t affect registration, but like you, I just had mine renewed.
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KuroNekko
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KlutzNinja wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 8:51 am
KuroNekko wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 6:45 pm I looked into the air bags for the Kizashi a while back during the height of the Takata recall. It was my finding that the Kizashi used Continental airbag modules, not Takata. This is very likely the reason why the Kizashi was never recalled for airbags.

I'm going to get this recall done because I'm sure it will affect my registration if I don't as I live in California. I have a whole year given I just renewed it. While I don't always have a front passenger, the ones who sit there are certainly susceptible to this issue due to their small stature. I also now work one freeway exit away from my Suzuki Service Dealer who did a good job on the fuel tank recall. I hope they are still a service location for recalls.
I just read about that airbag thread, too. Weird. I could swear I saw the Takata name somewhere I in the Kizashi, and assumed airbags. I tried looking where I thought I saw it, but couldn’t find anything in the short amount of time. So I’ll keep looking. I don’t think it was in another vehicle because I don’t really go in other cars much, and this felt pretty recent, too. Really hope it wasn’t from a dream :lol:. Anyone ever have dreams involving their Kizashi? I think I’ve had some.

You should be able to get this recall done at that Santa Ana service center; that’s where I got the first seat recall done. The technician they have on hand works exclusively on Suzuki recalls, so he must be pretty busy :lol:. I hope this recall doesn’t affect registration, but like you, I just had mine renewed.
I now work in Downtown Santa Ana so the service center is close by. I'll look into the recall work when I have more time.
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KlutzNinja
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I wish I wasn’t right about Takata equipment being in the Kizashi… I’m hoping it’s harder to screw up these things than airbags :drive:.
It is pretty cool you can see exactly what day they were manufactured, though.
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KuroNekko
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So Takata is a vehicle restraint manufacturer that supplies as OEM and aftermarket. They don't just make airbags but also seatbelts, seat harnesses, and even seats. While the seatbelt in the Kizashi is made by Takata, I think the airbag module is made by Continental. I posted about this a while back after I searched the Suzuki part # online for the airbag module and when I saw a photo of the actual part, the OEM was Continental. It would also explain why the Kizashi wasn't included in the massive Takata airbag recall.

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