Clutch? Flywheel?

[88ws-6]

For the last few thousand miles my transmission has been slipping out of gear when I give it more than about half throttle. For example, I'm in 4th gear at about 35-40 mph and I downshift into 2nd gear to accelerate. If I give it 1/4 to 1/2 throttle I can accelerate fine in 2nd and gain speed. If I floor the downshift to 2nd, the RPMs will sky rocket like I'm in neutral and a full two or three seconds later the engine will finally load up slowly almost like I have the gas and clutch in. If I go full throttle from a start, the car will accelerate normally to the top of first and then when I shift into 2nd and reapply full throttle, the engine will again rev like neutral and then slowly load the engine and RPMs will start coming down to then increase my speed. There is never any clunking noises or clutch pedal resistance during these issues. The shifter never pops out or anything.

I'm thinking it is the clutch or flywheel and hopefully not the transmission itself. The car is at 74,XXX miles now with the original clutch, flywheel and transmission.

[LPSISRL]

Sure sounds like a clutch issue to me. Have you checked the fluid level? However, low fluid will normally result in hard shifting as the clutch does not fully dis-engage. Your problem sounds like the opposite. One way to check is to be in a high gear, like 5th with the RPMs only like 1500. Give it plenty of throttle and your engine RPMs should only rise as the vehicle speed increases. If the RPMs increase with no associated acceleration, your clutch is slipping and will need to be serviced. I'm not sure on this clutch, but on some cars, if you have a leaky rear crank seal, it can contaminate the clutch causing slippage even though the clutch is not worn. 74K miles is a little early to need a clutch but some driving styles can wear out a clutch more quickly than others. If you tend to slip the clutch a lot when starting out to get very smooth starts and do the same between gears, it will wear much more quickly than if you engage it quickly. You can also wear out the clutch quickly if you ride with your foot on it all the time and unknowingly have it only partially engaged. I've always made it a habit to take my foot totally off the clutch unless shifting or idling in gear.

[88ws-6]

Fluid level is fine. I expected the clutch to only last between 75-100k miles because it is my first full-time manual transmission car. I learned everything from double-clutch to hell-toe downshifting on it so I wouldn't be surprised if it is toast.

I will try a 5th gear test after work today.

[KuroNekko]

What you're experiencing is roughly the same as when the clutch gave out on my former Mazda3 at exactly 100,000 miles. I'm certain your clutch is worn out and needs to be replaced.
While 75K is rather low, inexperience and the factors that LPSISRL noted will contribute to rapid wear of the clutch. I know a guy who self-taught himself to drive a stick who needed clutch replacements every 25,000 miles. When he discussed this with me and I went over his driving habits, we discovered he rode his clutch; he rested his left foot on the clutch pedal while driving. It caused minor slipping that eventually wore out his clutch prematurely.

In your case, I think it's other factors like you discussed and I think your flywheel should be fine. These things are rather robust and most single mass flywheels (like used in the Kizashi) last at least 2 or 3 clutch replacements. Dual mass flywheels need to be replaced along with the clutch in many cases but that doesn't apply to our cars. I think the most a mechanic will do to a flywheel is resurface it, sort of like a brake rotor.

Given your clutch is worn and slipping, make it a priority to replace it ASAP. I had about two weeks from the time it started slipping to complete clutch failure as I was driving to the shop for my clutch replacement appointment. The clutch was worn out and overheated trying to make it up a slight grade. I needed a tow for the last few miles to the dealership.

Also, once you get the car back from the shop with the new clutch, be a bit careful. It will feel very different so it can catch you off-guard with the engagement.

Lastly, please keep us posted about Kizashi clutch availability and cost of replacement.

[88ws-6]

Well I'm not looking forward to replacing it. Like you mentioned, finding one may be a chore (as all parts for this car have become) and labor will probably be in the $900 range.

[KuroNekko]

Well I'm not looking forward to replacing it. Like you mentioned, finding one may be a chore (as all parts for this car have become) and labor will probably be in the $900 range.

An Authorized Suzuki Service Dealer should have no problem getting a clutch and related components in stock. If you want to choose the shop yourself, getting the parts on Monsterfactoryparts.com or another OE Kizashi parts supplier should not be too difficult. Clutches are wear items after all and eventually need to be replaced.
A clutch replacement is always expensive, largely due to the labor involved. Best of luck with the process.

[88ws-6]

Thanks for the link. I will check with the dealer I bought the car at and see what price and availability they have first.

[[email protected]]

Hi! Any resolve? I am considering purchasing a used Kizashi manual and fear sourcing a replacement clutch kit is impossible. I noticed the link above had the pressure plate but no disc. Best of luck,

[88ws-6]

Not really a resolution but I'm still dealing with the issue. During these recent cold mornings, the clutch is much worse and after each shift I have to put my foot under the clutch to bring it back up.

Dealer claims that you can't just change the clutch and that the flywheel, pressure plate and clutch disc all have to be replaced which would be $2,400+. They claimed they could have all the parts in 4 business days but I don't exactly have that much money sitting around.

[KuroNekko]

Not really a resolution but I'm still dealing with the issue. During these recent cold mornings, the clutch is much worse and after each shift I have to put my foot under the clutch to bring it back up.

You might want to bleed the clutch line of possible air. The pedal issue sounds more like a hydraulic issue than a worn out clutch to me. Remove the airbox and you'll have easy access to the clutch bleeding nipple.

Dealer claims that you can't just change the clutch and that the flywheel, pressure plate and clutch disc all have to be replaced which would be $2,400+. They claimed they could have all the parts in 4 business days but I don't exactly have that much money sitting around.

Sounds like are trying to screw you over. They know that getting a clutch disc and pressure plate for this car is very hard so they think they have a monopoly on it. I suspect this because they told you a flywheel replacement is necessary when it's likely not. Flywheel replacements are dependent on their condition which is determined upon removing the clutch. If it's worn out, then it requires a replacement but this is rather rare from what I've read. This is what mechanics who actually do the work have said about flywheels. I think the dealership is trying to screw you over and charge you basically 1/2 the price of a brand new transmission to do a clutch job.

After reading your post, I started to do some investigation as I also own a manual Kizashi. Here's what I found:
The OEM for the clutch disc and pressure plate is very likely Exedy. It makes sense as they are a major Japanese OE parts supplier for manual transmissions in Japanese cars. Furthermore, I ran the Suzuki parts numbers for the clutch disc and pressure plate on Exedy's Japanese site's parts finder and they actually cross-referenced to Exedy's own part numbers. Hence, it proved that Exedy is the OE manufacturer for Suzuki. The problem is that none of these Exedy part numbers correspond to aftermarket Exedy parts. I can't find a US market clutch kit, clutch disc, or pressure plate sold for the aftermarket by Exedy. Exedy's US website states they don't have aftermarket parts for the Kizashi. Some ebay vendors and aftermarket parts sites from Australia claim to have Exedy clutch kits for the Kizashi but I can't verify it as their part numbers don't match to anything, even Exedy Australia's resources.

Basically, it seems to me that Exedy makes the clutch components for Suzuki but doesn't make them for the aftermarket hence you're sort of stuck buying it from Suzuki. However, given that the Kizashi is a global car, it's hard to be certain that this is absolutely the case for all markets. The good news is that you can still buy the OE Suzuki clutch disc, pressure plate, and even flywheel online instead from the dealership. This means that you can then take the parts to an independent transmission specialist to have them do the work. This should cost you a fraction of the $2400 quote.
The only issue I can think of is the throw-out bearing as that's not separately listed but it may be included with the clutch disc or pressure plate. In proper clutch kits, they are usually included. I'd be far more concerned about replacing the throw-out bearing than a flywheel.

Here are links to what I've referenced above:

Aussie clutch kits supposedly for the Kizashi:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/EXEDY-clutch-ki ... 1799614207
https://www.suzistore.com.au/kizashi/ki ... etail.html

Suzuki OE part numbers for clutch components:
https://monsterfactoryparts.com/parts/2 ... 20FLYWHEEL

Exedy Japan's Part Number Look-up: (If you run the P/N for the OE Suzuki clutch and pressure plate, it corresponds to Exedy parts)
http://www.exedy-aftermarket.com/english/parts/number/

A USA-based OE Suzuki Kizashi clutch vendor: (Suzukicarparts.com and MonsterFactoryParts.com don't seem to carry the actual clutch disc)
http://www.worldoemparts.com/worldsuzuk ... 2240057l02