CVT Transmission starting to fail

[patrick3967]

Hello all, owner of a 2012 Kizashi with CVT about 164000 miles. Coming home from a long trip today car started making weird rattle noises and bucking, and no power.Engine was running fine, just no power and bucking. I was able to nurse it home the last mile and a half of my trip and getting a tow in the morning. I've had the car since day one, never any problems at all, and in fact no issues at all today until the last 1.5 miles of a 90 mile trip. Weird thing was once I got it past 15 mph car ran normally, and then as I slowed down the 15 to 0 mph it started bucking again. No gear grinding noise, just a real loud rattling sound and really bad bucking, like I was running over a log or something.Was wondering if anyone has had that happen to them and what the outcome was? Im hoping its not too serious but Im not optimistic. Thanks for any help or information. Patrick.

[patrick3967]

Well, just to update my own question, had the Kizashi towed to Suzuki dealer, there was internal damage to the transmission, that pretty much made it make no sense to repair it, so it's being donated to Big Brothers / Big Sisters and replaced with a Toyota RAV 4. I will certainly miss the Suzuki, and all the interesting things I read on this forum.

[WIKizashi]

Sorry to hear and pretty scary that the CVT can just give up the ghost like that with so little warning. Unfortunate that you are well past the 100K warranty but at least you got a lot of use out of the vehicle. Good luck with the Rav4.

[golftango]

Well, just to update my own question, had the Kizashi towed to Suzuki dealer, there was internal damage to the transmission, that pretty much made it make no sense to repair it, so it's being donated to Big Brothers / Big Sisters and replaced with a Toyota RAV 4. I will certainly miss the Suzuki, and all the interesting things I read on this forum.

Pretty new vehicle to just give it up. I'd put a few hundred into it for a used low mileage CVT and go another 100K.

[Woodie]

Sorry to hear and pretty scary that the CVT can just give up the ghost like that with so little warning.

Any automatic transmission can "give up the ghost like that", the whole concept is sketchy at best. And CVT is the sketchiest of automatics. Taking a bad idea a step further.

[WESHOOT2]

I'd put a few hundred into it for a used low mileage CVT and go another 100K.

I'd spend even more.....

[KuroNekko]

Well, just to update my own question, had the Kizashi towed to Suzuki dealer, there was internal damage to the transmission, that pretty much made it make no sense to repair it, so it's being donated to Big Brothers / Big Sisters and replaced with a Toyota RAV 4. I will certainly miss the Suzuki, and all the interesting things I read on this forum.

Given your first post, I suspected it was a failure of the CVT as you stated the engine alone seemed fine.
I too would have moved on from the Kizashi in your situation. While a 2012 model car is rather new, you put 164,000 miles in a relatively short amount of time. Even if you got a new CVT, the car already has those miles and so does the engine. With the dismal resale value of the Kizashi, it's financially questionable to spend thousands replacing the CVT in such a high mileage car with low resale value. You also seem to drive a lot and having a reliable car is probably more important to you than most other people. The Toyota RAV4 is a solid choice for a compact CUV and I especially like the new hybrid version. Their city MPG rating exceeds the Kizashi's highway MPG rating while having AWD, more total HP, and a faster 0 to 60 MPH time!

[patrick3967]

Yes KuroNekko, having a reliable car is extremely important to me. I travel a lot with my son, who is handicapped, and I can't take any chances. The cost of the repair, the time the car would have been in the shop, and my thought that a repaired transmission would be as not be as good as factory made the decision an easy one. I did get a look at the Kizzy's underside before it got picked up and there was a football sized hole in the tranny where it blew itself apart, so I'm comfortable with the decision. I did get the hybrid Rav 4, and although its an extremely boring car, and lacks character, it is a hybrid, has AWD, and hopefully will be bulletproof. A sad ending to the Kiz, I absolutely loved the car, but I just couldn't bring myself to pour money into it and hope the mechanics knew what they were doing.

[golftango]

Yes KuroNekko, having a reliable car is extremely important to me. I travel a lot with my son, who is handicapped, and I can't take any chances. The cost of the repair, the time the car would have been in the shop, and my thought that a repaired transmission would be as not be as good as factory made the decision an easy one. I did get a look at the Kizzy's underside before it got picked up and there was a football sized hole in the tranny where it blew itself apart, so I'm comfortable with the decision. I did get the hybrid Rav 4, and although its an extremely boring car, and lacks character, it is a hybrid, has AWD, and hopefully will be bulletproof. A sad ending to the Kiz, I absolutely loved the car, but I just couldn't bring myself to pour money into it and hope the mechanics knew what they were doing.

Patrick, while sad to see another Kizashi go, sounds like the RAV4 was a solid choice for your needs! Best of luck to you and your family!

[KuroNekko]

Yes KuroNekko, having a reliable car is extremely important to me. I travel a lot with my son, who is handicapped, and I can't take any chances. The cost of the repair, the time the car would have been in the shop, and my thought that a repaired transmission would be as not be as good as factory made the decision an easy one. I did get a look at the Kizzy's underside before it got picked up and there was a football sized hole in the tranny where it blew itself apart, so I'm comfortable with the decision. I did get the hybrid Rav 4, and although its an extremely boring car, and lacks character, it is a hybrid, has AWD, and hopefully will be bulletproof. A sad ending to the Kiz, I absolutely loved the car, but I just couldn't bring myself to pour money into it and hope the mechanics knew what they were doing.

In my opinion, you did the best thing. It would be unwise to spend a lot of money to replace the transmission on the Kizashi with its dismal resale value, regardless of the intrinsic value of the Kizashi. The CVT grenading itself is also alarming but interesting. Can you provide any more details on that or what the technicians stated? I wonder if one of the pulleys came off and shot through the transmission pan from the force of the belt.

As for the RAV4 Hybrid, I think it's an excellent choice. It's actually a vehicle I really like and would consider as a replacement vehicle myself. While there is no doubt it doesn't have the driving dynamics or handling of the Kizashi, there are many positive attributes to the RAV4 Hybrid. It's the fastest RAV4 yet it has AWD and is also the most fuel efficient. In regards to reliability, it's hard to beat it. Toyota is the #1 brand for reliability and their hybrids are among the most reliable cars on the planet. While the RAV4 Hybrid is all new, the Prius is now in its 4th generation so Toyota has a lot of experience with hybrid technology. The batteries will likely outlast your need for the car given the miles you put on. Typically, it's around 200,000 miles when the NiMH batteries of hybrid cars need replacement. The RAV4 Hybrid does also use a CVT, but I imagine it will be a lot more reliable than the Kizashi's. First, it's an Aisin CVT and not a JATCO. Toyota's Aisin transmissions are more robust and have lower failure rates than JATCO CVTs. In addition to that, the Hybrid's electric motors augment the CVT to take the load off its work, especially in acceleration from a stop.
While it's understandably sad that the Kizashi was put out to pasture following the catastrophic CVT failure, I think you did the most sensible thing and got a great replacement vehicle. Best of luck with your RAV4 Hybrid.