Kizashi Club

New second hand owner of a GTS Kizashi. However, I'm experiencing the well documented RF volume fluctuation issue. Unfortunately, my kizashi is out of warranty. So I'm looking for an aftermarket solution to the problem (replacement). Let it be noted that I plan on installing an aftermarket headunit with 5-6 channels in the future. My question is, should I look for amps that will fit in the stock location or should I mount elsewhere? What dimensions should I look for in the new amp? I've read the threads about rewiring the harness to utilize the low level signal outputs and the fact that the factory amp is only 4 channels. Will an 5-6 channel amp be able to work with the factory head unit?

Hi zhangar,

It's been awhile since you posted this, but I'm just now showing my face here again, so hope it's better late than never. Audio is my area of expertise (I'm not an actual expert, just a lot of experience here as a do-it-yourself car audio enthusiast).

You can do pretty much anything you want, each path will have its challenges and workarounds. The stock location for the amp is not a large one. Neither is the real-estate under the seats, so you may find it challenging to find a place to mount an aftermarket amplifier unless you buy one with a low height and small footprint.

If you keep your factory head unit, you will of course have to use an amplifier with high-level (speaker-level) inputs or use a line-level converter. With your aftermarket CD player (with no aftermarket external amplifier), you can just use a compatible wire harness to connect to the stock wiring. I recently did this (swapped my SLS NAV out for a single-DIN NAV with fold-out screen so I could use the other DIN for a top of the line CD player which does not need the stock harness). Simply changing the factory Kenwood NAV to the cheap Clarion single-DIN NAV I noticed a small improvement in sound with the factory amp. This Clarion NAV only puts out about 11-16 watts RMS per channel. I'm guessing the Kenwood is 8-10w per channel.

As far as dimensions for the new amp, you'll just have to get a tape measure and go to town yourself. The Kiz seats have strange bolts, so you can't remove them without access to the tool. For my aftermarket setup, I ended up just using trunk real estate (floor) for mine. What my brother does for testing fit is he gets the dimensions of the amp(s) he is viewing and makes a cardboard model. Then he takes it to the car and plays around with angles and sees what fits where. This is probably your best bet.

You'll find the stock amplifier on the passenger side rear fender behind the wall carpet in the trunk.

This Rockford Fosgate amplifier volume fluctuation issue is killin' me.
Unless I'm just not looking in the right place, I'm guessing there weren't enough people reporting the issue on their 2010's to push Suzuki to approve the replacement of the amplifier, correct?

I emailed Rockford Fosgate, and got this response:

Thanks for contacting us. Unfortunately that is not something we are aware of here in technical support, we handle all the aftermarket products. That is something that would need to be discussed with Suzuki since they handle all the support for their OEM products.

I find it hard to believe that no one else has filed this complaint with RF.
At any rate, I'm not the original owner & the Suzuki warranty's done with.
My car's a recent CarMax purchase, and while I have the extended CarMax warranty that would most likely cover the issue, I would have to pay labor charges if the volume fluctuation decides not to happen while they're inspecting it, or if the fluctuation isn't audible enough for them to hear.

Just wondering if there's been any progress in resolving this particular issue.
A $600 amplifier just isn't on my list of new things to pay for.

Thanks, in advance!

Mine did this the other day. I seemed that it stopped when I turned off the automatic volume adjustment feature.

That didn't work for mine. The AVC being ON was everyone's initial reaction as to the cause of the problem. It's not. They had a bad bunch of amps, period. Had mine replaced under warranty and it's been good ever since. It is also notable that the replacement amp's sound quality was definitely not as crisp, clear and defined as the original amp. So they changed something circuitry-wise. If I recall, the p/n may have even been different...can't remember.

There's a decent old thread about this issue with lots of info.

Woodie wrote:Mine did this the other day. I seemed that it stopped when I turned off the automatic volume adjustment feature.

haha, no, no, mine had nothing to do with the AVC.
The AVC's always off. I hate the AVC.

Ronzuki, I think I DID see a post about there being a slight difference in the model number of the replacement series, I'll have to find the post again.
I definitely don't wanna compromise the current sound, though.
I'm extremely happy with how great this system sounds, it's just the significant fluctuating volume that puts a damper on things.

Looks like I've got some research to do!
Thanks, guys!

Connect4 wrote:I definitely don't wanna compromise the current sound, though.
I'm extremely happy with how great this system sounds...

I was as well, but you'll get used to it being different. Still sounds good and beats the annoying random fluctuation which I don't miss.