CVT Transmission starting to fail

patrick3967 · Fri Jul 01, 2016 2:32 am

Thanks guys, for the well wishes. I'll still be checking this forum, I love Suzukis, had a Samurai and GSX-R back in the day...

dslatsh · Mon Jul 04, 2016 2:33 am

You know i've been seeing a CVT issues recently on this forum and it's making me a little worried about my kizzy now. Anyone know the percentage of CVT failures etc that the car has? Mines a 2011 SLS AWD with around 60k on it....hopefully my luck stays and have no issues.

Tue Jul 05, 2016 3:59 pm

dslatsh wrote:You know i've been seeing a CVT issues recently on this forum and it's making me a little worried about my kizzy now. Anyone know the percentage of CVT failures etc that the car has? Mines a 2011 SLS AWD with around 60k on it....hopefully my luck stays and have no issues.

I think CVT failures aren't too common with the Kizashi, but you'll hear about it when it happens. One thing that seems to be the case about the CVT's fluid is the same for "life-long fluids" of other transmissions; don't trust it. While the CVT's fluid apparently doesn't have a service interval explicitly laid out in the Owner's Manual, it's quite evident the fluid should be changed regularly. Weshoot2 just had his CVT fluid changed at 60K after experiencing some whining noise. He claims since the fluid change, the whining noise has disappeared. 60K is a good mileage to change conventional ATF so I wouldn't treat CVT fluid differently if I had a CVT. I'd consider it preventative maintenance. Another thing to note about service intervals is that it's dependent on your use of the car. If you drive a lot or in "severe conditions" which include the daily grind of city commuting, then you should be servicing your car more regularly than the "Normal" schedule.

WESHOOT2 · Thu Jul 07, 2016 4:36 pm

And my old whine is still absent.....

FrankoLaMoya · Thu Jul 07, 2016 6:37 pm

It surprises me because I changed the CVT fluid at 50 000 km in my 2012 and I thought the whining noise was gone, but it came back again after a few days.

Keep us updated!

amy.bertsch · Sun Nov 06, 2016 1:41 am

2013 Kizashi with AWD. I have been experiencing the loss of power with acceleration, whistling sound, and now the ratteling underneath. They replaced a part during the last oil change, think the cv joint. SINCE then, had oil leaks (never had before) took it back, got a loaner. OF course, they said nothing was wrong. Picked it back up. Went to work the next day and the rattle sound happened. It scared the crap out of me, I thought I was dragging something. Day later, it's back at the dealership and I once again have a loaner. If they tell me nothing is wrong.. I'm gonna flip SH*T. help what else can I do? This is the only Suzuki dealership where I live.

Sun Nov 06, 2016 2:44 pm

Hello and Welcome. Sorry to hear about your troubles. It's been mentioned on this forum to try a reputable Nissan dealer for service as an alternative since Nissan has models that use the same base transmission as the Kizashi. Based upon your descriptions posted here it's really difficult for me or anyone else to determine transmission issue, or something else like possibly the transfer case, an impartial set of eyes and ears on what your are experiencing may be a good idea. Your AWD car has a transfer case which is attached to the CVT transmission. While I've never heard of any t-case issues, it may be the source of the ratlle (as opposed to the CVT trans)...hard to say.

Where are you located? Maybe there's a knowledgeable forum member near by that could offer a comparison test ride with you or just have a look-n-listen. If you were near me I'd certainly be willing.

golftango · Sun Nov 06, 2016 3:32 pm

Amy, is it possible to take video of what's occurring and post it here? I'm curious to hear what's happening. How many miles on your Kizashi?