Wrapping up 2021 with the Kizashi
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 12:01 am
Regrettably, this year has not allowed me to post here as much as I have in the past years. I've been wanting to post and upload more photos but life has got in the way. That being said, the Kizashi has continued to be a dependent vehicle for me that I rely on for work and personal use. This year, my 2011 Kizashi Sport GTS turned a decade old and I currently have about 115,000 miles on it. Given the age and mileage, I have maintained the car this year with a focus on high mileage service and getting it ready for the next 100,000 miles. This post is to serve as a wrap-up of the year with the Kizashi and document some of the repairs and maintenance. It's also going to be a retroactive posting of some of the adventures with the Kizashi.
As mentioned, at now over 100K miles, I took on some of the more major service I had yet to do with the Kizashi I bought practically new in 2012 with only 7,500 miles on it. This year, I changed the coolant and the serpentine belt. While I had also bought Continental belt idler pulleys from RockAuto, they did not actually fit the Kizashi so I reused the OE parts. Having replaced all the struts and shocks either earlier this year or last year, I also replaced the sway bar links on all corners. The fronts were easy but corrosion made the rears the most challenging thing I've come across with my Kizashi thus far. I had to resort to using a Dremel to saw the end links off the mount to install replacement end links I sourced from Moog. The Moog end links are lot beefier and have a design that makes them easier to remove in the future.
I also replaced my valve cover gasket after noticing some minor oil leaks from the seal. It appears to be a moderately common issue with the engine that numerous members here have addressed. I bought a gasket on Amazon that fit perfectly. While I had the cover off, I took some photos of the engine's camshafts and timing chain. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the engine and felt vindicated in using full synthetic motor oil since the beginning. I've changed brands of oil a few times but stuck to a full syn 5W30 motor oil and will continue to do so.
I also changed my HID headlight bulbs after several years of service from my Morimoto XB35 5000K bulbs I installed in January of 2014. While the bulbs never failed, they didn't appear as bright as before so I opted to just change the bulbs, keeping the rest of the kit. I got a set of HID bulbs on clearance from TRS.com that use a Phillips capsule outputting 4300K for an OE HID look. While these bulbs are less white and more warm, the light output has increased noticeably. In the picture below, the vehicle's LH side headlight (right side of picture) has the new 4300K bulb while the RH side has the 5000K bulb. Because I merely changed the bulbs instead of the whole kit, the replacement bulbs on clearance cost me only $20 for the pair. While the photo doesn't reflect the difference much in output, it was significant on the road. If you have tired headlight bulbs after several years of service, it might be a good idea to replace them to get back optimal road illumination.
As for issues, I've had relatively minor issues with the Kizashi in terms of reliability. The idle was wonky for a bit and the engine sometimes stalled at idle. I resolved the issue by cleaning the MAF and throttle body for the first time. I also had a mysterious engine stall-out recently following an odd start but cured that with a battery disconnect. I also had a clutch bearing noise for a few months over the summer that disappeared all together. The clutch is operating fine and the noise hasn't reappeared for several months now. That was pretty much it for issues with the car. It continues to be a reliable vehicle that doesn't give me problems I can't resolve quickly on my own or goes away on its own.
I also got the fuel tank replaced as part of the recall sometime earlier this year or the last. Can't remember anymore but the recall work appears to be good and I've had no issues. I'll also get the passenger seat recall work done next year.
While I go on plenty of outdoor adventures, the Kizashi isn't exactly the best car for offroad travel to remote campsites. I thankfully have access to my girlfriend's 2019 Chevy Equinox AWD that has served as an impressive vehicle for all our adventure needs. While I have pushed that CUV a bit more than it was designed to do at times, it's been a great car and thankfully got me places and hauled things that the Kizashi could not. That being said, I'm using the Kizashi for trips it can get to and most recently drove it out to the Salton Sea for primitive camping. The campsite was accessible for any vehicle so I opted to take the Kizashi with the Thule roof box for extra cargo space. The Salton Sea is a very unique place because it's basically a huge lake with no inlet or outlet thus it's quite toxic at times due to salinity, algae, and agricultural runoff of chemicals. Hence, you don't see anyone or anything in it most of the time. This allows for a natural serenity unlike most places with this sort of scenery with mountains for a backdrop. It's also far in the desert and at night, allows for some unreal views of the stars. I easily spotted numerous satellites as they moved across the night sky. I wanted to visit the Salton Sea for a number of these unique reasons but I also expect the place to change a lot in the next several years. The Salton Sea is actually believed by industry experts and scientists to have the largest reserve of lithium in the United States, with some estimates as high as 40% of the entire national supply. I believe it is inevitable as we shift to electrified vehicles that lithium mining will need to increase and it appears the United States has some promising resources such as the Salton Sea.
While there are other things I can write about, these are the highlights of 2021 with the Kizashi for me. Please feel free to comment or share your own stories and photos of your 2021 with your Kizashi. Happy New Year and stay safe and sane out there.
As mentioned, at now over 100K miles, I took on some of the more major service I had yet to do with the Kizashi I bought practically new in 2012 with only 7,500 miles on it. This year, I changed the coolant and the serpentine belt. While I had also bought Continental belt idler pulleys from RockAuto, they did not actually fit the Kizashi so I reused the OE parts. Having replaced all the struts and shocks either earlier this year or last year, I also replaced the sway bar links on all corners. The fronts were easy but corrosion made the rears the most challenging thing I've come across with my Kizashi thus far. I had to resort to using a Dremel to saw the end links off the mount to install replacement end links I sourced from Moog. The Moog end links are lot beefier and have a design that makes them easier to remove in the future.
I also replaced my valve cover gasket after noticing some minor oil leaks from the seal. It appears to be a moderately common issue with the engine that numerous members here have addressed. I bought a gasket on Amazon that fit perfectly. While I had the cover off, I took some photos of the engine's camshafts and timing chain. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the engine and felt vindicated in using full synthetic motor oil since the beginning. I've changed brands of oil a few times but stuck to a full syn 5W30 motor oil and will continue to do so.
I also changed my HID headlight bulbs after several years of service from my Morimoto XB35 5000K bulbs I installed in January of 2014. While the bulbs never failed, they didn't appear as bright as before so I opted to just change the bulbs, keeping the rest of the kit. I got a set of HID bulbs on clearance from TRS.com that use a Phillips capsule outputting 4300K for an OE HID look. While these bulbs are less white and more warm, the light output has increased noticeably. In the picture below, the vehicle's LH side headlight (right side of picture) has the new 4300K bulb while the RH side has the 5000K bulb. Because I merely changed the bulbs instead of the whole kit, the replacement bulbs on clearance cost me only $20 for the pair. While the photo doesn't reflect the difference much in output, it was significant on the road. If you have tired headlight bulbs after several years of service, it might be a good idea to replace them to get back optimal road illumination.
As for issues, I've had relatively minor issues with the Kizashi in terms of reliability. The idle was wonky for a bit and the engine sometimes stalled at idle. I resolved the issue by cleaning the MAF and throttle body for the first time. I also had a mysterious engine stall-out recently following an odd start but cured that with a battery disconnect. I also had a clutch bearing noise for a few months over the summer that disappeared all together. The clutch is operating fine and the noise hasn't reappeared for several months now. That was pretty much it for issues with the car. It continues to be a reliable vehicle that doesn't give me problems I can't resolve quickly on my own or goes away on its own.
I also got the fuel tank replaced as part of the recall sometime earlier this year or the last. Can't remember anymore but the recall work appears to be good and I've had no issues. I'll also get the passenger seat recall work done next year.
While I go on plenty of outdoor adventures, the Kizashi isn't exactly the best car for offroad travel to remote campsites. I thankfully have access to my girlfriend's 2019 Chevy Equinox AWD that has served as an impressive vehicle for all our adventure needs. While I have pushed that CUV a bit more than it was designed to do at times, it's been a great car and thankfully got me places and hauled things that the Kizashi could not. That being said, I'm using the Kizashi for trips it can get to and most recently drove it out to the Salton Sea for primitive camping. The campsite was accessible for any vehicle so I opted to take the Kizashi with the Thule roof box for extra cargo space. The Salton Sea is a very unique place because it's basically a huge lake with no inlet or outlet thus it's quite toxic at times due to salinity, algae, and agricultural runoff of chemicals. Hence, you don't see anyone or anything in it most of the time. This allows for a natural serenity unlike most places with this sort of scenery with mountains for a backdrop. It's also far in the desert and at night, allows for some unreal views of the stars. I easily spotted numerous satellites as they moved across the night sky. I wanted to visit the Salton Sea for a number of these unique reasons but I also expect the place to change a lot in the next several years. The Salton Sea is actually believed by industry experts and scientists to have the largest reserve of lithium in the United States, with some estimates as high as 40% of the entire national supply. I believe it is inevitable as we shift to electrified vehicles that lithium mining will need to increase and it appears the United States has some promising resources such as the Salton Sea.
While there are other things I can write about, these are the highlights of 2021 with the Kizashi for me. Please feel free to comment or share your own stories and photos of your 2021 with your Kizashi. Happy New Year and stay safe and sane out there.