114 Days: Pt IV Gettin' ludicrous

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WESHOOT2
Posts: 1976
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:37 pm
Location: Vermont

Successfully mounted the Blizzak-wrapped Enkeis today, gave it a short drive to confirm (7 miles before the TPMS light lit), and was done.
Nice.

Needs new bulbs.....





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LPSISRL
Posts: 991
Joined: Tue Jun 18, 2013 12:49 pm
Location: Chesapeake, Virginia

WESHOOT2 wrote:So..............
Headlights seem aimed by three blind mice.
:lol:
2011 Kizashi SLS CVT (silver)
2005 Honda Odyssey
Priors:
2009 Suzuki SX4 Cross AWD 5-speed Tech package (vapor metallic blue)
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5170
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

Congrats on #4. Glad to see you got yourself in a car you feel confident and comfortable with.
Upload a photo sometime.
Are you keeping the broken one as a parts car?
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
WESHOOT2
Posts: 1976
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:37 pm
Location: Vermont

....keeping the broken one as a parts car?



Wife said no, so I'm doing what I can before it goes....
golftango
Posts: 322
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:53 pm
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Regarding the headlights, when I first got my Kiz it had the same issue. Turns out the PO installed the bulbs incorrectly. See if they are seated properly.
2019 Kia Optima EX Premium
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5170
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

golftango wrote:Regarding the headlights, when I first got my Kiz it had the same issue. Turns out the PO installed the bulbs incorrectly. See if they are seated properly.
Good to hear from you again GolfTango.
I suspect some people try to replace the bulbs without actually removing the bumper therefore, they don't have the clearance to do it properly like fully seat the bulbs in the housing. From my experience, to really access all the bulbs, the front bumper needs to come off or at least be loosened and if I recall correctly, the headlights too. Given I run HID and LED bulbs, I rarely deal with the headlights for bulb issues but always fully remove the bumper and headlights for installation.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
WESHOOT2
Posts: 1976
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:37 pm
Location: Vermont

I have seriously considered swapping headlamp assemblies.......except it's winter.
WESHOOT2
Posts: 1976
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:37 pm
Location: Vermont

Had the car a week, and still have yet to 'floor it'. Has a nasty exhaust leak (discovered on my test drive of 40 yds around the dealer's parking lot), and my gun-shy nature now that I've had a tranny fail; first I need a CVT fluid change, and I'm certain while there they'll discover and inform me on that exhaust noise.
Fix it then floor it......

Otherwise, in its first week, things I've learned:
-decent brakes
-jittery ride (tire pressure? alignment?)
-sticks in the corners
-Blizzaks offer great brake feel on slippery surfaces
-the power seat lets me sit very high
-bulbs need both replacement and proper install
-there's something rolling back and forth inside the driver door panel
-lotsa lotsa Mobil premium while I wait to finally floor it.

Seriously, what kind and how much car does $6,000 buy these days? Apparently a 2012 62K AWD Kizashi with an exhaust leak.......




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KlutzNinja
Posts: 286
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2019 6:58 am

Have you ever taken a Kizashi front door panel off? It’s not fun but not too difficult, either. This video shows the gist of it. Although in my experience the part where you finally pry the door panel off with the screwdriver tends to leave a mark from the force applied. And in my case I pried each white plug out first, not in one big go like Jeffrey seemed to do here.
I’d recommend a plastic pry tool for the small covers that need to be removed for the screws in the first step, because using a screwdriver will leave scratches and/or bend marks (ask me how I know...)
Hopefully whatever is loose in the door panel will be easy to identify and remove. Could be one of the white plugs or a piece of one that broke off. They don’t always fit/stay in the panel or the door frame just right.
https://youtu.be/V5x5apE2XHE

Could the suspension be the culprit for the jittery ride? I thought the Kizashi’s suspension can start to go at around 60k miles. Mine is at 65.5k miles and it could be better but isn’t awful just yet. Who knows what kind of roads the previous drivers of your car drove through. Maybe they went over pointy speed bumps too quickly too often. Not all speed bumps are created equally, I’ve learned the hard way.
The alignment could be a suspect, though. The used car dealer I got my Kizashi at did some things like give it new tires and new battery, but apparently they didn’t check the alignment. When I test drove it, I noticed right away something was wrong; I had to keep the steering wheel pointed slightly right to keep the car straight. Their mechanic confirmed it and fixed it before I bought it. So I definitely wouldn’t put a misaligned car past the place you got this Kizashi from. Don’t know if this is normal for used car dealers lol; my previous car was a used Focus from a Honda dealer.
Current: Blue 2018 Mazda 3 GT 5-Door
Previous: Blue 2010 Ford Focus SES,
Black 2013 Kizashi Sport GTS-L (CVT; FWD)(RIP)
WESHOOT2
Posts: 1976
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:37 pm
Location: Vermont

While perhaps capable, I am certainly not willing to do mechanical work of any kind on automobiles.
I'll live with the noise.....

As for suspension / alignment / tire pressure/balance, fist I'll get the TPMS hack completed, adjust pressures, and test.
Based on my limited experience with this #4, the suspension 'seems' decent.
I'll get more information when it goes up in the air having the trans fluid replaced.........
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