2012 Suzuki Kizashi

This is my son's vehicle, purchased by me in January 2025. He attends a college 110 miles from home in PA. As the warmer/hot weather came along in 2025, he was experiencing random scary situations of the car just going into "limp mode" while driving 70 - 75 mph on [XXX]. No warning indicators, no dash lights. No acceleration, couldn't maintain speed, bogged down to 15 mph until he pulled over and turned off the car. It scared him of course, but sadly this became his summertime travel ritual when traveling to and from college. Every trip in 87°< temperatures, a 2-3 time limp mode was in store. I realized in June of 2025 that this problem doesn't throw any DTCs when it happens and because sometimes he didn't wait long enough to clear the limp mode, I had him disconnecting the negative battery cable then reattaching it in order to clear the resident memory to get him going right away. I went a step further and installed gate switch on the negative battery post so he could just lift the hood, break the circuit with the gate arm and put it back down. I write this today because the car's 1st episodes for 2026 was on a similar mileage trip home, however it was only 82°. The CVT fluid has been changed, the level is correct and his driving habits appear to be in line with GPS ETAs vs. his actual arrival times. I went down the rabbit hole regarding the 2013 Kizashi TCM recall and I truly believe the defective TCMs they found have been around for some time before the 2013 Model year. He loves his car, but the car is putting him at risk as well as the driving public around him EVERY TIME THIS HAPPENS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11740982

Incident

Apr 18, 2025

Purchased car from family friend about two weeks ago. First day we got the car, it shifted extremely hard. The transmission is causing the RPMs to rise RAPIDLY when trying to shift gears. It also cut ALL movement to the vehicle, meaning could not move forward or reverse. Hard shifting or not shifting at all. Had to get it towed to my home. Tried changing the transmission fluid and also the filter. No success. Car still not working correctly

NHTSA ID

11664136

Incident

May 11, 2025

The contact owns a 2012 Suzuki Kizashi. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V187000 (Seats, Air Bags); however, the contact was informed that the dealer could not repair the vehicle. The contact stated that the dealer and the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11614804

Incident

Mar 7, 2019

I bought the vehicle in a dealer, the vehicle came with serious mechanical failures which, when purchasing it, asked the owner what problems the vehicle actually had, which responded that it could have a fault in the vehicle sensor, which is normal in vehicles of that brand. . The next day we took the vehicle to the inspection report which showed damage to the gearbox. He recommends that I go back to the dealer and ask for a refund of the money or change of vehicle, since the owner omitted the true fault of the vehicle, I ask him the return or exchange and there was a refusal to return the money and change the vehicle, leaving me with a newly purchased unused vehicle, it was explained to the owner that the vehicle does not pass emissions. The vehicle cannot be fixed since it is a discontinued brand of vehicle and there are no spare parts.

NHTSA ID

11614366

Incident

Sep 3, 2024

On long trips vehicle shuts down and goes into limp mode. It has a very rough idle after restart when it allows you to go. The rims have massively lost large chunks of paint from them as well.It is never close to a dealership when it happens. This normally happens when you are running on the interstate and the vehicle dies in the middle of six lanes of heavy traffic. When this happens no warning lights nor messages appear on the dash. It just shuts down and you literally have to limp it off the road and let it set for a long period of time before it will restart. When it restarts it idles roughly for a long period of time.

NHTSA ID

11530480

Incident

Mar 17, 2023

There is/are recalls on this vehicle regarding the fuel tank and vacuum lines on the fuel filler neck assembly, which causes check engine warnings that indicate "evap emissions" readouts, leaks during refills, interior gas fumes, and potential explosions. This car is currently leaking fuel during refills (and only during refills), has frequent interior gas fumes, and is also having check engine light evap emissions readouts. On 09/12/22 I contacted Suzuki Motor USA regarding the issue because I had learned of the recalls specific to these issues. Customer Service informed me that the recall work on the vehicle had already been completed and said I would have to pay for further repairs, since the recall work was not guaranteed. Recall work not guaranteed? Even though the symptoms I am experiencing are the exact same problems that initiated the recall. Said vehicle is garage parked and shows no signs of rust or deterioration of rubber or metal. Therefore, I am convinced that the recall repair work was insufficient, improperly completed, or involved defective replacement parts. I am seeking assistance to make Suzuki "properly" complete the recall work on this vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11486392

Incident

Aug 27, 2022

The contact owns a 2012 Suzuki Kizashi. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact had previously received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V343000 (Air Bags) in 2019. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer on 7/18/2021 and had the recall repair completed. The contact stated that on 8/18/2021, the front passenger’s side air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact called the local dealer who was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000.

NHTSA ID

11434489

Incident

Oct 1, 2012

Mileage

4,000 mi

WAS DRIVING MY 2012 WHEN SUDDENLY THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON. THE CODES THAT CAME UP ARE B1084, B1312, AND B1015. THE CODES WERE CLEARED BUT THE B1312 STAYED ON. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT LIGHT IS STAYING ON WITH OR WITHOUT A PASSENGER, AND BUCKLED OR NOT. THE AIR BAG B1312 SAYS THAT THE ISSUE IS SOMETHING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR MAT PERFORMANCE. THIS CAR IS CLEAN AND HAS NEVER HAD ANY ACCIDENTS WHATSOEVER. THE LIGHT JUST SUDDENLY CAME ON ONE DAY. I READ THAT THERE WERE OTHER AIRBAG RECALLS TO THE 2012 SUZUKI KIZASHI, BUT MINE SUPPOSEDLY IS NOT INCLUDED. THIS IS DANGEROUS. THE AIRBAG LIGHT HAS NOT GONE OUT. SEEING THAT THERE ARE MANY ISSUES WITH THE 2012 SUZUKI KIZASHI AIRBAG SYSTEM, THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL. THE SUPPOSED FAULTY PART IS NOT AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE. WHY IS THIS NOT A RECALL? ISN'T THIS WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT US FROM? WITH THIS MANY ISSUES, THIS SHOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN TAKEN CARE OF. FIX IT

NHTSA ID

11403820

Incident

Dec 24, 2020

Mileage

83,000 mi

Reminder of the importance to conduct safety inspections for rust damage to suspension and related parts that could be caused by road salt or other chemicals applied to the roadway.

This Service Bulletin was sent by Suzuki Motor Corporation to its authorized Suzuki automobile distributors in the U.S., explaining the importance of proper inspection and maintenance of suspension lower arm ball joints to prevent the ball stud from becoming separated from the suspension lower arm.

This bulletin describes corrective action needed to address complaints of reduction in engine power output due to activation of the continuously variable transmission (CVT) temperature protection control system due to deterioration of the CVT fluid or malfunction of the transmission control module.