2011 Suzuki Kizashi problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Exterior Lighting (9) · Power Train (3) · Air Bags (3)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Suzuki Kizashi model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (5)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2019-05-02 · campaign 19V343000 · 21,052 vehicles
Defect: Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (Suzuki) is recalling 2010-2013 Kizashi vehicles. The front passenger seat Occupant Classification System (OCS) may misclassify an adult occupant as child and deactivate the front air bag.
Risk: The deactivated front air bag will not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Suzuki will notify owners, and service providers will replace the front passenger seat cushion, which includes a new OCS mat assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed on October 29, 2021. Owners may contact Suzuki customer service at 1-800-934-0934. Suzuki's number for this recall is C5.
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification 2019-03-07 · campaign 19V187000 · 31,302 vehicles
Defect: Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (Suzuki) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Kizashi and 2006-2013 Grand Vitara vehicles. The front passenger leather seat may shrink due to high humidity and high temperature. As a result, the occupant classification system (OCS) sensor mat may not accurately detect if an adult or child is occupying the seat.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating airbag deployment, an incorrect classification may result in the passenger frontal air bag deploying even if there is a child in the front passenger seat, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: Suzuki will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seat bottom cushion, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on May 3, 2019. All second letters notifying owners of the remedy were mailed by April 10, 2020. Owners may contact Suzuki customer service at 1-800-934-0934. Suzuki's numbers for this recall are 4011 and 4012.
Fuel System, Gasoline 2018-10-31 · campaign 18V769000 · 21,063 vehicles
Defect: Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (Suzuki) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Suzuki Kizashi vehicles. Dust can enter the vent line that provides fresh air to the carbon canister, restricting its air flow and possibly creating excessive negative pressure in the fuel tank which may result in the fuel tank cracking.
Risk: A cracked tank may leak fuel, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Suzuki has sent owners an initial notification to inform them of the recall. When parts are available, a second notice will be mailed and dealers will install a cover over the opening near the suction pipe inlet, and relocate the suction filter. The fuel cap and fuel tank will also be replaced with improved parts. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Suzuki customer service at 1-800-934-0934.
Power Train:automatic Transmission:gear Position Indication (Prndl) 2014-12-22 · campaign 14V811000 · 60,823 vehicles
Defect: Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (Suzuki) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 SX4 vehicles manufactured July 16, 2009, to November 1, 2012, and 2010-2013 Kizashi vehicles manufactured October 13, 2009, to October 31, 2012. The shift selector can be moved out of the "Park" position without depressing the brake pedal.
Risk: If the shift selector is moved out of the "Park" position while the brake pedal is not depressed, the vehicle may unexpectedly roll, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Suzuki will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shift selector assembly and inspect, and if necessary, replace the shift knob, free of charge. The recall began January 16, 2015. Owners may contact Suzuki customer service at 1-714-996-7040. Suzuki's number for this recall is VL.
Fuel System, Gasoline 2014-07-30 · campaign 14V464000 · 19,249 vehicles
Defect: Suzuki Motor Of America, Inc. (Suzuki) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 Kizashi vehicles manufactured October 2009 through July 2012. In the affected vehicles, spiders may weave a web in the evaporative canister vent hose, blocking it and causing the fuel tank to have an excessive amount of negative pressure.
Risk: Negative pressure could cause the fuel tank to crack resulting in a fuel leak, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Suzuki is in the process of notifying owners, and dealers will replace the evaporative canister vent line on the affected vehicles with a vent line that has a filter on the end. If the canister vent line is found to be obstructed by a spider web, the fuel tank will also be replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 12, 2014. Owners may contact Suzuki customer service at 1-800-934-0934. Suzuki's number for this recall is VG.
Service bulletins (3)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Suspension 2022-07-08 · SUZ_016008 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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.
Suspension 2018-11-20 · N-Q-G-045 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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.
Power Train 2017-07-06 · suz_013727 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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.
What owners report
2021-01-28 · Unknown Or Other“been trying to get my repairs on my car since june of 2020 and was just recently told that i could not get my car repaired due to suzuki closing down i can not get my tags because of this issue the recalls has to be fixed…”
2020-09-29 · Air Bags · 70,000 mi“the airbag defect warning light stays on while driving or the car being on. suzuki depot in sant ana ca replaced the right front passenger seat cushion due to a manufacturer recall. the airbag light for the right front seat soon activated. i took the car to a local shop. i was advised that the code c1312 was a manufacturer defect recall code by…”
2020-09-21 · Power Train“i was driving and stop on a red light i heard a loud noise from under the vehicle so put my car on parking the light change so i shift to drive and the vehicle stay (neutral) no matter what gear it is the car stay neutral . so i stay on the car because the was lot of traffic thanks god a cop stop to help me to push the vehicle . i took the vehicle…”
2019-09-09 · Engine And Engine Cooling:exhaust System:emission Control“2011 suzuki kizashi sport sls. consumer writes in regards to safety and emissions recall. *ld the consumer stated the manufacturer was unable to help locate a local dealer to complete the recall. *js…”
2019-04-01 · Engine · 76,000 mi“undiagnoseable overheating. when running the air conditioner for long periods of time (i.e. road trip, less than 90 minutes) the air conditioning stops working and the coolant blows out of the overflow tank. this has happened multiple times. we've replaced the radiator twice, 3 different thermostats and i've had the head machined and checked for…”
2019-01-24 · Exterior Lighting · 74,500 mi“six months ago, i had to replace my drivers side lowbeam headlight bulb. it appears to be out again. this seems to be an unusually short amount of time to have a headlight go out.…”
2016-10-10 · Electrical System · 145,000 mi“i got my kizashi in 2012 and have already had to replace the battery twice. i took it to a shop to have looked at and they can't find any reason it keeps being drained the way it has been. i don't know how to fix this.…”
2016-08-24 · Air Bags · 76,000 mi · 💥 crash“my husband was driving on a city street in my car and was in an accident. he was t-boned on the driver side and the air bags did not deploy. he was in the intersection going around 30 mph, i am not sure how fast the other vehicle was going. this accident happened august 12, 2016 at 9:30 pm.…”
2016-08-16 · Exterior Lighting · 72,000 mi“i bought my suzuki during september 2015. four months after my purchase the headlights suddenly turned off. the daytime running lights work as well as my high beams. in order for me to drive at night, the high beams are on. my high beams are also not bright enough to be considered high beams. the license plate lights also turned off (the same …”
2016-06-01 · Power Train · 79,468 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2011 suzuki kizashi. the contact stated that when attempted to start, the vehicle would fail to start. in addition, the contact stated that while the gear shifter in park, the vehicle would roll backwards. the failure recurred numerous time. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the f…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.