Most common 2012 Suzuki Kizashi problems
Share of the 23 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Suzuki Kizashi complaints by model year
Best Kizashi years: 2013. Compare all years →
2012 Suzuki Kizashi recalls (5)
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
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.
Remedy: 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.
Air bags › Sensor › Occupant classification
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.
Remedy: 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.
Fuel system, gasoline
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.
Remedy: 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…
Power train › Automatic transmission › Gear position indication (PRNDL)
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.
Remedy: 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.
Fuel system, gasoline
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.
Remedy: 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.
What 2012 Suzuki Kizashi owners say
Transmission & drivetrain
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.
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.
Air bags
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.
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.
Speed control & acceleration
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 [redacted]. 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 was driving home from work, and the service ESP system came on, right after that the rear car started swaying back and forth. When this started I removed my foot from the gas and the car kept doing this, and the car then spent around and I was going down the highway backwards for about 100 plus yards. My car came to rest in a ditch after hitting a marker post. My car has been in the shop twice before for this same problem and I was told that it was fixed, not the case because I could of lost my life on 09/18/2012.
2012 Suzuki Kizashi engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.4L 4-cyl | CVT | FWD | 23 / 31 / 26 |
| 2.4L 4-cyl | CVT | AWD | 22 / 29 / 25 |
| 2.4L 4-cyl | 6-speed manual | FWD | 21 / 30 / 24 |
EPA ratings. Class: Compact car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2012 Suzuki Kizashi a good car?
Based on 23 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2012 Kizashi rates average: about as many complaints as a typical year of the Kizashi at the same age. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2012 Suzuki Kizashi?
The transmission & drivetrain — 8 complaints, 35% of all complaints for this model year, most often about automatic transmission. Next are the air bags (8) and speed control & acceleration (4).
How many recalls does the 2012 Suzuki Kizashi have?
There are 5 recalls for the 2012 Suzuki Kizashi, the most recent from May 2, 2019 (inflator module). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Suzuki Kizashi?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2013. See the full Suzuki Kizashi years comparison.
At what mileage do 2012 Suzuki Kizashi problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 81,000 miles; 33% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.