Automatic Transmission Control Module Problems of 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).

See all problems of the 2012 Suzuki Kizashi 🔎.

Transmission control module (tcm) for the cvt, the tcm may detect an abnormality in the cvt pulley ratio under as a result of the unusual movement of the stepper motor. The malfunction indicator light (mil) may illuminate and the cvt could go into a fail safe mode resulting in the vehicle losing acceleration. Contacted the Suzuki corporation and they state my VIN is not showing this recall however, the vehicle is doing the exact same thing. Recall notice has been out for this exact year, make and model of this vehicle, but denies that it's for this vehicle. While driving on the highway this vehicle went into like a safety type mode and would not accelerate, and the vehicle will not exit the fail safe mode and needs dealership attention. I almost died on the highway from this issue.

See all problems of the 2010 Suzuki Kizashi 🔎.

When accelerating onto the on-ramp of the highway, the car began to reduce in speed, and make a high pitched whining noise while the rpms increased, but the speed of the car continued to slow until it stopped. The check engine light came on, and I took it to my mechanic, who told me that the the transmission control module had failed. The mechanic was unable to fix it, and when trying to drive it home, the car continued to reduce in speed, and had to be towed back to my home.