Sourcing Suzuki Transmission

Suzuki fields three quite different automatics locally — a conventional torque-converter automatic, a CVT, and the AMT automated manual used on the budget cars. The AMT is a manual gearbox with an actuator bolted to it, so its parts have nothing in common with either of the others despite all three being sold as "auto". Getting that wrong is the most expensive mistake on this page. In practice the decision in front of you is whether a repair, a reconditioned unit or a good used gearbox represents the best value on a car of this age.

Whether the car is manual, AMT, CVT or a conventional automatic, plus which engine sits in front of it. With that we can usually confirm the right part quickly, and we'll tell you whether we're quoting new, aftermarket or good used rather than leaving you to guess.

On the front-wheel-drive cars — Swift, Baleno, Ignis, Celerio, S-Presso, Dzire, Ertiga, XL6 — the differential and final drive are built into the gearbox casing, so there is no standalone diff to buy. The Jimny is the obvious exception, with a transfer case feeding separate front and rear axles that each contain their own differential. The Eeco and Super Carry are worth flagging too, since those drive the rear wheels rather than the front.

AGS, or Auto Gear Shift, is an ordinary manual gearbox with a robotised clutch and shift mechanism instead of a third pedal and a lever. It keeps the mechanical efficiency of a manual, which is why it returns good economy, but it shifts with a distinct pause that surprises drivers coming from a torque converter car. Its failures also tend to be actuator and clutch related rather than internal gear damage.

It depends entirely on what failed. Solenoid, valve body and cooler problems are repairable. Damage to the belt or the pulley surfaces generally is not, because the wear pattern gets driven back into any new component fitted alongside it. Get a proper diagnosis with fluid condition and fault codes before deciding, and then send those details through the quote form so we can price the right route.

Used manual gearboxes are a common and sound repair on small Suzukis, since there is comparatively little to go wrong in them and a good unit off a low-damage donor gives years of service. Automatics and CVTs need more care over the donor history, because a unit that was run on burnt fluid may already be part-worn. Ask us what we know about the donor vehicle.

This is one to get exactly right rather than approximately. Manual, conventional automatic, AGS and CVT all demand different fluids, and CVT fluid in particular is not interchangeable with ordinary automatic transmission fluid — using the wrong one can destroy the unit. Check the specification in your service book or against your VIN, never against the model name alone.