Opinions on Mitsubishi vehicles

[john fish]

Thinking of buying a 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.  Looking for opinions from anyone who has owned Mitsubishis long-term.  How was the reliability?  Other thoughts?

[Murray]

Got a triton single cab diesel 4WD at work driven a few rentals they are cheaper for a reason generally sound, interior plastics seems  bit flimsy compared to the competition and the current triton has retro 80's levels of turbo lag. The mechanical s seem to be generally pretty good on the older rentals at 60 000kms the shocks had completely checked out although I have no doubt they didn't have an easy life. The work bus is defiantly an improvement on the Toyota Hilux of the same specs it replaced (lease vehicles).

[jim mac]

i have had an Outlander PHEV for 3 years, never had a problem with it, only been in garage for servicing.  i got it as a company car in UK as it got tax breaks .

the maximum i can get on a full charge is about 28 miles.   Fuel consumption isnt that  great at about 32mpg (UK).

if it wasnt a company car i wouldnt pay the £40k for it

[Bulldog9]

IMO Mitsubishi makes a solid product, and they are under appreciated. I see them as on the spectrum as between Toyota and Subaru. My son likes them, had an Eclipse and now has a Lancer Sport back. THey are basic, sturdy, vehicles with decent styling and an emphasis on sport.  I wouldn't hesitate owning one if they had a model I was interested in.

[nbags]

very reliable , we are rust belt area and they do rust bad in about eight years

[Two Checks]

The Outlander is based on the Diamler/Chrysler and now Fiat GS platform. It has been used for many Chrysler, Fiat, Mitsu, Jeep and Citroen vehicles.

[yogidozer]

Thinking of buying a 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.  Looking for opinions from anyone who has owned Mitsubishis long-term.  How was the reliability?  Other thoughts?

John, new/leftover, or used?
If used, try running the VIN through here. https://www.vehiclehistory.com/

[john fish]

Thanks for all the responses!  I'm not wealthy so these large purchases weigh heavily on me. I bought my current Nissan Frontier 15 years and almost 200,000 miles ago and I'm only replacing it due to rust issues.  I hope to have similar luck with my next vehicle.

It's nice to hear that Mitsubishi mechanicals are trustworthy.  I only know one person who has ever had one and she's only had hers for a year or so.

Jim Mac:  With tax incentives and rebates, the PHEV comes in at about $25,000 here.  28 miles on a charge should get me to work and back.  I'm surprised that you're only getting 26 mpg (US) but it's great to hear first hand information.  26 isn't great but it's better than the 17 mpg that my current truck gets.

Interesting to hear that it's a shared platform.  I hope that makes knowledge and parts easy to come by.

The 10 year/100,000 mile warranty interests me greatly.  I am pretty much over the impulse to fix my own vehicles.

Rusting is an issue here-- I'm in Pennsylvania in the rust belt, too.  Is Zeibart still out there rust-proofing vehicles?  I was planning on treating my next vehicle with ACF-50 or an equivalent anyway.

[LeRoy]

Another consideration with Mitsubishi, and with any similarly small brand (Guzzi content!), is their dealer network. With a long slide in US sales over the past many years the brand has lost a lot of dealers. Those that remain have been on a steady belt-tightening diet. One strong consideration in my mind, if I was to consider one, is the strength and viability of the dealer I'd be using for service. Their warranty (5 years/60,000 miles on the vehicle, 10 years/100,000 miles on the powertrain) is better than most brands and competitors, but if you have a service issue you'll have to depend on a dealer. There aren't many truly bad vehicles out there these days, but there are some truly bad dealers. Or no dealer at all.

Mitsubishi sales have been growing in the past couple years, at least on a percentage basis. But 15 years later, they still haven't reached the level of 2004. And that was the year when the bottom fell out of their US sales. So, tread cautiously.

[twowheeladdict]

Thanks for all the responses!  I'm not wealthy so these large purchases weigh heavily on me. I bought my current Nissan Frontier 15 years and almost 200,000 miles ago and I'm only replacing it due to rust issues.  I hope to have similar luck with my next vehicle.

It's nice to hear that Mitsubishi mechanicals are trustworthy.  I only know one person who has ever had one and she's only had hers for a year or so.

Jim Mac:  With tax incentives and rebates, the PHEV comes in at about $25,000 here.  28 miles on a charge should get me to work and back.  I'm surprised that you're only getting 26 mpg (US) but it's great to hear first hand information.  26 isn't great but it's better than the 17 mpg that my current truck gets.

Interesting to hear that it's a shared platform.  I hope that makes knowledge and parts easy to come by.

The 10 year/100,000 mile warranty interests me greatly.  I am pretty much over the impulse to fix my own vehicles.

Rusting is an issue here-- I'm in Pennsylvania in the rust belt, too.  Is Zeibart still out there rust-proofing vehicles?  I was planning on treating my next vehicle with ACF-50 or an equivalent anyway.

For $25k you can get a loaded Frontier today.  I get 23mpg at 70 mph with the 4.0L V6. 

[Ryan]

The dealer network, for the most part, is apathetic, so if your dealer takes the brand seriously, you have a fighting chance. Most signed up because being a franchised dealer opens up a host of lenders that won't work with independents, and Mitsubishi was easy to qualify with. Per-dealer sales suck, hence their struggle here. Suzuki suffered a similar fate, and finally gave up.

The cars themselves are decent, but historically maintenance sensitive. Don't neglect it, and it should go awhile, but the auctions are full of low-mileage Mitsubishi cars that puff blue smoke.

Buy new, take good care of it, and get GAP coverage if you finance. Depreciation in the first two years is brutal.

[canuck750]

For my business we rent vehicles for all office travel exceeding 60 miles, we use Enterprise and they offer unlimited mileage. Enterprise includes the Mitsubishi SUV in their fleet and I have taken it several times for trips averaging 300 miles return. Pleasant enough but I found they are hard on gas compared to the other SUV's, Ford Escape, Edge, VW Tiguan, Nissan Murano. Good power though, the VW is so under powered IMHO. Ford's are decent, have been getting the Escape a lot and I had a long term Edge rental this summer when my personal car was in the shop.

[john fish]

For $25k you can get a loaded Frontier today.  I get 23mpg at 70 mph with the 4.0L V6.

Wow, that's a good deal.  Frontiers are averaging about $31,000 here.

I hear yinz about the dealer network.  Our local dealer only has about 20 Mitsubishis in stock and the salesman didn't know squat about the Outlander PHEV.  They're also a Toyota dealer and that's where their concentration lies.  And, may I just complain for a moment, we went in there last Tuesday and I told the salesman that I was interested in the Mitsubishi and wanted the out the door price.  Didn't hear back from him until Saturday and that was a generic 'thanks for stopping by' email.  Sheesh.

[JohninVT]

I had a 2000 Montero that I loved.  They were the perfect size, it was nearly as good off road as my Wrangler and I beat the hell out of the Mitsubishi for 170k.  I gave it to my sister in law three years ago and her daughter still drives it. 

I nearly bought an EVO but got the first year Subaru STi instead.  I don’t know what they’re like now but Mitsubishi has made some very good cars in the past.

[bigbikerrick]

Back in the mid 80s I had a pickup truck known as a "Plymouth Arrow" they were made by Mitsubishi, and my experience with it was bad. It got terrible gas mileage for being a 2.6L 4 cyl with a 5 speed standard. The engine was noisy and rough, and the body was prone to rust, even in the dry Arizona desert! Last but not least ,the brakes were terrible on that truck, always locking up the rear, and going into a slide, at the least provocation.
   I kept it for about 3 years and then was happy to replace it with a Datsun pickup that was great. I hope Mitsubishi products have improved, but they have always been known as the "black sheep" of the Japanese makes around these parts.

Rick.

[stubbie]

People here in Aust may laugh, but I had a Mitsubishi Magna sedan for 10 years. They are good if you look after them and get them serviced regularly. My wife had a Lancer and she now has an ASX. We have never had any problems and they are good for the price.

[john fish]

So the great Mitsubishi experiment begins. Drove the 23 miles to work and back today on a test run. Got 191 mpg. 

[Mr Revhead]

There is a reason why Mitsubishi have nearly gone bust and flicked off several times in the last 15 years.
Avoid like the plague.

[Kiwi_Roy]

Spend some time rust proofing the vehicle while its new and it shouldn't be an issue.
I bought a new Masda 929 in Papua New Guinea that didn't have a lick of paint inside the panels (i mean bare metal), I had it undersealed and spent a lot of time spraying fisheline oil inside any recess I could find. we had it for 5 years and only had one tiny rust spot over the front window where I hadn't been.

[Rough Edge racing]

  They are generally ok, not everyone has a good expereince with Japanese made vehicles just like any other product..

    Mitsubishi's most famous vehicle is probably this one....

     

[rbond]

It is just my observation, but just about every Mitsubishi, car, truck, suv, etc. has put out a continuous stream of smoke out the tail pipe. My understanding is that means in this case, bad oil control rings. This allows the engine to burn some of it's own oil, not a good thing.

[Two Checks]

90s Mitsus were known for oil burning. The valve guides were not inserts. When the valve stem wore the aluminum guide, which was machined in the head they smoked. Used to see a lot 3.0 V6s in New Yorkers, etc like that.
Remember the Mitsu Raider is actually a Dakota.
Not the little SUV but late model trucks.

[Snowman]

The older vehicles,re: 80s SUV were solid and well built. The new stuff, last 12 years or so are OK, not great. In order of quality :Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Nissan, Mitsubishi. I had a 2008 Outlander, no mechanical issues in 135K miles,  the AWD system was slow to engage and quick to disengage and I had rust spots on panels after 4 years. BUT, it was a lot cheaper than equivalent Toyos & Hondos with a better warranty.

[motorcop]

I had a 2011 Outlander GT. It was a fantastic, problem free SUV.. Low insurance rates, good mileage and low maintenance.  The AWD was great for all conditions. The engine had good power. Good fit and finish. Sold it with 100k trouble free miles.