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Thread: Traded after 2.5 years / 33k miles - regret buying this car

  1. #131
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by alex16 View Post
    Actually head gaskets on many engines have gotten the repretation to blow head gaskets. Toyota 7mge, 3.0 v6, 3.4 v6.

    It's ironic you mentioned the ford 4.0 as it had numerous head gasket issues. North Star Cadillac / Oldsmobile had numerous head gasket failures , also modular 97-03 ford 4.6 v8s have frequent head gasket issues. One of the most highly praised engine Toyota 22r has a very weak head gasket. Where as some vehicles such as my 1991 Cherokee I drove with no temperature gauge (idiot light didn't work either it turns out) and I didn't realize it was overheating until it stopped running. I let it cool and over heated it a few more times, off roaded it often (high rpm and oil starvation often) and never had any issues with a head gasket. Yet if you look at a 00-01 xj 4.0 they are notorious for heads cracking.

    So yes in some vehicles head gaskets do just blow, from poor design, improper torquing, head bolts stretching, gasket flaw. ive read manufacturer tsb service bullitens that stated head gasket failure is common.
    But those head gaskets are still blowing for a reason, it just happens to be built into their design. It was not my intention to suggest that going past a vehicle's design limits was the only reason a head gasket could blow. My only point was that there are reasons other than poor design and overheating.

    The 2.9 Ford was much more prone to head gasket problems than the 4.0. The 4.0 had a bigger problem with cracked heads. It was such an issue that in the late 1990s Ford created a new head casting to help with the problem, and retrofitted these newer castings on vehicles that came in needing warranty work for head cracks. The Mazda I owned had already had these newer heads installed, which solved most of the problem.

    I knew why the head gasket blew on that truck...I exceeded the truck's design parameters.

    It sounds to me like what has really got you down is the fact that your new car is now a well-used car by any reasonable definition of the term. And I can understand that.



  2. #132
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MightyMirageMpg View Post
    The window regulator is simply a terrible design. If you don't think so, take your door card off and roll the window up and down and watch the door flex around. EVERY TIME you roll the window all the way down you literally strain the motor until it stops. Same with going up.
    Window regulator motors usually have electrical contacts which are engaged or disengaged by the torque encountered when the window reaches the top or bottom of it's travel. When the window goes all the way up to the stop, the up contacts are disengaged and the down contacts are engaged. The reverse is true when the window is all the way at the bottom. This is not a new design, and it does not indicate a problem. Depending on the exact vehicle, it's normal.

    Manufacturers learned a long time ago that things like window regulators are a very easy way to not only shave cost on an economy car, but also WEIGHT. Do we really want 12-pound window regulators in each door? Had Mitsubishi done that, half of us would be ripping them out to save weight anyway, lol!

    Can't we just be happy that the Mirage has power windows as standard equipment?

  3. #133
    Uber Mirage alex16's Avatar
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    I'm not down about the possibility that my "well-used" mirage is falling apart. I'm down about other cars being used for taxi and ride share holding up much better than my well maintained mirage. Like I said my friends Prius had double the miles and feels better than my mirage did at 50k miles. Even if it's the case that I'm just down about my mirage from my own recklessness I still feel I should post my opinions, so I guess from now on I'll put a disclaimer in my posts. It's not just the head gasket either, that's just one of 20 issues it seems like, it's kinda like.. should I pull the transmission to replace the flywheel or wait for the engine to blow up lol.


    Take apart a crown Victoria window regulator and motor assembly. They have a common fault of the plastic bushings inside the motor turning to dust, it's the amount of play I have in comparison to my 1998 crown Victoria and my 1999 Honda Civic. My ford and Honda both worked smoothly no strange sounds, the passenger side Honda was a bit sluggish but still functioned fine. With my mirage the driver side has a very loud clunk sound. Not sure if I can get it on video. It sounds like the bushings are shot. The crown Victoria window regulator and motor is cable and very light and cheesy, when I first serviced the bushings in one I thought wow, what a piece of crap, although I've never seen one fail or unspool like I have in my friends Mitsubishi Eclipse.


    Note: All my opinions are based upon using my mirage as a taxi, delivery vehicle, and as a vehicle that exceeded its tow limit of 0lbs by towing a 2,000 lb car 1500 miles and potentially destroying my head gasket and other parts by over working my mirage.
    Last edited by alex16; 05-06-2017 at 11:11 AM.
    2014 ES F5MBD aka 5MT. I am a full time Uber driver, if you want to drive for uber DO not sign up without my referral code for a bonus .

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 44.8 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 53.9 mpg (Imp)


  4. #134
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by alex16 View Post
    Like I said my friends Prius had double the miles and feels better than my mirage did at 50k miles.
    Your friend's Prius probably felt better at 190k than your Mirage did when it was NEW. Why? That Prius weighs twice as much and cost twice as much. It's a completely different class of car. And there is a 2012 Cadillac out there that would make the Prius feel like a buckboard. My Mirage feels like a Rolls-Royce compared to the car it replaced...a 1997 Geo Metro!

    If you think Crown Vic regulators suck, you should check out the ones BMW used on the 3-series from '99 to about '05. The functionality of the entire regulator depends on the integrity of one small nylon clip. And no, BMW does not sell the clip as a service part. It breaks, you buy a new regulator.

    Sometimes even expensive cars have crappy window regulators.

  5. #135
    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gnarles2 View Post
    I will just use it as it is this year and get coilovers next spring.
    Hey Gnarles2 did you get those coilovers?

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


  6. #136
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eggman View Post
    Hey Gnarles2 did you get those coilovers?
    It is funny that you asked! I am probably going to be ordering them sometime in the next week or so. I was noticing for the past few weeks that the rear shocks are not wearing evenly and it feels strange when you hit bumps so I think I want to do it sooner than later. For what they want to charge for new shocks and struts, it makes sense for me to just pay a bit more and get coilovers.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 42.5 mpg (US) ... 18.1 km/L ... 5.5 L/100 km ... 51.1 mpg (Imp)


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  8. #137
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    Here's my limited experience with Mirages that age.

    New rental Mirage, 45 kms (yes 45, not 45 thousand), tight an squeak free car.

    Old rental Mirage, 30kms (yes, 30 thousand), noisy, rattly, squeaky, horrid clunks from tranny.
    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


  9. #138
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wallythacker View Post
    Here's my limited experience with Mirages that age.

    New rental Mirage, 45 kms (yes 45, not 45 thousand), tight an squeak free car.

    Old rental Mirage, 30kms (yes, 30 thousand), noisy, rattly, squeaky, horrid clunks from tranny.
    I have 36000 on mine as of this week and do not have any rattles or squeaks. That is with a lowered suspension and I live in a rust belt town filled with potholes and I drive the car hard. I was actually thinking how impressed I was that the car is holding together so well for as cheap as it is. Believe me, I make no excuses for this car like some do on here. The car is cheap, slow, noisy, has terrible steering, handling and so on but my car (can’t speak about others) has been damn solid and bulletproof. Thankfully.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 42.5 mpg (US) ... 18.1 km/L ... 5.5 L/100 km ... 51.1 mpg (Imp)


  10. #139
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gnarles2 View Post
    I have 36000 on mine as of this week and do not have any rattles or squeaks. That is with a lowered suspension and I live in a rust belt town filled with potholes and I drive the car hard. I was actually thinking how impressed I was that the car is holding together so well for as cheap as it is. Believe me, I make no excuses for this car like some do on here. The car is cheap, slow, noisy, has terrible steering, handling and so on but my car (can’t speak about others) has been damn solid and bulletproof. Thankfully.
    Its brutally honest. I agree with everything you said... The steering... stuff of nightmares. I am getting ready to order coilovers myself. Imagine the factory stuff with 110k on it!!! Feels like its going to explode if you hit a pothole or bridge joint. BOOM off the bumpstops. LMAO. But its rock solid reliable... I will definitely give it that.
    Resident Tire Engineer

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 44.4 mpg (US) ... 18.9 km/L ... 5.3 L/100 km ... 53.3 mpg (Imp)


  11. #140
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    Quote Originally Posted by Basic View Post
    Its brutally honest. I agree with everything you said... The steering... stuff of nightmares. I am getting ready to order coilovers myself. Imagine the factory stuff with 110k on it!!! Feels like its going to explode if you hit a pothole or bridge joint. BOOM off the bumpstops. LMAO. But its rock solid reliable... I will definitely give it that.
    Aw man that sounds terrible! lol I bought the car knowing all of it's shortcomings and I am fine with them. I am not someone who bought it thinking it was going to be a Lexus. Hell, it's not even a Yaris iA! But, it is exactly what they claim it is. Cheap, fuel efficient and reliable. I have had it for 3 years as of April and the only thing I do not like about it is that there is no real aftermarket support for it. It has been out since 2014 (longer in other parts of the world) and it is still impossible to find good aftermarket parts for it. I am still blown away that a small turbo or supercharger has not been developed for it, limited suspension parts available and so on. I would love some cool aftermarket headlights as well but nope. Nothing. It is hard for me to stay interested in a car if I can not steadily improve it because I get bored with it so easily. I am hoping the coilovers will help keep me interested for at least another year or so. If not, I will just have to move on and get something more interesting.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 42.5 mpg (US) ... 18.1 km/L ... 5.5 L/100 km ... 51.1 mpg (Imp)


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