Mitsubishi Master Tech Finally Buys A Mirage For Research Purposes

[Dirk Diggler]

The first questions I can only answer indirectly, so I start from the last.

The Triton/L200 is not even on the horizon for being sold here.

Mirage CVTs do not fail often, and nowhere near the rate of Outlanders and Sports. Usually it's over 100k miles, but it's rare. We keep Outlander transmissions in stock, but It would make no sense to stock Mirage transmissions.

As far a Nissan reliability goes, I have no idea. It is indeed a visually identical Jatco unit. We just had to do one in a Altima we sold, and a Nissan service manager told my service manager that it absolutely had to be programmed before moving it, that even putting it in gear without programming it would damage the new unit. We pushed the car out and had it towed to the dealer we bought the new transmission from for that programming.

In contrast, ours don't need anything to be done. It's "supposed to" be done, but empirical evidence from both our facility and people I've talked to at training classes proves that it's not necessary at all. I've personally in the last so many years replaced at least 50 Jatco transmissions without programming that have never came back and drive perfectly. Whether that is a difference in programming, I can't tell you. As much as I don't believe the Nissan needed to be programmed, I also know that Nissan can eff up a wet dream. As I discussed with the tech who did that job, it's believable that Nissan would spec a trans that needed extra work that isn't worth the trouble.

Thank you for the detailed responses! We have Fummins on here whose our CVT7 guru, as he takes care of a big fleet of Mirages but it's nice to have someone who can speak to all Mitsubishi models. I'm surprised you said the Outlander Sport's CVT8 isn't reliable. I thought that would of been up there with the Mirage considering it's powertrain is so old. Most think old = proven/reliable but you're saying that's not the case makes me reconsider getting an Outlander Sport in the future. Has the Eclipse Cross had a lot of CVT issues as well?

[Cobrajet]

Yep, that area behind the wheel liners can get pretty nasty!

[Ares]

It's a stick shift with push button start, maintained at my dealership, and the engine is as quiet and "smooth" as a perfect one with 20k, but it remains to be seen if it will hold up to my driving habits. My service team thinks I'll destroy it and be putting a used engine in very soon, but I'm more optimistic. I've been working on it like crazy on the daily to get it whipped into shape in the last week

I have a 2014 ES (stick shift with PBS) and have been abusing it - shifting at 3k regularly, seeing 4.5k weekly, and redline several times a month.

Mods:
Strut tower brace
Rear sway bar
Rear VW Bug lowering springs (stiffer but taller than stock)
BMW bottlecaps + 185/65/14 tires

Issues:
Changed AC compressor at 60k miles (live in TX)
Changed transmission at 75k miles (see shifting abuse + taught people how to drive manual in this car)
Changed the belt tensioner bracket at 100k miles (cracked)
Changed LCA + struts at 115k miles (see oversized wheels)

As you can see, other than the transmission (which is my bad), the car is generally fine. TBH, I wish I didnt abuse her much so she can last longer. Maybe I'll give her an easier life moving forward.

[7milesout]

I treat my little Blueberry like a cream puff. Well no, I drive it like a cream puff. But I only do regular maintenance and shove dinosaur juice in it. I've made up my mind to not spend any money on it. I'm going to try to by the cheapest tires available for it once the Enasaves' steel belts start throwing sparks. Should be years from now.

[Mark]

I treat my little Blueberry like a cream puff. Well no, I drive it like a cream puff. But I only do regular maintenance and shove dinosaur juice in it. I've made up my mind to not spend any money on it. I'm going to try to by the cheapest tires available for it once the Enasaves' steel belts start throwing sparks. Should be years from now.

Not cheap Korean tires I hope!!!

[MetroMPG]

Fope: belated welcome!!

Fantastic to have another enthusiastic Mirage mechanic on board.

I'm a bit further "upstate" from you, deeper into the rust belt.

This made me chuckle:

It also had the license plate light bracket rotted out, which isn't a big deal to remove the bumper cover and replace the assembly. But telling a customer that it's going to be $250 to fix those lights...

Same had happened to my $2000 Mirage, fixed in half an hour with some scrap aluminum flashing...



Is the replacement assembly also un-painted mild steel?? How idiotic was that decision for the OEM part.

Your Mirage doesn't appear to have any blistering in the aft ends of the rear wheel arches. Mine has already rusted clear through there.

Relevant thread:

Thread: This is where your Mirage is going to rust out. (Body/chassis corrosion)

[Fopeano]

Thanks, man! Belated, but I'm still a noob here so it's all good.

Mine does have the first blistering of the paint in those spots where the rear bumper skin attaches, but i'm holding off the rust progression with chemicals for the time being.

To answer your question, the stock part and the replacement part are the same. It's definitely an idiotic position. It's a poor quality, very thin, and poorly painted piece of stamped ****ty steel. I bought it because it's the easy way at the time, but your solution is great. I've done that exact thing with scrap metal in the past with other rotted out old winter cars I've had that needed plate lights.

I've got some updates coming soon, but here's a teaser:

[Dirk Diggler]

I've got some updates coming soon, but here's a teaser:

Did you see my previous questions by chance? Extremely curious about your thoughts. Please and thank you.

[Fopeano]

I'm surprised you said the Outlander Sport's CVT8 isn't reliable. I thought that would of been up there with the Mirage considering it's powertrain is so old. Most think old = proven/reliable but you're saying that's not the case makes me reconsider getting an Outlander Sport in the future. Has the Eclipse Cross had a lot of CVT issues as well?

I wouldn't call the reliability of the transmissions bad. There were a few years like 15-16 that seemed to be the ones that were common. We don't do transmissions as often as we used to. There were 2 software recalls that came out the same year on some of those cars that updated the transmission program. If the car got the first one but not the 2nd, it was almost guaranteed to fail. Failure is definitely less common for cars we service the CVT on. The problem with buying a used Sport is that if the transmission fails, it's almost impossible to find used ones anymore. You literally need to wait for one to come up in the salvage yard network and snipe it. If you do find a used one where the fluid is clean and it drives good, it probably can be trusted to last the life of the car.

The Eclipse Cross is faring much better overall, especially the CVT. They are easily the most reliable Mitsubishis available. I've seen a couple high pressure injector failures, sometimes water leaks into the electric brake caliper, but nothing serious or common. Ones with really bad oil maintenance sometimes consume oil at 100k, but overall they need minimal repair work.

[Dirk Diggler]

I wouldn't call the reliability of the transmissions bad. There were a few years like 15-16 that seemed to be the ones that were common. We don't do transmissions as often as we used to. There were 2 software recalls that came out the same year on some of those cars that updated the transmission program. If the car got the first one but not the 2nd, it was almost guaranteed to fail. Failure is definitely less common for cars we service the CVT on. The problem with buying a used Sport is that if the transmission fails, it's almost impossible to find used ones anymore. You literally need to wait for one to come up in the salvage yard network and snipe it. If you do find a used one where the fluid is clean and it drives good, it probably can be trusted to last the life of the car.

The Eclipse Cross is faring much better overall, especially the CVT. They are easily the most reliable Mitsubishis available. I've seen a couple high pressure injector failures, sometimes water leaks into the electric brake caliper, but nothing serious or common. Ones with really bad oil maintenance sometimes consume oil at 100k, but overall they need minimal repair work.

I'm surprised and happy to hear the Cross is doing well. Thank you for your expertise. Too bad we don't get a PHEV Eclipse Cross in the states.