Decided to gamble on the little car that every reviewer hates

[Mark]

Attachment 13980

Ask and ye shall receive. I might take it to another local place for an alignment check just to confirm. I know when it was at the dealer they did adjust the front end a little bit and it drove a bit nicer on the highway.

Also, yeah, Mitsubishi pays way less than customer rate I would imagine so they don't want to replace the axle unless they have to. Every manufacturer is guilty of that I'm sure. I know first-hand Toyota operates like that, too.

I would have it checked by an independent mechanic,. I would have the replacement one checked by someone else, too.

[Dodge Aries K]

Unrelated to the axle or dealer, I had some people ask about the Rockford Fosgate audio system I added. Here it is in all it's glory! I plan on making a false floor for the hatch area so it has a flat loading floor which will provide a compartment behind the subwoofer box.

[Top_Fuel]

EDIT - Jump ahead to post #130. Everything I'm about to say here is incorrect. I thought the rear toe alignment specs from the dealer were in degrees...but upon further review they are NOT. They are actually in INCHES which changes everything I'm about to say here. Thanks Scratchpaddy for pointing this out!


Your alignment printout is certainly interesting. Why? Because the alignment specs your dealer is using are actually much tighter than the specs we have been going by for the last 4 years!

So here are your rear alignment numbers (I cut out your front alignment numbers to avoid confusion). The image below yours is a screen shot of a Mitsubishi dealer doing an alignment on a Mirage a few years ago. The numbers in the yellow boxes are the traditional rear camber/toe specs we have all been using. These were the numbers my dealer used. And when I went to a third-party alignment shop, they also used these specs. I also believe these are the numbers in the service manual.



Traditional Mirage Rear Toe specs
-0.03° to 0.28°

Toe Specs on Your Dealer's Alignment Machine
-0.01° to 0.11° << Uh oh...these are inches...NOT degress!


By the traditional alignment specifications, your rear axle is fine.


If those are the new specs for a 2014+ Mirage then I need a new rear axle!!!

My left rear toe is 0.23°...which is almost TWICE as bad as yours. I have 60,000 miles on my current set of tires (not Enasaves) and I rotate them religiously every 5,000 miles. I have absolutely zero tire wear issues.

Before you pursue this any further, you might want to ask them where they got those alignment specs. If those are the new standards, then that's a pretty big newsflash for the Mirage community.

Your rear axle numbers are better than mine! Even if you use their tighter specs, your left rear toe is only 0.02° out of spec. I don't think I'd let them put a new rear axle in my car to correct that. Mitsubishi probably can't make a rear axle any better than the one you currently have. So there's a reasonable chance you could get an axle that's worse than your current one. The one you have is pretty good by Mirage standards. I'd like to have it!

Like I said...if those are the new rear alignment specifications, I think 85% of us would need new rear axles.

[Mark]

I feel Cobrajet & Top_Fuel are giving you some very good advice to consider. Your rear axle may not be that bad. A replacement axle could be worst than the one you have now. That's not a fun thought, but it is possible.

I will take this one step further. The dealership could be just saying your axle is bad. I'm sure Mitsubishi compensates the dealership to perform this type of warranty work. I would not put it past this dealership to do this. Since you asked to have this checked, they may be taking advantage of that & nothing more. I know that may sound lame, but it would not surprise me in this case.

I would pay an independent mechanic to check the alignment before doing anything further. If my alignment is truly off, then it goes back to the dealership for service.

A piece of paper with alignment numbers on it from this dealership would mean nothing to me, & I am being very sincere in saying that. You may or may not have a problem? Given the circumstances, I would get a second opinion. I WOULD NOT PUT ANYTHING PAST THIS DEALERSHIP!

Just because you bought the car from them doesn't mean you have to use them for service. If you do need a rear axle, another dealership can do the work. I would just be honest with another dealership & say you made a huge mistake buying elsewhere. I wish that I knew of a better dealership in our part of the country. Since I don't live all that far from you, it's a concern I have myself. I don't see myself ever using the dealership you are discussing here, even though they are the closest to me.

Getting a second opinion will cost you something, but it would be worth it in this case. If your axle isn't off, I would report them, too.

It's pretty sad when Mitsubishi Corporate can't even get a hold of one of their own dealerships like you mentioned. Are they screening their calls from corporate????? Who knows?

[Eggman]

Unrelated to the axle or dealer, I had some people ask about the Rockford Fosgate audio system I added. Here it is in all it's glory!

Nice. Let me know when you get tired of that setup and want to get rid of it.

[Cobrajet]

Your alignment printout is certainly interesting. Why? Because the alignment specs your dealer is using are actually much tighter than the specs we have been going by for the last 4 years!

So here are your rear alignment numbers (I cut out your front alignment numbers to avoid confusion). The image below yours is a screen shot of a Mitsubishi dealer doing an alignment on a Mirage a few years ago. The numbers in the yellow boxes are the traditional rear camber/toe specs we have all been using. These were the numbers my dealer used. And when I went to a third-party alignment shop, they also used these specs. I also believe these are the numbers in the service manual.



Traditional Mirage Rear Toe specs
-0.03° to 0.28°

Toe Specs on Your Dealer's Alignment Machine
-0.01° to 0.11°


By the traditional alignment specifications, your rear axle is fine.


If those are the new specs for a 2014+ Mirage then I need a new rear axle!!!

My left rear toe is 0.23°...which is almost TWICE as bad as yours. I have 60,000 miles on my current set of tires (not Enasaves) and I rotate them religiously every 5,000 miles. I have absolutely zero tire wear issues.

Before you pursue this any further, you might want to ask them where they got those alignment specs. If those are the new standards, then that's a pretty big newsflash for the Mirage community.

Your rear axle numbers are better than mine! Even if you use their tighter specs, your left rear toe is only 0.02° out of spec. I don't think I'd let them put a new rear axle in my car to correct that. Mitsubishi probably can't make a rear axle any better than the one you currently have. So there's a reasonable chance you could get an axle that's worse than your current one. The one you have is pretty good by Mirage standards. I'd like to have it!

Like I said...if those are the new rear alignment specifications, I think 85% of us would need new rear axles.

/\ THIS /\ Exactly this. I doubt you would have noticed any problems with handling or tire wear that would have made you have the rear alignment scrutinized if we here hadn't put that fear in you!

Leave it alone.

[jdollatari]

There are a few reviewers who are fair to the car but yes most hate and call it the worst. It fits a need for cheap reliable new transportation with killer mpg and it does have some good qualities the ride and seats were nice

[Eggman]

There are a few reviewers who are fair to the car but yes most hate and call it the worst. It fits a need for cheap reliable new transportation with killer mpg and it does have some good qualities the ride and seats were nice

Hello jdollatari and welcome to the forum.

[Mark]

There are a few reviewers who are fair to the car but yes most hate and call it the worst. It fits a need for cheap reliable new transportation with killer mpg and it does have some good qualities the ride and seats were nice

If you haven't done so, read the consumer reviews on KBB.com for the Mirage. The Mirage typically has a better consumer rating than the top 10 selling vehicles in the U.S.

Check the consumer reviews for 2017 & 2018 Mirages on sites like cars.com, too.

The Mirage is not the perfect car for all things, but it is affordable, reliable, and economical.

[Scratchpaddy]

I'm a little confused by that alignment report. For the rear toe, they're using the " (inch or second) symbol instead of ° (degree). Are they using different units for some reason? Is it just a typo?

If it's supposed to be degrees and they're just using the wrong symbol for some reason, your alignment is excellent. Here's the printout from my '19 (click for full size).



Mine was measured to the same tolerance Cobrajet mentioned. It's within tolerance, and yours is better... if the " is supposed to be °.

You can see from the tolerances that the car is supposed to have some toe; ideal toe would be 0.15° per wheel.