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Thread: any idea why my 2015 mirage (only 53k miles) keeps dying on the road?

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    any idea why my 2015 mirage (only 53k miles) keeps dying on the road?

    this afternoon was the 4th call to Mitsubishi roadside assistance for an emergency tow back to the dealer.
    today was sunday so the service dept is closed but i will be calling at 8am. at this point i am ready to contact the consumer advocate segment at the local tv station.

    i sent a message to mitsubishi usa through facebook

    "hi,

    We are wondering if you could help us regarding a 2015 Mitsubishi USA mirage (still under the factory warranty) that first broke down January 10th on the 101 freeway in Tempe. Normally we get it serviced at Big Two Mitsubishi in mesa, but because of the location of the breakdown, we had it towed to Mark Mitsubishi Scottsdale. Their diagnosis was that it was a gallon low on coolant (even thought big-two had topped it off during the last service 4.5 months earlier),, they sold me a coolant flush job and sent me on my way home (53477 miles),,,,

    Hours later it broke down while Kathy was driving it. I drove out to meet her and I attempted to drive it to Big-two (about 5 miles away from her work) while she drove my honda. The car broke down 2 more times within a few blocks and we had to call for a 2nd tow. Big two's 'diagnosis' after charging me for 3 hours diagnostic work was that a battery terminal was loose, and they sent me on my way home (53512 miles).. She was on a business trip in Cali until the 26th so the car was in the garage most of the time for the next week.

    Then jan 29th she was driving it, and it once again shuddered and just died on the road a mile and a half from our home. She was eventually able to get it restarted and made it back to our house. We called mitsubishi roadside assistance to have it towed from our house to Big-Two. This time their diagnosis was that the "other" battery terminal was loose. They said they test drove it 56 miles during the three days they had it there and had no problems and then sent it home with me with no charge this time (53662 miles).

    Since then she has been too afraid to drive it, but luckily i work from home, so i just let her borrow my honda all week. This afternoon she needed to visit her friend in Scottsdale so i let her take the honda. While i was on my way home from running errands in the mirage this afternoon, it shuddered and the rpms jumped as i was approaching a stoplight to make a left turn. It then died on me while waiting in that turn lane at power and main in mesa. i was able to restart it a minute later (after holding up the entire light) but then it died AGAIN before our next green turn arrow, and i held up traffic for yet another light. Eventually i was able to get it started and into the parking lot of a restaurant on the corner where were called mitsubishi roadside assistance to send tow truck #4.

    There is obviously something majorly wrong with this car, yet mitsubishi keeps sending us back home with an unsafe vehicle that continues to just die in the middle of traffic, and telling us it was some simple repair. Had we been traveling on the freeway it could have caused a serious accident. Mitsubishi keeps insisting that the engine is not throwing any error codes, but we're really beginning to doubt whether their mechanics have any diagnostic intuition other than being able to read a number off of a computer. After 4 breakdowns in only a few hundred miles, we are at our wit's end with this car. I have the mechanic Kyle Franklin at big two on video stating to his service manager Matt Acosta that he thinks there is some sort of internal engine failure, and that they need to call mitsubishi HQ to get authorization to tear the engine apart to find the problem. Yet that never happened and both times they just came up with a battery terminal excuse"

    attached is the service write-up after the 3rd tow,, "We tryed to are best abilities"
    i wouldn't trust these techs to tutor 2nd grade english.
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  2. #2
    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Hello longhairmike and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear that you have to deal with this.

    Diagnosing from afar is difficult, but this forum seems to thrive on it. Brace yourself for a barrage of questions - I'm sure that the MirageForum brain trust will chime in.

    I'm curious to know what brand of fuel you are using and if you use any fuel system treatments like Techron.


    P.S.: The Mirage has proven to be quite reliable in many climates and in many countries throughout the world, as demonstrated here on this forum. What could possibly be different in your situation? Unless there have been some modifications to your Mirage - that's why I look toward fuel.
    Last edited by Eggman; 02-04-2019 at 01:30 PM.

        __________________________________________

        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)


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  4. #3
    Welcome to the forum... what pain in the butt that these circumstances prompted you to join.

    I like Eggman's line of questioning about fuel. You say the problems have all been within a few hundred miles - has this happened all on the same tank of fuel?

    Regarding the battery terminal diagnosis, did the starter engage immediately and the engine turn over at normal speed when you tried to restart it?

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


  5. #4
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Here are the first couple of questions a technician should have asked you...

    Describe how the engine shuts off Is it closer to #1 or #2 below?

    1. The engine starts running rough and then shuts off.
    2. The engine is running fine one minute and quickly shuts off like someone pulled the key out of the ignition.


    Describe what happens when you try to re-start the car.

    1. Nothing happens...the starter makes no sound. The car is completely dead.
    2. The engine cranks but will not start.
    3. The engine sputters a little bit when you try to start it, but it won't run.



    Edit - The answers to these questions would indicate to the technician that the issue is fuel-related vs electrical/ignition related.
    Last edited by Top_Fuel; 02-04-2019 at 02:20 PM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    My first thought before reading the comments about the battery terminals were fuel related as well. A dirty fuel system can cause stalling. My car used to idle rough and Techron fixed the problem. I'm not saying that is your problem but is a possibility. Concentrated Techron only costs $5 a bottle at Walmart.

    Since we are talking about electrical stuff, I would start by having the battery and alternator tested. They can do this for free at any AutoZone or Oreilly Auto Parts. Let us know if you get it tested and the result.

    Of course, it could just be loose battery terminals as well.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    Here are the first couple of questions a technician should have asked you...

    Describe how the engine shuts off Is it closer to #1 or #2 below?

    1. The engine starts running rough and then shuts off.
    2. The engine is running fine one minute and quickly shuts off like someone pulled the key out of the ignition.


    Describe what happens when you try to re-start the car.

    1. Nothing happens...the starter makes no sound. The car is completely dead.
    2. The engine cranks but will not start.
    3. The engine sputters a little bit when you try to start it, but it won't run.



    Edit - The answers to these questions would indicate to the technician that the issue is fuel-related vs electrical/ignition related.

    hi,

    the engine always seemed to run fine during the first drive of each day, but then it's almost like once the engine is warmed up that it starts to exhibit all the problems. the engine was running fine that morning (i put maybe 8 miles on it) until it had the sudden rpm spike from 1500-3000 while doing about 30mph, and 15 seconds later i was at the stoplight where it just cut out.

    it will not crank at all immediately after cutting out (no sound from starter),, after waiting 30-60 seconds it would finally crank and start up again, but then die a 2nd time in the same turn lane.

    big two mitsubishi has the car right now,, i already talked to their service manager, and they are going to try and duplicate the problem (again), I told him to try using it as a courtesy loaner for other customers. It's almost as if they don't believe me. why would i waste several hours each weekend dealing with a tow? Kathy said she didn't trust the car after the 3rd tow, and now I agree with her that it's not safe to drive more that a few miles from home at this point out of fear of being stranded.

  9. #7
    Senior Member AtomicPunk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by longhairmike View Post
    hi,

    the engine always seemed to run fine during the first drive of each day, but then it's almost like once the engine is warmed up that it starts to exhibit all the problems. the engine was running fine that morning (i put maybe 8 miles on it) until it had the sudden rpm spike from 1500-3000 while doing about 30mph, and 15 seconds later i was at the stoplight where it just cut out.

    it will not crank at all immediately after cutting out (no sound from starter),, after waiting 30-60 seconds it would finally crank and start up again, but then die a 2nd time in the same turn lane.

    big two mitsubishi has the car right now,, i already talked to their service manager, and they are going to try and duplicate the problem (again), I told him to try using it as a courtesy loaner for other customers. It's almost as if they don't believe me. why would i waste several hours each weekend dealing with a tow? Kathy said she didn't trust the car after the 3rd tow, and now I agree with her that it's not safe to drive more that a few miles from home at this point out of fear of being stranded.

    Ok, so something (crank position sensor?) is getting hot and malfunctioning, possibly. Is this car a manual or CVT? Initial thoughts are it shouldn't make a difference, but now days engines and transmissions "talk" thru the cpu's, so its not impossible the transmission could be a factor. Unlikely , but not impossible. I'm in the medical field, and the adage is "when you see footprints, think horses, not zebra's". So, I'm leaning toward an engine sensor. Not sure where a fuel starvation problem would cause an RPM spike, but I'm sure someone on here will educate me, lol.

  10. #8
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by longhairmike View Post
    ...it just cut out.
    ...it will not crank at all immediately after cutting out (no sound from starter)
    ...after waiting 30-60 seconds it would finally crank and start up again
    At least we're getting an idea of what's going on. This sure sounds like an electrical issue.

    Quote Originally Posted by fummins
    Do you have push button start or traditional key?
    Not cranking sounds like maybe a security problem? Dead battery in the keyfob?
    The fact that the starter won't crank right after the engines dies makes me believe that these are both caused by the same issue. Let us know if you have push-button start. Have you ever noticed any unusual lights on your dash when this happens (like the security light)?

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  11. #9
    Has the engine quit while moving, or only when stopped?

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


  12. #10
    Senior Member Dodge Aries K's Avatar
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    Sounds like an electrical problem to me. When the battery was bad in my Avalon it did all sorts of crazy stuff.
    -Karl B. No Mirages currently...

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