Hi guys,

I'm new here, this is my first post. I don't know much about cars either but I'm trying to learn.

So I was gifted a 2015 Mirage 2 years ago when I was homeless. The car was in pretty bad condition for only 40k miles. It wasn't taken care of that well. Dents, missed oil changes, not washed... But, I got a free car, and one that changed my life for the better, so I really can't complain (but I'm still going to complain). This car was my literal home for half a year. Not the most spacious but better than sleeping outside during a cold and windy mid-winter Wisconsin night. Fast forward to now, I'm in college and on track to become a cyber security professional. This ****ty Mirage turned my ****ty life around. Ok ok, story time is over.

The issue I'm having is that my CVT automatic transmission is jerky and clunky. Whenever I come to a stop it jerks into first gear after the car has completely stop. This is the most noticeable jerk. Other times, it will shift out of no where when going 40-60mph. It's gotten to the point where I can predict every **** up the transmission is about to make. Since my Mirage only has 48k miles on it still, I've brought into into the dealer for warranty repair. In fact, I've actually brought it in 4 TIMES NOW. The first time was a CVT fluid change. Second was a computer reset or something. Third was for a whole ass new transmission swap. Now this is when I really start to lose my patience with the dealership. Because after a new transmission was put in, or so they say, it had MORE problems than before. The gear shifter was not working properly (had to over-shift into Neutral and Reverse, otherwise it the display gauge would read that it was in no gear, just blank " "), and I was still having the same exact jerking issues as before. So a couple weeks ago I dropped it off again, for the fourth time, to get looked at. I went out of town and will be back next week to pick it up. I've called the dealership and they said they have replaced the control module box, and that during their test drive it's running better than before. What sucks is that I really can't trust them. Because they gave me a car with more issues than it had prior to bringing it in, and they had also said they test drove it then.

Has anyone had similar issues like this in the past? I still have 2000 miles / 1.5 months left until the powertrain warranty expires. I really need this car to last me though the next 2 years of college! Does anyone have tips or advice? Maybe something I could ask the dealership to look further into? Something I can look at myself? Would bringing it in for a 3rd party inspection be worth it?

The only history I know of this car is that a previous owner slammed into a curb when texting and driving. The hub caps on both wheels on one side of the car smashed on impact. The mechanic said he couldn't fix the alignment 100%, but the owner did not want to contact insurance and have it considered totaled or rebuild the front axle or whatever was wrong with.

Thanks for reading my post! I hope to perform some of these nifty mods I see here (like the air intake box rattle fix, annoying!!). This is a great forum y'all have built for Mirages!