Ask The Guide

On the surface of it, you have multiple problems across multiple systems and components. But the root problem could be as simple as a poor earth or other electrical connection.

Modern, computer-controlled cars absolutely do not like an incorrect voltage across their electrical systems, so the problem could also be something like a battery in poor health which is forcing the alternator to work too hard and for other systems to go haywire due to incorrect voltage.

A close check of the car’s entire electrical system is probably a good place to start.

The 1.8-litre engine in your Lancer uses a rubber toothed timing-belt. As such, it requires periodic replacement. According to Mitsubishi, 90,000km is the recommended belt-change interval. Don’t ignore it, either, as a snapped timing-belt can destroy the rest of the engine.

The best advice is to change the engine’s water pump and belt tensioner while you’re at it. It makes sense to change these components all at once, as they’re all accessed at the same time as a belt change.

We’ve seen complete replacement timing-belt, water pump and tensioner kits for sale online for as little as $150. The labour involved would likely be a few hundred dollars at most workshops.

The problem could be to do with the ignition barrel, or it could be a hundred other things including a poor earth somewhere on the car. But my experience with Fords of this vintage suggests the first place I’d look would be what’s called the inhibitor switch.

This is a small switch that tells the car whether the transmission is in Park or Neutral before allowing the engine to turn over or start. If this switch isn’t relaying that information, the engine won’t so much as budge. And the fault is often intermittent.

So, try this. Instead of trying to start the car in Park, move the selector to Neutral and hit the key again. Often the inhibitor switch that isn’t recognising Park will still detect Neutral and you’ll be on your way.

Generally speaking, a new-car warranty won’t cover items that are considered consumables. That normally includes the battery and tyres. However, if the tyres have become worn because of a fault with the vehicle’s suspension the situation might be different.

That depends, however, on whether the suspension fault was caused by poor materials or assembly at the factory, or because you hit a pothole at 100km/h or the suspension was in some other way damaged accidentally. If it’s the former, you might be able to convince Isuzu that the warranty claim on your suspension should also include new tyres. That said, given the tyres were already worn to the tune of 30,000km, don’t expect Isuzu to cover the full cost of brand new tyres.

Your best bet – if, indeed, the tyre damage is the result of a suspension problem within the warranty – is to contact Isuzu’s customer service department to see if you can work out a deal to fix the car and replace the tyres on a pro-rata basis.

The simplest answer is that the engine’s idle speed is set too low. I think these engines used a stepper motor to control the throttle at idle, and if this fails the engine will run with some throttle applied, but will stall at idle.

If that’s not the cause, you need to look a bit deeper into things like fuel pressure at idle and whether there’s some kind of problem with the fuel-injection system. It could even be something as simple as a dirty fuel or air filter. A good mechanic will know how to alter the idle speed to prevent this happening, although it may involve a new stepper-motor unit.

There’s no simple answer to this. The computer program that controls when the hybrid system chimes in to help with the petrol engine is a very complex one and depends on a lot of inputs. For instance, the driving mode you’re using will vary this, so will the amount of charge in the battery at the time and even how aggressively you’re driving.

As time and kilometres go by, the condition of the battery would also probably make a difference, as can what accessories (air conditioning, for instance) you’re running at that moment in time.

Unfortunately, the odds are against this problem being a simple blown fuse. This series of cars is notorious for ABS faults and the cause is almost always the control module that has failed. A replacement module is the only real fix.

You can either source a brand new module, a reconditioned one or, for about $100 or so, a second-hand module from a parts recycler that specialises in this type of vehicle. The market for these is well served purely because failures of this component are so common.

There’s been no recall for this model regarding oil consumption. And although there have been a handful of recalls for the CX-5, your car is not within the build-date parameters to be one of the affected ones.

It’s important to remember that often, a problem with a car sold in another market, won’t affect the same make and model in another part of the world. This can be because of vastly different operating conditions, different driving and usage habits and even the two apparently identical vehicles being built in different factories with different suppliers producing the parts.

Don’t forget, either, that all engines consume some oil. A turbocharged engine with its higher combustion chamber pressures will often sip a little more, but some oil consumption is part of the normal process of engine operation. That’s particularly true of modern cars which often use low-tension piston rings to reduce internal friction and, therefore, fuel consumption, at the cost of a little more oil consumption.

It sounds odd, but sometimes you can overheat an engine and do lots of damage, but the engine will still run. The problem is that more and more damage can be accumulating during this process, to the point where it then won’t run at all. Perhaps that’s what’s happened here.

Overheating can cause mayhem under the bonnet and you really need to have the engine assessed to see if its fixable or junk. Damage associated with overheating can include a blown head gasket, warped cylinder head, damaged piston rings and even complete engine seizure (although that’s clearly not the case with yours).

If the engine is toast, perhaps a tested second-hand replacement engine from a wrecked Barina might be the most financially appealing solution.

Since you’ve replaced the turbocharger and the boost controller, we can rule those out. But could the problem be something much simpler?

It’s possible that the plastic trunking that takes the compressed air from the turbocharger to the engine’s intake has split. When that happens, boost pressure is lost, the boost sensor detects the low boost and winds up the turbocharger to compensate and you have an on-paper overboost situation.

Then, once you’re beyond idle, the leak becomes even worse and the computer simply runs out of turbocharger capacity, at which point boost drops away. That’s preventing the engine revving properly and since there’s no sensor to tell the computer that the trunking is split and leaking, there might not be a fault code issued. Lots of black smoke from the exhaust is often (but not always) another clue that this is what’s happening.