Ask The Guide

Unless your B17 Pulsar has the optional manual transmission fitted, then it definitely has a CVT. The reason Nissan (and many other carmakers) still use the old PRND symbols for the gearshift are because that’s what people understand, so there’s no confusion.

In any case, even though it’s a CVT and not a conventional automatic, the CVT still has a Park position, a Neutral and both a Drive and Reverse position, so the symbols are entirely consistent with that anyway.

Cracked cylinder heads and blown head gaskets are not completely unknown on this engine, but exactly how big a problem it is is the real question. There’s one theory that the cylinder heads crack when mechanics over-tighten the fuel-injector hardware or try to remove stuck injectors with too much force.

The good news is that replacement cylinder heads are readily available and can be had in bare form or in fully built-up form including all valves and springs.

From what I can gather, this is a standard feature of the Tank 500. The beep is to let you know the car has been locked, even if you’re in a position where you can’t see the lights flash (also to confirm locking).

It’s probably possible to turn this feature off via the menus on the infotainment screen. If you don’t like this beeping feature, it’s a fair bet your neighbours don’t either.

The coolant reservoir tank on your intercooler system works as an expansion tank, so it will have a high and low mark somewhere on it so you can keep the coolant at the correct level. It should be between the high and low marks when the engine is cold. Too high and coolant will be lost when the intercooler gets hot; too low and you won’t have enough coolant for the intercooler to work efficiently.

Modern engines are pretty coolant-specific these days, so you need to check your owner’s manual to see precisely what coolant is specified for the intercooler. It may be different to the one for the radiator because of the materials the intercooler is made from. That said, in the case of the LDV, I believe the correct coolant for the intercooler is the standard green type and is also used in the car’s engine cooling system.

Cars don’t like to sit around for long periods. When they do, they often develop problems in the process, with everything from running problems to flat-spotted tyres and mould growing inside them.

When you say the car doesn’t want to start, does that mean it turns over when you turn the key, or that nothing at all happens? If it’s the latter, the battery is probably flat or completely dead and will need to be recharged or replaced depending on its condition. If the engine turns but doesn’t fire, you might have a tank full of stale fuel that will need to be drained and replaced. Modern fuel goes stale pretty quickly and can also foul spark plugs, making the engine hard or even impossible to start.

A full service with fresh oil, spark plugs, fuel and filters might do the trick and is a good idea for any vehicle that has been sitting around for a while.

The ASX was launched in Australia in 2010 and from the very start was offered with a CVT transmission, as well as a conventional manual transmission, depending on what specification you chose. The ASX’s CVT differs from some by having six fixed steps which makes the car feel and sound a little less alien to drive, but also potentially sacrifices a small degree of efficiency. That’s because the CVT is most efficient when allowed to use an infinite range of just-so ratios, rather than the six fixed ones Mitsubishi specified.

Let me guess: Your car is white, yes? This has been a real problem, not just for Holden, but also Toyota, Kia, Hyundai and even Honda (and possibly others) around the world. The problem is a chemical one in the white paint being used and it leads to delamination of the paint layers, with the white top coat either flaking, chipping or peeling off in great swathes.

Even some other colours have been noted succumbing to this process, but white seems to be the worst offender. Whether the problem is with the car’s preparation at the factory a function of a poor batch of paint from the supplier isn’t really known, but the finger is being pointed at the latter. Either way, it effectively destroys the resale value of your car as well as laying the car’s structure open to the elements.

The best advice is to contact Holden’s customer service department and perhaps even have the car professionally inspected (your state motoring club is a good place to start here). In the past, carmakers have been known to repaint affected cars at their own cost which, given your car’s garage history, shouldn’t be out of the question.

Some Mitsubishi models in the past have had problems with a rough surface on the head-gasket sealing surface of the crankcase,. This has led to head gaket failures and coolant loss. This was fixed by about 2014 with a different machining process at the factory, so this could be your problem.

At the time, Mitsubishi issued a service bulletin for this problem and was modifying cars to fix them. However, whether this bulletin would still apply in 2025 is the big question. However, it would certainly be worth contacting Mitsubishi Australia’s customer service department to see if there’s still assistance available.

Oil manufacturers recommend a 5W20 or 5W30 fully synthetic oil for this vehicle. For the record, you’ll need 4,5 litres to perform an oil change, and don’t forget to replace the oil filter at the same time. Putting clean oil through an old, dirty filter makes no sense.

If your can manually force the shift then there’s probably nothing wrong with the actual gearbox and its mechanicals. Instead, the problem is likely to be an electronic one, perhaps with the speed sensor that tells the computer the car’s road speed and tailors the gearshifts to reflect that. Don’t forget, however, that gearboxes like the Nissan’s with many gears, often won’t select higher gears at low speeds. So if the car refuses to select sixth or seventh gear at urban speeds, that’s possibly just the calibration Nissan has fitted to it.

If this is an actual problem (and not just a characteristic) this is a very new vehicle and would be covered for this sort of problem by the factory warranty.