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Mitsubishi 380 2007 Problems

Are you having problems with your 2007 Mitsubishi 380? Let our team of motoring experts keep you up to date with all of the latest 2007 Mitsubishi 380 issues & faults. We have gathered all of the most frequently asked questions and problems relating to the 2007 Mitsubishi 380 in one spot to help you decide if it's a smart buy.

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Used Mitsubishi Magna and 380 review: 1991-2008

Australian designed and built, the Mitsubishi Magna showed Holden and Ford a thing or two about family car design when introduced in 1985. A smooth, refined ride and excellent noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) suppression were big features of the Magna, even more so in the upmarket Verada versions of the Magna.

After many successful years, the Mitsubishi 380 replaced the Magna in October 2005. It was based on an American Mitsubishi model, rather than the Japanese Sigma that the Aussie designers improved and enlarged to create the Magna. The Mitsubishi 380 is larger than the Magna, though not be a huge amount.

In hindsight, if Mitsubishi had called the 380 the next generation Magna, the Adelaide factory might still be in operation today, but this once successful line of cars came to an abrupt end in April 2008 after slow sales of the 380 saw Mitsubishi pull out of Australian manufacturing.

While Magnas are getting on in years they are tough machines that age well due to their Australian design. Sensibly driven and serviced we have seen many that are now in the 300,000+ range and still going strong.

Body types are four-door sedan and five-door station wagon in the Magna, but the 380 was only built as a sedan. Rear-seat width in the Magna isn't quite as generous as that in Commodore and Falcon, 380 comes pretty close to them.

Magnas have reasonably good handling for family cars, though understeer will eventually spoil the fun. The 380 feels sharper on the road, though you would never regard it as a sports sedan.

The extra traction of all-wheel drive

Engine performance from the old-style four-cylinder 2.6-litre engine is reasonable, but only just. The later four-cylinder models had a 2.4-litre four with a more modern design. Sales of the four-cylinder slowed over the years and it was discontinued in 1999.

A 3.0-litre V6 engine was released in the Mitsubishi Verada in 1991 and the Magna in 1993. It was joined by a 3.5-litre V6 in some upmarket variants in October 1996. The bigger engine gradually spread to the rest of the range. In the later-model Magna Sports and VR-X, the 3.5 engine has additional power over the standard unit.

The Mitsubishi 380's 3.8-litre engine is a stretched version of the 3.5-litre unit. There is good torque throughout the normally used zone of the rev range and the 3.8 unit is very pleasant to sit behind.

Magna is offered with a five-speed manual gearbox, but the great majority of the original cars came with a four-speed automatic. An advanced five-speed automatic transmission with a sequential shifter is fitted to the sporty variants sold from August 2000 and made its way to the other models over the next couple of years. Mitsubishi 380 came with a five-speed automatic transmission or a five-speed manual gearbox. The auto was by far the most popular.

Mitsubishi's Magna offers the extra traction of all-wheel drive in some sports variants to give the car a real sporty feeling. These all-wheel drives are a real pleasure to punt hard and fast and keen drivers love their feel and grip. But they were never popular and may be hard to resell.

The underbonnet area is reasonably spacious. Amateur mechanics can carry out some simple tasks, make sure to get a professional mechanic for anything related to safety.

Mitsubishi continues to operate strongly in Australia despite no longer being a local manufacturer. Spare parts for cars up to 10 years old are still carried by Mitsubishi dealers. Specialist recyclers are good of other parts.

Insurance charges are usually moderate and most companies charge much the same for four- and six-cylinder engines. There may be an increase in the premiums for the Sports model if the driver is young and/or inexperienced.

Look at and feel the front tyres for uneven wear. This may indicate front suspension problems. Perhaps because a front wheel has been kerbed - or that the car has been in a smash.

Rust is seldom a problem but in a few Magnas it finds into the bottom edges of the doors, boot lid and/or tailgate, and the fuel filler flap.

Look for signs of damage to seats, carpets and trim, including inside the boot.

Examine the top of the dash panel and the rear parcel shelf for faded, or cracked, plastic caused by constant exposure to sunlight.

Automatic transmission problems have dogged these Mitsubishis but troubles are less frequent in newer models. If an automatic shifts gear unnecessarily or suddenly shifts into neutral for no reason have it checked out.

Check the paint and bumper bar around the exhaust tailpipe for an oily film, indicating engine problems.

Make sure the brakes pull the car up in a straight line. ABS, if fitted, will send a pulsing back through the pedal on hard application.

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Used Mitsubishi 380 review: 2005-2008

The demise of the local manufacture of the Mitsubishi 380 was the result of a common ailment within the car industry – belief in your own hype. When sitting down to build the next generation Mitsubishi Magna the marketing people convinced themselves their new car was so much better than the old one that it deserved a new name.

So after over 20 years of building up a great reputation for the Magna the name was dumped and replaced by a number. Mitsubishi 380 was born, staggered along for a few years, then was quietly put to sleep. Thus weakening Australia’s local heavy industry and costing a lot of jobs.

Mitsubishi 380 is an excellent machine that’s well worth considering as a used car. Values have dropped because people get nervous about ‘orphan’ cars, but spare parts are still readily available and there’s no shortage of mechanics who know their way around the Mitsubishi 380.

Though the 380 was based on an American/Japanese Mitsubishi design, many changes were made to suit Australian road conditions, as well as local drivers’ tastes.

Interior room is a big feature of the Mitsubishi 380, with space and comfort both being well above average in the back seat. Access to the rear seat is easy and this is a genuine family machine for those with kids at the hulking-teen stage of their lives. The in-cabin styling is pleasing to the eye and likely to remain timeless.

Handling is good, all the more so when you remember this is a big front-wheel-drive family machine, not a sports sedan. Road grip is high and the car generally feels neutral until it approaches its higher than average on-road limits.

Mitsubishi 380’s 3.8-litre V6 engine is a stretched version of the 3.5-litre unit used in the Magna. There is good torque throughout the rev range and easy-going long-distance travel is a speciality of the car.

Most of the engines sit alongside a five-speed automatic transmission, but Mitsubishi continued to offer a five-speed manual gearbox on some variants.

Disappointing sales right from the start led to the introduction of the Mitsubishi 380 Series 2 only six months after the October 2005 launch of the original model. Prices were slashed, with the range starting $7000 down on the initial models which didn’t do a lot for those who had bought the early cars, but was good news for used-car buyers.

A special model called the Mitsubishi 380 Platinum Edition was launched in October 2006. Based on the Mitsubishi 380 SX, the Platinum came with a powered sunroof, rear park assist, a rear spoiler and Bluetooth connectivity. It could be identified by its platinum-coloured radiator grilles and rear bumper insert, as well as by ‘Platinum’ badges.

The simple underbonnet layout and good access mean you can do a fair bit of your own service and repair work. As always, we suggest you leave safety items to professionals, and have a workshop manual to study before commencing work.

Insurance costs are generally in the lower quarter of the scale. We have seen some companies charge extra for the Mitsubishi 380 GT compared with the standard model. This perhaps reflects on the type of buyers attracted to the car, but remember there's no additional engine performance compared with the standard 380.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Some 380s will have begun their days on car rental fleets and could have had a rough life. Look for signs of damage to seats, carpets and other trim caused by careless use. Don't forget to check the boot as well as the cabin.

Examine the top of the dash panel and the rear parcel shelf for faded, or cracked, plastic caused by constant exposure to sunlight.

Look and feel the front tyres for uneven wear, this could mean front suspension problems, or it might simply be that a wheel has been bumped out of alignment. Play it safe if there's the slightest doubt.

Be sure the engine starts quickly and idles smoothly within a few seconds of kicking over.

Look for smoking at the exhaust, especially after the engine is worked hard after it has been idling for a while.

Automatic transmission problems that plagued the Magna for many years don’t seem to have carried across to the new 380. However, watch for an automatic that shifts gear when it doesn’t need to, or which suddenly shifts into neutral for no reason.

Make sure the brakes pull the car up in a straight line and that the ABS system sends a pulsing through the pedal on very hard braking. Don’t forget to check your mirrors before doing these tests.

Rust is not normally a problem but a car that's been poorly repaired after a crash could have some troubles. If you do suspect a major crash has been rectified it pays to have a professional completely inspect the car.

CAR BUYING TIP

Before buying an older car it’s wise to chat to specialists in your area about their knowledge of the car type, as well as the availability of spare parts.

 

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Ask Smithy Xtra Mitsubishi 380 VRX start-up

You need to establish if the problem is fuel or spark. Check that the fuel pressure is correct, but I would focus on the spark side and make sure the coils, leads and plugs are ok, and check the crank angle sensor.

Start-Up Noise Annoys

I can imagine it is very annoying. Take it back to the dealer and demand it be fixed. Your car should still be under warranty and the noise you are hearing might well be a relay, but it's not normal and you have every right to have it fixed.

Used Mitsubishi 380 review: 2005-2007

The 380 will forever be known as the car that ended local production of Mitsubishi cars. There’s no escaping the fact that it was the last car the company produced in Australia so in that sense it’s a rap it has to wear, but there’s more to the Mitsubishi story than one last model, and in that sense it’s a bum rap.

To blame the 380 for the demise of local production is going too far. It’s not a bad car by any measure, far from it, but it was probably too late and too little. By the time it hit the road in 2005 the Mitsubishi name was already on the nose with buyers and there was little the 380 could do to rescue the situation.

Even a name change from the Magna wasn’t enough; that should have happened many years ago when the name was tarnished by the auto trans fiasco way back in the 1980s. But just because the 380 is out of production shouldn’t suggest that it be removed from your shopping list, either as a new car buy or as a used car.

There are plenty of sound reasons for buying the last of the long line of Australian-made Mitsubishis, none more so than its price, which is already showing signs of plummeting.

MODEL WATCH

The vultures were already circling the barely breathing body of the Tonsley assembly plant in Adelaide long before the 380 starting rolling off the production line.

Magna sales had slowed to an unsustainable level and there was no sign buyers had any intention of returning to the fold. It was clear something radical had to be done if there was to be any chance of keeping Tonsley going.

The decision was to build a Magna that wasn’t a Magna. There was nothing spectacularly wrong with the Magna, it was soundly engineered, performed well, was well built and reliable, but the name had become synonymous with the cardigan set and nothing was going to shake that perception.

There wasn’t much wrong with the idea of building another car along the lines of the Magna, but it had to be given a new name. The 380 was the name chosen, and the car hit Mitsubishi showrooms with an optimistic fanfare in 2005, as Mitsubishi’s management team watched and waited for the reaction of car buyers.

It wasn’t long before it was realised that trouble was ahead. There wasn’t a surge in sales and prices started to drop in an effort to spark showroom traffic. From then it was really only a matter of time before Mitsubishi’s Japanese bosses ran out of patience and hit the big red button on the production line.

But the 380 story didn’t end with the halting of production because there will be new cars in the market for many months, and used cars will be bought and sold for many years ahead as owners argue its merits. Conservatively styled there was nothing to write home about the 380’s looks. It had a clear family connection to the Magna, which mustn’t have helped, and it really did disappear into the background on the road.

In its favour it was larger than the Magna and had the room for a family with good front and rear head and legroom. The dash was well laid-out, although the finish of the plastics looked and felt cheap. But it was well put together and the cheap-look of the plastics could have been corrected with a more subtle texture without too much trouble. At the wheel the driving position was comfortable and the seats supportive.

Under the bonnet was a 3.8-litre single overhead camshaft V6 that delivered smooth steady power as the revs climbed. At its peak it would deliver 175 kW and 340 Nm into either a five-speed manual gearbox or, more likely a five-speed auto, with the auto boasting a manual shift option.

The suspension was MacPherson Strut at the front with a stabiliser bar, and independent multi-link at the rear. Four-wheel disc brakes, assisted by ABS anti-skid and traction control electronics helped keep it on the black top.

Models in the 380 range at launch consisted of base sedan, LS, LX, VR-X and GT. In 2006 Mitsubishi released a Series II with ES, LX, SX, VR-X and GT. Finally in 2007 the company unveiled the Series III, which was destined to be the last act in the company’s local manufacturing play.

IN THE SHOP

The 380 is still very much in its youth so there isn’t a lot to report, but going by the record of recent Magnas it’s fair to say the new car will be pretty reliable. The engine, gearboxes and driveline are all well proven and have given little drama in the past. Plenty of 380s went into fleet use so be cautious when buying cars that have been driven by people who don’t care much about their ride. Negotiate hard if you’re buying an ex-fleet car.

Make the usual checks for minor bumps and scrapes on the body and thoroughly check for serious body damage that might have been caused by a crash. The interior trim of Magnas generally stood up well over time and there’s no reason to think the 380 will be any worse.

The 3.8-litre V6 has plenty of punch and will do the job for many years to come without any dramas. Because it’s awkward to get to the three spark plugs at the rear of the engine those cylinders have expensive platinum plugs that require replacing at 90,000 km and some owners get a surprise when they receive the bill from their mechanic. The plugs in the three cylinders at the front of the engine are regular plugs that aren’t as expensive, but require replacement more often.

With a six-year warranty Mitsubishi provided plenty of cover for 380 owners, and that’s still in play with the oldest 380 still only three years old.

IN A CRASH

The 380 had a solid array of safety features with dual front airbags, side airbags, and seat belt pretensioners, which all helped in a crash. It also had an agile, responsive chassis with good steering, powerful disc brakes all round with anti-skid and traction control electronics to empower the driver with the capability to dodge a crash.

AT THE PUMP

The 380 was quite economical given its mass and the size of its engine. The manual would do around 11.5 L/100 km and the auto a little less at around 10.5 L/100 km. It’s also good on gas with an LPG-compatible engine right from the factory. An approved aftermarket LPG injection kit for the 380 costs around $4200, so given the government rebate of $2000 the extra $2200 the owner needs to cover can be recovered in around 18 months by an average motorist.

OWNERS SAY

Kelvin Tennant bought his 380 GT shortly after the 2005 release and he rates it by far the best car he’s ever owned. Right from the very first time he drove a 380 he was impressed with the feeling of stability that the car imparts to a driver. It always feels beautifully balanced in corners with hardly any body roll. Added to which the ride is quiet and smooth and the braking excellent. Kelvin also uses it to tow a pop-top caravan and says it makes light work of it even on steep hills. Tests he’s done shows it does 11.6 L/100km on average and as little as 9.0 on a trip.

Nick Renwick and his dad both have Mitsubishi 380s and they reckon they are the perfect cars. Nick’s is a brand new 2008 SX; his father’s a 2006 SX Platinum. The build quality is much better than both the VE Commodore and the BF Falcon, they say, and they are so smooth, quiet and comfortable, yet incredibly sporty to drive. They rate the fuel consumption as good, so too the interior space and the fit and finish.

Noel Carey bought his 2006 380 Series 2 LX with around 56,000 km on the clock. It has now done 60,000 km and feels as good as new. The body is tight, the panels fit well and the doors close with a solid ‘clunk’. On the road it’s quiet, the engine oozes power and the transmission is smooth and shifts seamlessly.

Geoff Burton owns a 2005 380LX with 38,000 km on the clock, and says it is a magnificent vehicle, better than the Fairlane and Statesman he has previously owned. It is a very comfortable car, and is quite good on fuel, handles well and has responsive performance. If it had any faults they would be a lack of mudflaps, a blind spot on the rear passenger side when reversing and no grab handle for the front seat passenger.

LOOK OUT FOR
• conservative styling
• roomy interior
• smooth, gutsy V6
• good ride and handling
• potential for gas conversion

THE BOTTOM LINE
With a six-year warranty and sliding prices the well-built and equipped 380 is a potential bargain used car buy.

RATING
90/100

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Recall flurry
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Hard starter

WE CONTACTED Mitsubishi on your behalf and it confirmed it is aware of your problem and acknowledges it has your letter. We were also told it has been in touch with you about the issue and has reiterated that if you have issues with your vehicle you are covered by roadside assist.

Driving, it's a gas

THE 380's engine is LPG-compatible so there won't be any issues with reliability down the road. I can't comment on the cheaper system. You don't say what brand it is. But I have driven a 380 with the Impco system, which was developed for Mitsubishi, and I thought it started, drove and performed well -- so much so that you could barely tell it was running on LPG and not petrol.

Hit the gas

YOU are correct. The 380 is LPG-compatible and Mitsubishi dealers will have systems available for installation. Two types of LPG systems are used, a vapour mixer system, and gas injection. The injection system is state of the art and that's the one to have. I have driven a 380 fitted with the Impco system developed for Mitsubishi and it's a beauty. It starts, idles, drives and performs without fault.

Gassed-up magna

MITSUBISHI has produced Magnas with dedicated LPG, and there has also been a factory-approved dealer-installed Impco dual-fuel option from TJ. Dual-fuel has been approved for the 380 and will be available in a few months.

Disclaimer: You acknowledge and agree that all answers are provided as a general guide only and should not be relied upon as bespoke advice. Carsguide is not liable for the accuracy of any information provided in the answers.
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Complete guide to Mitsubishi 380 2007
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