Mitsubishi ASX Pricing and Specs

It doesn’t really matter whether this is a common problem or not, a malfunctioning camera is a major safety issue as it means critical safety systems in your car are not working. This is a major safety issue and one that has legality and insurance ramifications in the right (or wrong) circumstances.

It’s worth mentioning that this model ASX was recalled to attend to a software issue that could cause some safety features (including the ones you’ve listed) to not work properly. Your car also falls within the manufacturing dates of affected vehicles. Perhaps that’s the clue you need to solve this. A check with a Mitsubishi dealer will reveal whether your car was affected and if it’s been fixed.

It sounds like there’s something pretty major wrong inside the transmission. The lack of drive in reverse is allowing the engine to 'flare' (rev up) because there’s no load on the engine when this happens.

But before you do anything else, check the level of transmission fluid in the gearbox to make sure it’s not low. A low fluid level can cause these symptoms, too, so you need to rule out the easy stuff first.

This has been an ongoing problem for many owners of many different makes and models of cars fitted with Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs). The process of dumping fuel into the engine is designed to get the exhaust system hot enough for the DPF regeneration (self-cleaning) to take place. But a car that travels 500km per week really shouldn’t need this as the exhaust system should be getting hot enough in the normal course of things.

Either way, if you constantly have excess fuel being dumped into the engine, some of it will find its way into the sump (as you’ve discovered). That’s when the check engine light signals the problem, but in the meantime, you’re also driving around with engine oil diluted by the extra fuel. And that’s when engine wear can occur because diluted oil isn’t able to protect the engine’s metal parts as well as it should.

It could be that the car’s sensors are giving the computer the wrong information on how hot it’s getting, and/or how dirty the DPF is. Perhaps the DPF itself is damaged to the point where it won’t regenerate fully. A diesel specialist would be a good place to start, as this problem is hardly unknown these days.