Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Problems

Under consumer law, provided the servicing is done "by the book" with the correct standard of parts, all car companies must honour the warranty as if the car was serviced inside their dealer network. Some dealers might be a bit reluctant to help if you have not been loyal on servicing with them, but the bottom line is clear.

The Pajero is a rugged vehicle that is very good on-road and off, it is roomy, safe and well equipped, while the Prado is a large, reliable, and tough seven-seater. It’s very comfortable, but the diesel’s performance is lacklustre. It’s hard to beat the Pajero.

I’ve heard of a few Mitsubishis whose owners have experience creaks or knocks coming from the steering column, but yours is the first one I’ve heard of where the column has actually separated. The fact that it happened on the move is crazy and makes me wonder whether it was a one-off or whether this could develop into a trend. Like all modern vehicles, the Pajero Sport uses a collapsible steering column which is designed to collapse in a crash to avoid protruding any further into the cabin. Perhaps it’s this joint that has failed, but I really can’t say without looking at the vehicle.

Whether Mitsubishi will offer you your money back will probably be dependent on a few things, including whether the vehicle has been modified in any way and whether it believes those changes may have contributed to the failure.

As well as contacting the dealer – which you clearly have – the other piece of advice would be to contact Mitsubishi Australia’s Customer Service Department on 1300 131211 immediately and get the ball rolling towards a resolution.

You have a very common-sense approach to this Neil, and I agree with your theory 100 per cent. Towing a heavy load in an overdriven gear – whether it’s a manual or automatic gearbox – is not a great idea. Some gearboxes are obviously stronger than others, but even so, I reckon it’s just a good policy based on the principles of mechanical sympathy.

Towing in overdrive places huge stresses on the mechanical components of a gearbox – a piece of equipment that already has its back to the wall with 2.3 tonnes of caravan trying to drag it to a stop – and limiting the load and stresses by sticking with a ratio no higher than direct-drive (1:1) just makes sense. Think of it like your legs when riding a push-bike: Using a higher gear is fine until the driveline starts to load up, such as when climbing a hill (or towing a caravan in your car) at which point you need to shift to a lower gear to avoid your leg muscles exploding.

You’re right in suggesting that your car heads for the higher gears in a hurry to reduce fuel consumption, and this is one of those times when the manufacturer has placed the official fuel-consumption number on the windscreen sticker over common-sense. Not that Mitsubishi is the only offender (far from it) but it remains that the engine and gearbox have been calibrated for maximum fuel economy rather than maximum mechanical sympathy.

Ands let’s be honest, with a big caravan hitched up behind, no vehicle is going to record brilliant fuel consumption figures, is it?

Your towing needs will dictate a big car. Others you could consider are the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Isuzu MU-X, Holden Trailblazer, or Ford Everest.

All of the vehicles are worthy choices, but you need to be careful about the towing ratings of them. The Kia Sorento, which would be my choice, is rated at 2000kg, which is right on your towing requirement. Others, such as the 2WD Everest, are rated to tow much more. Others, like the Mitsubishi Pajero and Toyota Prado, are full-on 4WDs, and would seem beyond your needs.

There’s nothing on the horizon to say it will be soon, or even this year.

They all have child seat anchorages in the second row, but you're right that the Everest has anchorages in the second and third rows. The Everest would be the one to go for; it's got the most up-to-date cabin and would be best suited to your needs.

You haven't given us the weight of the caravan you want to tow, which goes a long way to determining the best car for you. We'll err on the side of caution and go for cars with a towing capacity of at least 2500 kg that fall within your budget. It's always best to go for the latest model you can afford, which means around 2103 in your case. I'm guessing you're over the Pathfinder given your experience with the holed piston in your current car, but the Nissan is an option for you. So too are the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Mitsubishi Pajero, although the Pajero's rear suspension is prone to sagging when heavily loaded and I would rule that out on that basis. If you can stretch your budget a little you could consider the Landrover Discovery 4, which does everything you want well, but is the most expensive of this bunch. For me the pick of the bunch for me is the Toyota Prado, for performance, economy, and reliability. The only issue for you could be that the Prado's towing rating is 2500 kg, the lowest of the cars we mention here.

A Mitsubishi spokesman told us "the Pajero Sport has an audio system called Smartphone Link Display Audio (SDA) for both Android Auto (TM*1) and Apple CarPlay (TM*2). SDA allows users of either Android smartphones or iPhones to connect to the seven-inch built-in touch screen using a USB cable." From that the answer to your question would seem to be 'no'.