Mitsubishi Problems

If the engine is running well, but the car won’t move in gear when you take your foot off the clutch, it’s very likely that your clutch has failed. The clutch is responsible for transferring power from the engine to the gearbox and, if it wears out, it can no longer do so and the vehicle will just sit there and not move even when you take your foot off the clutch pedal and the car is in gear.

You noted that the car had previously seemed to lose power, but this was more likely to be the start of the clutch failing and not transferring all the power it should have been. Eventually, though, the failure became total and no power is getting through to the gearbox (and, therefore, the wheels).

A new clutch is the likely fix but make sure to check the flywheel for damage and wear while the car is apart.

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.

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.

It definitely could be the transmission’s main pump. Without this pump working properly, it can’t create the pressure necessary to select gears via the valve-body or indeed, produce enough drive force to actually get the car to move.

But, you could also be looking at a broken valve body, faulty selector cable from the cabin to the transmission, a broken torque converter or a complete, catastrophic internal failure of the gearbox. Instead of guessing, take it to a transmission specialist who is very likely to have seen this very problem many times before.

Squeaking when a car’s suspension moves up and down is usually down to a couple of things. Either there’s wear in a ball-joint or suspension bush, or the bushes and joints are full of dry dust. Have you driven the Triton off-road in sand or dust recently? You might find that some dust has managed to work its way into the rubber bushings and is causing the noise.

At worst, you may have damage to something in the suspension that is placing a load where it shouldn’t or perhaps even rubbing where it shouldn’t. With the vehicle securely parked, you can climb underneath and have a friend use their body weight to bounce the vehicle on the spot. If you’re lucky, you might be able to pin-point the source of the squeak.

This is definitely not the sort of information car makers publish. Instinct suggests the headliner should, indeed, fit through one of the door openings, as that’s how it would be fitted on the production line. Try a front door opening first with the front seat slid all the way back and the backrest laid right down.

The other option would be to politely ask a motor trimmer how they manage this job.

The Mitsubishi 4N15 engine in your Pajero Sport has a timing chain rather than a toothed rubber belt. As such, the chain should be good for the life of the vehicle rather than requiring periodic replacement as a timing belt does. However, this does not make the valve-train maintenance-free, as this engine requires valve clearance adjustments every 60,000km.

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.

Let’s go back to basics here: Is there water in the reservoir? It might sound like a silly question, but many owners don’t think about routine maintenance like this, mainly because modern cars are so reliable in the first place.

If there is water in the reservoir, can you hear the washer pump motor when you hit the lever for the washers? If you can, then there could be a blockage in the line somewhere (it wouldn’t be the first time an insect or dust has blocked one of these tiny tubes). If you can’t hear the motor, the problem is most likely an electrical one and could be anything from a fried pump motor to a simple blown fuse.

Don’t be confused by the wipers working and the washers not; they’re two very separate systems.