Mitsubishi Problems

The NSW government website advises that you must not drive a high performance car on red P-Plates. But that’s hardly the case for a 2007 Outlander, so you should be fine. The catch is that you must also only drive cars that feature the type of transmission you took your test on. So, if you took your test in an automatic or clutchless manual car, then the Outlander you drive unsupervised must have the same transmission type, and not have a conventional manual with a clutch pedal.

First suspicions would be the body computer which controls all sorts of functions including central locking, indicators, dashboard, heating and central locking. The fact that two functions have disappeared together is what makes the body computer a great place to start.

An auto electrician should be able to diagnose the problem. The worst-case scenario is that you’ll need a new body computer model and will then have to re-sync the new computer to your existing keys. But don’t rule out a poor earth or even a battery that is starting to show its age.

As a commercial vehicle, the 2006 express van was not crash tested by ANCAP when it was released. These days, the van carries a one-star safety rating as a used car, based on real-world crash data.

Fundamentally, the Express is an old design and doesn’t make use of many of the most basic safety features that passenger cars of the day had. The forward seating position also has an effect on crash safety and, if you look at newer van designs, you’ll often see that the front-seat passengers are placed farther back in the vehicle as a result. The bottom line is that there are better choices if crash safety is your major concern.

If you had a loss of drive in every gear, the suspicion would be that the transmission is low on fluid or the torque converter is not working properly. But if it’s only reverse gear that is playing up, the chances are that the bands or clutch pack that locks the transmission into Reverse is allowing the gears inside the transmission to spin without actually transferring torque to the output shaft (and thence to the wheels).

That said, there could be other internal problems that could cause this, so a visit to a transmission specialist is the best advice. Don’t delay it either, as continuing to drive the vehicle in its current state could do more damage to the transmission.

There’s nothing wrong with your car, Regina, this is just the way a car’s air-conditioning works. And yours is behaving completely normally.

Although the fan will blow air when the car’s engine is stopped, the actual air-conditioning (which is what makes the air cold) needs the engine to be running to power the AC’s pump. Without the car’s engine, the AC pump won’t work and the air coming out the vents won’t be cold. When you start the engine, the AC pump suddenly has the power it requires and the air gets cold. That’s just how it works.

According to website howsafeisyourcar.com.au, this version of the Triton has side air-bags in both the front and rear seats. Fitting side airbags was a great move by ute makers and reflects the fact that these vehicles are being used both as family cars and as company cars where OH and S requirements require a high safety rating.

You have a couple choices here. You can either go to a brake specialist or a general spare parts store, both of whom should have what you need, or will be able to order it for you. If it’s not on the shelf, metropolitan stores can generally have the parts for you the next business day. If you can wait a little longer, there are plenty of online sites that also sell the repair kits you need. Some of these sites might allow for local pick-up, but the majority of orders will be mailed to you.

Just make sure if you go down the latter route to use a secure payment system that will refund your money if the parts never turn up. Also, local (Australian) online stores will likely have a faster turnaround than overseas sellers, regardless of any price difference. If you do shop overseas, you’ll also need to decide whether you want the faster (more expensive) shipping option sometimes offered.

Ultimately, you may have to resort to a locksmith to have the key fob re-synced with the car. But before you do that, try this: Mitsubishis of this era often have a key fob with a lock and unlock button. While sitting in the car (or standing next to it) push both lock and unlock buttons down together. Hold them down until you see the fob’s LED flash three times. Then, push the unlock button for one flash of the LED. The LED should then flash another two times and you’re all set. The lock and unlock buttons should now work.

It may not work with all cars, but it’s definitely worth a try. If it doesn’t, you probably have a Mitsubishi model where syncing has to take place via the OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) plug which requires a bit more know-how and the correct plug tools. That’s where your friendly locksmith or auto electrician comes in.

This sounds like a case of a split fuel pick-up pipe in the fuel tank. When the tank is full, the split in the pick-up is covered by fuel, so the pump works normally at supplying the injectors with fuel. But when the level in the tank falls, the split is exposed and the fuel pump suddenly finds it’s much easier to suck air rather than fuel. And engines don’t run too well on just air.

This could be interpreted by a scan-tool as a fuel leak, so a check of the tank’s pick-up tube seems like a good place to start looking. Any actual fuel leak large enough to cause this problem would, presumably, be visible, but it’s worth a check of the fuel rail and return lines as well. Failing that, you could have a dud sensor that is telling the computer there’s a fuel shortage and sending the car into limp-home mode to protect the engine (which would also explain the loss of power). It would also be worth checking to see that the new Suction Control Valve (SCV) is working properly, even though it's brand new.

There are literally dozens of reasons the check-engine light might illuminate in a car like the Pajero. Fundamentally, the car is trying to tell you something is not right with one or more of its systems, and that it needs attention. Those systems could include (but are not limited to) the ignition, fuel, emissions, exhaust, mechanical and cooling systems.

Simply replacing random parts is a quick way to burn up a lot of money and still not fix the problem. I’m curious as to why you’ve assumed the problem is with the EGR system. And even if you’re right and the EGR system is causing the problem, you might find the fault is with the actual EGR valve or its coolant system, rather than the electronics that control and monitor it.

Take the car to a workshop and have it electronically scanned to try to narrow down the cause of the check-engine light. The fault codes will have been logged by the on-board computer and are usually the only way to zero in on the actual problem. Even once that’s done and the problem fixed, there’s probably a separate procedure for switching the engine light off.