Mitsubishi Problems

If it's as simple as the AdBlue sensor not telling the computer that more AdBlue has been added to the tank, then yes, it would seem like a pretty simple fix. But it may not be that simple. If there's a blockage in the tank or the line that takes the AdBlue to the car's exhaust (where it's injected into the exhaust to reduce harmful tailpipe emissions) then the car may still 'think' that there's no AdBlue on board.

There could also be more to restarting an engine that has shut itself down than simply adding more AdBlue, too. Perhaps there's a specific restarting procedure that has to be followed, perhaps involving resetting the computer manually. One would imagine, however, that a dealership that sells the cars new would be aware of this.

It all depends on what you call bouncing and how you define bumpy country roads. But one thing’s for sure, if the car really is leaping about more than it should, it has nothing to do with the fact that the engine is in the front. Don’t accept that sort of nonsense from anybody; a modern car should be balanced to drive and that’s that.

There has to be a degree of movement over bumps – that’s why cars have suspension in the first place - otherwise, they’d be very uncomfortable to ride in. But excess movement means there’s either a problem with the suspension itself (bushes, ball-joints or maybe even the springs themselves) or the shock absorbers aren’t doing their job by controlling and arresting the normal movement over bumps.

Again, though, it’s important to set parameters for what’s normal and what’s not. The parlous state of this nation’s country roads at the moment means it’s possible to encounter some truly momentous bumps and potholes, many of which are enough to damage a car’s suspension, not just test its limits. Meantime, start with a check of the shock absorbers and work from there. If they’re worn out or tired, they can certainly allow more movement than there should be.

Intermittent problems like this one can be very annoying as they rarely emerge when a mechanic is looking at them. However, you need to have the Mitsubishi dealership mechanic with you for a test drive as you try to make the problem occur, however long that takes. Perhaps you could video the car's behaviour next time it happens and show the workshop that way.

Common causes for a manual car to refuse to select a gear are usually down to a worn, maladjusted or damaged clutch or a poorly adjusted gear linkage. If there's a horrible graunching noise when this happens, I'd suspect the clutch, if not, it could easily be a simple matter of adjusting the selectors. Either way, this shouldn't amount to rocket science in 2024.

Just be sure not to take no for an answer; if the car has a problem, it's under warranty and it's Mitsubishi's problem, not yours. 

It's not unheard of for a brand-new component to be faulty straight out of the box. However, the more logical explanation for your car refusing to start after the crank angle sensor was replaced is that the sensor was not the problem in the first place.

Instead of continuing to replace random components that may or may not fix the problem, you really need to find the problem and then tackle it with new parts. Scanning the car's electronics will often throw up the answer, but it could also be something as simple as the car having sat for a few months and the fuel going stale in the process. The causes of a no-start condition are endless.

Under Australian Consumer Law, all brand-new cars sold here must come with a factory warranty, but it’s up to the manufacturer where to set the time and distance limits for that model. But even the most generous car-maker isn’t going to apply a warranty to a car that is now two decades old and has covered goodness knows how many kilometres.

For reference, most new-car warranties now cover a vehicle for between five and seven years. You will sometimes find a manufacturer will help out with some of the cost of repairs if the vehicle is only slightly out of warranty (and then, usually on a pro-rata basis). And that will only ever happen if the vehicle is question has an absolutely perfect service record.

If your engine has multiple problems, the best advice might be to look for a good, tested second-hand engine and replace the whole thing.

If it was just the indicators or just the central locking, you could spend a long time figuring this out. But if both the indicators and the central locking went on the blink at the same time, any mechanic's suspicions would be drawn to the body computer. This is an ECU that controls all those functions, including cruise-control, heating and ventilation and much, much more.

If the computer unit fails or starts to behave erratically, you'll notice these functions either working intermittently or not working at all. In some cases, a new body computer will be needed, but you can try this trick at home. Disconnect the battery and leave the car overnight. You may find when you reconnect the battery, all the functions have been restored.

The other trick to try is to hold the lock button on your key fob for a minimum of 60 seconds. That, too, can often reset the body computer and reboot thigs back to where they should be. Failing that, it's off to an auto electrician.

Diagnosing electrical problems remotely is a hiding to nowhere, but conventional wisdom says the wiring, earths and related switches are the first place to start. But modern vehicles also rely on body computers to control some of these functions, so that's worth a check, too.

I can only hope you raised and logged this issue with Mitsubishi when it first started happening. If you did, you have what's called a pre-existing condition under the factory warranty terms. If the problem first surfaced five years ago, that would place the flickering occurring from about 2019. Which means, as a 2018 vehicle, it would have been covered by the Mitsubishi warranty. Even if the car subsequently runs out of warranty, a pre-existing condition is still legally required to be fixed by the car's manufacturer.

Plenty of people have successfully converted vans and small busses into campervans. The reason some are more successful than others is often down to the previous life the vehicle has lived and what sort of preventative maintenance it has been treated to.

A vehicle that has been serviced properly and used carefully is likely to be a good thing even with a few years and plenty of kilometres on board. But one that has been used and abused and neglected in terms of maintenance is not a vehicle you want to be buying second-hand, regardless of make or model.

So make sure the vehicle has a complete service history and try to find out a bit about what it was used for. Does it have a big tow-bar fitted? If so, it's probably towed some heavy loads and that places stresses on every part of the vehicle. Is there any sign-writing on the vehicle (or shadows on the paint where corporate logos once were)? If so, the vehicle has almost certainly been used commercially and may or may not have been driven sympathetically by the company apprentice.

Treat it like an archaeology project, and you'll be amazed what you can learn. Meantime, a privately owned Express van with full service history is the one you want, but be prepared to pay more for such a thing.

This definitely does sound like a build-up of carbon and soot inside the intake system of the engine. Believe it or not, this is not an uncommon problem and occurs partly because of the emissions controls forced upon engine manufacturers.

The diesel engine in your car features an EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system which means the engine inhales a portion of its exhaust so that it goes through the engine twice and is burned more completely. That's good for emissions, but it means that exhaust soot is being consumed by the engine via the intake system.

Combine that with the oily fumes from the crankcase ventilation system (which also feeds into the intake) and you can soon wind up with a black, sticky, sooty glug that blocks the internal airways much as cholesterol blocks human blood vessels. In some cases, the only way to fix this is to remove the intake system and manually clean it out. This can be time consuming and expensive, but could easily be why your check-engine light is being triggered.

The other bads news is that this could happen again over time. The solution to that is to fit a quality air-oil separator (also known as a catch-can) which keeps the oil fumes out of the equation.

This problem has occurred before and happens when the pulley rubs through the hose, which finds itself in the wrong position under full turbo-boost. From what I can gather, the problem is due to a running change in supplier of this hose. And even though the hose was a slightly different shape, the manufacturer used the original alignment marks from the previous hose. So, when the mechanic fits the new hose, it places it in the path of the fan pulley when the engine comes on boost.

Ideally, the hose needs to be fitted so that there's at least 25 or 30mm of clearance between itself and the pulley. Your twist-at-the-bottom method should work, because you're effectively altering the incorrect alignment marks to where they should be.