Mitsubishi Sedan Range

The answer depends on which particular engine your car is fitted with. In 2005, Mitsubishi gave the Lancer a facelift, at which point the ES version could be had with the original 2.0-litre engine or the newer and more powerful 2.4-litre unit.

If your car has the 2.0-litre engine, then it is fitted with a timing chain which should last the life of the car. If it’s the 2.4-litre unit, then it has a rubber timing belt which needs to be changed at regular intervals.

The general consensus seems to be that the belt-change interval for this engine is every 90,000km or six years, whichever comes first. Mechanics also recommend you replace the water pump and the various pulleys and tensioners at the same time to avoid having to disassemble the engine a second time when the pump starts to leak six months from now.

Electronically fuel-injected engines don’t have a choke like old cars did, so the cold start process is handled by the computer. It detects the temperature of the engine (and ambient air) and then alters the fuel and air mixture going into the engine to give it the right ratio to fire up the engine. Cold starts generally require more fuel and less air than when the engine is at operating temperature.

The computer does all this via sensors so, if one sensor is not playing the game, the computer can’t alter the mixture and the car can be very difficult - if not impossible - to start. A good workshop should be able to sort this pretty quickly as the Magna’s engine is not an overly complex one and is a well-known quantity.

This is not a difficult job, but may require moving the battery or air intake box to gain access to the rear of the headlights from inside the engine bay. From there, you simply twist and remove the socket that holds the globe in the back of the headlight assembly. Then, you can unplug the globe from the wiring harness and simply replace it with a new globe.

It’s important not to touch the glass portion of the new globe as this can lead to a hot-spot that will shorten the globe’s lifespan. Use a cloth or paper towel when fitting the new globes.

The parking light and headlight globes will be separate and held in separate sockets, and need to be purchased individually. From memory, the headlight unit is what’s called a H4. Now is also the time to consider a headlight upgrade with a brighter replacement globe.