2008 Mitsubishi Triton Pricing and Specs

There wasn’t a recall for this problem on this model, but there was a service bulletin (like a recall but for a non-safety related issue). The problem was the same as yours; examples of this diesel engine were overheating. The cause was deemed to be a loss of coolant and was related to poor cylinder-head gasket sealing. In turn, that was deemed to be the result of a too-rough metal surface on the cylinder block where it joined the cylinder head and sandwiched the gasket.

Mitsubishi introduced measures such as a different coolant concentration, a different radiator cap and an ECU that gave more warning to the driver. But none of these things actually fixed the issue with the head gasket and the metal surfaces. In fact, it wasn’t until 2014 production that Mitsubishi changed the machining process on the production line to give a smoother head-gasket sealing surface which solved the problem for good.

It seems that some engines had problems while other simply did not. Hard use such as towing heavy loads or driving at sustained high speeds made the problem more likely to surface.

Like anything mechanical, the gear-shifting mechanism in a car can become slack, or sloppy, over time and kilometres. Play can develop in the linkages and levers that select each gear, or in the part where the gear-shift itself is joined to those selectors. Also, the actual selectors that disappear into the gearbox and physically shift the gears can also develop excess movement or play.

You can probably remove the shifter boot and centre console inside the cabin and check for looseness in the upper part of the shifter mechanism, but to check the whole thing, you’ll need to climb under the car and feel for play and look for broken clips, missing springs and worn out bushes. The good news is that it’s probably an external wear issue and not something inside the gearbox itself.

A lot of cars don’t like having a battery that is low on charge or being jump-started. Either of these things can cause the body computer or even the main ECU to start playing up. My guess in this case would be the body-computer which controls the dashboard functions and things like the central locking system.

Before you rush out and pay a mechanic to look at the vehicle, there are a couple of things to try. The first is to take the remote-control for the central locking and hold the button down for at least 30 seconds. Sometimes this is enough to reset the computer and return the vehicle to normal.

If that doesn’t work, get the engine up to temperature, shut it down and carefully disconnect the battery. Leave it that way for at least 30 minutes, reconnect the battery and see if that has produced a reset. You might find the car will run a bit roughly (mainly at idle) at first until the reset computer relearns a few parameters, so be careful on the first drive after trying any of this.