Mitsubishi Triton Engine Problems

Your experience is similar to other owners who have used E10. Even the biofuels people say the engine will lose some smoothness and it will use more fuel, but it really shouldn’t lose power.

I wouldn't recommend turbocharging a 10-year-old engine without rebuilding it first. It would need to have new pistons anyway, and I would err on the side of caution and go through it from top to bottom to make sure it will be up the job. The best way for him, in my opinion, would be to buy a diesel. They're all turbocharged these days and have the torque to tow the 2.6 tonnes he needs to tow. Most will tow up to three tonnes, but if he were towing that weight every day I would consider an aftermarket heavy-duty clutch. We have heard reports of clutch problems with the Toyota HiLux when towing. The commonly held view is that they're geared for highway use, which puts the clutch under pressure when it has to tow a substantial load.

You could have been on the right track with the vacuum hose because it sounds like it could be running very lean. I'd check the fuel system to make sure there are no problems with the fuel supply, and also check the oxygen sensor to make sure that's working correctly and not giving false signals.

THE most cost-effective fix if your engine gives up the ghost is to replace it with another 2.4-litre petrol engine. Switching to a diesel engine is a relatively big job and I don't think there's enough benefit to justify doing it. You would most likely have to change the gearbox and rear axle. You would certainly have to change the fuel system, and I don't believe there would be any increase in towing capacity.

It does appear to be a long way above the claimed combined consumption, enough to suggest it's more than a 'green' engine effect. I doubt it would drop by a third after running in. As it stands now I wouldn't think you had a case for a vehicle swap or a refund, but you certainly have a case for asking Mitsubishi to investigate and fix your car. Start by asking the dealer to investigate the cause of the problem, if it's beyond him ask him to get the help of Mitsubishi's service people. If all that fails then you could consider taking the matter further and perhaps asking for a new car. In the meantime keep very detailed records all conversations and phone calls with the dealer and Mitsubishi, and of any work done on the car. This could help later on.

With mechanics relying so much on diagnostics today to trace faults, finding the cause of problems that don't show up on the computer can be frustrating. Good advice for Craig, the owner of the complaint car, to follow-up on.

You don't say if the engine is a petrol or diesel, but I'm guessing it's a diesel. If that's the case it's likely to be excessive fuel, which could be an injector problem, or a fuel pump issue. Get it to a diesel mechanic, who should be able to sort it out.

This is one of the nasties of modern cars, the issues that have no ready explanation. It could be an electronic issue. The computer could be detecting something is not right, so shuts the turbo off. Re-starting would have the effect of rebooting the computer.