I have only had my car several days and 110 miles worth of driving. So far I have noticed only two things of concern, but wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience.

The first issue is just the odd smell of the interior. This isn't the burnt rubber smell that has been discussed, but I believe this is just a bizzarre new car interior plastic smell that doesn't smell all that great. The second issue is having my cd player skip while driving. This occurred several times tonight, and the road wasn't that bad. It kind of reminds me of the early in-dash CD's years ago with no skip protection. I know the factory head unit is not anything fantastic, but geez I thought that this kind of issue was resolved years ago. Maybe its my specific head unit?

 

My car has a new car smell. Not quite like leather new car but definitely smells like a new car. My cd player has never skipped even on harsh roads. If it's skipping bad have the dealer fix or replace it.

 

Every car manufacturer uses different rubber and plastic formulas, and in the end each has its own disticntive smell. I could set in a new BMW,Audi, or VW with my eyes closed and probably know which car I was in. My wifes Toyota has had a similar new-car smell to the Evo, and to me they both just kinda have a smell like a dead mouse or something. I owned a 93 AWD Eagle Talon years back and I can't remember if it was the same or not? Guess I'll just have to get used to it.Its certainly a small price to pay for such a great car.

As far as the CD unit goes I am going to see how it performs over the next week or so with different CD's and driving on varied road conditions. If it continues to be an issue then back to the dealer for replacement I guess.

That will be dissapointing for sure!

 

The smell is probably similar to when you buy a new sportbike. It has a "burning" smell to it. Not bad, but doesn't smell like new car. The CD is probably skipping b/c the ride is so much harsher than 99% of the cars on the road and Mitsu just put the Lancer HU in.

 

My car smells like a new car, and my CD player also skips.

 

1200 miles and the new car smell is starting to fade. The CD skips occasionally, but I'm chalking it up to the sportier suspension. Given the thrill driving the Evo delivers, a stuttering disc is a small price to pay IMHO.

 

Hey thanks for the feedback! The fact that I am not the only one with a skipping disc confirms that it is just the combo of suspension and low-end head unit.

I recently had a set of Bilstein PSS coil-overs on a Turbo S Beetle and the CD player was fine. The suspension wasn't better than the EVO's but it was definitely as harsh. The VW Monsoon was a pretty nice factory head unit though, and I am thinking that the quality of the head unit is where the true issue is with the EVO.

Guess if it becomes a big enough deal it will give me a reason to look for a new head unit!


Thanks again!

 

What CD's were you playing? If they were ones you burnt yourself, that'd be the reason. Mine did that with all my homemade cd's as well, until I burned them at a MUCH lower speed, like 10x instead of 48x.

Other than that, check for scratches. You know the first thing your dealer will do if you take it in, is take a fresh new cd, take it driving and see if it skips.

 

This is very true. For best results for music cds, your burn speed should be 1x or 2x max, but then again I'm always looking for master quality.

 

Although some of it could be attributed to the ride, or the cds, I'm guessing that it's primarily a crappy head unit. I traded in a 2000 Eclipse GT w/the Infiniti sound, and it would skip fairly frequently too. While I enjoy the power the is serving up, they're not going to win any points with me for their stereo equipment.

Of course, I'd just as soon turn the tunes off and listen to the turbo spool.

 

I don't have the technology to burn my own CD's, so everything I have is purchased at the store. The CD it was skipping on last night is a brand new U2 Cd with no scratches or surface dirt.

I was talking with my daughter earlier tonight and mentioned the skipping. She just laughed because her 02 Eclipse head unit skips whenever she hits rough road. Luckily her boyfriend designs and installs custom stereo systems and said he can find a nice Alpine head unit for next to nothing. I am personally not into spending big dollars on stereo systems, but I am not a fan of skipping head units either.