My 2008 GTS problem list
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Cleveland
My 2008 GTS problem list
After having a GTS for five years now, bought one of the first ones available, I thought I would post my issues to help others. Overall the car has been very good with no major mechanical issues outside a few annoying problems. Seems I have almost every issue discussed on this forum.
Pulling:
My car pulled badly with the stock Dunlops. I pretty much had to keep the wheel at 11:00 to drive straight. I had the car aligned with the stock tries and I still had the problem. After 17k miles and one really crazy winter I got those POS tires off my car. I replaced them with Good Year Eagle GTs and had another alignment. The car drove fairly straight after that. You need to take the car to a shop that has a really good alignment machine. The cross camber (I think) can not be adjusted without an aftermarket kit and that does cause some of the pulling issue. The mechanic at the garage told me he adjusted the alignment slightly to counteract the pulling. I got 50k miles on the GTs and just replaced them with Continental Extreme Contacts. Far better in the snow than the GTs, but noisier and harder to balance.
Wheel vibration:
I have always had a bit of wheel vibration from 60mph to 75 mph. The stock wheels are actually pretty terrible. Mitsubishi has a habit of putting really bad alloys on cars, surprising since they charge like $380 if you need a new one. The stock wheels dent easily. You may have not thought you hit that pothole very hard but even the slightest curb grind or pothole will damage the wheel enough to create a flat spot that will lead to steering vibration. Sadly I know one of my wheels is damaged enough to cause a vibration, thank you Ohio highways, and I just have to live with it until the next time I rotate my tires.
Font End Clunking:
Every time I go over a large bump the front left side clunks. I haven't been able to get this fixed. My mechanic says it is just the suspension of the car. Just a noisy stock suspension.
Strange Engine Noise:
At exactly 2800 RPM my car makes a strange rattle. Other forum members have commented that they have the same issue. Some have said it is a heat shield rattle. However this issue seems to affect multiple Mitsubishi models and always in the same RPM range. I really wish I could figure this out because it drives me a little crazy.
Driver's side wind noise:
The noise comes from the mirror. Mitsubishi's design was not very good and causes excessive wind noise. I took the mirror off after a snowplow broke it and covered the hole. The wind noise was greatly diminished. I replaced the mirror with one from a junkyard and the same wind noise came back.
Other than those issues the only other problem I have is that my driver's door lock switch no longer works to lock the car, unlock works. I haven't taken apart the door yet to see if I can fix it.
Pulling:
My car pulled badly with the stock Dunlops. I pretty much had to keep the wheel at 11:00 to drive straight. I had the car aligned with the stock tries and I still had the problem. After 17k miles and one really crazy winter I got those POS tires off my car. I replaced them with Good Year Eagle GTs and had another alignment. The car drove fairly straight after that. You need to take the car to a shop that has a really good alignment machine. The cross camber (I think) can not be adjusted without an aftermarket kit and that does cause some of the pulling issue. The mechanic at the garage told me he adjusted the alignment slightly to counteract the pulling. I got 50k miles on the GTs and just replaced them with Continental Extreme Contacts. Far better in the snow than the GTs, but noisier and harder to balance.
Wheel vibration:
I have always had a bit of wheel vibration from 60mph to 75 mph. The stock wheels are actually pretty terrible. Mitsubishi has a habit of putting really bad alloys on cars, surprising since they charge like $380 if you need a new one. The stock wheels dent easily. You may have not thought you hit that pothole very hard but even the slightest curb grind or pothole will damage the wheel enough to create a flat spot that will lead to steering vibration. Sadly I know one of my wheels is damaged enough to cause a vibration, thank you Ohio highways, and I just have to live with it until the next time I rotate my tires.
Font End Clunking:
Every time I go over a large bump the front left side clunks. I haven't been able to get this fixed. My mechanic says it is just the suspension of the car. Just a noisy stock suspension.
Strange Engine Noise:
At exactly 2800 RPM my car makes a strange rattle. Other forum members have commented that they have the same issue. Some have said it is a heat shield rattle. However this issue seems to affect multiple Mitsubishi models and always in the same RPM range. I really wish I could figure this out because it drives me a little crazy.
Driver's side wind noise:
The noise comes from the mirror. Mitsubishi's design was not very good and causes excessive wind noise. I took the mirror off after a snowplow broke it and covered the hole. The wind noise was greatly diminished. I replaced the mirror with one from a junkyard and the same wind noise came back.
Other than those issues the only other problem I have is that my driver's door lock switch no longer works to lock the car, unlock works. I haven't taken apart the door yet to see if I can fix it.
I would add the front lower inner fenders collect leaves/mud (behind the wheels) - you can see it by lifting the black plastic piece you see with the door open. You can see daylight as you look forward through the cavity to see how it fills... The concern is rust from the inside-out...
Evolved Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,079
Likes: 3
From: Vancouver BC
Well, you should get your wheel balanced. I have no problems with stock rims, and I don't think others have had any. Should have got your wheels vibration fixed in the first year when adjustments are covered under warranty.
Had my '08 Lancer for just under 5 years and never had to take it in for any warranty work...it never ever let me down. 92k on the clock when I traded it in. Here's my problem list and belated Festivus Airing of the Grievances:
- The wind noise from the side mirror is annoying, but that's a defect with aerodynamic design, not really a build quality defect
- The car did suffer from massive amounts torque steer (with the CVT) and did very slightly pull in one direction constantly even after alignment and new tires (that IS a design defect...it isn't exactly the most balanced chassis in the world)
- Overweight
- Somewhat slow
- Interior is a hard plastic nightmare
- The +/- on the console shifter are inverted
- Noisy engine (but that comes standard with every
- I'd be worried if it WASN'T noisy 
)
- TPMS being wheel mounted instead of using ABS wheel speed sensors, ratcheting up cost and making it inconvinient to swap out wheels
- For having a trim level with the letters "GT" in the name, you'd think the seats would be well suited for longer drives. After an hour, every bodypart from my pasty Irish *** down was numb
- The car has 152 HP: the A/C compressor evidently needs 151.9 of those to operate
With all that being said, I had a really great time with my Lancer and I'll miss it very much. Even though the design is a few years old now, it's still a sharp looking ride and it served me well on many auto-x runs.
- The wind noise from the side mirror is annoying, but that's a defect with aerodynamic design, not really a build quality defect
- The car did suffer from massive amounts torque steer (with the CVT) and did very slightly pull in one direction constantly even after alignment and new tires (that IS a design defect...it isn't exactly the most balanced chassis in the world)
- Overweight
- Somewhat slow
- Interior is a hard plastic nightmare
- The +/- on the console shifter are inverted
- Noisy engine (but that comes standard with every
- I'd be worried if it WASN'T noisy )- TPMS being wheel mounted instead of using ABS wheel speed sensors, ratcheting up cost and making it inconvinient to swap out wheels
- For having a trim level with the letters "GT" in the name, you'd think the seats would be well suited for longer drives. After an hour, every bodypart from my pasty Irish *** down was numb
- The car has 152 HP: the A/C compressor evidently needs 151.9 of those to operate
With all that being said, I had a really great time with my Lancer and I'll miss it very much. Even though the design is a few years old now, it's still a sharp looking ride and it served me well on many auto-x runs.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
g7igo7
Evo X Tires / Wheels / Brakes / Suspension
12
May 11, 2016 08:33 AM
