Jigga12

Hello everyone, I have been on these forums for a bit now. Mostly just reading and soaking up the knowledge that is on here. Thanks everyone for that.

But now I am in a time of need and would really appreciate any help or advice that anyone can offer.

I own a 2010 Evo X MR and LOVE IT!!! I started to notice that when I left the car for a few days unused, when I would start it up it would make this grind noise just after it turns on, with a small lurch forward. The car is still in park with the parking break on. I park in my garage each night and it is a level surface, not on a slant or tilt. It started to happen more frequently as the weather got colder. It only happens on the first start and will not happen again until the the car is left for a few days again. Once the car is started it drives perfectly fine. Just the grind on start up. I know the SST makes some strange noises in general when the car is started, but I believe that this is not a normal noise. It sounds like a miss shift on a regular manual gearbox.

I have recorded a few videos, here are two links to youtube videos.
http://youtu.be/VI-Q9UXrFQs
http://youtu.be/wOWmKEqv0WU

I took it in to the dealers and they currently have my car and are working to see what the issue is. They have opened a case with mitsu tech line and they sent them a tool called a "Chassis Ear". With that tool they feel that they have found something in the engine that is causing the noise, and they currently are tearing down the top end to investigate. Though they still are not sure what the cause is.

This is where I am turning to you guys for any help.
By no means am I a mechanic or do I pretend to be one, but I do my best to understand what is happening and why.

Any suggestions or insight would be greatly appreciated.

I have done some searching and digging around. There was one user "lrn" that seemed to have the exact same situation as me, but he has a RA with an SST and not an X. Because of this I believe that it is the SST that is the issue. Here is a link to that thread:

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/mi...d-startup.html

It looks like he had his tranny replaced. He doesn't say, but I am assuming that fixed it for him. If that is the case, the dealer where my car is is going in the wrong direction. What do I do?

The car is complete BONE STOCK! No mods or bolt ons or anything.

Again, any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

TheRedBaron

I have a 2010 SE and while this noise has not been common, I have experienced it before. I would say a total of 3 times in 11,xxx miles / 17 months of ownership. I think it has something to do with how you park/shift gears prior to shutting off the ignition.

2 of the 3 times it happened I know for a fact the car was in Reverse, then shifted to park, then shut off. When i started it up again i got this noise and it put my heart in my stomach.

My assumption is that "Park" has not fully engaged before killing the ignition. You can hear the action on the TC-SST and become acquainted with "typical" noises. While this noise is not typical I'd say it can be reproduced. I have had much more success (i.e. - no noise) when I place the car in Neutral after Reverse, ensure it's completely stopped (brakes pressed hard) and then placing it into Park. If you wait a second and release the brakes, if the ground has any sort of slope/grade, the car will shift slightly and become "set" in park Once you hear it shift completely, engage the e-brake immediately.

I always use the e-brake when parking but think I jumped the gun and may have locked the car in a "floating" position before it became fully "set" or locked into Park when on any sort of a grade (mind you most parking lots are at a slight 2% grade for drainage, same with most garage floors). You can actually hear a slight "thunk" or light "pop" if you will in the center console once the transmission becomes "set" in the park position.

This may all sound like non-sense but learning this transmission has been a chore. Scary at times when you get unexpected noises but it's naturally noisy. GSR drivers may think I'm insane but the TC-SST is it's own animal. You truly do have to "learn" how to drive it because it's not your standard slush box.

richardjh

I've had the startup grind twice... in 32,000km of ownership. It sounded like a mild "manual synchro" grind both times.

The sound on your video was harsher than anything I heard. It could be the sound itself, your mic, my speakers, my ears... dunno. But if that's how it sounds in real life, and it happens frequently, I'm not surprised the dealer is tearing into it.

They'll find it... given enough time.

Personally, I reckon your gut is right - it's a transmission noise. Still, it's probably best to let them do it their way, even if it's a bit painful to watch!

Best of luck.

Rich

Struc

iTrader: (11)

If you search around this site, you'll find several threads about the SST grind at startup. Mine has done it as well. I would venture to say it is for sure a tranny issue, not an engine issue. Seems a lot like a gear getting shoved into another spinning gear at startup when the tranny fluid pressure comes up to spec.

Jigga12

So today I got my car back after about 3 weeks at the dealer.
After weeks of investigations using a "Chassis Ear" that was sent to them from Mistubishi Headquarters, and consulting with Mitsubishi Tech Line, they found that the timing chain tensioner was fully extended and the timing chain guides were heavily warn, far to warn for only 24K kms. They replaced the timing chain, tensioner, guides, cam shaft gears and a few more parts in that area. A total of $3400 in parts and about $2000 in labour! Thank god this was all covered under warranty!!
Wether this is the issue or not, I think it may have been an issue soon enough, so I guess better it is done now before things went really wrong.
So we will see how it goes. The dealer was actually very pleasant to deal with and did everything they could to ease the process for me. I only hope the noise doesn't return.

I will keep everyone posted on how things go and if it returns or not.

I wanted to thank everyone for their advice and comments. Very much appreciated. this is a great community!

dj3po

iTrader: (1)

Glad you posted this. My 08 is making the same noise. Has about 20k miles. Going to take it in on Saturday. I'm going to tell them your story so hopefully they will diagnose it quicker.

Jigga12

Glad this info could be of use to someone! So far my car has been running perfectly. Issue has not returned or shown any signs of returning. Though it happens mostly in winter, I think due to the cold, I am still hopeful it won't return. Let me know how your experience goes. It doesn't hurt to have more info on this subject. Hopefully others can benefit from it, or if it does return for me I may have a different avenue to persue.

If you have any questions about my experience, please do not hesitate to ask, and I will do my best to provide any info I have.

Good Luck!!

jevoxmr

I have the exact same issue.. After reading so many people posting about similar issues I was starting to think its just a normal sound from the transmission.. How ever seeing that u had the problem solved I'm starting to think otherwise..

Any update to how the car is running on cold start?

Please let me know before I take it in to the dealers..

resident

my EvoX also has the same sound on cold start, but mine sounds for some 1-2 seconds later than yours. Here is my topic. Your sound is gone?
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/mi...sst-issue.html

dj3po

iTrader: (1)

So I took it in and they solved the problem. There was air in the line to the crank case. They bled it and no more noise. It's been a week and so far so good.

Jigga12

Hey Jevoxmr, sorry for the delay in response. So far so good for my Evo. I have not had the issue return yet, but it is summer where I am (Guelph, Ontario, Canada) and we have had a pretty hot one thus far. I found my issue was worse in the winter on cold starts. My faith that it is still a bit shaky, but I am sometimes a sceptic. Though they did do a lot of work on my car, I do think they fixed an issue with the timing chain, whether it was the "grind" issue or not. I think I will be fully convinced once the noise doesn't return after it gets cold out.

If you have any questions or anything please do not hesitate to ask and I will do my best to respond. I hope I can help, as I know how confusing this experience has been for me. Wanting to make it better for anyone else having the same issue.

Thanks,
Mike

jevoxmr

Thanks for the reply Mike
I might wait little longer as its cold here in Australia.. See if it goes away during summer..
Its surprising how Mitsu have not issues a recall on this issue. I've read many post now where sst owners are all experiencing this same exact problem.
Anyways thanks again! Keep us posted on progress please

BeyondLimitsEvo

iTrader: (16)

This happened to me more times than I could count when I had my '11 MR. I had it for a year and a half and almost every time I started it cold I would hear this exact sound that was in your video. The car would lurch forward briefly also. I'd say it happened more when it was cold outside, but even in the summer I'd hear it often. I never took it to Mitsu because I had mods pretty much since I picked it up. My guess is that it's directly related to the SST and not the engine. I had a '03 GSR for over 6 years and never once heard anything like that. I've had a '12 GSR for a few weeks now and again, no noises, so it's definitely a MR issue. I highly doubt it's damaging only because it's such a quick noise that goes away immediately.

Jigga12

So just to keep everyone updated........ The grind on startup has returned. I went pretty much all summer without it, and I have heard it twice in the past month. It seems as the weather is getting colder the more it happens. My next scheduled maint. isn't for a few months. I think I will try to see if I can get another recording of it for when I am back at the dealers. My only worry is that the staff at the dealer has changed.... Yet again. I fear I will have to go through the entire process again. :-S Hopefully if I have a few more recordings I can avoid this. Also hoping that the mechanics haven't changed, as they were also familiar with the issue.

I will continue to keep people posted. If anyone has any further info, please feel free to share. As I stated earlier, any info from similar experiences can only help. :-)

Thanks,
Mike

AusTweak

same noise but i got error codes for temp sensor in the sst (they failed) My mechtronic assembly is being replaced as it has failed causing the sst to go ape ****. hope i get my car back monday