I own a 2010 GT and I did play around with the modes on a very hilly and curvy road. Firstly, from what I heard from my sales rep, lock mode distributes power 50 front and 50 rear. So when I put the GT into this mode, you can instantly feel that power to front did go to the rear. It does seem that my engine does have to work alot harder. You can feel it bog when you drive up hill. I wouldn't recommend driving in this mode for daily driving though. My rep did say its a mode that you want to use for deep mud/sand or lots and lots of snow.

I am not so sure what you mean by locking and unlocking, but power is still being transferred front to rear and left to right (vice versa). W/o glancing at the S-AWC guages I wouldn't know. BTW, my speeds were 30-45 mph in lock mode. I'll play around with it again another time.

As for the console lights -- what red lights? My GT console has a nice cool white / blue display. If you are referring to the color from the nav which is red, then while I do agree it would look cooler being blue but then again that NAV system in middle is very distracting.

 

Just to be clear, and this has been discussed in many other threads - there is no mechanical locking differential on the Outlander. Binding when turning occurs on true 4wd systems with 2-speed transfer cases, not the AWD system on the outlander. Don't confuse the centre dial in the outlander as the equivalent with 4-lo and 4-high in a traditional 4wd system. Google or wiki 4wd for a more in-depth explanation.

There has never been any documentation from Mitsu stating a 50:50 split between the front and rear axles in the Outlander. Many sales reps and auto journalists ASSUME this is the case because that position on the dial is labelled 'LOCK'. But there was no fixed 50:50 split pre-2010 in any Outlander in the world. In another thread on this forum this point was argued with a Mitsu dealer salesperson/manager whom finally checked with his mitsu regional rep and conceded that the 'lock' in the pre-2010 outlander did not lock torque at a 50:50 split.

For 2010 there has been no documentation stating that 'lock' is now a 50:50 split between front and rear. My assumption is that mitsu has continued with a variable torque split between front and rear in the 'lock' position, because if there was a change in the system they would have likely highlighted that as a change for the 2010 model.

So in conclusion, 'lock' does not lock anything, whether it the centre diff distributing torque between front and rear or either the front or rear axles. It never should have been labelled 'lock' but I guess '4wd Auto Enhanced' is too long for dial.

 

[QUOTE=E^vol;256302]Thanks for the replies. I figured that info was incorrect. I read it here: http://www.auto123.com/en/mitsubishi...5&artid=115173

Does anyone know if and at what speed the Lock mode unlocks ?

QUOTE]

Pre-2010 the 'lock' position continues to provide UPTO 50% more torque to the rear WHEN COMPARED to '4wd auto' or where the 'snow' position is on the 2010 dial, at all speeds. I assume this practice has been carried over for 2010 unless anyone can find something from Mitsu like a detailed press release that describes otherwise?

One technicality re: your question: if the awd system begins to overheat it will revert to 2wd automatically. Not likely to ever happen unless you are spending hours in the desert pretending you are in the Dakar rally, churning up sand in the 'lock' position.

 

I have confirmed that the 'thingy' next to the front dome lights is in fact the ultrasonic motion detectors for the security system in the 2010 Outie.

I left my windows down, closed the doors then armed the security system. After a minute, I stuck my hand inside the car and moved it around for a few seconds (without touching anything inside) and the alarm went off!. To further check, I disconnected the 'thingy' and did the same arming and hand action and the alarm did not activate.

Re: trying to incorporate the Parrot's mic to the Outie's mic, you are correct...just too costly. In hindsight, I should have opted for Mitsu's handsfree at the onset but I didn't..

 

[quote=Dr. Zoidberg;256313]So what is the "lock" mode useful for? And if it is not true lock (which I can agree to since my S-AWC meter tells me it still transfers power front to rear, side to side), what does the setting really do? Is it there so each corner can have different wheel speeds more often?

I wish there was a whitepaper about S-AWC.

 

Yes, those are motion detectors. I thought it was a pretty cool feature. The Outlander is so feature packed at a great price. No need to buy a BMW, Lexus, Acura, or Merc to enjoy these kinds of features without denting my pocket book.

 

[quote=mrdang;256350]Agreed !!!

Most information available online regarding S-AWC refers to the Evo's S-AWC and not the Outlander's...

 

[QUOTE=mrdang;256350]
'Lock' distributes UPTO 60% of the available torque to the rear axle whereas '4wd auto'/'snow' delievers UPTO 40% to the rear. But the power distribution is still variable - a small percentage is sent continuously to the rear but the cpu varies this percentage between the minimum and maximum thresholds based on a variety of sensors. In a nutshell it further aids in traction for slippery conditions and helps handling cababiliies with aggressive driving.

 

The front/rear torque distribution has been this way since 2007. The main difference to the S-AWD is the electronic axle differentials in the front and rear that allow torque to be actively distributed side to side. That is not available on the non-GT models for 2010, or 2009 and older outlanders in any form.

 

Tested the Lock Mode in the GT a few times while on my daily commute. Mitsu should have named this mode Fun. With the torque going to the rear, it feels more like a sporty car. Cornering is a whole lot funner. I find that I can apply the gas alot more sooner when exiting a long sweeper. I may have to keep the Outlander in this mode forever LOL.