Hi, new to this site today.
We bought a 2014 Diesel version of this which is great. However recently we've had 2 issues. The first was due to bad weather we needed to put this into 4wd locked mode on the road. After a mile there seems to be a burning smell from the front near wheel. Took it out of locked mode and problem went away. Yesterday it was again put in 4wd locked on the road and at 45mph there was a vibration coming from what felt like poorly balanced wheels. Put it back into 2wd Eco mode and the problem stayed there.
Took the car into the Mitsubishi garage to be told that once they took the wheels off, there was a lot of mud which they believe is the cause.
As I've not been off road I find it hard to believe this is the only issue and wondered if anyone has experienced excessive mud build up from general use and had vibrations, or has had 4wd issues with vibrations at 45mph upwards?
Thanks
Darren

 

I don't know anything about the diesel version, but in the gasoline version all of the 4wd power distribution is done at the clutch in the rear differential. The front transmission and transfer case spin the same no matter what setting you have it in, 2wd or 4wd. And the center driveshaft is always spinning no matter what, and only connects to the rear wheels when the clutch in the back is engaged.

So if you had burning smell and vibration with 4wd turned on, the only thing i can think of is a bad bearing in the transfer case, which is up front. There is a service door on the transfer case which you can drain and open up to look for metal shavings and smell.