I just bought a 2014 Outlander GT. Love the car, but it has some sort of hesitation or surge at speeds under 40 mph. From full stop it hesitates with light acceleration. Trying to maintain speeds under 40 it surges or pulses. These surges are very subtle. Most would probably never notice.

I've had it back to the dealer and they claim it is normal for the CVT transmission which of course my car doesn't have. They just recently acquired the Mitsubishi line after Suzuki pulled out. I hope they become more knowledgeable, but I'm not holding my breath.

Just curious if there are other 2014 owners experiencing similar issues.

 

It seems like Mitsu is playing musical dealers.

In my area, there is a dealer 30 miles away (vbeen with Mitsu for a long time), and local the franchise went from a Honda dealer to a Buick dealer (that's where mine came from), and now its at a Mazda-Subaru dealer. All in the span of 1 1/2 years.

Back on topic, make sure that there is a history at yiour dealership of you complaining of the problem.

Next time they say "they all do that", ask him (or her) if Mitsubishi paid an engineer to make it do that. Then call Mitsubishi customer service.

 

Did you mention to whoever said that to you that your vehicle does not have a CVT? If so, what was their reply?

 

I always keep detailed records on any car. Lesson learned long ago.

When I took the car in, I gave them a document clearly outlining all issues and concerns. I made the service manager type their finding on their service document which I have a copy of. Following that I sent a letter to the owner of the dealership, service manager and Mitsubishi outlining how dissatisfied I was with the service and knowledge as well as photos of greasy finger and footprints in the interior. Think everyone knows now.

Supposed to drop my GT off Thursday and they are to provide me a new GT to drive until they figure out my issues and detail the car for free. Not expecting much, but it will be interesting.

As for the CVT comment. It came directly from their head mechanic at which point just shook my head and walked off. Can't argue with stupid.

 

I can and do argue with stupid.

Back in '06 I changed the timing belt and a buch of other related components on a 1992 Accord. One of these was an O-ring type gasket for the rear balance shaft gear case, which was leaking on the old car.

When I went into the local Honda dealer for that part, I handed the long-time parts guy the part number. I guess the part number just showed up as "gasket" because the guy insisted that the rear balance shaft gear case was in fact the oil pump. Knowing I was right, I insisted otherwise.

So I asked him to get me a price and availability for an oil pump for the vehicle. I watched his face as he did the search and his facial expression changed from supreme confidence to something else entirely. When he finally gave me the price, I asked to see the drawing of the part on his monitor. He rotated the monitor and, sure enough, the oil pump looked nothing like the balancer gear case. He made no further comment and neither did I, but I was smiling and he was not, and there was no further eye contact as he handed me the gasket.

I always admit my mistakes and errors in judgement. My experience at car dealerships over several decades has proven to me that, beside the rare exception, they are populated with people who never admit their mistakes.

This CVT story is beyond anything I've ever experienced. It's one for the history books. Whoever said it should be outright fired. (Unless it was a used salesman. In that case, he will be given a medal of commendation.)

 

Got my car back today. Nothing is fixed however they at least have a trouble ticket started with Mitsubishi for whatever that is worth and supposed to have the regional service rep coming in to look at it in a couple of weeks.

We will see. At least they are trying at this point.

 

It means they recorded your complaint and sent it off to Mitsubishi where it'll be filed appropriately... AKA thrown in the garbage.

 

You mentioned in your first post that you have just bought a 2014. If I'm not mistaken, first, it has an engine that has a single overhead cam and variable valve timing, as opposed to the previous 6 cyls with two. This is a big deal not only for fuel economy, but for "performance" -- how the engine behaves at all speeds and under all throttle and brake positions

Second, it has new, for lack of a better expression, "avoidance" electronic systems that can take over control of the vehicle when approaching an obstacle and wandering between lanes.

I'm not saying that the two above things have anything to do with your symptoms, but the point is that they might.

So now you not only are dealing with a place whose head technician thinks there's a CVT under your hood, but, even if he had been working on 6-cyl Outs for awhile, these new electronic systems add another layer of potential diagnosing complexity. I imagine that the troubleshooting guide must have added another tombe for those systems. With these new systems, ALL technicians at Mit stealerships will be on a steep learning curve. Yes, it'll be "back to school time" for them and although you may not be paying the tuition, your vehicle may be there for the length of the school year.

The one thing that you can be sure of, though, is that it is almost certain that your vehicle is not the only one having this problem. Eventually, depending on how long each owner can put up with it, they'll all be brought to the dealer for correction. Those who are sensitive and take it in immediately will be the guinea pigs for the rest.

I'm a bit envious of you. I like the look and electronics of the new O. I wish you nothing but the best with your vehicle.

 

Yes, I will have to agree that the electronics play a huge part on everything in this car and is most likely the root of the evil. The "avoidance" systems have taken a bit of getting used to. I haven't decided if they are a good thing or a bad thing. One thing I haven't thought to do is to disable all those systems and see if things. I'll give it a try tomorrow.

 

I do not notice the surges/pulses in the 2014 3.0 S-AWC I got recently. I do admit though, that it does feel sluggish/slow in the first gear but very responsive and quick when accelerating at highway speeds. It has been long time since I had a car with automatic transmission. In the past 13 years I had had one with a standard transmission so I am not sure how the first gear in an automatic supposed to feel like, but it definitely feels way slower than a 200HP with a manual transmission. They mention in the manual that “ECO” mode switch affects acceleration (to save fuel) but I don’t notice any difference whether it is on or off