Hey people..

I had my mind set on getting a Subaru Forester & found their forums incredibly helpful with DIY's & everything, but in the end I ended up with an Outlander - 2007 xls model, for the same price as I was looking to get a crappy condition 2004 Forester...

Anyways! I like my new Outlander. It's big... I just moved to the US from Australia so I've actually got no clue how to drive properly on the wrong side, it's going to take some getting used to, as well as learning the feel of my new car. Before this I had a 2005 MY06 Lancer. Seems I can't get away from Mitsubishi!

Anyways, I've got a few ideas to do with my car, and I'm after some advice/tips. It appears this forum isn't very active... So maybe if anyone knows a specific Outlander forum that is active, it'd be helpful!

It's just me (female) and the dog, at this point I don't really have any friends in the US, only family - none of who will end up in my car. So I've got the rear/2nd row seats folded up and forward to have the maximum space in the cargo area. There's no rubber mat type thing or anything in the cargo area itself at the moment, but I'd like to possibly get one or make something that will cover the entire back area, even up to where the seats are folded. I'm also planning on putting something over the folded seats to save them from the excessive dog fur that will get back there.

I got the Lancer before I got the dog, so it wasn't well thought out as a dog car. It collected fur like crazy, it took an awfully long time to clean to sell it when I left Australia. So I'm going to try my best with the Outlander to make it more dog-suitable.

Any tips on what I could do or use to make something to cover the entire back area, fit to shape? I'm sure it can't be that easy, I'm just not very creative!

I'm also thinking of putting my dogs crate back there, as close to behind my seat or passenger seat as possible, and somehow secure it in so it doesn't slide around. Sometimes he gets really anxious in the car and barks at anyone and everyone through the windows, so it might be good to have him travel in the crate instead of free-view to things to bark at.

I haven't figured out how to use the Bluetooth in the car yet either. There wasn't a manual for the car

I also don't know when it's due for a service, or when it's last service was, no service books or anything. It's at 101k miles.

 

There are a core group of us that try to help each other, so while there may not be many posts, there usually aren't many posts that go unanswered. I've found one other forum, though it felt like it had less traffic than this.

Mitsubishi just doesn't have a large presence in the US like other companies. That being said, they also haven't done anything magical to the car, so you should be able to take it just about anywhere for service. My recommendation is to hit up Google maps and look up mechanic shops that work with NAPA auto parts; those shops give 2yr warranty on their work and you can take it to any NAPA shop in the US if you do have problems. I suggest Firestone for tires. They offer a lifetime alignment that can quickly pay for itself. I get an alignment every 7.5k miles and haven't paid for one since my odometer was in the 50k range.

As far as service, you might be able to contact a service dept at a mitsubishi dealership to see if they have any records in their system. However, without knowing of previous service, I'd change out nearly all fluids first: motor oil (5w20), transmission (DiaQueen ATF-J3*), transfer case (75w90 gear oil), rear differential (75w90 gear oil), power steering (any synthetic would work well), brake fluid (DOT 3), coolant (Zerex from NAPA or Peak Global Lifetime or something else specifically for Asian aluminum engines). At 100k, that is right at the mark for timing belt and spark plugs. Those will hurt a bit, but when I did mine, big difference...it felt like new. However, if you need to delay that a bit, not too worrisome. Some may try to say that if you break your timing belt, you will blow up your engine. You won't, the 6B31 engine is non-interference in our year...meaning the pistons have small divots to allow the piston and valves to miss each other if the timing belt breaks. Also, change your air filter and cabin filter. Cabin filter is easy. Engine air filter is extremely frustrating to get the air box back together.

This would be totally optional, but I would do it for a piece of mind. Change the motor oil. The next time you get the oil changed after that, get an oil sample and send it in for a used oil analysis. I used Blackstone Labs. They can tell if you have premature bearing wear, an internal coolant leak, or if your air filter is dirty. I get the TBN measured as well, it basically tells you how much life the oil has. The way my wife drives the Outlander, 7.5k miles is our sweet spot using Pennzoil Ultra or Mobile1. She drives a lot of highway miles though.

As far a your seats go...I have an idea. Maybe you can remove your rear seats if you know you aren't going to use them. I've done it to make room for a long road trip. You could even leave the small one in-case you need to transport a couple of humans. As far as a mat, my first suggestion would be a heavy duty truck mat that could be cut to fit the rear floor...but that might get smelly in the hot sun. Maybe find a body shop or a shop that does custom work...maybe they could make something.

I really haven't had much go wrong with mine, outside of normal wear & tear. Keep up on the maintenance and it should go far.

* Our transmission uses DiaQueen ATF-J2. The only aftermarket fluid that we've found is Amsoil, which I don't know where to get it. The dealership will sell you ATF-J2 by the quart, a change will take about 8.5 quarts...I bought 10 just in case. If you go to the dealership to get it "changed", they only drain and refill...meaning they only change out 2.5 quarts. If you can't do it yourself, I'd go elsewhere and have them change it all out.

 

Thanks for the reply, very informative!

I had no idea they had to get the timing belts done, that's something I knew about in the Forester but didn't think about it in the Outlander. I spent all my money buying the car, don't have any left over to do those things for awhile. Whoops. Probably should have factored that in when making an offer to the dealer.. I haven't had a job in awhile, and I'm a full time student - not to mention all my money was in Australian dollars which isn't worth too much USD now.

For all those oils and stuff that need to be changed... Are any of them possible to do myself? I mean, I have no idea about cars or engines, but to save on costs I'd really like to learn. Plus I don't like feeling screwed over by mechanics.

It's also got brand new tires from the dealer, I think the brand starts with V..?

I saw somewhere that there was 2 recalls as well, something about the seats, and a light? I'm not sure if those have been fixed or not on mine, would any Mitsubishi dealer be able to tell me if I gave them the VIN?

 

I just mentioned the timing belt to my step-dad before, and he just said he looked it up and in Texas the timing belt has to be changed at 60k miles under warranty? It's a 1 owner car in Texas so perhaps it's been done? Apparently after the 60k miles one then it needs to be done again at 120k miles. Just tough not knowing.

 

I believe that there is relatively light "traffic" on this site for three reasons.

1. The Outlander has only been sold in north america since 2003 and, compared to Honda or Toyota, there haven't been that many vehicles sold. Total Outlander production for export from Japan from 2003 to 2011 was only around 830,000, while there were almost 3 million Corollas sold in the US alone.

2. With a 10 year powertrain warranty, the vast majority of Outlanders are stil under at least the powertrain warranty and many are still under the bumper to bumper. As more and more Outlanders lose their warranty and the cost of having things repaired/maintained at Mit. stealerships fully hits home, I believe there will be a lot more activity on the site with repspect to reparing and maintaining the Outlander.

3. Outlanders have a termendous reputation for reliability. If nothing has gone wrong with your vehicle, or you're not a DIYr, or you're not consiering adding options or doing modfications to your vehicle, why would you join a forum for your vehicle?

In short, the longer the Outlander has been around, the more activity there will be on this site.

 

The timing belt is not done under warranty, it is definitely something the stealership would charge you for. On page 00-54 of the service manual, maintenance of timing belt is every 105k miles. If they did do it, they'd have it on record as well as the recalls. If you are handy with a wrench and have a metric socket set, you can remove one of the plastic covers over the timing belt and inspect the belt...basically looking for excessive wear or fraying on the belt. I have some pics of my belt...probably around 95k miles: Outlander Pics The belt wasn't too bad, just a bit of fraying, but wearing nicely.

As far as the fluids go, I think the power steering is easy, but you need to jack the front end up to do that. Stick a piece of white paper towel in the cannister, if the fluid is dark, it really needs to be changed. If you go to the link, I have a pic of what came out of mine. New ATF is bright rosy pink, PS fluid is generally clear. If the fluid looks dirty, the particles can tear up your rack & pinion. The transfer case and rear diff are probably good for a while...also easy if you have some tools and a hand oil pump. Coolant is no fun, but you can go to an auto parts store and get some coolant test strips just to see if you need that changed. Motor oil can be delayed for now if you check with the dipstick and it is relatively clear...if it is pretty dark, I'd change it.

Outlaandar, down here in the states, used Mitsu warranty is 5yr/60k mile...new purchase is 10yr/100k mile.

 

That's really too bad. Here is one of the few instances where Canadians are better off than you folks in the US.

Nice photos. I assume the first photo of fluid in a clear bottle is of the PS fluid. If it is, are you sure the original fluid in the vehicle was NOT reddish color when it was put in the vehicle in the first place? (Our Honda's was.) Did you replace it with Mit.-brand PS fluid?

My wife and I just sold a 1992 Accord LX that my wife bought new and had about 240,000 km on it. For the last 17 or so years of our owning it, I performed all maintenance except removing tires from rims and putting them back on, and alignments. But I never changed the PS fluid and, to my knowledge, Honda didn't have a recommended change interval. Even with fluid as old and "worn" as that, as far as I could tell, when we sold the vehicle, the PS system still operated normally.

If fact, in my 46 years of driving experience and DIY, I have never changed PS fluid in any vehicle I've ever owned, nor have other vehicle owners I've known.

I have just examined our Mitsubishi Motors Canada 2010 Warranty and Maintenance Manual. Even in the Severe Service schedule, the one and only mention of the PS system is to check the codition of the belt. As far as I can tell, there is no recommended interval of PS fluid change, and there isn't even any recommendation to check the fluid level, although I think that it is already understood by most vehicle owners to check all fluid levels periodically.

But maybe a PS fluid change is recommended in the US manual, and maybe it was recommended for previous model years, as well. I'd be interested to know if either is the case.

I realize that internet advice on any subject is an iffy proposition at best, but the following links' information on this subject is typical of what I understood for the years prior to the internet's existence:
Does the power steering fluid ever need to be... — Yahoo! Autos
and:
Do I need to flush my car's power steering fluid? - The Globe and Mail

And here is a pretty relevant quote from the latter link:
".............The fluid itself may look dirty or discolored leading to the impression it needs replacement, but within hours of that service the new fluid will be similarly discolored."

I realize that it almost never hurts to replace fluids more than the recommended intervals, and even to replace fluids for which there is no recommended interval. For example, in the severe service schedule in our manual, it is only recommended to examine the diff. fluid level while replacing the fluid in the transfer case. Even so, my wife and I replaced both fluids a few weeks ago. So even I engage in overly-cautious maintenance occasionally.

 

I'm pretty confident what was in there was original...no clue what color it is supposed to be. The bottle is a clear wine bottle and holding it up to the sunlight. That fluid was done. I replaced it with Valvoline Power Steering fluid.

The grand am at the photo below died an early death. It was 9 years old with 110k miles, power steering was never changed. Rack & Pinion leaked badly and throwing off the alignment like crazy. There were other things wrong with it, so it was time for it to go. My Ranger will burn the fluid in about 2 years time. I've tried changing the pump, but still burns it up. A fresh fluid change and it quiets down for half a year...then continues to whine...but it doesn't leak.

PS fluid is cheap and good insurance. My Ranger's transmission fluid is supposedly "good for the life of the vehicle"...until the tranny grenades.

The service manual has instructions to change out the fluid. It doesn't have instructions to change out the fuel filter.

 

I'm attempting to understand everything you guys are talking about but I seriously know nothing about under the engine haha.

Turns out we have a family member here who runs a Firestone, I think? Anyways, my step-dad asked him to see how much it'd cost him to give it a full service/fluid change/check the timing belt etc. I'm going away next week to do a year at college so I'll be 10 hours away from any family, so it's probably best they check it out for me and make sure I'm good to go.

How does the Outlander handle in snow? It's not the AWD, and I've never driven in snow either being from Australia... So it'll be interesting.

Also, how do I pair up my phone to the Bluetooth? It asks for a pin, I don't know a pin.

 

Try "0000" or "1234" for the pin.

I do have the AWD and it performs amazingly well in snow. I really only use 2WD while on the highway, so I can't comment on snow handling in 2WD.

Where are you now and where are you going?