I'm looking to buy an outlander or a comparable compact suv in the next couple of months, I just came back from a test drive and the sale man was really good at trying to feed me BS... but I really liked the driving impression.

I have a couple of questions regarding the '07 model
-is there a way to reset the "time for an oil change" warning in the dash, the salesman says that you cannot reset it yourself and that you cannot do an oil change anywhere else than the dealership or else you will void your wararnty (wtf)

-the cloth seats seem very prone to getting dirty and stained, how are they in real life?

-are there any aftermarket hitches with wiring kit available (found a hitch, but no wiring kits yet?)

-is the exhaust really made of stainless steel? would anybody be nice enough to test if a magnet sticks to the tubing?

-asides from the wind noise from the outside mirrors and the noise from the front wheel bearing, are there any other problem I should be aware of?

thank you all for answering my questions!

 

The wind noise from the mirrors is fixable there is a full write up on this site on how to do it.
Same thing with the front wheel bearings, its fixable and covered by the dealership.
No other problems that I have come across yet.

I can take a magnet to the exhaust tomorrow and post it when I get home from work. If they advertise it as stainles steel then it better be or im going to be bitching to my dealer tomorrow.

You can change your own oil, you need to keep ALL reciepts. My dealer told me that I bought it from.
Im not sure how to reset the dash, Im guessing its in the manual or it does it automatically when you change the oil. Kind of like the gas gauge resets when you refuel.

Sorry leather seats here.

 

On the Nav-epuipped cars you get a screen that allows you to set reminders for maintenance. I'm not sure how to do it on the lower models.

My Outie did not have the bearing clunk problem, so they may have already fixed it on the newest cars. There is an ABS self-test "pop" that happens at around 3mph that is a bit unusual.

The exhausts are only stainless steel in some regions, primarily the ones that get lots of salted roads in the winter.

I've read comments that the black cloth seats attract a lot of lint. I've gotleather, no problems there.

I'm luvin my Outlander.

 

This is BS,you can change the oil yourself if you want to, just keep records and receipts. The Stealer should be able to reset the light for you no problem

Can't answer this one

Not that I have seen yet - probably need to go OEM in the meantime

Sure is.

There is an updated TSB on the wheel bearing noise which identifies which VIN numbers are affected - get the stealer to confirm either your VIN is or is not in the TSB. As for mirror noise - it should have been fixed by now but again there is a technical discussion memoon this (I don't know if they issued an actual TSB on this).

thank you all for answering my questions!


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Amen to all of the above.
Mines got leather, so i cant speak on the cloth... i love the leather in this car though... so soft, and comfy...
I still havent figured out how to reset the oil change thing... Oh well, it can just keep ticking by the numbers. I dont really car, as long as it doesnt start beeping at me.
The OEM hitch is fine, puts the ball a little high IMO, but you can always remove it.
yes, the exhaust is made out of stainless... No, sticking a magnet to it wont matter, because they are all made out of metal... (and by metal, i mean steal)
I am a lazy bastard and havent fixed my mirror yet, and refuse to take it back to the dealer if I dont have too...
They did fix the wheel bearing tho...
Before you go drive anything else, Go back to the mitsu dealer, and really, REALLY look at the outlander, It has so many features and neat things on it, they are almost impossible to list... just play around with it for about 2 hours, you should figure it all out... LOL.
No other, and I mean NO OTHER suv on the market has some of the really cool features the outie does. Nothing, even comes close when you compare on a bang for your buck meter.
The only compaint that I have about the thing, that is a design flaw IMO is the tiny *** sun visors.... They really screwed the pooch on those useless things... Oh well, Nothing a trip to the dealer, and a quick order of some EVO, or Endeavor visors wont fix... LOL

 

Seems I'm one of the few with the cloth. First, the cloth seats are awesome; soft, supportive, with a great feel.
The cloth fabric Mitsubishi choose does not attract lint. I have 2000 miles on mine with me as driver and my daughter as passenger, no lint problems. I bought one of those sticky lint brushes, expecting to have to use it a lot, but so far, nada. I have a microfiber cloth I use for the dash, I also use it on the seats and it easily gets rid of any dust.

From my memory of reading the owner's manual, yes you can reset the "time for oil change:. I seem to remember it's as simple as holding down the Info button for a few seconds.

I did the fix for the wind noise myself; took less than a minute. I heard the clunk once so far. I've read some complaints about radio reception and volume, but I've not experienced it. That's about it. It's been exceptionally problem free.

Looks like no on the stainless steel exhausts tips here in Virginia; magnet no sticky.

The Outlander is a wonderfully engineered vehicle. I will not be surprised if in 2008/2009 Mitsubishi updates some of the cheaper plastic interior trim pieces and bumps up the price another $1k. This SUV is a steal for what they're selling it for.

 

Just buy it you wont be dissapointed.

 

Thanks for all the replies, I still need to go try a Rav4 V6 sport AWD and a Santa Fe GL AWD before I make up my mind.

Can anyone confirm that there is a procedure in the owners manual to reset the maintenance minder?

for those who did'nt knowabout the magnet trick, a magnet will not stick or barrely stick to stainless steel (high school science class for the win)

 

Yes you can reset the maintenance minder yourself.

 

[sm=oopssign.gif], then that might be a yes on stainless steel.
Nobody never learn me that stuff [sm=tongue.gif]