There were a few things that helped the car run up high km's without problems:
1) Trasko oil filter that filtered down to <1 micron
2) XcelPlus (a single application lubricant/metal treatment) which extended engine lifespan by 2~10x
3) Fitch fuel catalyst (a single application catalyst) which improves the octane rating of fuel.
4) Long life (100,000 km) iridium plugs which reduces the amount of maintenance required

The car used to run so quietly you couldn't hear it.
It continued to get ~14 km/L for its entire life.
The cam chain didn't noticeably wear over the entire life of the engine.
When sold the buyer didn't want to believe that the engine had 476,000 km as it was running like new and had never had a spanner applied to it.

:-)

 

I was hoping someone else would reply.
It's surprising that a Mitsubishi forum would have no responses.
It might be because the Colt has so few problems?

I'm glad that someone has found the info useful.

I posted two updates to summarise my final conclusions and suggestions on what worked.

 

i wasnt able to join the site without loggin in with facebook which may put a lot of people off? i almost didnt join for that reason.

been doing a bit of research, cant find a youtube on cvt change for this exact car, found ones from mirage and ralliart. seems that the cvt filter for the mirage is external and not too hard to access. however the ralliart guy reckons his is internal. do you have any idea on this for the xrv?

the ralliart guy did 4l out, 4l in, drove it, then 4l out, 4l in as a "cheap flush" might be worth it for me as i'm still under 100k kms

 

I'm logging in with just an email and password.

You must have one of these:
https://www.carsguide.com.au/mitsubi...rice/2007/vr-x

The Colt has a big magnetic plug which picks up any metal filings.
There isn't a filter of any kind that can be changed according to Mitsubishi: Not internal or external.
I wish there was a filter of some kind... as it would have probably prevented a lot of damage.
The only way to get metal particles out is to do repeated changes 4 L at a time.
This is why getting the dealer to do a proper flush might be worth while... as they will flush until the fluid comes back clear.
We can't do this at home as we lack the correct equipment.
Hopefully, a proper flush will remove more of the metal particles.
The only reason we didn't use the local dealer for the CVT service is because they had done such a poor job performing normal service and warranty items... and overcharged us for stuff i.e. We had no faith in them.

The CVT oil should be changed every ~100,000 km.
If you change the CVT oil regularly at ~100,000 km you'll avoid a lot of damage... and won't require as many changes.

The dealers now do an oil inspection and recommend an CVT oil change if the oil is starting to get dirty.
The oil starts to get dirty at ~100,000 km... although I just changed the oil in my 2020 Yaris CVT at 87,000 km because I wasn't sure what the last owner had done to the car.
If you change the CVT oil every ~100,000 km the transmission should be capable of 1,000,000 km or more.
N.B. Our transmission made it to 476,000 km with minimal servicing. Imagine how long it would have lasted if it had been serviced properly?

:-)

 

suspect If you already have an account from years ago you’re ok but new sign ups are asking to do the captcha, which isn’t there

just want to add these screen shots from the manual so the info is here for others

 

Lack of Captcha is probably just a bug. They might fix it now that you've complained.

Thanks for posting those details from the manual.
CVT servicing is bound to be a common question even if most casual browsers don't bother to log in and leave a comment.
The VR-X differs from the lower spec Colt which didn't have the oil cooler or filter.
If the manual doesn't mention a filter... it's probably because it doesn't have one.

The VR-X gets very good reviews:
https://www.drive.com.au/reviews/200...vrx-road-test/

:-)