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Mitsubishi Outlander throttle accelerator problem

23 messages,  Last post on Jan 02, 2013 at 7:14 PM

You are in the Mitsubishi Outlander Forum.

What is this discussion about? Mitsubishi Outlander, SUV

Messages Page 2 of 3

#3 of 23 Re: 2006 outlander throttle / accelerator [kcole1] by bigdogs5

Aug 14, 2010 (10:14 am)

Replying to: kcole1 (Apr 22, 2010 2:02 pm)
Hi, kcole: I have a 2007 Outlander XLS and TRUST ME, you are not the only one. My 07 has 15,000 miles on it. I normally put 15k on my vehicles a year, but I don't trust this car to get me where I'm going so I've continued to drive my other vehicle most of the time. I have had the same problems you have encountered. Dealer has replaced the computer, then the electronic sensors (according to Mitsubishi Technical Service Bulletin that came out this year). Didn't matter. It happened in October 09, it happened 4th of July weekend and 700 miles and 5 weeks later, it happened again. This time they replaced the throttle body something or other. Let me know if you want to compare notes. I can put it in gear, step on the gas, and it will go maybe 15 miles an hour. If there's any kind of a hill with an incline, I hold my breath and hope for the best. Each time I have been assured this will "fix it". My bottom line this time was if it happened again, I'm all done. What's happened with yours since April? I should have kept my Audi.

#4 of 23 Re: kcole... [iluvmysephia1] by bigdogs5

Aug 14, 2010 (10:48 am)

Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Apr 23, 2010 1:10 pm)
Hi: Thanks for the heads-up on the BBB/Lemon law. I have had many cars in 30 years, but this is by far the most unreliable I have ever owned. You buy a new car, you don't expect to have it towed on a regular basis. I am given assurances every time that the problem is fixed only to have it happen again. This has all happened since I hit 11,000 miles last October. It now has 15k. 3 times in 9 months is not expected and not appreciated. If it happens again, I guess I'll be checking with the BBB because while this model gets high marks for reliability, I think there is something wrong with THIS particular car.

#5 of 23 Re: 2006 outlander throttle / accelerator [bigdogs5] by kcole1

Aug 14, 2010 (12:00 pm)

Replying to: bigdogs5 (Aug 14, 2010 10:14 am)
It hasn't happened since April. But I still don't trust a long drive. I may have waited too late to take advantage of the lemon law. I am checking with a legal rep. to see.

#6 of 23 Re: 2006 outlander throttle / accelerator [kcole1] by bigdogs5

Aug 14, 2010 (12:24 pm)

Replying to: kcole1 (Aug 14, 2010 12:00 pm)
Yes, it runs just fine until it doesn't. I know the drill. Got mine back this morning after a week with the usual assurances that this will fix the problem. The dealership I work with is good. Been buying cars from them for years. I think they're doing what they can or what Mitsu tells them to do. I made it clear if it happens again I'm going to unload this car. They agreed to that. I'll have to take the current market value (which is half of what it retailed for 3 years ago), but I will want OUT of this car. BTW, the general manager at the dealership has owned 3 Outlanders and has never had a single problem. I know Mitsu is supposed to be a reliable vehicle (I did some SERIOUS homework before buying this car) but not this one. I will never buy another if I live to be 100. Again, I should have stuck with Audi. If you will, please let me know what happens with you. I have to commute 20-40 miles one way every day to work. Towing 3 times in 9 months is bad enough....you've taken it in 8 times. I can't even imagine how exasperated you must be. Best wishes from Minnnesota

#7 of 23 Re: 2006 outlander throttle / accelerator [kcole1] by batman47

Aug 14, 2010 (1:57 pm)

Replying to: kcole1 (Aug 14, 2010 12:00 pm)
Few years ago I witnessed a problem with a car that was not a Mitsubishi whereby the engine appeared to lose power even by pressing the accelerator pedal until the vehicle stopped. When the scan machine was electronically connected to the car it gave an error code which was identified that the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve was defective. The car was 4-years old.
 
This valve is very important for the performance of the car. The EGR in the Outlander is relatively complicated and needs a mechanic to remove it and replace it with a new one. It is easy to damage adjacent parts. The cost of one-valve is about $250.
My GT has 17K miles and hasn’t complained so far. I have drove miles and miles in desolated areas in all weather conditions if we would have had a mechanical problem perhaps no-one would have found us for 2-3 days. That is why we loaded our car with all imaginable aids to survive in such inhospitable terrain.
 
Please don’t hesitate to ask what error code the MUT scanning machine comes up with. The MUT must be capable of indentifying the problem. You may take your car to another Mitsubishi garage. From my experience A Mitsubishi representative visit every Mitsubishi garage every 15 days. Ask your garage (manager) when this representative will be in your local garage. Talk with him he may advise further actions. I think that many Mitsubishi garages have not the technical skills in their personnel and many garage technicians attend one or two days to classes about Mitsubishi technicalities. For example my dealer has only one technician that knows how to use the MUT scanning machine. No- one other than him has the knowledge to interpret the computer result data. Relax.

#8 of 23 It appears two of you Outlander owners... by iluvmysephia1

Aug 14, 2010 (2:27 pm)

are having this same problem? Do I need to go back and read carefully your posts, or is that true? And both of your Outlanders have been "looked at" by your Mitsu dealer's service department by now, with unsatisfactory results? If so, that's too bad. I would read batman47's post above and follow his advice about trying to go there when a Mitsubishi representative come to one of their garages. That is supposed to be where they are earning their big bucks, solving Mitsubishi technical glitches like the one you guys are having here.
 
If it happens again, I guess I'll be checking with the BBB because while this model gets high marks for reliability, I think there is something wrong with THIS particular car.
 
Bingo! As a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS owner that is happy with his purchase, I am looking to see what happens with other Mitsubishi owners and what kind of purchase and ownership experience they are having. This is truly regrettable what is going on here, and I would want to think that Mitsubishi Corporate would want this problem to be solved to both your satisfaction and theirs. I am impressed by Mitsubishi's carbuilding prowess and I believe their engineering group is indeed impressive, overall.
 
Please get back and let us know how Mitsubishi solves (or does not seem to solve) this problem, and I do hope you are able to get this fixed ASAP.

#9 of 23 Re: 2006 outlander throttle / accelerator [kcole1] by bigdogs5

Sep 13, 2010 (7:21 am)

Replying to: kcole1 (Aug 14, 2010 12:00 pm)
Well, haven't posted since August the 14th. After replacing the throttle body assembly, it is "so far, so good". I've put 1500 miles on it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because winter is coming to Minnesota very soon.

#10 of 23 Re: 2006 outlander throttle / accelerator [bigdogs5] by kcole1

Sep 13, 2010 (2:59 pm)

Replying to: bigdogs5 (Sep 13, 2010 7:21 am)
OK....it happened again on Sep 3 while driving up an interstate on-ramp. I was so furious that I drove straight to the dealership - at 30 mph I might add- and pulled into the service bay. It was ~ 5:30 pm and the technicians were not there. But I did get the guy who checks you in to drive it. Unfortunately it corrected itself when I turned off the ignition. The check engine light was still on tho'. He advised to bring it back in the next day and I requested to speak to the manager. The manager basically told me that it would be hard to trade now that I had so many miles on the car (~65,000), that I should have traded earlier when we talked about during the previous 7 repairs. I asked for the Mitsubishi customer service number and he said that was basically all I could do. SO I called and they were very accomadating, got right back in touch, created a case file and a case manager was assigned - very nice lady. I told her that I feel the car is not sellable due to the recurring problems it has. After the district manager got involved, I took my car back in last Friday so that the dealership could "fix the problem". I assured them that it was always "fixed" but they wanted their tech support to work with the dealership to find the underlying problem. I think it's just a defective car.....but I did as I was told. Well, they seem to have found the problem! My battery shows a low charge so that is what is causing the issue!!! It needs to be replaced and that should fix everything. They replaced the throttle body after the first 7 repairs and since the issue didn't recur until 2 yrs later, they figure the battery is the problem. In fact they have this documented in a repair guide or something. It is beyond me that the EXACT same problem would be occur because of a faulty battery. I am going to get the battery replaced and wait for it to happen again. I have not called the BBB yet but that is next on my list. Please let me know if any of this makes sense. It just sounds really lame to me.

#11 of 23 Re: 2006 outlander throttle / accelerator [kcole1] by comem47

Sep 14, 2010 (5:38 am)

Replying to: kcole1 (Sep 13, 2010 2:59 pm)
I had something similar with a Dodge Dakota. Car would occasionally stall, be hard starting, and have problems staying running without additional pressure on the pedal and I read about how a low battery can cause a lot of these faults despite the ability to crank the engine over (normally it gets to not being able to crank the engine before most people detect a failing battery, but these days with electronics low voltage problems can effect how the car runs long before the inability to crank shows up). In my case It could be temporarily fixed by unplugging the battery and the default mode while the computer was relearning things made the problem appear to go away until the computer had finished relearning (couple of days I think) and then it was back again. Others on the internet with the same problem zeroed in on the battery which indeed permanently fixed it.
 
 Good luck and I hope it is the true cause.

#12 of 23 Re: 2006 outlander throttle / accelerator [kcole1] by toomanyfumes

Sep 14, 2010 (2:36 pm)

Replying to: kcole1 (Sep 13, 2010 2:59 pm)
I've heard of cars having wierd electrical gremlins caused by a low battery so maybe that is the case. Keep us updated!

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