The “worst new car you can buy” can be surprisingly reliable. 

the germans make nice cars if you can afford them but after owning a mercedes the amount of unnecessary over-engineering nonsense led me to a mirage I have more important things to deal with than my transportation at the moment

I heard that most German cars sold in America are made in USA and are not as reliable as those made in Germany. Cars made in Germany are very reliable like my old 1998 318ti hatchback.

​@@jd-py5nmMercedes up until the late 90s was actually super solid and very reliable with incredible longevity. The W140 S-Class from the 90s is as smooth as a current S-Class, but without the insane technology.

I’m a Copart truck driver in the UK and yes you’re right, most the cars I collect from businesses and customers are German luxury cars. Very rarely we we pick up these Mitsubishi’s only if they’re totaled and they still drive 😂. Love my 2014 mirage

They do not make German cars in United States they're all made in Germany​@@robertonavarro7713

Bollocks, Japanese stuff is 99 % of the time engineered to last.

I just want more sound deadening, better suspension, better materials, more space, a bigger, more powerful engine with more cylinders and better transmission and brakes to deal with it. The issue is those engines are too inefficient witthout lots of technology and with the other things carmakers always go overboard and stuff so much extra technology into the cars that it just becomes a headache, often even before it breaks!

Absolutely !

I've heard that Hyundai and Kia are pretty picky about their warranty, even if it's 10 years they may try to weasel out of taking responsibility for repairs. Wonder how Mitsubishi is! Certainly a competitive feature.

@@zzoinksThat applies to all manufacturers and all warranties---they all try to weasel out of it. That's when you ask for the regional zone manager....

just replace the oil not every 5 or 6 K miles, but every 3,000 miles its only 3 quarts and so easy to do!

you'll see 50 mpg plus when you keep the freeway speeds limited to max speed 60 mph. better with the cruise control, try it out!

Ooooh the Eagle was a Mitsubishi?

​@@Friday_V7 Also the Dodge Colt and D50 pickup.

farts above a Doug score of 4, can the Mirage's driver's seat handle. The Mirage is workhorse or better yet, a workdonkey. Good car.

Doug DeMoron..hahaha good one! That idiot slagging off this car don't have a clue what he's talking about.

Yes! I’m so glad you slammed that PUD. I’m in 100% agreement with you. These are excellent little vehicles. The worst in HYPOCRISY came after seeing him sing his praises for a JDM, Subaru Sambar van. Essentially everything in the same amounts at the diminutive Mirage except an even smaller engine. I’m usually not this crass but, Doug is just an asshole.

Yes, there are some car reviewers who can’t find their asphalt with both hands.

When Doug tested it, he found a plastic thingy under the seat and wondered what it was. I believe it was the deflector/nozzle for the rear seat heater. He couldn't figure that out.

Breck?

Yes. My 2006 Accent owes me nothing.

It's a really lightweight car, so they tend to last a long time in the Mitsubishis

Jatco are good enough. All depends on factory calibration. Nissan got problems with this but not Mitsubishi.

@@user-my2qe3fh6k Yes I suppose you are right. Maybe Nissan is just putting these transmissions behind a motor with too much torque.

Jatco 7 is rated up to 150hp cars, the Mirage is only 80hp at most, it will last forever with 30k mile CVT fluid changes.

could you describe how to align the wheels on a mirage?

Why was there so much camber different? Was this something with a manufacturing defect?

@@charkswitlazers Yes. The factory works sloppy when it comes to manufacturing rear axles and front suspension mountings. Just a few mm, but nevertheless, it is too much.

@@ronaldderooij1774 how’s the rear alignment? I hear some mirages had bad rear axles causing premature tire wear

@@charkswitlazers Thankfully my car's rear alignment was very good. It is not adjustable, so if your rear alignment is off, you need another rear axle and hope for the best. I would research if it is the out of spec mounting points at the body or the axle itself (bent, damaged) that makes the alignment go wonky.

I just took mine on a 1400km road trip. We camped at places in the Rocky Mountains that I'd never be able to get my truck and camper into. Car never missed a beat and was loaded down a little heavy, riding on the bump-stops for a bit of the trip.

Did you ever change the cvt fluid? There's one in the fleet I maintain with 333k miles/536k kms on it that's still going. I just changed the fluid once in a while and it seems to help make them last way longer.

@@turdpailsandtrails when I sold it, it had the fluid it left the factory with.

Maybe he's the one that gave this video a thumbs down?

@@turdpailsandtrails Wouldn't doubt it. For every 10 people who agree with him, there's one of us vehemently defending this modern-day go-kart.

@@precisionxt I call my Chevy Spark a go-kart with doors. Love it.

I try to change the cvt fluid every 50,000km on the fleet that I maintain. I’m pretty sure that’s what the severe service schedule calls for. These take some getting used to. I went from a 1 ton diesel truck as a commuter car to a Mirage. They’re a great way to save money.

@@turdpailsandtrails thankss for the advice, i'll keep it in mind and yeah they're the perfect commuter, team mitsu🫡

If it makes you feel any better, my 2019 G4 has just under 21,000 miles :D

April 2024 UPDATE.....My 2018 Mirage now has 156,000 miles on it! Just the worst 😀😀😀

I'm around 125,000 on my 2017 g4 5 speed.

Changing it early isn't going to hurt anything, if the filters are gonna pick anything up changing the fluid isn't going to prevent it. The car I showed in the latest video hasn't had either cvt filter replaced and the fluid was changed at 50-100k km intervals.

You must have gotten a lemon. The paint is thin though, on the higher mileage cars here the front edge of the hood and roof above the windshield is full of paint chips and surface rust. Cvt's are hit or miss. We have some in the fleet with 400-540,000kms on the original cvt, others failed at 200,000kms. Most of the fleet cars don't have heated seats but my 2014 does and they still work great despite it being flooded in a river for hours. Overall, they're pretty low maintenance compared to the Nissans, Fords and Chevy's in the fleet.

If you can get past the fact that these things are slow compared to pretty much anything else on the road, get blown around in the wind and are tin cans then why not! They’re simple, dependable, I average 40mpg in mine, dirt cheap cost of ownership, easy to fix and maintain. Can park then anywhere, pull a u-turn on a dime, and regardless of what most say, they can drive on the highway… they’re noisy and get blown around but it’s a 2000lb car. They really haven’t changed a lot since 2013 other than making them look less outdated. And that’s not a bad thing. Used low mileage parts are aplenty to keep these turds going for a while.

yeah, boosting the engine with a turbo, good idea until the CVT goes out, did you do anything to build up the tranny? dont think the factory CVT is a hero for taking abuse!

@@gkauto1959 I didn't buy the CVT model because im not a neanderthal. I can drive stickshift so I got the 5 speed. and its pretty robust

No, I’ve never replaced one on these engines. There’s a number of Mirages in the fleet I maintain with 250-300,000miles and they’ve never had any engine work or even oil leaks.

They get around just fine here in Central Alberta. Having decent winter tires will help with any vehicle.

@@turdpailsandtrails Awesome! I figured 2 wheel drive was just fine. Thanks!

AWD is overrated. First cars I see in the ditch every winter have AWD because people think they're invincible with it. Just drive careful, especially if the roads are bad.

Tires a definitely a huge factor. My dad has a subaru impreza (great car) and when the tires wore out it was like a moose skating on sheer ice in the winter despite the killer awd system.

Yes, I replaced the fluid 6 times in this car. 5 drain and fills (just pulled the drain plug no filter replacements), and one time I dropped the pan and cleaned out the valve body @ 390k km. I usually try to change fluid every 50k km but that doesn't always happen. This car is still going at 530k kms.

Yeah this one is original, I replaced the one in my 2014 a few years ago because it was surging. Changing the valve body probably would have cured that.

@@turdpailsandtrails that's incredible. So bizarre some last so long and others die so damn early.

@@palebeachbum I messed up. I didn’t realize which video this was…this car in this video is the highest mileage cvt car in the fleet. It’s at 321k miles/527k Km. My personal 2014 had issues at 280k Km so I replaced it.

@@palebeachbum Yours was the exception, not the rule. Most CVT Mirages last well past 200k miles.

@@kylemas2005 that's simply not true. Most do not.

Get a 5 speed. Whole different animal.

Ok you sound like you ae ready to get dirty, so here goes: go ahead and change that oil even 3k, not 5 or 6, do it at 3k! Its only 3 quarts, so these oil changes are cheap. check your tire inflation, the tires are always under inflated, they say on the sidewall they can take up to 51 psi so put 45 psi in there! on your CVT service , use Amsoil fully synthetic CVT fluid, its far superior to the Mitsubishi factory CVT oil ad will improve shift quality and let you run that automatic into the 300k range. Thats reeky it, its just those 3 things, and by the way you can skip changing the oil filter once changing the oil, just skip it until every other oil change, especially when you go on amazon and buy neodiyum magnets that slap onto the side of the filter housing, that magnetize the inside of the filter housing trapping all sorts of debris that way. Or look up "oil filter mag" on the. web and see what they look like. Have fun, these are just the best transportation cars built today!!

I usually try to replace the fluid(just drain from the plug and refill 2.5L) every 50k km(30k miles). That didn't always happen on time with this car...and it's never had any of the cvt filters replaced. I took the valve body out and cleaned it out about a year ago and recently dropped the pan again to inspect and it looked good. I just use universal cvt fluid. No need for mitsu labled stuff in my opinion.

@turdpailsandtrails you're a legend mate! So brilliant as a mechanic that remembers a time when your knowledge barely went past what happened in your own shop. Now, you can not only watch what others do. You can get info directly from generous people like yourself with real-world expertise. I'm super appreciative of your content and your reply bud! Thank you!

@turdpailsandtrails P.S. from my looking into it. Your cvt fluid is probably better than the "genuine" stuff anyway. NS-2 was supplied by a Shell subsidiary and was rubbish (thousands of failures). NS-3 is supplied by idemetsu to mitsubishi, suzuki, Nissan etc. Anyone with the jatco product. But it's still only a semi synthetic at 3x the price of fully synthetic oils that have proven to last and prevent any wear for far longer.

The black Mirage is mine, the rest are all parts delivery cars and it shows. We're in Alberta so roads and weather vary daily.

@@turdpailsandtrails I see. I assume you want to rebuild and restore that car. the white Mirage.

"It's not the years, honey. It's the mileage." --Indiana Jones 😂😂

*CVT

Canuckstan

Klondike 0w20 and universal cvt fluid.

ÖL 0 W20

Giver

cope harder

Who cares

@compensatingporscheguy Cool story. They'd probably look great with a Chicago sunroof.

There's always going to be someone in a bigger, scarier vehicle. Out of the dozen or so Mirage wrecks(total loss/write off) that I've seen, nobody has been injured other than bruises.

@@turdpailsandtrails crash tests don’t lie.

continuously variable transmission.

@@gkauto1959 cost more to rebuild or replace??

Cvt