Hi,

I have a 2007 380, im no car buff, so if some of this sounds uneducated its because I am when it comes to cars!

My car doesnt feel like its firing properly, its ok when accelerating fast but when you slow down whilst in traffic for example, it seems to have trouble going down the gears and is sluggish to accelerate again, almost feels like there is not enough fuel being injected, I have had the spark plugs and covers replaced 8k kilometeres ago but it hasnt really solved the issue, probably unrelated but my air con has stopped working and I occasionally notice a flicker on the LCD display as if its lost power momentarily, apologies for the poor technical detail!

Any thoughts?

Could be anything from mice building nests in your air cleaner to a collapsed catalytic converter.
Really needs to be eyeballed and error codes read by someone who knows what they are doing. Not you obviously from what you say, so be prepared to fork out some money. Local mechanic if he has a scanner or the nearest Mitsu dealer?

What Max said +1.

You'll also find that a lot of us have had similar issues and they've been resolved by putting in a good quality battery. Get a carsparky to check yours out and read up in the numerous battery threads on what we purchased.

Yeah I think from memory, the 380's had three cats. Although this is probably a low probability as first you would be more likely to smell a melted cat before noticing the effects. That plus cats have to go through a hefty punishment to collapse/melt.

I don't think it would be a fueling issue as it would be more likely to happen under load. Maybe injectors need a clean for when they're firing those small amounts?

Could be spark/air related. Whens the last time the throttle body/bypass/and all that been cleaned? Air filter condition?

It may just be a routine servicing issue that needs to be undertaken. What area in SA are you in?

Hi Neo,

Im in Campbelltown, it hasnt had a major service for 2 years although I have had it in for a standard service at north east mitsubishi 9 months ago, I did wonder about the air filter, sounds like i need to get it looked at, any recommendations or just stick with my local mitsi dealer?

thanks for your advice

thanks for your advice
What Max said +1.

You'll also find that a lot of us have had similar issues and they've been resolved by putting in a good quality battery. Get a carsparky to check yours out and read up in the numerous battery threads on what we purchased.

Air filter is one of those things you could check out yourself. Unless of course things turn real ugly when you touch the under bonnet of your car.

If you're ever up north near Munno Para let me know and I could have a look at things for you, I do a lot of work on my extended families cars and can take a peak if it's not something that needs to be fixed next day kind of thing.


For reference, here is the worst one I've seen first hand.

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/7642/img1775medium.jpg

Wow...that's what you call dirty. It would like trying to run a marathon breathing through a straw.

Thanks for the offer Neo very kind.

OK so after reading up on the battery issue suggested by blockhead yesterday I went to my local battery shop and had the battery replaced and what do you know shes running like a dream again! was interesting as wasnt experiencing any issue at start up, but all the previous issues i was experiencing are gone its running smoothly and fully powered again! thanks to all who commented appreciate your responses
Air filter is one of those things you could check out yourself. Unless of course things turn real ugly when you touch the under bonnet of your car.

If you're ever up north near Munno Para let me know and I could have a look at things for you, I do a lot of work on my extended families cars and can take a peak if it's not something that needs to be fixed next day kind of thing.


For reference, here is the worst one I've seen first hand.

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/7642/img1775medium.jpg

i cracked up at this bit


Yeah I think from memory, the 380's had three cats. Although this is probably a low probability as first you would be more likely to smell a melted cat before noticing the effects.

I think you'd notice a melted cat very early on....the reeking aroma of burnt fur would be a giveaway......

Thanks for the offer Neo very kind.

OK so after reading up on the battery issue suggested by blockhead yesterday I went to my local battery shop and had the battery replaced and what do you know shes running like a dream again! was interesting as wasnt experiencing any issue at start up, but all the previous issues i was experiencing are gone its running smoothly and fully powered again! thanks to all who commented appreciate your responses

Performance used to degrade when your needle and seat wore down, or your plugs fouled and your points wore out and sometimes the distributor cap got a crack in it or the carbon button rubbed down too far. I'm still astonished how much difference a battery can make. Glad we could help though, good advice from all. Get the beast serviced by a reputable mechanic and you'll really start enjoying a car that loves nothing more than a great set of tyres and a long open road.