Hi everybody, i just bought a new car. Private seller

2003 Mitsubishi Magna ES TL, 3.5 L V6 155kW, Black very shiny, mag wheels, nice head unit, will post pictures soon. Its done 64,000km, got it for $8800

I have noticed a few problems with it.

1. The brakes squeak a little on the last 20%, just like my 94 Magna, but not as bad. what should i do about it? Seems to be a Magna thing. My old car's brakes were pretty hard, and would squeak immidiately, but my new 03's brakes are pretty soft, and only squeak a little towards the very end

2. There definately is a shudder with the car. Not like a shake, but a backwards and forwards shudder. It's fine on idle, no shake or nothing. Only whilst driving, very slight, but definately noticable, a slight shaking shift backwards and forwards, at all speeds. The speedo needle stays stable. My old car used to do this too, but that was just when it was sturggling up hills at 100km/h. but this shudder is the same sort of, but just not as bad. its slight, but still there and noticable. I tested the transmission, but suddenly revving it at 50km/h. If i suddenly rev with my old car, there would be a 1 second delay and then CLUNK, revs forward. But this one is very smooth with sudden revving. any ideas?

3. And when it changes gear at 40km/h and 60km/h, there is a gear change felt as with manual cars (slight smooth drop in speed then speed up again). Its 4ASPM, whatever that means, so is it just like a manual car but automatic? In my old 94 Magna, i didn't feel the change, it seemed to be all smooth, although somewhat slower

Can anybody help me out?

here are the specs: http://www.countrycars.com.au/buy/ma...&body=4D+SEDAN

Cheers fellas

The link is now broken :shock:


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congrats and welcome to the club! You should put some pics up in Members Ride section, it sounds like you got the car for a steal!

1) Brakes: When you say last 20%, do you mean in terms of pad life? Try replacing the pads with something like Bendix General CT's. They get a good rap on here and I rate them personally. No squeaking at all after having discs machined. If the pedal feels soft, try bleeding the brake fluid and replacing, or it might just be a trapped air pocket in the lines. Magna brakes as standard are notoriously soft pedal feel. Braided lines go a long way to fixing this.

2) The shudder is a weird one for sure. All 3rd gens are lumpy on idle and pass vibration through the car, its just the way it is. You also described a shift backwards and forwards, this leads me to point 3

3) Magna auto boxes, where do we start lol Points 2 and 3 may be related. I also notice the car dropping back to 3rd gear from 4th when speed dips below 58-59kph. Its very subtle, but can still feel the change. This may account for the shifting in point 2, the gearbox could be hunting for the right ratio. Couple of things you can do: Firstly, disconnect the battery for a few hours. This will force the gearbox to lose its memory and will have to re-learn shift points when reconnected and driven. Please be aware that you should let the car idle for a few minutes after reconnecting. Secondly, you can get the transmission serviced, including a flush through of oil and a final top up.

Hope this helps.

I've answered your questions on MCA mate.

http://www.mitsubishiclubaustralia.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10068

I've answered your questions on MCA mate.

http://www.mitsubishiclubaustralia.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10068

It is always good to be registered on more then one site and to get members opinions to get a confirmed result or to look in one or more places and have all bases covered the more the better. :D

thanks for replies

barring any other suggestions, i think i'll go look at the transmisison fluid first, which is the only thing i can really do myself

then i'll take it to the family mechanic and see what he thinks about the brakes and shudder.

thing about going to bob jane or mitsubishi is that it'll cost money. probably in the hundreds, and having just bought this car, i'm bit short on cash

and bloody hell, i can't belive how dirty and dusty my car gets in 2 days. thats what i get for buying a black car i guess. looks cool though.

thanks for replies

barring any other suggestions, i think i'll go look at the transmisison fluid first, which is the only thing i can really do myself

then i'll take it to the family mechanic and see what he thinks about the brakes and shudder.

thing about going to bob jane or mitsubishi is that it'll cost money. probably in the hundreds, and having just bought this car, i'm bit short on cash

and bloody hell, i can't belive how dirty and dusty my car gets in 2 days. thats what i get for buying a black car i guess. looks cool though.

Yeah i dont think ill ever buy another black car after owning one, though with a nice swirl free finish they do look awsome when clean.

Thats why i bought a silver car they always look clean :D

Sounds like some transmission problems are developing quite quickly it needs to get into a mechanic asap.Get a range of opinions though ....unless its a trusted mechanic. Don't use a dealer service centre I have heard of them charging up to $3500 for tranny fixes.

Black cars are tough and look tougher when they are dirty

thanks for replies

barring any other suggestions, i think i'll go look at the transmisison fluid first, which is the only thing i can really do myself

then i'll take it to the family mechanic and see what he thinks about the brakes and shudder.

thing about going to bob jane or mitsubishi is that it'll cost money. probably in the hundreds, and having just bought this car, i'm bit short on cash

and bloody hell, i can't belive how dirty and dusty my car gets in 2 days. thats what i get for buying a black car i guess. looks cool though.

The reason at the moment why all out cars here in Victoria are getting dusty real quick at the moment is that it's ash falling all over the state we have the same here in Geelong I washed my car yesterday and this afternoon I notcied all the dust was back wiped with my finger and noticed it was more grey/white then brown.

We need it to rain buckets to put all the fires out. :rant:

Err, you didn't get this car from a guy in Newport did you? I saw a similar, if not the same Magna (03 TL, LS, 64k, black with alloy wheels) on Carsales.com.au. I did a Vicroads check and it turned out to be a written off car. Maybe that's the cause of the issue (if its the same car):confused:

Have a look at this article in regards to Magnas , transmissions and flushes etc. It could be something simple .....or not.

http://autospeed.com.au/cms/A_3019/article.html

Err, you didn't get this car from a guy in Newport did you? I saw a similar, if not the same Magna (03 TL, LS, 64k, black with alloy wheels) on Carsales.com.au. I did a Vicroads check and it turned out to be a written off car. Maybe that's the cause of the issue (if its the same car):confused:

No, not Newport, I got it from Spotswood. It's ES TL. t's got nice mag wheels on it. The guy had a vicroads RWC. surely they must have looked at its history or something right? I registered it alright the other day.

I'm a bit worried now, you dont still have the Reg Number and VIN number around do you?

I looked at the trans fluid, whilst running, and the fluid goes bloody inches past the HOT line. the bar is like
---\____HOT___|__/---------------------------
^

and the clear, pink (looks good) fluid goes up to the arrow. pretty damn far

so i'm going to get my mechanic to have a look at it.

and the airconditiong stopped working yesterday. It worked all bloody week, and now when it's set to its coolest, it just blows out warm/hot air. not even room temp air, its warner. but when i turn up the heat full blast, it comes out fine and hot.

why me?

I love posting the same thing on 2 forums, lol...


Check the fluid when the car is at operating temp, but with the car ignition off and the car in Neutral. Also, make sure the car is on flat ground obviously, and run the gearbox slowly through all the gears twice and finish in "N" before checking the fluid.

Before I flushed my transmission myself, I had a mechanic do it when it was slipping. It continued to slip and he told me the transmission was rooted, but when I checked the fluid level, same as yours, it was way too full. Being too full causes flaring and frothing according to the Mitsubishi workshop manual. So, I flushed the transmission myself, and put the correct amount in, and now it's like a new gearbox.

No, not Newport, I got it from Spotswood. It's ES TL. t's got nice mag wheels on it. The guy had a vicroads RWC. surely they must have looked at its history or something right? I registered it alright the other day.

I'm a bit worried now, you dont still have the Reg Number and VIN number around do you?

Mate, having a RWC means nothing. A car which has been recorded as a insurance write off can be repaired and if it passes the VIV inspection, it can be re-registered and be back on the road.

Alot of dodgy people take advantage of this and buy cheap written-off vehicle from auction yards, do a backyard repair job, then sell it to unsuspecting buyers.

Recently Vicroads has made it available for one to check for a car's status online with your rego - its at http://www.vcheck.vicroads.vic.gov.au/

My brother bought a VN Commodore from a dealer (who are supposed to provide clear title and not supposed to see written off vehicles) and when he tried to sell it later down the road, one of his prospective buyer told him its been written off previously; now he's taking the case to VCAT against the dealer who supplied the vehicle. A whole lot of trouble which could've been avoided if he had checked with Vicroads on the phone.

Go do a check and see if your vehicle was written off. There's nothing you can do about it though...but if it is written off you'll need to ensure that the car was repaired properly - if it was hit hard the chassis rails might be bent and all sorts of other stuff...your car might just crumple next time your car gets into an accident.

Good luck with it all. Spotswood is pretty close to Newport...the seller's name wasn't abdul or somthing similar was it?

ive had "car experts" at supercheap tell me i should be checking the level whilst in park, and after telling them no it has to be in neutral, they laugh. my brother got a second gen and it was slipping badly, he had a supercheap guy check the fluid and tell him it was overfull, so he drained it till it read right in park. when i checked it in neutral it was way under. we topped it up and it was fine, no more problems working perfect.

There is no difference in park or in neutral as the trans is in a stationary state

Some older trans like the C4 were best checked in Neitral due to the park pawl being close to the dipstick and fluid would splash onto the stick and make it hard to read

For the OP, if you need someone who knows Magnas to have a look send me a PM

"car experts" at supercheap

Halarious :bowrofl:

There is no difference in park or in neutral as the trans is in a stationary state

Some older trans like the C4 were best checked in Neitral due to the park pawl being close to the dipstick and fluid would splash onto the stick and make it hard to read

For the OP, if you need someone who knows Magnas to have a look send me a PM
Not disagreeing with you mate, but in the Magna workshop manual it says after a flush to engage all the gears (obviously to move the fluid around the different gear-sets) and finish in "N" to check the fluid level. Also, the car needs to be off for an accurate reading.