2015 Mitsubishi Mirage high mileage 1.2 Ltr. engine tear down

[Fleetmech81]

I've seen dozens of these cars in accidents. Lots were t-boned(one by a garbage truck doing 40mph), one was hit so hard(by a Dodge Journey) it sent the car sliding sideways and barrel-rolled over a fire hydrant breaking the engine and transmission. Cars were totalled but drivers were fine, just shaken up and some had bruised shins from the knee bolster airbag. I wouldn't want to be in a head-on or hit a moose but that goes for any vehicle.

Little cars in general are the Rodney Dangerfield of the road. They get no respect!

The resale value for these cars used to be pretty bad before 2020. Now I'm seeing 10 year old Mirages listed for what they cost new in 2014.
I kinda miss when there were less suv's and trucks on the roads and you could see through the car in front of you. But I do prefer the view I get from sitting up higher in my Delica than sitting on the ground in my Mirage.

 

[eljefino]

That motor has a nice "3rd world" quality to it. Also like how one guy can just man-handle it around on the floor.

 

[macarose]

I just stumbled onto this post. That's my video. Delivery car used in Alberta. Used Mobil 1 0w20 for the first 100k km, then klondike 0w20 up until around 430k km. Used motosel 0w20 since. The engine was getting noisy around 420-430k(before switching oil brands) I finally replaced it at 458k kms in December. Cvt is original but I did replace the valve body a few years ago when it was acting up.

They are pretty reliable cars, and easy to keep going! There are a few in the fleet still running the original engine with over 500k kms, one has the original cvt still. And a pile with 300-400k kms/186-250k miles.

I have one for a beater commuter car and I can't kill the thing!

How often do you change the CVT fluid? It sounds like your fleet does a lot of highway driving up north. We're in Georgia and everything is stop and go out here. So if you have a recommendation I would be happy to pass it on to the Mileage Impossible group.

Thanks for the great video.

 

[Fleetmech81]

I try to replace cvt fluid every 50k km/30k miles. I made a cvt teardown video as well a while ago.

 

[Jetronic]

Too bad I didn’t buy one back in the day. Still don’t think it suits my highway commute, but I tried hard to justify one.

I don't think it's a highway commute car either. But if you stay in town for your commute it makes a lot of sense

 

[Fleetmech81]

The guy I bought mine from used it to commute 50 miles(70mph highway) one way to work every day for 6-7 years before buying a Bolt. A lot of the fleet ones are used on the highway daily.

They're noisy, slow, have tiny tires, thin glass, poor insulation, sway a lot, and you will get tailgated and/or passed by practically everyone else on the road if you drive one. But they can do the speed limit with under 80hp.

If you're looking to save money and time dealing with maintenance and repairs a Mirage is a great choice. Especially if you keep vehicles for a long time. The more you drive, the more you'll save.

 

[supton]

If you're looking to save money and time dealing with maintenance and repairs a Mirage is a great choice. Especially if you keep vehicles for a long time. The more you drive, the more you'll save.

How is the rear subframe? I took one look at my Corolla and decided there wasn’t enough metal for a proper trailer hitch, for moving my bicycle. Let alone my trailer.

 

[JTK]

How is the rear subframe? I took one look at my Corolla and decided there wasn’t enough metal for a proper trailer hitch, for moving my bicycle. Let alone my trailer.

I'm assuming it's not due to rust on your Corolla? Similar situation on my 2015 Versa sedan.

There isn't a rear subframe. It has a rear axle beam stamped out of thin steel, with some wimpy trailing arms and maybe a track bar. All bolted to the tin like unibody.

 

[supton]

I'm assuming it's not due to rust on your Corolla? Similar situation on my 2015 Versa sedan.

There isn't a rear subframe. It has a rear axle beam stamped out of thin steel, with some wimpy trailing arms and maybe a track bar. All bolted to the tin like unibody.

Correct. Thin metal, by design. Works great, for what it is—but not designed for one iota more than it needs to be.

I put a hitch onto a couple Camry’s and thought nothing of it. Way different metal.

 

[Fleetmech81]

I wouldn’t hesitate to bolt a hitch on one. I’m pretty sure the rear frame rails where the bumper rebar bolts on is double layered. It’s no truck frame but plenty strong enough for any hitch that’s made for it.

Lots of folks install hitches and tow small trailers around. I saw one pic of one with a full sized dirt bike being hauled on a hitch carrier.

 

[odie]

How often do you change the CVT fluid? It sounds like your fleet does a lot of highway driving up north. We're in Georgia and everything is stop and go out here. So if you have a recommendation I would be happy to pass it on to the Mileage Impossible group.

Thanks for the great video.

He says MITSUBISHI states 40,000 miles , he does every 20,000 miles .

 

[odie]

Does oil change ( Starts @ 18:50 ) and thorough inspection . Has many other helpful videos for the MIRAGE , such as coolant change ,etc..

 

[JTK]

I wouldn’t hesitate to bolt a hitch on one. I’m pretty sure the rear frame rails where the bumper rebar bolts on is double layered. It’s no truck frame but plenty strong enough for any hitch that’s made for it.

Lots of folks install hitches and tow small trailers around. I saw one pic of one with a full sized dirt bike being hauled on a hitch carrier.

All true. Use it within it's design with some common sense. These things have bicycle sized brakes, tiny tires, etc.

 

[odie]

Talks of how the MIRAGE is looked down on because of its size , etc..

 

[odie]

Drove FORD Festivas with 12" tires and other small cars ( Dodge Colt , etc. ) with 13" tires that did very well in different weather conditions . Especially with winter tires . The MIRAGE has a 6.3" ground clearance and NISSAN Versa is at 6.8" which would help in the winter .

 

[Fleetmech81]

True, pizza cutters are better for deep wet slush.
The regular sevice schedule doesn’t mention and transmission fluid changes, the severe on said to change fluid at 30k miles/50k km. At least the ones that I’ve read.

They just used generic service schedule used across the entire line up except the eco and phev outlander iirc. As per usual, the normal one applies to hardly anyone.

Not sure if this link will work, it’s supposed to be the innards of the cvt

 

[camrydriver111]

That motor has a nice "3rd world" quality to it. Also like how one guy can just man-handle it around on the floor.

One guy can do it with a Corolla as well.

 

[supton]

I wouldn’t hesitate to bolt a hitch on one. I’m pretty sure the rear frame rails where the bumper rebar bolts on is double layered. It’s no truck frame but plenty strong enough for any hitch that’s made for it.

Lots of folks install hitches and tow small trailers around. I saw one pic of one with a full sized dirt bike being hauled on a hitch carrier.

Looks quite a bit like how my Corolla is to be done. Link.

This isn't bad:

Same thing, enlarge the hole, then fish the bolt up.

At least in this case the tow loop gets "looped in" which does add something of a third spot. How much strength is there I'm not sure.

 

[chainblu]

I have installed a hitch on a Mirage. I didn't have to enlarge any holes. The hardest part was fishing the bolts thru the driver side 'frame'. Took about 45 minutes working alone with a floor jack.

 

[fdcg27]

I allowed one of these little guys to pass me on the right last week on a brief four lane bit on the long two-lane part of my commute.
Easy enough to have checked him but I saw no reason to.
I am a fan of minimalist cars although we don't now own one and probably won't again.
For a young person or anyone with limited dollars to spend with a longish commute, something cheap and cheap to run like a Mirage makes a lot of sense.