Engine Fails after Oil Change

[hpb]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
When I shop for a vehicle, usually a car or a wagon, I avoid these manufactures: Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Fiat, Chrysler ...

None of these have quality products as of the top of the class, if I am looking for a less than $20k compact sedan then Honda, Mazda ... are the one. If I am looking for a compact sedan at $35-40k then BMW, Audi or MB .

If Mitsubishi, Suzuki ... are so good then why they are either gone or almost gone from most states in USA ?

Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
That's a cheap shot. Honda and Toyota have nothing on Mitsubishi as far as engine quality. So far they have been more reliable in my experience. They don't have Oil disappearing even after 10k miles like the others....

I never saw any vehicle reliability study since 1980-1990 that showed Mitsubishi engine or any other car part was more reliable than Honda and/or Toyota. If there was one year that Mitsubishi rated higher than either Honda or Toyota, please post.

Your personal experience with Mitsubishi engine is as rare as chicken tooth. If your experience is typical then why Mitsubishi motor company is withdrawing from US ?


I've owned 8 Suzuki motorcycles and 3 Mitsubishi cars to this point in my life, and I respectfully disagree with your comments regarding both manufacturers - I've always found them to be well built and reliable.

 

[GiveMeAVowel]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR


If your experience is typical then why Mitsubishi motor company is withdrawing from US ?


Mitsubishi Motors is NOT withdrawing from the US market, and has NO intention to do so in the future. The CEO has repeated this message dozens of times over the past year now....Mitsu has the backing of their multi trillion dollar parent company Mitsu Heavy Industries, that is involved in everything from ship building, to finance, to
electronics...they are NOT leaving the US market, ever.

As for this particular story it appears that the chain store did NOT use the proper part number as specified by Mitsubishi Canada, that means they are responsible for the repairs.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I don't know anything about motorcycle, so I have no idea how good or bad Suzuki motorcycles are. I only know that Honda sells more motorcycles than anyone in the world.

I know Suzuki cars are so terrible such that there is virtually no Suzuki car dealer in So Cal. A fairly affluent area of about 15 millions and no dealer is telling you something about Suzuki cars.

Why did CEO of Mitsubishi has repeated the message of not leaving US dozens of times over the past year, after closing the only plant they had in Illinois ? Mitsubishi will cease to exit in US the next few years, their dealerships are shrinking and their sale are dropping every year.

Why did Honda started with 1 plant in Ohio in early '80s and now they have more than 5-6 plants, and Mitsubishi closed their only 1 plant ? If Mitsubishi is better than Honda then they should have 10-15 plants now.

For anyone who says Mitsubishi is better(more reliable) than either Toyota or Honda the last 25-30 years, please post a support data from reputable publication(s) such as Consumer Report ...

The common sense is telling me that 2 companies in the same industry with 1 company is expanding and the other is shrinking, 1 is better than the other. Guess which one is better ? The shrinking company is better ?

 

[Silk]

Mitsubishi is very good at honouring their waranties, but if a claimant doesn't follow the rules they won't have a bar of it. The wrong oil filter fitted is a basic - so there are 2 options....find out which one you need. Compare the old filter to the new. If one of Mitsi's dealers did that they wouldn't honour it either. We fitted a brand new engine to a Triton last week - ticked their boxes, new motor sent out and fitted.

 

[Stewie]

That's why you don't trust those morons to do anything, they hire underpaid students.

100% Mr lube's fault, they should have known.

 

[The_Eric]

The filters are functionally the same- It's not a filter fitment issue. While it may have failed though, it was not due to the right/wrong part number being used.

Whether the interested parties are going to use it as leverage or not is up to them, but something else was in play here.

 

[Bladecutter]

This whole situation is why whenever I need to change the oil on one of the three cars in my garage, I always go to the dealer and pick up the oil filter directly from them, first.

There is no way I would have ever attempted to install an oil filter that is twice as long as the oem filter, as what looks to be in the pictures. Overall, I don't think that the longer oil filter was actually the problem.

Ultimately, it seems that the real problem was that the mechanic did not tighten the oil filter enough. It initially was sealed and tight, but over a week of driving, it loosened up, and started leaking oil, at highway speed. Sounds like they got it finger tight, but completely forgot to turn it the extra 1/4 to 1/2 turn.

BC.

 

[Jetronic]

the longer filter is the correct one, the short fat one doesn't fit - regardless of any other mistakes made.

 

[hpb]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I don't know anything about motorcycle, so I have no idea how good or bad Suzuki motorcycles are. I only know that Honda sells more motorcycles than anyone in the world.

I know Suzuki cars are so terrible such that there is virtually no Suzuki car dealer in So Cal. A fairly affluent area of about 15 millions and no dealer is telling you something about Suzuki cars.

Why did CEO of Mitsubishi has repeated the message of not leaving US dozens of times over the past year, after closing the only plant they had in Illinois ? Mitsubishi will cease to exit in US the next few years, their dealerships are shrinking and their sale are dropping every year.

Why did Honda started with 1 plant in Ohio in early '80s and now they have more than 5-6 plants, and Mitsubishi closed their only 1 plant ? If Mitsubishi is better than Honda then they should have 10-15 plants now.

For anyone who says Mitsubishi is better(more reliable) than either Toyota or Honda the last 25-30 years, please post a support data from reputable publication(s) such as Consumer Report ...

The common sense is telling me that 2 companies in the same industry with 1 company is expanding and the other is shrinking, 1 is better than the other. Guess which one is better ? The shrinking company is better ?


Yes, Honda sell lots of bikes, I own one, and they're good, but no better or worse than Suzuki bikes. As for Suzuki cars, they are popular and have a good reputation for reliability in Australia. I think some of the problem for Suzuki in the US is that they were tied up with Daewoo, which they weren't in this part of the world.

I guess the Mitsubishi CEO has been trying to assure people that although they won't be building vehicles in US any longer, they'll still be importing and selling cars there. Closing a plant doesn't mean they'll leave the US altogether. For example, at the end of 2016, Ford is closing their Australian manufacturing operations, and in 2017 Holden (GM) and Toyota are following. Do you think that means Ford, Holden and Toyota are leaving the Australian market? Of course they're not.

Lastly, I've never said Mitsubishi vehicles are "better (more reliable) than either Toyota or Honda", because they're not. What they are though, in my opinion, is equal to Toyota and Honda, or any of the other mainstream manufacturers. And, in Australia, they have a far better warranty than all the other Japanese makers. In fact, for 2015, Mitsubishi finished number 5 for overall sales, behind Toyota, Mazda, Holden and Hyundai. Honda finished 10th... and to be fair, I believe Suzuki was 15th.

It's apparent you don't like Mitsubishi vehicles, however I feel your assessment that they're unreliable pieces of junk is incorrect. I don't read or care for Consumer Reports, my opinions are based on real world experience of having owned a number of Mitsi's, friends and family owning them, and driving dozens of them over the years as fleet vehicles in the mining industry, where they have proven just as reliable as Toyota, Nissan, etc. Whilst I respect your opinion, and normally agree with your posts, in this case I think you're wrong.

 

[GiveMeAVowel]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I don't know anything about motorcycle, so I have no idea how good or bad Suzuki motorcycles are. I only know that Honda sells more motorcycles than anyone in the world.


Suzuki motorcycles are on a par with Honda, and many other great makes of cycles.
Quote:

I know Suzuki cars are so terrible such that there is virtually no Suzuki car dealer in So Cal. A fairly affluent area of about 15 millions and no dealer is telling you something about Suzuki cars.


Vehicles that are manufactured by Suzuki in Japan are among the highest quality, best performing, and reliable you can buy among any brand in the world.

Suzuki caters to small car buyers overall and because Americans are obsessed with buying huge over sized and over priced vehicles they decided not to continue in the US market. A wise financial decision for them. But I sure wish they would have brought the latest
Suzuki Swift GTI to the US before they left it is one of the best pocket rockets you can buy.

Quote:


Why did CEO of Mitsubishi has repeated the message of not leaving US dozens of times over the past year, after closing the only plant they had in Illinois ?
The plant has not closed yet, and may be the plant that produces the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart later this year.
Even if Mitsu decides to stop manufacturing here, it doesn't mean they will stop selling vehicles here. Two different situations.
Quote:

Mitsubishi will cease to exit in US the next few years, their dealerships are shrinking and their sale are dropping every year.


I'll bet you your membership here on BITOG, if they are still selling vehicles here three years from now you will have your membership here terminated.


Quote:

For anyone who says Mitsubishi is better(more reliable) than either Toyota or Honda the last 25-30 years, please post a support data from reputable publication(s) such as Consumer Report ...


I would say that overall Mitsu is competitive with Honda and Toyota, when it comes to quality of their vehicles.
Again it comes down to which markets they cater to. Mitsu tends to offer products that are not as suitable to the US market, so they don't sell as many passenger cars and small pick ups here. But in other markets they dominate in a big way, same goes for Suzuki.

 

[HTSS_TR]

US was the biggest auto market in the world until China surpassed us few years ago. Every automaker in the world love to sell their products here.

If you say that Mitsubishi is competitive with Honda and Toyota then what happened to Galant ? Did Mitsubishi ever sold more than 200-300k Galant a year or 1 of the top 5 midsize sedan ? Where are they now ?

Did Mitsubishi ever had any car compete successfully with Civic and Corolla (compact sedan class) ?

Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Isuzu ... just don't have any practical and reliable cars that American love to own, like Honda Accord and Civic, and Toyota Camry and Corolla.

If you look at the top 10 selling midsize sedan list in US the last 10-20 years did you see any car from Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Isuzu ?

How about top 10 compact car and top 10 sub-compact ?

There are absolutely no data to support the claim either Mitsubishi, Suzuki or Isuzu as good as Toyota and Honda.

I repeat this again: 2 companies are selling similar products in USA, one is growing over the last 20-25 years and one is shrinking selling less and less every year. Which one is better ?

 

[hpb]

I don't know the answers to your questions. Maybe you can tell me why Civic and Accord sell poorly in Australia?

Anyway, regarding Mitsubishi, I humbly agree to disagree with you. My opinion of them is based on actual real world experience, having driven hundreds of thousands of kilometres in their various models over the years, not some reports I read on the internet.

Luckily for Mitsubishi, there's a place just outside the USA called The Rest Of The World, and they're doing quite well there.

Oh and in response to the original topic of this thread...it was clearly the fault of the person who installed the oil filter!

 

[HTSS_TR]

If you were a CEO of an automaker which market do you like to put most of your resources in design/engineer your vehicles to fit in ? US with more than 15 millions a year or Australia with less than 2-3 millions a year ?

Selling any vehicle is not an easy task, you need good dealer network and good advertisement budget, you need vehicles that fit the market. All companies have limited budget, they can only compete well in some markets.

Honda was a small car company in the '70s and '80s, they couldn't expand and compete in their own Japanese market so they look outside to expend. Same for Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Isuzu ...they all tried to compete in the lucrative US market.

I think there is no more open car market than US, all you need are good vehicles, good dealer network and some advertising budget then you can easily success. The most importance is good vehicles and Honda showed that it wasn't hard to success in USA.

PS If you search for the first ever Honda car sold in America, it was N600. You will see that that car wasn't up to any standard of any country in late '60s, but they didn't surrender. They tried harder and then came the Civic then Accord ...

 

[hpb]

Of course, I'd aim for the US market, it's the most lucrative.

I accept that Mitsubishi and Suzuki are fading in the US, but I completely reject your assertion that it's due to poorly built, unreliable vehicles. It appears they either don't market themselves well, or they simply don't supply the types of vehicles Americans want.

As mentioned before, Accord and Civic sell poorly in Australia, Corolla and Camry are always near the top - should I conclude that Hondas are unreliable junk? Of course not. They don't sell because here, Honda is seen (incorrectly) as a "snobby" brand, with overpriced vehicles and servicing.

So really, Honda have an image problem here, not a rubbish product. And I believe that's probably the case with Mitsubishi in the US. But for you to equate poor sales with poor reliability is somewhat narrow minded in my view, and to completely ignore the experiences of others, such as myself, who've had excellent service from Mitsubishi vehicles, shows an inability to see both sides of a story. Do you actually have any firsthand experience of Mitsubishi vehicles having issues?

I have, however, enjoyed our discussion, even if everyone else is sick to death of it

 

[Silk]

I'll have a go too while we've got him on the ropes. A trade mag gives us sales figures every month - Mitsubishi sits at 6th, Honda at 10th, Mitsi here outsells Nissan,Suzuki VW and Honda. Mitsi obviously has products Kiwi's want, Honda does not. Nothing wrong with Honda quality, or Mitsubishi quality.

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: Jetronic
the longer filter is the correct one, the short fat one doesn't fit - regardless of any other mistakes made.


Yes it does- functionally. Neither of those filter numbers caused the problem. Perhaps one failed, but it would have been a fluke failure, unrelated to it's part number.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: hpb
I don't know the answers to your questions. Maybe you can tell me why Civic and Accord sell poorly in Australia?


Interesting. Is that because the cars are too large, or too expensive for that market?

 

[steveh]

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search.oap?year=2014&make=Mitsubishi&model=Outlander%2BSport&vi=5179143&keyword=oil+filter. O'reilly lists both filters for the Outlander.

 

[hpb]

Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: hpb
I don't know the answers to your questions. Maybe you can tell me why Civic and Accord sell poorly in Australia?


Interesting. Is that because the cars are too large, or too expensive for that market?


Per my long winded answer above, IMO Honda has an image problem in Oz. The top selling cars here are consistently Camry, Corolla, Mazda 3, Hyundai i30 and Holden Commodore. So it's not a "size" issue, and the Honda's are priced more or less the same as their opposition. In the past, Honda's were known for being expensive to service, and therefore developed a reputation as being cars bought by snobs, and I think that stigma is still around today. Funny how manufacturers are perceived so differently from one country to the next!