Mitsubishi Reviews

That’s pretty outrageous fuel consumption and equates to about 30 litres per 100km when 10 to 15 litres per 100km is a more realistic expectation from a vehicle like this. And that points to something seriously wrong with the way the on-bard computer is supplying the fuel to the engine.

You need to start by running some checks including the fuel delivery pressure, as well as the various sensors around the engine that determine the fuel mixture. It could be as simple as a dud engine temperature sensor which is telling the computer the engine is stone cold, even though it’s not. But equally, you could have a problem with an oxygen sensor, a throttle position sensor or even a simple vacuum leak. Even a throttle body that is not adjusted properly or a dirty mass-air-flow sensor can throw things out of kilter and cause over-fuelling.

The danger is that, if you continue to drive the vehicle as it is, you’ll not only go broke putting petrol in it, but you might also damage the engine through the excess fuel causing damage to the cylinder bores.

A dirty or clogged fuel filter will stop a modern turbo-diesel engine dead in its tracks. In fact, it’s one of the first things a switched-on mechanic will check on vehicles like yours. So if the mechanic has changed the filter and restored to car to full health, then I reckon he or she has probably nailed the cause and fixed it very simply and cheaply for you.

Let’s be honest; there are literally thousands of things that could go wrong that might make your vehicle stop. Modern cars are very complex things, but you need to have faith that sometimes, simple problems occur and can be fixed simply.

This is an older car now, and although it’s a simpler device compared to most newer cars, there are still thousands of things that can go wrong and cause a loss of performance. A full service and tune would be the first thing to do, as you may find the car is simply not running as well as it should be due to blocked filters, old spark plugs and possibly even stale fuel. A service and tune will rule out that sort of thing.

From there, you need to work out whether it’s the engine that’s the problem, or the transmission, or a poorly adjusted park-brake, or even something in the chassis like a binding brake or perhaps under-inflated tyres. All these things can make a car feel sluggish.

If you (or your mechanic) do decide that it’s the engine at fault, don’t rule out things like a blocked exhaust system, a dud sensor that controls the fuel injection or something simple like a vacuum leak as a result of a missing or burst rubber hose.