Mitsubishi Commercial Range

This is another common question, but it’s one without a simple answer as the Triton’s transmission is not designed to have its fluid checked by the owner. As such, it has no dipstick, because Mitsubishi says the transmission is a sealed system and doesn’t need to have the level checked. Which is fine until the gearbox develops a leak and some fluid escapes. But that isn’t in the plan according to Mitsubishi.

The fluid is only supposed to be inspected when the transmission is serviced, which happens from underneath the vehicle. At that point, the transmission is drained of all its fluid and the specified amount replaced. Which is absolutely no help to you wishing to check the fluid level and condition as a (sensible) preventative maintenance measure.

Freezing the owner out of any potential home maintenance might be a great way to save money on the production line, but it doesn’t do much for those of us who like to keep an eye on our cars before niggles become problems.

Squeaking when a car’s suspension moves up and down is usually down to a couple of things. Either there’s wear in a ball-joint or suspension bush, or the bushes and joints are full of dry dust. Have you driven the Triton off-road in sand or dust recently? You might find that some dust has managed to work its way into the rubber bushings and is causing the noise.

At worst, you may have damage to something in the suspension that is placing a load where it shouldn’t or perhaps even rubbing where it shouldn’t. With the vehicle securely parked, you can climb underneath and have a friend use their body weight to bounce the vehicle on the spot. If you’re lucky, you might be able to pin-point the source of the squeak.

Let’s go back to basics here: Is there water in the reservoir? It might sound like a silly question, but many owners don’t think about routine maintenance like this, mainly because modern cars are so reliable in the first place.

If there is water in the reservoir, can you hear the washer pump motor when you hit the lever for the washers? If you can, then there could be a blockage in the line somewhere (it wouldn’t be the first time an insect or dust has blocked one of these tiny tubes). If you can’t hear the motor, the problem is most likely an electrical one and could be anything from a fried pump motor to a simple blown fuse.

Don’t be confused by the wipers working and the washers not; they’re two very separate systems.