1989 Mitsubishi Precis LS 1.5 L4 carbureted
Summary:
Good student car or temporary cheapo
Faults:
Alternator failed twice in 1 winter. It seems to burn out during slow driving in snow. It is mounted on the hot side of the block and receives little airflow.
Muffler rusted off around 50K. Replaced with a 15$ glass-pack I found on sale. Just 2 clamps and some wire to the stock hanger.
CV joints were beginning to tick after 60K miles.
Factory pale blue paint chipped easily and allowed surface rust on rear wheel wells. During my senior year in high school, I took a body shop vocational class just to fix the looks. We painted it gloss black #1. Then it looked real nice with brushed stainless wheel covers.
Factory speaker openings only fit pip-squeakers. I just put full-sized home speakers in the back; the 45° hatch reflected the sound perfectly. Thrift stores rock.
General Comments:
It was my first car, a hand-down from my mother. It was the LS hatchback mid-level package. No AC, PL, or PW, just AT, rear wiper, and sunroof (which never leaked BTW). The ventilation blow-through was actually really good because the 1/4 windows flip open.
After I replaced the rusted muffler with a glass-pack I bought on sale, the car was no louder than with a stock muffler because the exhaust pipe and catalytic converter are restrictive enough to muffle all noise.
The 1986-90 carbureted 1.5L mitsu was a total slug. This car accelerated in 23 seconds 0-60 mph. Full throttle, fresh tune. If I remember correctly it was rated at ~63 hp.
Fuel mileage was terrible for such little power: 24/29 mpg. That's with a 3-speed automatic.
The engine is very noisy above 2500 RPM and feels poorly balanced. Still, I got a speeding ticket going almost full-blast 67 mph in a 55 zone. It became an oil guzzler after ~45K miles, though it never smoked.
Overall the car stayed pretty tight, despite driving on packed-snow washboard 6 months a year (in Alaska). It grew a little surface rust on 1/4 panels which I fixed.
I'd say it is an excellent first car for a young driver because the controls are intuitive and simple, and it won't run away even going downhill. Speaking of which, the absolute maximum downhill speed it attained was ~90 mph.
Comfort was the weak point - stiff suspension. A little help came from replacing the rear shocks with junkyard parts off a base model. I don't remember if it was older or newer.
I convinced my Mom to sell it because the CV joints started to tick faintly at 60K miles. So I did the full 60K service and away it went.
They are dirt-cheap nowadays. Personally, I would buy a pre-'91 Precis/Excel only if I was in a bad transportation crunch, and only as a temporary solution. The late-period MPFI models were far superior.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 4th August, 2008
31st May 2022, 23:03
In case anyone is still contemplating keeping a Precis/Excel on the road:
North American carbureted versions had an additional intake "jet" mini-valve meant to induce swirl effect for better combustion. It's a common point of failure because the thin stems seize in the bushing and then jetvalve gets broken by the piston or the stem bent by the rocker. A symptom is persistent light misfire that almost goes away above 3k RPM.
Mitsubishi jetvalves don't seal combustion very well either, so the proper mod is to install welded blanks in their holes and then it works on all 4 like a normal engine.
It is normal for these engines to have "Mitsubishi tick" from both the valvetrain and the air-pulse valve to the catalytic.