14th Mar 2010, 10:20

I wrote the other review of the 2009 Lancer GTS. I have the Tarmac Black Pearl, I'm getting paint chips on the front of my hood and it looks like the passenger back wheel well clear coat is starting to come off. Been fighting with them for awhile and they're feeding me the same line like everyone else. Frankly, I suggest not getting one, if you do. Get the total 3M Package and rock deflector you might be able preserve something then. It's sad that my 1999 Neon looks better then this piece of garbage. Mechanically wise, it's been great.

21st Apr 2010, 11:53

1500-2000 RPM is a low range for a four cylinder to be driven at. Four cylinder engines need to be driven at a higher RPM in order to generate the power necessary to really move the car.

The GTS model is tuned to develop more power, but it is also tuned to do that at a higher RPM. I can't think of a single four cylinder manual transmission car that doesn't make that "grinding" noise when driving under 2000 RPM. Pushing the pedal "more than halfway" when driving between 1500-2000 RPM will make the engine "lug," which contributes to the sound that you are hearing. Start shifting at a higher RPM to avoid the RPM range that is making the grinding sound; either that or get used to the sound.

21st Jun 2010, 18:39

I've owned several 4 cylinder standard cars from MR2s to Sunfires, and revving below 2K is something I never do! I normally shift at 3K and up. They normally idle at 900K, so driving at just over 1K at idle in a 4 cylinder car is low.

If you're referring to that boggy, sluggish sensation an engine experiences at low RPMs, it's nothing to worry about.

I was thinking about purchasing a 2009 GTS, as slightly used ones are fairly cheap. Maybe a decent aftermarket paint job should be in order though.

9th Sep 2010, 02:24

I think you are a little bit hard on the Lancer when you give it a 3/10 reliability mark. I mean, nothing really has broken on this car right? You have this chipping/scratching issue and you hear a noise in 4/5th gear?

The chipping problem is a standard issue on most new cars with water based paint. It's all the same all over, and it's not a pure Lancer problem.

I don't know what the transmission noise is, but in my experience transmissions aren't all silent. I've also experienced various noises on different transmissions, but still these have worked fine.

20th Oct 2010, 10:57

This scratching issue, is this just isolated to the solid color paint or the metallic paint as well? We have metallic paint and few chips/scratches. At least not more than on other types of cars.

In general, paint on newer cars is water based and not so durable as "old" paint (not water based).

6th Dec 2010, 19:11

I own a 2009 Lancer DE. I have owned about 8 cars prior to the Lancer. I can easily say that it is the worst and would not recommend it to anyone.

1) Terrible paint. The car is scratch prone and scratches very easily. I have been driving the same route to work for years. Never experienced scratches with other vehicles I owned.

2) Radio broke. They replaced it and damaged my dashboard. The replacement radio had a broken CD. It's been 2 months and I still don't have a radio that works.

3) Terrible mileage for a 4 cylinder.

4) No power in first gear. You will have problems overtaking any car from the lights. No first gear power at all.

5) Terrible customer service. I was booked for an oil change for 8:30 am and no one showed up until 9 am.

6) There are MANY other little things too many to list that just make the car poor.

My wife has a Mitsubishi Outlander and the windows fell. It took them a year to fix it. I called the Mitsubishi Canada office and it's almost like a home based business. You ask them where they are located and they don't tell you.

Extremely disappointed with Mitsubishi and would not recommend it to anyone.

9th May 2011, 12:34

We have some paint issues ourselves. Generally we take good care of our cars, and they are garaged. My wife even has an indoor garage at work. Still, this car has an incredible amount of scratches and chips. It's non metallic, ie solid paint (black).

I've never come across any cars that scratch and chip that easily. The paint quality is questionable. We've had a dozen other cars, and our driving style is unchanged.

Can anyone else comment on this? I hear this a lot; the Lancer having poor paint quality.

Besides that; a very good cars with minimal problems. But after less than 2 years, the cars look less than pristine. We've got a Ford now as well, twice the age, three times the mileage. And it has less chips, and even less visible scratches on it.

15th Nov 2011, 19:09

These days, everything is regulated to be more eco and environmentally friendly. Nothing is made like it used to be. My 1st car, a 1990 Oldsmobile 88 had incredible paint, and still does because I know the person who owns it. Even my Eldorado I had years ago had awesome paint.

These newer car's paint quality won't hold up to older cars. I had a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix, black paint job, and it had more rock chips than I had ever seen. I took great care of the paint, made sure it had a good coat of wax, and the front bumper looked white because of the rock chips.

I just recently purchased a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer ES, white, a couple days ago, and I love it. The Charger I traded in for the Lancer had a somewhat OK paint job. It was dark gray, and if you were to run your fingernail lightly over the paint, it would scratch it.

6th Mar 2012, 17:05

I have a 2009 Lancer GTS with 78170 miles on it and I LOVE my car. Beware of other doors being knocked into your car. This car is almost like a plexi material, if you bump it out, you can bump it back in. You can actually pull the dents out yourself and replace an unaligned window, being careful with the screws!! I took my car thru some stuff, but it still looks almost brand new. Also, since I've owned my car, when I start it up, there has always been a clicking noise. I've always wondered what it is, but I don't worry about it.

Speaking of the paint.. they discontinued the color of my car (Rotor Glow/Metallic Orange) and I'm starting to get like a peeling look to it...

Anyway, I'm looking to get a 2014 Lancer GTS and just DRIVE... if they have it!!

21st Jul 2012, 22:47

The noises you are hearing are normal. The hiss is your master cylinder pushing fluid under a lot of pressure into your brake lines. The second noise is your A/C clutch engaging. The AC pumps pulley spins free until you turn your AC on, then a clutch is engaged, locking the pulley to the compressor. Hope this helps.

15th Feb 2014, 21:58

Regarding your brake pedal making a noise when you push it, that is normal, but on some cars it's more pronounced than others. It would take too long to explain how a power brake booster works here, so just Google it and you'll understand why it might hiss.

Similarly, it is normal for the A/C to make a click or similar noise when it cuts in, and once again, some makes and models are louder than others. I own a 2011 Lancer SX, and I agree the A/C compressor makes a louder than usual noise when it cuts in, but it's normal for this model. I also agree with the comments about paint quality, because mine has suffered badly from stone chips. My son bought the VR-X version shortly after the current series was released in 2007, and his paint chipped easily as well.