True, but you can find that about S2000s or any other car as well if you look hard enough. Hell, even the new BMW E92 series, a car that is centered around build quality over performance, has cheap bits here and there. The seatbelt assist arms are flimsy and fall apart sometimes, and this is on a 45-50k luxury car. Do they all fall apart? No, but from the number of complaints you'll see on all the bimmer forums, you'd think it happened to every single car.

Never once did I not acknowledge the problems that the OP is having. I just said that there's no sense in whining about them when they are all covered under warranty and are relatively trivial in the grand scheme of things. There's nothing narrowminded about that. You seem to feel as though I was attacking you, but that was not my intention at all. The reason I said that you were being narrowminded is because you were using your own personal experiences with your S2000 to substantiate your claims in a conclusive, "this applies to everything" sort of way, and you can't do that because it's not realistic.

Who's getting huffy? I'm just laying down the facts and giving clarification on a few points in the process.

 

good thread...lots of gotchas..

 

And this has to do with what? I never said that there aren't other cars that have flimsy pieces or issues. However, if you read through this thread, you'll find almost EVERYONE saying "It's an Evo - it's about performance, not build quality!" Why do they say it? Because build quality is comparatively lacking in the Evo, even the X.

Who wants to spend time at the dealership constantly? What you consider trivial and what the OP (or I, or others) consider trivial are probably very different things. If I daily drive a car, I don't want it buzzing and rattling all the time. Very annoying, regardless of how fun it is to drive.

I know that any car can have issues. I also know that trends are easily established. I can tell you all the probable issues you'll have with an S2000 (tight gearbox before it's warmed up, heatsoak issues in hot weather at a stop light, tears in the top within four years, to name a few) but I can also tell you that the interior won't buzz and rattle. Your kidneys might, though.

I know a lot of people with S2000s (was at a meet with 60+ S2000s a few weeks ago) and in general, they have found them to be trouble-free. Torn tops are the biggest complaint of new buyers after a while and Honda has a TSB out to replace prematurely worn/torn tops. The gearbox is usually tight for the first few miles until it's warmed up and the car heatsoaks in hot weather when at a standstill.

"Facts".

What I am seeing is that the Evo X is a mechanically well-built car (the engine should be bulletproof, even with moderate mods) with better build quality than before but yet it still lacks in the little details: body kit fitment, trim pieces poorly clipped or built in (seat belt guides, for one), and chipping paint. The clutch issues are still up for argument since we know that half the people with Evos are beating on them in some form or fashion or else can't drive properly, which is the case for quite a few people that own any vehicle with a manual transmission.

To attack (as many have) the OP because of his perceptions and expectations of quality in a car at this price level is both unfair and juvenile. While it does appear that he's not the most conscientous in maintaining his vehicle, that doesn't address his fit/finish issues in any way. The fact that they can be fixed (time will tell) doesn't change the fact that there was a problem in the first place. It's no surprise that the initial fun factor of the Evo could be overshadowed by the niggling problems when the owner daily drives it. Not everyone is hardcore and is happy with great performance alone.

 

I've noticed that those with the strongest opinion on the matter of the X's build quality don't even own one.

 

As I said, read back through this thread and see what all the OWNERS are saying, namely, it's an Evo - it has a great drivetrain and chassis. Everything else is hit or miss.

 

If you want a plush, non-plastic dash and leather trimmings, you can pay for it with a BMW, Porsche, or other pricey marquee. The expectations in terms of overall performance and interior quality of some people at the mid-30k price point is borderlining on absurd in this thread.

 

As a consumer, I honestly have to disagree. OP never states he wants plush this and that and leather trimmings. He wants a hassle free car. Especially when leaving a car stock, I seriously expect the car to be without much of what has cropped up - i'm not talking about what this guy has mentioned, but overall problems. It's absurd the arguments that X owners are making to defend their purchases.

The only valid point a X owner can make is that their car is not having problems - yet on this forum they're trying to force the opinion onto others that they need to live with the problems their car is giving them. Someone even said to get off the forums so he doesn't have to see this guy *****ing?? Ridiculous. I hope you guys understand I'm saying this completely from a consumer standpoint.

 

I'm a consumer too and much like many of the consumers here who own Xs, I have had no problems with mine (or minor problems that were easily resolved).

Go to any car forum on the Internet and read the forum anecdotes and you'll be sure to find similar posts about quality and reliability, some are founded in reality, others are suspect. However, to use a handful of anecdotes to draw finite conclusions about a car's reliability is downright asinine and judging by your posts, it's quite clear you've given a great deal of credence to these individuals which leads me to believe you've got an agenda regarding the X.

Further, I find complaints about rattles (which are a decidedly small problem and are all too common with any new car) and paint chips/swirls (which is usually a product of care and usage) to be silly and not worthy of 16 pages of debate.

 

But ALL cars have problems. These are very minor problems in comparison to what I've seen other cars go through. The reason rattles are even being debated is because it's the only one that has any significance. And it's the one that means the least to most performance car owners, but obviously not everyone.

Isn't it enough to point out that all cars have issues? We now have a 16 page thread over very minor issues. It'd be one thing if his engine blew, or his transfer case was whining, or his transmission broke, or his dash was literally falling apart, or his electrical was frying, or his upholstery was tearing, etc. But nothing major is happening. He has a few SMALL issues that can be remedied easily. A lot of people that buy cars in this class don't get it so lucky.

To your logic, you're trying to equate any problem as a big problem. That isn't quite fair, when put extra work in creating a very stout aluminum block engine, a rigid All-Wheel Drive system, and a budge performance car that creams a lot of more expensive cars. You can't say that a minor problem is a big problem. Would you rather them be Subaru and have to deal with blown engines? Or how about Nissan and having to deal with transmission issues?

On top of it all, we look at that OP's maintenance history, and it seriously takes away his credibility. As you've noticed by reading through this thread other X owners only chime in with rattles because that's the only similar problem we can find?

In the end of the day there will always be lemon cars. To determine if this guy abused it, has a lemon, or has found something that will doom us all won't be determined unless all of our cars start literally falling apart.

Also, keep in mind that this is a enthusiast forum. There are going to be more problems than praise. That's the nature of the beast.

I see you debating the X quite a bit, why is that? I'm actually responding to another post where you are trying to make the X look bad. Do you have something against the Evo X to start with?

 

i give you this one ...

 

My agenda is regarding the overall quality of Mitsubishi, quality of aforementioned product, reception by consumers, and reception by prospective consumers. I'm not talking about the X's performance - this could literally be any car. Like I've said over and over, frankly it's about the acceptance of these problems by X owners - like I said, when your car doesn't have any problems and you say this is a small minority, that's one thing. But when others are having problems and people are telling them to suck it up because its an Evo that's an entirely different thing.

As far as my "agenda".. I've stated several times that I don't think the '10 X will have any of these issues, or at least as much as the '08 X. But the '08 X guys are still going out of their way point out how these problems are not actually 'problems'..

 

About that stout engine. That requires a warranty-breaking aftermarket tune to run properly. Bulletproof and pig rich isn't exactly what I'd call a stellar finished product. Doesn't mean it doesn't have a ton of potential, only that the majority of owners on here have complained/commented about how the car ran right off the showroom floor.

True, and others mentioned it earlier. This guy may have never cleaned the interior in his life and the rattles may be from solidified french fries rolling around in his floorboards, for all we know.

True, but again, look to what the OTHER owners in here said, namely, that they don't expect a well-fitted interior with these cars. Some have it and some don't but pretty much NONE of you expected it.

That says a lot.

 

It's pretty bulletproof (look at ETS making 681whp on stock block and stock engine internals. As far as pig rich, did that on purpose so every evo driver wouldn't take advantage of the 400chp that it would put out. Not everyone that buys a $30k car can handle that much power. I do agree the tune could have been better, but as ETS explained to me that was intentional. The car still performs fine though. Most people would never notice this.


Personally, I knew about the squeaks and rattles before I bought my MR. I did a lot of research (like I do on any purchase) before I got rid of my VIII and with with the X MR. Hell, my glove box was rattling when I bought the car. I knew about this and knew this is how performance cars are. Every performance car I've ever been in has had a rattle. Yes even the lamborghini murcielago. Yes even Perrin's GT-R. It's the nature of the beast. But I knew that. It doesn't mean it should be accepted. I wouldn't ever want to discourage a company from pushing the bar on quality. I don't think any of us would. I think we're just saying that it's well known that this happens, and we must accept it a little more than most other classes of cars.

Personally I hate rattles, and that's why I hunt them down and take them out. I have one left in my seatbelt mechanism (it's the button), but I think some fabric tape will take care of this.

 

The ones with the strongest opinions of how "livable" the problems that the OP, and others are having, claim they don't even have half of these problems anyway.. Yet they're forcing their opinion down the throats of the very few X owners that are actually bothered by them..

Honestly this is all a little ridiculous. Sure, there is a point of "what do you expect" from Mitsubishi.. I guess not six sigma quality

 

Guys, keep in mind I also have a 2008 Lancer DE and had a 2008 Lancer GTS.

They all equally had the same rattles, considering they all pretty much share the same interior.

So you guys can keep going on about your rattle free Mitsubishi, but I have 3 with the same problem. I live in an area with smooth roads, no speed bumps, and low driveways.
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I've wanted a Mitsubishi since 2001 and know what I was getting into. But if the problems I mention don't justify this car being problematic, what does? It seems any problem anyone will ever bring up, always has a "but BMW has this issue too!" reply. To what point is it okay for us to say "okay, this car does have some issues.." ?
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I don't regret my purchase, and I really like my Evo and I really like(d) my 2 Lancers. I'm just here reporting my issues, I'm not suggesting to anybody that they shouldn't buy a Mitsubishi and I'm not here to promote Mitsubishi as a bad brand.