hi all,

just bought an 02 reg 1.6 carisma 'mirage' .. low mileage and great price from a mitsu dealer. They even threw in a 12 month warranty, tax, and a mitsu recovery service for a year. The car drives great, and i'm generally pleased..... even though the car is a bit basic spec wise..

Anyway, its done 27,000 miles with service history.. but at idle the car sounds like a diesel from the inside.
Now, I know my engines (although failed to spot this noise on the test drive due to the salesman chattering), and cannot hear any problems other than this..

I dont think its bottom end problems, as the symptoms are not erflective of big end probs.... however i must admit that there is some noise under the engine, but nowhere near as much as inside the car.

Are the 1.6 engines known to have noisy idle?

if it happens to be a gdi, there are prone to noisy lifters which can be difficult/expensive to cure.if it is they should recognize this as it is a known fault.doing an engine flush and hot oil change on occassion helps as well as using fully synthetic oil instead of the factory spec 10w/40 semi synthetic.if this does not cure it it may need lifter replacement.best get the dealer to confirm the noise while you drive with them and let them put your warranty to good use

thanks for the reply.. no its not the GDI.. its the 1.6 unit.

The noise definately isnt top end , its more bottom end. Perhaps a tensioner loose ..

So, is the 1.6 a noisy unit at tickover when heard from inside the car?

i just bought a 1.6 elegance carisma 03 plate 1.6 the car at idle is very quiet !!! get it checked over

1.6 elegance? didnt get it from reg vardy did you? There was one up your way two weeks ago on an 03.. the salesman hassled me no end for days...

cheers for the answer.. will get it listened to i reckon.. its very quiet under the bonnet and when listened to from outside.. but when inside it sounds like a diesel..very odd.

My friend has had 3 Carisma's all 1.6 from new and they were all very noisy when the engine is warmed up and on tickover, as is my 2002 mirage 1.6 with 19000 miles on the clock.

ahhh thanks fountain.. thats very helpful. Would you describe it as sounding like a diesel then?

I more than know my way round an engine, and i must admit this doesnt sound like an ill engine.. it just sounds like a characteristic noisy engine.

Other than that i'm pleased with the car so far... but what on earth were they thinking with those light grey seats :D wont last five minutes without getting mucked up.. so one of the first jobs was to fit seat covers ...

adi just noticed my 1.6 is fairly high revving on starting when cold between 1500 - 2000 revs than dies back to normal just think its a characteristic more than anything.....

ya, mine 1.6 does this similar with higher revs and noise till the engine gets warmed up.

its just a mitsu quirk.. i find the carisma 1.6 a most reliable car prob the most reliable i have owned...