Yes it does (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

My mom got a 09 lancer gt. Shes picking it up tonight. I really like the look and though that the options it came with were perfect for her (maybe except for the sub in the trunk lol). Ohh and I got the manager at the dealership to put it in writing that when he gets the new 2010 Evo that i will get to test drive it as part of the deal (IMG:style_emoticons/default/460.gif) . After reading this thread im starting to worry that she might have made a bad decisions tho. I drive a 06 nissan Altima and i beat the crap out of it and it just keeps asking for more. never had any problems in the 3 years ive owned it other then stuff that i was modifying. Maybe i should have got her to get a sentra. lol

if u take care of your lancers the will go 250,000 miles+. Theres a guy on here that bought his lancer back in 07 and has over 200,000 miles on it and he hasnt had a single problem out of it.

Mans car... ha. I'm a girl and I love my lancer more than anything. But so far no problems, knock on wood.

That's what I thought at the begining judging by the looks, but turns out 95% of the 08 09 Lancer drivers are women (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

123 000 miles, still no problems at all.

lol oh man you guys are all to much I have had no problems with mine no chips, no leaky trunk, no 4 month blown tranny, no nothing

Where are u guys buying your cars? some sketched out back alley?? theres nothing wrong with the paint some car on the highway yesterday flicked up a stone that hit my hood when i got home i checked it out expecting a chip and nothing.

I have no regrets about buying this car.

MY only issue has been the car has conked out when stopping at the lights, idle dropped too low.
dunno if anyone else has seen this in their car.

the dashboard had a scratch from day one and the join line along the dash is so uneven it drives me mad to look at it.

My car has the 2.4lt and in aus is called VRX model

My 09 GTS idles very low, I would say at 400-600 RPM. When cold it idles at 1000-1500 for a minute or two. I dont think you car should have shutoff at a stop light, if it happens again go in for service. I dont know what to say at the join line, mine seems even and it doesn't bother me looking at it.

i bought a 09 lancer gt april first of 09 and so far only problems i had is one torque relay or something that caused me to lose lots of power while driving in the city, car would barely run, once it cooled off it was fine, got it fixed from the dealership and it has worked perfect ever since, i dont have any other problems with my car including starting, but my sunroof broke once, was not impressed with that, thank god for glass insurance, only cost me 100 bucks for 3700 of damage (needed roof trunk and spoiler repainted also because the glass scratched it up. problems i do not like with this car is that the paint is really thin and chips too easily, and the stereo dies down when bass is not even very loud. other than that i am impressed with my car. got straight piped axleback exhaust and it sounds AMAZING! nice low rumble until it hits 4k rpm and the vvt kicks in than it HOWLS! ordered a fujita short ram intake for my car and eyelids, and am getting tint/undercoating/decals for my lancer in the next month or so.

The weather striping on both rear doors has shrunk and pulled away from the C pillar about an inch. Called the dealership and said ill have to bring it in so they can take pictures...

I've got my Lancer ES' rear tyres out of shape.
I drove from California to Chicago to New York to Ottawa Canada to Chicago with my wife. Rear seat & trunk were full of our bags and some stuff.
Before starting I got the wheel alignment and balancing done. Then on the way after around 1000 miles rear tyres started making weird sound and they were loosing a lot of rubber ( I could see black thick rubber residue on the rear bumper). Got the alignment redone at Canada (it was out on rear wheels).
Again got it checked in Chicago and the guy told me that alignment and suspension is fine, the damage might have happened because of extra load...I think Lancers are not meant for carrying SUV's stuff.
Now my rear tyres are out of shape and make a lot of noise, will have to get them replaced.
Btw, at the start of the journey, the car had done only 10,000 miles.

Could it be really due to heavy load or the rear suspension is not that strong. Any comments ??

bad wheel bearings could cause this, a very heavy weight load would cause abnormal tire wear but shouldnt be as severe as youre describing. Might be worth it to load up the vehicle like it was and then measure alignment specs.

also check tire pressure

yeah, you are right, abnormal tire wear. Now the running looks ok. no rubber residue. Its only noise problem, I think that is coming from uneven tire running on the road.
and its not the bad bearing sound, thats im sure of.

Hmm, well after reading this thread, I'm really reconsidering my decision to pick up a 2010 Lancer GTS in August. Heck, I'm really reconsidering buying any new car until my current Civic bites the dust.

When I buy a car, I expect top shelf reliability. I don't want any paint chips, non starter problems, water in the trunk and whatever else has been mentioned. My 2002 Civic LX has been kicking around since March 2002... I bought it used in the summer of 2005 and it had a barely noticeable dent on the left side near the gas cap... apparently it was 'structural damage' and I could even see the dent on the inside frame of the car.

Since then, I've only had to get the brakes fully replaced, fix the DRL circuit, replace the tires that came with it from the used car dealer, replaced the battery in 2008... that's about it, not including regular oil changes and underbody oil sprays. 165,000+km and still nothing wrong with it, only have to do timing belt/water pump and spark plugs at 176,000km (planning to do it at 170,000km). Paint is excellent, been driving it on the highway almost every weekend between Toronto and Waterloo, no major chips or scratches, just the usual light road rash over the hood and bumper (normal wear and tear). Just give me a car that has my Civic's rock solid reliability, but with a larger 2.5L engine, a handful of new features like ESC/TC, and I'm good. I thought the Lancer GTS was finally the car I had been looking for, but I'm starting to think otherwise.

/sigh

^ Welcome to the board.

Although I cannot speak for the 2010 model year, I can speak for my 2009 Lancer GT. The 2008-2010 Lancers are still pretty new and the term 'reliability' can't really be applied. As with an experiment, having 3 trials does not speak for the overall reliability of the car. I purchased my Lancer in Aug of 2008 and now is on her second winter. The only maintenance I have done so far are regular oil changes; after about 80,000km I am due in for a tranny fluid change, new brakes, new tires, etc...

With the new GTS model, you will be getting the 2.4L displacement MIVEC engine with ESC and TCS included I believe. The Civic has been in the market for a very long time so that would explain why they have had a long run of upgrades. The 4b11 and 4b12 engines are a brand new type of engine that was developed in conjunction with various other companies, dubbed the "World Engine". I am sure once the engines have more time on the market, more reliability news will come up. In the mean time, despite what you have read about this model, I have no regrets about making this purchase.

My advice to you, don't let the negatives fool you. This is a car that will get you from point a to point b and have fun at the same time. There is someone on either this board or evom that has over 170,000km on their Lancer with no issues. So based on that case and my personal experience, there shouldn't be any big engine issues. Your concern, I think, is about the body of the car (paint chipping, etc...). Like you, I do alot of highway driving and I have minimal paint chipping issues. Like you mentioned with your Civic, the only body damage I have is due to overall wear and tear (rocks, salt, etc...)

I hope you take these words to heart and don't label this model as a bad car because of this thread alone.

Regards.

I have a 08 GTS that I bought in June of 08. Love the car to death only thing that I have had to replace is the tires (which were junk) and the wipers other than that no troubles at all. Just put a K&N filter in and saw an instant improvement in gas mileage and throttle response. I have no regrets at all about buying mine and will more than likely buy another one in the future as my wife drives it more than me.

Hi, thanks for your positive comments. I have been looking around extensively for the 'right' car, and here's what I've experienced so far, in point form:

Civic:
- quite weak engine (though still better than my 2002 Civic), but excellent fuel economy
- good and slick manual shifter, ugly shift knob has to go though
- exterior styling was revolutionary for 2006, now it's just 'another civic'
- No VSA/TC on any trim below EX-L and Si
- interior felt like a mix of cheap and good/decent... not TOO bad, really
- a tad too expensive for what it is, Honda knows that these cars will sell regardless

Civic si:
- nice engine, not enough torque for me... only takes premium fuel though
- handles very good, i loved driving it
- excellent manual shifter, wary of 3rd gear problems
- Too expensive for what it is. It really should be priced about $1500 - $1800 lower than what it goes for.

Mazda 3 GT:
- ugly front styling smiley face
- sardine can interior, but nice materials
- good power and torque, not a fan of the rear gear location on the shifter though
- good handling, I loved driving it as well
- ugly front styling smiley face

Subaru Impreza 2.5i:
- bland, generic and boring style... very non aggressive looking
- bland interior... no spice at all
- good torque and power, but felt a bit heavy even though the torque was good
- handling was so-so... felt a bit wallowy
- door handles felt hollow and cheap
- fuzzy seats suck

Toyota Corolla XRS:
- okay styling, but the front looks a bit like an aggressive beetle
- good power and torque, but not as nice as Mazda's or Subaru's
- electric power steering felt surprisingly okay, much more responsive than base Corolla
- nice interior and features, but HVAC controls were too imprecise and cheap looking (minor)
- shifter way too long throws and unbelieveably ugly
- all in all, it should have appealed to me... but I kinda felt it was really missing something that called out to me

Finally the Mitsubishi Lancer:
- drove the SE model (will try the GTS at a later date) to get a feel for a Mitsubishi car
- decent power and torque for the 2.0L engine, I imagine the 2.4L engine will have significant torque and power compared to the 2.0
- good handling, but this is only the SE model... have yet to try the GTS
- very nice aggressive styling, the rear spoiler is a tad overdone, but it seems to fit on a Mitsubishi... it isn't like the picnic tables on the back of Hondas
- interior felt spartan and minimalistic, which isn't really a bad thing
- offset shifter threw me for a bit, but I got used to it really quickly.
- clutch is not as light as other vehicles, but still feels light and good
- nice seats and interior space
- lacking in storage cubbies... centre console looked and felt smaller than competitors
- I understand the GTS interior is supposed to be a bit nicer, but i didn't see too much of a real difference other than chrome handles, etc.


Of course, the 5 year 100,000km warranty and 10 year 160,000km powertrain warranty would influence my decision to pick up a 2010 GTS. Just that these reports of problems is making me stop and think twice - where did you get your GTS from, Athrun? I'm in Waterloo, ON, and the only dealer here is the one at Homer Watson blvd.

I have the trim just below the GTS. Only differences between my GT and your (future) GTS is that the GT comes with the Sun and Sound included. I didn't need or want the leather, paddle shifters, the slightly upgraded tranny, "sport tuned suspension", 18" wheels or the 2.4L displacement. This is my car to take me where I want to go. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the GT or GTS unless you knew what to look for.

It's all in what you need and getting alittle extra. In my case, the GT had everything I wanted with alittle extra (speaker system and sunroof). Paddle shifters and the like on the GTS would have been nice but not necessary in my case. Might be completely different for you.

When I made my purchase, I test drove and researched for over 6 months. I was fully aware of each vehicles strengths and weaknesses. I actually lurked these very boards for over 6 months to see what the overall vibe was for this particular car. Although there are some issues (i.e. paint, power, features, etc...) only the paint issue has come up for me; and even that can be considered normal wear and tear. My previous 2002 Jeep Liberty exhibited the same chips on the hood and front as my Lancer does today so that is a non-issue. None of the other issues have come up for me.

I live in Oshawa and got my baby at the now closed Plaza Mitsubishi on Yonge and Steeles in Thornhill. It's been almost 2 years since I made this purchase and I have no regrets to this day. I love this baby and I will continue to love her until I trade her in for an Evolution in the future. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to post here or even PM myself. If I can't answer your questions, I can always refer you to some of the other 'well known' members here.

Regards.

Hmm, for the 2010 GTS I am looking at getting, it'll be a manual, not CVT, so the paddle shifters do not come with it. It has the leather wrapped shifter and steering wheel, sport fabric heated seats, power heated side mirrors, 18" alloys, rear spoiler, 2.4L engine. I actually think there's something to the sport tuned suspension, maybe a stiffer chassis than usual. As for the 2.4L engine, the extra torque is what I'm looking for... being able to call upon extra power in almost any gear would be nice to have. The sun and sound package is optional, but I don't feel like paying $2700 for a sunroof, upgraded stereo/speakers, leather seats and keyless start.

Although if I do go ahead and get one, I will for sure get a set of RallyArmor mud flaps (or see if I can get some from the dealer), and at least the 3M clear bra protection for the hood.



Thanks for the help, would you be able to PM me some names of people who own 2009 Lancer GTSs, if you know which ones still own one?