Hello All,

My fiancee is having a strange issue with her 03 Outlander and I thought i'd come to the experts for a little guidance so I hope you can help. As I said, she has an 03 that tends to make a loud droning/humming noise as the speed increases. The noise usually begins around 50 miles per hour. Once we hit 65, it generally subsides. The performance doesn't seem to be affected and the noise occurs regardless of added factors, I.E. air conditioner on/off, heat on/off or anything like that.

I've searched through a number of the threads but I can't seem to find anything that has the same description. If anyone has an idea of what the problem is, please give us a heads up. Thanks in advance. be safe!

Well if it's engine noise, the Outlander is known to burn through the weaving on the flex pipe. Therefore making engine noisier under load.(2WD part # MN180578; AWD part # MN180579) I think Mitsubishi is replacing these for free up to 160 kms. They replaced mine at 155kms at no cost.

Now if it is roaring it could be your rear upper control arm bushing and or dogbone bushings that are gone and misaligning your rear wheels. If you have excessive tire wear inside this might be your problem. Also rear will tend to wonder a bit.

Lastly it could be the steady bearing on the drive shaft if your Outlander is an ALLWHEEL drive.

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Get your exhaust looked at. Like the guy above said the flex pipes are notorious for disappearing.

Just came upon a couple of work orders with similar problems. Earlier 2003 models did not have the baffle a top the valve train (Seen in first picture in black plastic) and when the air filter got dirty or cloged the engine would get very noisy during MIVEC intervention which occurs approximately between 3500rpm to 6000rpm. The filter has to be really dirty for this noise to appear. So you might want to check the air filter. The picture shows the modification that was made to reduce air intake noise by adding this baffle. Second picture shows there first attempt to reduce air intake noise where you can see that small baffle a top the air filter box. Just past the air intake trumpet is the water seperator.

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Hey guys,

Thank you for the quick responses. I've got some excellent leads here, so I've obviously got to take a closer look and get to the bottom of this. I'll be sure to post my findings. Thanks again!