Hey everyone. Been lurking these forums for about a month now and I've gone up and down all the threads at least twice searching for info. I'm shopping for a new car and the Lancer appeals to me most. Love the looks and the bang for your buck value.

What i'm really worried about is the RELIABILITY of the Lancer GTS. Here's is a list of the problems i'm currently aware of:
1. Paint chipping
2. Transmission/relays dying (only aware of this in 2008...does it exist in 2009?)
3. Leftward pull on the car when not holding wheel.

Are there any other common problems? Or were any of these problems fixed in the 2009 version?

At the moment, I'm debating between the Lancer GTS and the Civic EX. I'd much rather get the lancer but the reliability of the civic is very appealing (especially since most mitsubishi dealers appear to be scam artists...and generally unhelpful).

I hope to hear good news. :unsure:

Hey Shinto555 and welcome to the forum. I've had my 2009 lancer for only two months, but I was wondering about the same thing before I bought this car. So far I have only two chips and they are extremely small. No relay issues (I think this might have been fixed for the 09s) and my car rides straight. As far as the dealers go, there have been a few that I talked to when buying the car that were great to work with so I think that just depends on which ones you talk to. I hope this helps a little, but there are people here who have more time with the car and can give a more experienced answer. I hope that you are happy with w/e you choose. :beer:

I drive a 2008 and have had problems with the paint chipping and that is it. I recomend the 3M stoneguarding if your going to buy the car, maybe even try and get your dealership to throw it in for free and as for the transmission/relays dying this has never happened to me, and my car also does not pull to the left when I am not holding the wheel. Maybe I just got lucky.

I have an 09 GT, I bought it about 3 months ago. So far I have:
1 long scratch from puppy paws
1 scratch along the top from the hose of the pressure washer
countless stone dings
This paint isn't the best, I'd advise getting a paint pen (or 3). As far as the paint protection from the dealership - don't waste your money. Take it home and put some high quality wax on it. I would recommend getting the undercoat though - the road noise on this car is pretty bad.

Oh, and just so you know, All salespeople are greasy. Cars, furniture, vacuums, it doesn't matter. When you go in, don't look for a monthly payment. Get them to break the price down, so you can see where the money is going. All of a sudden you will notice you are paying for crap that you don't want. Once you're happy with the price leave and calculate it out yourself just to make sure they don't add it in when they give you the monthly payment.

This car handles very well (150 km on gravel anyone?) and has a decent amount of power for the small engine. Destroys the civic in looks imo.

I have the 09 GTS and so far i havent experienced any tranny problems, i have a manual though dont know if thats to the CVT or what

The paint is crap, but hell i live down a dirt road and i dont notice that many dings, then again ive only had my car for 2 months.

My car has never ever pulled to the left, i was thinking a way to resolve that would to be just add 5 psi more in the left side, but i havent had this problem.

As for what this guy said the car handles great. an it definitely looks better than the plain jane civic.

basically,

If you want to have a boring economy car, hop on the band wagon and buy a civic, corolla, 3, focus, etc. If you want to drive a car that looks faster than it is, buy a lancer ;)

Got my 09 manual trans in june...

1 - I have no chipping problems. Got scratched in the car wash pretty bad. Got a small ding from another cars door.
2 - no trans, relays, or any other problems at all.
3 - I have no pull when not holding the wheel and just driving normal, but if you drop it in 2nd gear, take the rpm's to 6000 and try to pass another car on the cars left side, when you turn the wheel to the left it not only pulls that way, it jumps to the left - you have to hold on when jumping on the gas and turning the wheel left - just the nature of front wheel drive without limited slip diff on it. (many cars do this)

I think the question you have to ask yourself about reliability is how long do you plan on having the car. A few years, not to worry. 5-6 years, something may go wrong, like any other car, but if you can work on it, then again no problem. If you want a 10 year car, that will require min work, then IMHO, get a toyota. They are the best built and most reliable cars made today. (my 06 solara was just built better than the mitsu, but the mutsu out performs it and is lot more fun to drive). Down side of toyota, no performance. Mitsu is all about raw performance, they aren't too concerned with how your dash seams, seats, or carpets will look in 5 years.
You want the small details perfect = toyota or maybe honda
You want a hot car that performs = mitsubishi lancer

I have a 09 manual trans GTS since July

- Small rock dings on the rear doors near the rear tire (4 or 5 on each side) but realy small for now so not a problem. I will probably get the 3M clear before it's too late.. and 1 scratch on one rear door from a bicycle or something.

- Never pulled to the Left

- Never had any problems what so ever

I think the pain is fragile, but not that bad either. The interior plastics scratch realy easily.

In canada, we get a great warrenty: 5 years or 100 000km bumper to bumper and 10 years or 160 000km on motor, trany, wheel beerings, etc... And the only time i had to go back to the dealer for service, (they forgot to put my looks on my mags) the service was amazing...

And the look + equipment for the price of this car kills everything else out there right now !

I tried: Honda civic, Honda accord, Nissan altima coupe, Mazda 3 (wife's car) and a couple of others... and when i tried the Lancer, it killed any doubts i had...

Yes it has some small problems, like you will get with any other car, but all in all... it's a great little car !! And with the great warranty that we get... no worries...

Great answers so far

As far as reliability though it depends on how well you keep care of your car too. If you treat your car like shit it's not going to last long but if you do your regular maintanence and keep it running it will last a lot longer than you think.

Wow, thanks for all the replies!

So it appears that most people are having lots of paint problems which is sad but not a deal break for me. I'm glad no one has posted yet about transmission problems as that was my primary concern.

Going back to the point NY-09GTS made about how long i'm gonna keep the car. My guess would be between 5 and 10 years. If i only run into 2 or 3 problems during that time i'd prolly be fine with that. I just don't want something that's in the shop every other month.

One other thing, i'm planning on getting the CVT transmission, not the manual. My general impression is the manuals have more problems than the CVTs...is this true? Also, i've read the CVT saps a lot of power from the car and i'm not really sure why that is, does anyone know?

A small thing i'm also wondering...how hard is it to repaint certain portions of the car? Is it jsut a matter of sanding the area and then applying a few coats of spray paint? any help appreciated.

Not sure abt the manual tranny but my CVT does performs well,shift smoothly and the only thing about it is not that fast as the manual transmission.Beside that i am also awared most of the previous lancer also had paint problems,so not suprised if these lancer 08/9 does too.Yeah if you want a very realibility car then go for Toyota,my father bought a Toyota corolla which is back 20years ago and its still running properly.

I'm not sure where you got that the manuals give more problems, but I've driven both and I decided on the manual. The CVT did seem to draw a bit of power away, but I guess that's jsut the nature of the beast :laughing: It's my understanding that the power is taken away due partly to the belt in the tranny slightly slipping and the fact that an ECU has to calculate and control its actions continuosly. That feed back loop creates a slight lag meaning that it's not actually at it's optimum point, but pretty close. Maybe somebody with more info could shed more light on this subject. As long as you know what your doing in a manual you should have no more issues with it then a the CVT though.

By the way spray painting your car doesn't seem to be a good idea. I know that there are some touch up kits out there for small chips and the like so if you're worried about fixing the paint, there are options. I'd go with the clear bra and mud flaps if you're that worried though. Hope that answers some of your questions.

I drove the 2008 CVT Lancer GTS for about 8 months before it got hit and I then traded for a 2009 Lancer GTS M/T. The M/T is better for me for reasons that may not matter to anyone else, power being one of them. The reason for the CVT taking away power is the torque steering. Google it and you will have more info then anyone could tell you in a post. Either way you go you should enjoy the car while you have it. Buy a car because you know you WILL enjoy it, not because you THINK you may be happy with it.

Oh yeah, 3M and mud flaps are a must for a new Lancer!!!

we traded in my wife's '06 civic coupe on our Lancer. All she had for warranty was 3yr. 36K bumper to bumper warranty. she had continued problems with the sun visor on the driver's side. it was replaced twice under warranty and just before trading had broken again but was out of warranty. She also had issues with her cd player not working intermittently but the dealer was unable to duplicate the issue so it didn't get fixed. Also her car was a 1.8L and had no power. Also the engine was buzzy in the upper rpms. the sheet metal on the honda is a little thicker and less prone to dings. The Lancer has a 5 yr. 60K bumper to bumper warranty and 10 yr. 100k mile p/t warranty. the 2.4L is a smoother more powerful engine. the manual transmission in this car is smoother and gives a better feel than the 5 speed in her honda. her honda clutch always engaged very high and just generally had a poor feel. the lancer is much smoother. Also the civic was louder at highway speeds. we may trade a little reliability for performance and style but we deffinately thought it was worth it. I think mitsu is underrated for reliability. I've worked in the car business for about 3 years and anytime we trade for an older high mileage mitsubishi its usually in good shape and doesn't need much reconditioning compared to other makes and models. I just realized you were more interested in the auto. I wouldn't have anything with a cvt unless it was a new maxima or something with plenty of power. Cvt's are great on gas and reliability but rob power. the cvt's in our dodge calibers are supposed to last 300K miles.

Well, the more replies i read in this thread...the more I want to get the lancer. I especially like that I've only seen one lancer in my college town. I want the originality factor :laughing:

I'm wondering about the rallyarmor mudflaps and the 3m cover material. I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE WITH FIXING OR MODDING CARS. Will doing these things be difficult for me? Will i need to take them to a shop to have them done? or can any fool (me) figure it out?

Also, regarding the painting i want to do...I just want to paint the front bar black to look like the evo. I've seen the other threads and it looks real nice. However, the directions weren't explicit enough for a noob like me. I've seen posts talking about vinyl as an alternative to the paint. Does anyone have links to where i can buy the paint and the vinyl? And what the heck is clear coat? I"m confused.

The mudflaps could be put on by a newbie who doesn't know what a phillips head is.
The 3M is a clear film, like vinyl, that is best put on by a pro
When it comes to the front bumper, I suggest using vinyl for the reason that it won't chip any paint and it is reversible if need be. Look for it on ebay if you want it pre-cut for more $$$.