2010 Mitsubishi Outlander GT

batman47 · January 2012

It appears that the late 2010 GT comes with plug in accommodation rail roof . My 2010 GT does not have any and the suggested solution was to drill some holes in the roof to hook a rail roof kit. Unfortunately the decision is how much you are emotionally engaged with your GT. I did not opt for the option of drilling holes and therefore I did not have any roof rails on the top of the car.

A member in this forum has described the fitting of a Thule roof rail kit that holds firmly the roof rail kit by attaching Outlander Thule clamps customized for cars without plug in accommodation rail roof. The clamps rest firmly on the edges of the doors. The advantage of this arrangement as well as of those 2012 Outlander GT (plug in) is that you can disassemble the whole configuration at will, which I think is a good idea.

For Outlander GTs with plug in accommodation you may order part# MZ314455 kit ($300). This will provide you with roof rail and cross rail so you may fit a roof rack box.

noeffectx · January 2012

With the multiple racks, as long as the sunroof visor is close...there is minimal to none wind gust sound.

To each is to its own... I'm glad I didnt get the hitch rack for my MTB, I'm using the tail gate a lot often than I would thought, to put on/change for MTB, surfing or snowboarding gears.

My 2010 Outlander GT came fully equipped w/ 7inch Navi touch screen, rockford fosgate sound system w/ 10 inch subwoofer, sunroof, leather & HIDS. The fun starts in my Outlander, then to my outdoor destination, then the drive coming back

batman47 · March 2012

for a look of the next Outlander, check

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/03/06/2013-mitsubishi-outlander-lets-it-all-hang-ou- t/

Give your comments!

fushigi · March 2012

Looks like the split tailgate is gone.

Not too thrilled with the center stack though the black & tan interior is nice for coloring.

The general body style .. I'll reserve judgement until I see it in person & in a color I'd actually consider. I think the general shape is fine but not much of an attention-getter. The grill seems almost like a step back towards the 07-09 nose. Not necessarily bad but IMO less distinctive.

I'm more forgiving of the styling if the hybrid version delivers awesome economy.

BTW I rolled 22K miles yesterday in my '10 GT. The miles don't pile on very fast since I work from home most of the time.

rcpax · March 2012

it looks like a full SUV than a CUV. I love the added tech. We finally get the telescoping steering wheel. MMC President mentioned that. and then he goes to say theyve listened to customer feedback and this Outlander is 100% new, no reused parts.

I guess I'll hold on to my 07 for a while. But definitely the 3rd gen is looking great. FCM, Lane departure, dual zone AC, plugin hybrid, which could be used as generator for brownouts. I just hope they offer a diesel variant for the engine/generator. And it looks like this is the setup that the evo11 (if ever) will have from rumors I heard.

If you guys haven't been to my blog, I have a hi-def 1080p video of the 3rd gen Outlander and the addtional PHEV tech revealed at Geneva here : http://goo.gl/4IzGF

And also, just announced, this power box for the i-MiEV to be used to access the battery for AC power: http://goo.gl/Yo6Ee which could very be made available for the 3rd gen outlander too.

In added news, the MMC president also announced in his speech that hybrid/electric variants would be the norm for the upcoming new models. Styling wise, well, Mitsubishi made it clear that they want a clean design, which is what Japan is know for. Look at how serene a Japanese garden is, more like zen. This is a Japanese car to start with. So I guess were not gonna get that european bling to it. the 3rd row on this thing will be more usable for adults, and tailgate is powered.

personal verdict: I will definitely be buying another one in PHEV form sometime in the future. Might be a 4th gen by then. The phev just takes away the anxiety of ending up with a dead battery. I could really use something like this because my work is like 7 mi only. this would do well for a daily driver.

fushigi · March 2012

Thanks for the videos. I don't think I actually learned much of anything new but it was nice to see a professional presentation (though the twin speakers in the PHEV vid were speaking pretty s-l-o-w-l-y).

Interesting that there was no mention of side-to-side torque vectoring. In AWD terms this may be a step backwards though to be honest for average consumers it won't matter. I do like the way the ICE is combined into it; there's no reason for the ICE to drive the rear wheels at all.

I like the inverter to go from battery back to AC. We have power outages here on occasion and it would be good to be able to power our fridge & freezer if the outage runs long.

As the US release date approaches I'll keep an eye open to see what the final published economy numbers and price will be. And other technical details like battery thermal conditioning. Those will probably help me decide if I want to buy sooner v. later. I love the PHEV idea but am not sure if my personal situation supports buying one as I just don't drive as many miles as I used to. Of course, that can change.

batman47 · March 2012

General information about the 2013 Outlander implies that this car will be sold first in Russia, then in Europe, and then at the end of 2012 in the USA and Australia

Europe will sell 2.0 litre petro (MIVEC) and 2.2 litre diesels, I think. I hope the 3.0 litre variant will be offered (although unlikely) in the USA plus its S-AWD specification. In my opinion the best thing about the Outlander GT is its excellent coordination of steering, suspension, and braking at high speed. It is very enjoyable to drive this car. My 2010 GT has too many spots and scratches inside which may shown poor quality material (plastic + paint). The 2013 Outlander will make serious improvements to this.

Mitsubishi could never solve the design problem that small flying stones from the front caused paint chipping of the rear, so it has opted to start from scratch in the design of this 2013 Outlander. Body apparently seem to have more meat than the previous one, and looks stronger than the previous model. I do not like the alloy wheel design. The goat paw end spokes may make the car wheel noisier.

The 2013 Outlander seems to adopt characteristics of European cars (e.g. BMW, Audi, and Mercedes). Roof cargo seems to follow tendencies of modern cars. This is to say, it is easy to implement a roof box if it is needed.

Most probably its xenon headlights will have automatic washers to comply with international safety measures. The third row of seats has easier mechanism to use and therefore eliminating the cumbersome procedure of previous models. The 2013 Outlander will also eliminate the collapsible (vertical) second row of seats. The second and third row of seats will lay flat all the way providing a lot of cargo area and also an area to sleep on adventure journeys.

Regardless of its front bumper design and rear body design I am particularly just a bit disappointed with this; really what matters, is that the car keeps its wonderful drivability and fun to drive in the new model. I personally I do not believe this will happen with an engine 2.0 litre.

I have doubts that this car will reward us with that swift acceleration that have made the previous Outlander GT so desirable.

I have seconds thoughts now to ask my Mitsubishi dealer to keep the $1000 initial deposit and just wait for 8-months and buy the 2013 model at the end of the year if I could know for certain that this 2013 Outlander will keep its 3.0 litre engine. What is your advice?

Comments said that the car will have a front battery and a rear battery for the plug-in hybrid. I do not think the car will responds like the Outlander GT with its active front limited differential, center mechanical differential and center limited differential. The front limited differential is what makes the GT S-AWD so great to drive on snow, mud, and sand.

Will Mitsubishi stop production of the GT all together? I hope Mitsubishi will offer both models to US customers.

fushigi · March 2012

Engines: I can see no more than 3 offering: 2 + hybrid/PHEV. So they might still do the 4 cyl (inexpensive), 6 cyl (performance/GT), and PHEV (fuel economy). I suppose it depends on the price points.

Outlander, well any Mitsu model, are not going to sell in CR-V numbers so it can be a challenge for Mitsu to offer lots of engine choices. It helps if the other choices are simply imports of options available in other markets. But please no diesel. That'd be a sales disaster in the US; we simply won't buy them apart from a few exceptions (like VW).

Putting down a deposit: I would advise against it for several reasons, including not knowing how much you'll like the ride/drive experience, there never really being that much of an availability issue with Mitsus (again, they don't sell so fast that a model will be tough to find), and putting down a deposit far in advance to me tells the dealer you'll buy the car at any price so your ability to negotiate a good deal when the time comes will be hampered.

Battery: I think the front/rear battery thing is simple confusion. The videos show a centrally located large battery pack. That's the "rear" battery. There will be a front battery, but it'll be just a normal 12V battery like any other car with an ICE has. It'll be used to power accessories and possibly to start the ICE. As for responding like the GT, it'll be different. All torque off the line will be good but passing power won't be as strong. For me the AWD need is almost entirely for driving in winter conditions so if the AWD system isn't as advanced due to integration with the EV side of things, I can live with it.

My concern is if the PHEV costs substantially more than the V6 model after tax/government incentives. If that happens then few people will opt for it.

batman47 · March 2012

Some members will wish to buy an Outlander using the following procedure and save $1500.

1- Have a meeting with the CEO of the Mitsubishi dealership
2- Say that you want to order an Outlander from Japan (because the car you wish to buy is not in the show room)
3- Most probably the CEO will say that you will need to leave a deposit (e.g. $1000)
4- Then you say you want to pay only the invoice / dealer price and not the MSRP

Dealers even selling the car to you at invoice price will still have a fair profit. The Dealer will be committed because it is almost a 100% certain sale.

5- Most probably the dealer will accept your offer.
6- Most probably you will get your car 3-months after

Advantages of this approach:

a- Ask the dealer to provide you with a complete PDI on the car when the car arrives to the US.
b- The accessories and options will be assembled most probably in Japan and the fitting of the items will be much better than those carried out at a local port (e.g. LA, US)
c- You will buy the accessories options that you indeed wanted. You will not need to pay for accessories and options that you do not want as those shown in the show room cars.
d- You can still reject the car if some serious problems arise during the testing (e.g. engine does not start, vibration, doors uneven, body indentation, paint spot, lights not working, etc, etc) which is very unlikely.
e- Mitsubishi has a very stringent quality control in Japan and it is very unlikely that the engine of your new car will not sound as the other GTs.

Disadvantage of this approach
f- If there is nothing wrong with the car, it will be hard to reject the car without losing $1000 and
g- You will lose $1000 if you decide to buy a RAV4 instead of a 2012 Outlander GT

For example the 2012 Outlander I have ordered the MSRP is $30,520 and the Invoice or price I will pay to the dealer before taxes is $29,042. This was the pre-contract arrangement. According to Edmunds the invoice nowadays of the 2012 Outlander GT falls at $28,494 (True Market Price).

Loyalty discount will make the total price to pay before taxes at $28,542.

stever · March 2012

Holdback on Mitsubishi's is 2% of the Base MSRP so the dealer can make money even selling for invoice. (link)

I'd try to make any deposit refundable myself. A lot can happen in the weeks between ordering a car and picking it up.

batman47 · March 2012

There are many OEM parts (accessories, options, and parts) that now can be ordered from the USA directly from Japan. I assume many members have the money to buy, but are unable to order / buy them in the USA market. Usually dealers (part departments) are reluctant to help.

Here is a tentative way to get stuff for your Outlander from Japan:

1- Download the latest catalogue (PDF file) of the Outlander in Japan. Ways to do this have been given in this forum (There are 2-files. One file is concerned with the Outlander itself and the second file is concerned with accessories and options)
2- Part numbers in the Japanese PDF file have the same format as in the US, easy to read and the prices are in yens. Approximately 100 yens is one US dollar
3- Access web page: nst-auto.com/outlander. The page is in Japanese but use google translate to have the page in English. You may order on line but you can request your stuff by telephone, as I did.
4- If you decide to phone introduce yourself and ask for the item or items you would like to order (i.e. part numbers)
5- Give your personal data and address in the US where the goods are going to be sent. Better ask for an email address where you can write an email text with all your stuff.
6- You will be given the price of the product and price of shipping (usually air) to your home
7- If you agree, He/she will ask for your Debit/Credit card details
8- Your goods will arrive to your home in 2-weeks or less

Part number MZ531375 (mudflaps) and 2-japanese oil filter (MD360935) have arrived at my home from Japan for my 2012 Outlander GT.

Equally, you may order from Australia some stuff. For example Mitsubishi Australia accessories catalogue exhibit front seat (MR935441) and rear seat (MR935442) cover kits that appear they are not sold in any other place on the planet. The seat cover has the logo of Outlander scribbled on it. I think they are cute. Furthermore, they also sell One-touch sunshade (MZ518059EX) that fit neatly on the Outlander interior windscreen.

You may access carpenterautomotive.com.au and fill a request part form online. You may telephone there and ask to talk with the part department man. The process to order and payment is similar to the Japanese order.

I have seen also a Mitsubishi windshield-banner-decal 4 x 38 ($15) at which in my opinion gives the Outlander a very nice distinction that features the perception of robustness of a rally car. Although this is not to everybodys taste I will definitely order one. Access the eBay (USA) web page and enter in the search field: Mitsubishi windshield-banner-decal 4 x 38. The banner can be ordered from a sample of 5-colors. You may pay with your PayPal facilities.

fushigi · June 2012

I bought my '10 Outlander GT in December '09 so it is now 2.5 years or 30 months old.

Mileage: 23,7xx
Lifetime fuel economy: 21.2 MPG
Total repair cost: insurance deductible for a replacement windshield
Maintenance: oil changes every 6 months, tire rotations every year, and I previously mentioned replacing the air filter with a K&N (which I do to save money, not for better power/economy)

The next oil change will be on Tuesday. That will also include the "30K maintenance" work since the book notes it as 24 months or 30K miles. I'm in between that: shorter @ 24K miles but longer @ 30 months so I figured I'd do it now to make sure the warranty is maintained in case I need it later on. With the added work this maintenance will be the first one to top $100.

There's really nothing new to report. Everything works. It hauls my cargo. The heat & heated seats kept up with an admittedly mild Chicagoland winter and the AC is keeping up just fine with our 90+ degree days in late spring/early summer.

The P0 error I mentioned in my previous update has not recurred.

I work from home mostly so the miles aren't piling on very fast.

We visit friends in far-suburban-Chicago and with the roads & traffic we wind up maintaining 40-45 MPH speeds. At that speed the instant economy gauge floats between 30 & 50 MPG. Too bad I'm generally too impatient to drive that slow for long stretches.

While I maintain strong interest in the plug-in hybrid Outlander that Mitsu is promising to release here in 2013, truth be told I don't see myself upgrading this car anytime soon unless my commute changes. I already sometimes go 3 weeks or more between fillups and because my miles driven is low, that aspect of operating cost is insignificant compared to the payment. And a hybrid/plug-in certainly isn't going to help on that front.

fastgst · June 2012

Does anyone know why the GT doesn't come with the roof rack standard like the lower models.
Instead it says Thule plug in mount point but does not explain how it works or how much.

How difficult is it to install or uninstall the roof cross bars on the GT? I won't use it all the time but want to know the difference between the GT/Thule system and the SE side rails where you throw the mitsu cross bar ($250) on.

batman47 · November 2012

Did you install the OEM tow hitch (#MZ313809) yourself or was it installed by a Mitsubishi technician?

I have ordered the part and it is very heavy. The installation instructions imply taking off the exhaust and the gas emission canister before assembling the tow hitch.

If you did the installation job could you provide some hints of how to do it without lifting the car with a hydraulic ramp? Is it possible to do the job with my back on the floor and the car lifted with jacks?

Also is it still possible to access the spare tire easily when the tow hitch is in place?

Help much appreciated.

comem47 · November 2012

I haven't followed the changes in Outlanders over the years, but installing the factory tow hitch on my 2007 was no big deal and the spare tire lowers just fine with that hitch. I don't remember jacking it up off the ground either. I think I used a floor jack to hold it up in position while I fastened the frame bolts.

batman47 · November 2012

I bought and installed the OEM Roof Rack Kit (MZ314455 $300, GT).

You will have to follow the installation instructions step by step. The kit comes without the paint protection film, so you need to buy it separately. The part number for this item is not easily available so I bought a 3M paint protection tape/film for the occasion.

My wife helped me to follow the instructions carefully. There are 4-keys that need to be inserted in the right order at the end of the procedure to click nicely. We spent a bit of time here to fit the keys in their proper order.

The installation of a Yakima roof box was straightforward.

batman47 · November 2012

The OEM tow hitch is still applicable for the Outlander 2007-2012.

The steps of the installation instructions are as follow:

1-Unscrew the 3-bolts that join the muffler to the rear exhaust pipe
2-Detach the exhaust muffler from its rubber holders (2 of 3)
3-Detach the gas emission canister situated at the left rear of the car
4-Install the tow hitch class II by screwing 10-bolts (5-each side) . Torque to specifications
5-Connect the 2-rubber muffler holders
6-Attach the muffler to the exhaust pipe (3-bolts). Torque to specification
7-Attach the emission canister back to its place (3-bolts). Torque to specification.
8-Plug the 2.5drawbar in the hitch receiver

The above, in my opinion, does not look an easy task especially when the tow hitch weight is around 80 pounds and without help to hold one side while working with the other. Thanks anyway for your comments.

batman47 · November 2012

Majority of US drivers love to own a Toyota car and this is fully impregnate in the mind of the Americans in spite of the fact of so many re-calls for faulty Toyota car models. We Americans still keep buying Toyota cars. This is the last re-call:

Toyota Wednesday November 14th, 2012 said it will recall 2.77 million vehicles worldwide due to steering wheel and water pump defects

You see in this forum people asking you not to buy Mitsubishi cars because paint chips problems due to flying stones.

comem47 · November 2012

Well this is all from memory but my tow hitch was class 3 (not 2) and I seem to remember 3 frame bolts per side as per the video below. The one I have has the factory S shaped ball. (not well thought out IMHO) There was also a wiring harness to be installed for the trailer lights plug. 80 lbs doesn't sound right and this installation tech hardly looks like a bodybuilder type doing the install solo. (I believe I used floor jack to assist in some way but he rests one side on the muffler)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL_OKkeqP4Y

batman47 · November 2012

Most probably the trailer hitch you installed in your car was not the OEM (#MZ313809). My trailer hitch was ordered from a Mitsubishi dealer that will fit neatly to my Outlander GT 2012. The total weight of the box is 75 pounds (included the drawbar & ball).

You may see the Outlander trailer hitch (not the Sport Outlander) at:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2007-2012-GENUINE-OEM-MITSUBISHI-OUTLANDER-RECEIVER-TRAI- LER-HITCH-MZ313809-/370467275788

The trailer hitch for the Outlander Sport is Type III.

This may be the main reason that your installation instructions do not match those of the OEM trailer hitch which accompany the OEM trailer hitch box. The video you show is for an aftermarket trailer hitch, which does not require to unscrew (3-bolts) that join the exhaust muffler from the exhaust pipe.

After market trailer hitch is useful when there is no way to unscrew the muffler from the exhaust pipe due to the fact that the 3-bolts are practically welded (heat) to the joint (muffler + exhaust pipe). I think that after 3-years this separation is not possible. The muffler can be separated just by cutting or drilling the bolts.

toomanyfumes · November 2012

I put an aftermarket Reese class III in mine, pretty easy install, had to clean the factory threads with a battery brush, remove the muffler donuts, and used a floor jack and a helper to hold it up.

fushigi · December 2012

Sorry; just catching up.

The dealer installed my tow kit as I ordered it with the vehicle. I've yet to use the spare but I don't believe the tow kit interferes.

2010 Mitsubishi Outlander GT

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