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I've since added wind deflectors, and a sunroof deflector, which I installed myself without any trouble. I purchased these things from: www.mitsubishi-accessories.com I did purchase the service manual; I'm sure I can personally benefit from only 10% of it's contents! I'm not sure it was worth the ~$120 I paid for it. It is probably worth more to others. I guess I thought it would be nice to have for basic repairs. I ordered wheel locks to match the key that came with the spare tire lock. I just ordered directly from the wheel lock company, after I had purchased the Monte.
I bought the Monte for it's ability in the deep sand for fishing, which is fantastic. I don't need to take air out of the tires in the low setting, and the "auto-stick" works best for these situations IMO. I hardly use this on dry pavement. There's plenty of room inside for all my stuff, and the roof rack can support 2 kayaks.
Overall, no problems besides a "pinched" front left speaker wire, which they fixed pretty quickly. I have 6,500 miles on it already, averaging about 17mpg.
I do have one problem with the Monte though - what the hell is with only one charger being in the front. Even cheap cars have 2 chargers in the front. The salesperson said the second charger was at the back.
Thanks!!
Jayned... By Charger's I'm assuming your talking about Power Outlets. There are in Fact two in the front cabin. Unfortunately, the second is found inside the console between the front seats. It's not a very convenient location but it is a second port for the front seat occupants. I do find it amazing that there seem to be lots of Dealer sales people who don't know much about the features of the vehicles they sell.
Hope this helps
Drew
Ya like mats? www.mats4less.com
That is where I am getting mine.
As far as synthetics...ya know what they say about opinions....
well, here is mine..
I am a retired Harley Davidson mechanic. I also have been around car racing, my Dad was a Nascar tire changer and mechanic for Red Farmer...this was back in the old days when it was truly dangerous and the racing was much more interesting. Let's just say, I have looked inside a few cylinders.
Corvette, Porsche, and Ferrari ALL come with and recommend Mobil One...could there be a reason? I suggest YES...
There is a big difference between the lubrication abilities of a great synthetic and dinosaur oil. One thing, do NOT run sythetic in your H-D..it has ROLLER bearing on the rods..synthetics tend to make these parts so slick, they slide instead of roll. Your automobiles use bearing inserts..they LOVE a slippery oil. I have seen Mobil One bring cars home that would have cooked on dino's stuff. Example? One of my daughters was off at college with her 87 Honda..200+k miles on that baby..anyway, she is driving down I-16 towards Savannah, GA for some fun in the sun..she gets to Savannah, stops at a light and sees steam billowing out of the car. Does she have a clue? NOPE..(she is my girl though and I love her). She goes on to the beach anyway as her tan is not to be denied. Once there, some nice man offers to look under the hood. Seems she had a heater hose broken clean in two and there is NO water left in the engine. He points to a little thing on the dash called a "Temp" guage..of course, it is PEGGED. The nice man pulls out a multitool and repairs the hose by cutting off the offending break and slipping the clamp back to the repair..he dumps in some water from the beach shower...of course she drives back to college and calls her Daddy, (me) that night to tell me all about it. I pat myself on the back for using Mobil One, even in her old car...anything else would have surely cooked that Baby. When she brought the car home the next weekend...I changed the oil and it smelled like cooked butter...friends, that stuff is amazing.
We are captains of our own ship, judge yourself accordingly. Nothing but Mobil One for my engines..I even run it in my riding mower. And I change oil filters EVERY time, and at 3k miles.
Peace,
Rascal
Also got a set of 4 KRACO rubber mats from Costco for $20. They come in colors and hold up to 2 1/2 quarts of water. They will due fine until the fitted mats get on the market.
"Service Engine Soon" emissions light still on now at 350 miles. Looks like it will be back to the shop this week. Anybody else have this problem and what was the fix? Thanks for any help.
Well I won't argue with that and as I've said in past posts, they are of great benefit in such HOT running high reving engines. And if running syn's in your everday driver makes you feel better, have at it.
Drew
The MDX is "better" on road for fast driving. It is louder inside, firmer ride. Several reviews now mention it is NOT a great off roader but thats not what you may be doing much of. Interesting that many of the MDX owners are not even getting the mileage that Acura claims. I read a long term report and it was only averaging 18 mpg. Hell, I get that in my Montero. I was suprised by that mileage.
Reliability: The 2001 Montero beat out the Landcruiser in Austrailia this year and I beleive the LC is the Gold Standard for what I am looking for in an SUV.
Spoke to a gent from Africa. He owned 2 Montes, both had no problems. He told me that in Africa the only SUV's that most trust are the Montero (called pajero over there) and LC.
I was originally only concerned with reliabilty because most of the data comes from outside the US. Now that I have had more time to take it all in I have no concerns at this time.
If reliability is truely good then there probably is no equal to the Monte short of spending 60K on the LC.
Thanks,
Jeff
Rascal
Compared to other costs of operation the oil change cost difference isnt worth even thinking about.
I choose synthetic until a study shows it is worse. Could I be wasting money, yes. But that would be similar to saying at 80 years old, "hey look, I didnt need my health insurance because I never was ill, I knew that insurance was a waste of money"
Thanks
Does anyone else have a comment about realiability issues?
Claybuster: is your engine light fixed yet...doesn't sound too good.
Anyone have any comments about gas mileage?
Thanks!!!
YACJOHN1 and ehollis, mind telling us how much you picked up the MONTY for? it'd help alot for us considering to pick up one.
As for KEN131, NO you do not have to let go of the gas when up/downshifting. Lets not forget, its not a real stick shift transmission. Its more of a mock, which allows you to have more control of changing the gears yourself. Feel free to hold down the gas when up/downshifting.
the aftermarket warranty programs may be a good idea, but you will grossly overpay from a dealer. There is a warranty, (even better), offered on the Edmunds site that is half the dealer price. Shop around, but do NOT buy it from the dealer. When I was buying my used MS, the dealer told me that I had to take the warranty to get the better interest rate...I just laughed and asked him if he would be willing to repeat that to the State Office of Consumer Affairs...he quickly changed his tune..
Get the warranty, $400-500 is about right.
Rascal
rascal2064@yahoo.com
I have another less important bug on the graphic display for the miles before gasing up. It started with 68 miles with a full tank. The second fill up it went to 148 miles. the third time it went up to 198 miles before gas up. Anybody else have something similar?
The factory rear cargo rubber mats are now available in black, so I ordered one from the dealer. No price yet, but it should be around $64. (dealer cost)?
Monte runs great, if I can just get the bugs out. Can't be too bad, my last fill (only 8 gallons) it got just a hair over 20 MPG, with my light foot.
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket and Accessories message boards
I have been trying to access the web-site for the last past three days and is not working. Is that site shut down ? I have been meaning to ask how to remove the spark plugs on 98 Montero-sport 3.0 L. My car is having an idle problem due the point that the engine shuts off when the RPM hits very low. Anyone had this problem ?
I have two messages from others saying they cannot access it either. Maybe they took it down to stop the idiot that kept posting about Fords on the site.
claybuster and viet...viet, I have a feeling that your SRS problem could be your check engine light problem too...
claybuster, they need to resolve that light issue for you. Dealers sometimes just brush you off as quickly as possible for warranty work, what a shame. It also sounds as if your mileage is going up as your new engine breaks-in unless I misunderstood your post.
I get 20-23 mpg on my 2000 LS, 2wd and I am very happy with that.
Peace,
Rascal
rascal2064@yahoo.com
Is Montero reliable? I heard good things and bad things about Mitsubishi. Do they honor the warranty usually. Is it they don't want to fix problems if it is under warranty?
Last question. I test drove a Montero Limited 2001 the other day. I noticed that at 70 m/hr, rpm is at around 3500...is it not good?
Thanks for any input.
-a
Steve
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
As for the RPM, it is always better to reach high speeds at lower RPM rates, thus giving you more torque power.
Maintenance and repair history? Anyone had one long enough to know about reliability?????
Sonja
The rear cargo mat came in at $66.+ tax and is a custom fit that looks like it will work fine.
So all is well and happy days here again with sunshine and 60 degrees in the forecast; just a little better than the NE. Spring is here! (for a couple of days).
Acura (and Toyota) support Mags, TV etc with many more $$$.
The comparisons usually give have too many catagories for handling when this criteria would be lower on my list. When you have 0-60, braking distance and cornering tests then only one test for Off road ability its no wonder that the car like SUV's come out on top.
The MDX is a poor off road SUV and a good on road SUV although the road noise and stiffer ride may have me looking at the BMW if I wanted a car-like SUV with power
It's my understanding that Mitsubishi was caught off guard by the initial high demand for this vehicle. Personally, I hope the market doesn't get flooded with Monte's--I did not buy it for the novelty factor, but I have to admit, having owned it for six months, the novelty factor is kinda cool...
"Check Engine" light still off, service manager still can't explain problem except the taillight found a ground through the computer. He is to send me a fax with better detail.
The $105 fee was for:
64.50 NY State Registration
30.00 Tax (forgot what for)
5.00 plate chg
5.50 title chg.
Exactly what I would have paid at DMV.
34,500 sounds low. It's actually below invoice. Can anyone confirm this price? Were there a lot of additional charges? I'd love to hear that someone paid 33,700. (Or maybe I wouldn't) (smile)
Total out the door price for me was 37,864.36
34881 truck (Limited, rear AC, running bds)
2877 tax
105 tags,reg
Don't forget, you got an option thrown in...."running boards". Thats not a standard item. Technically, you too paid 34,500. The running boards run for about $360 extra. Not a bad deal my friend.....
Read some of the past posts, and you'll come across the person that paid 33,700 for the ltd., w/ rear air.
BTW, I got my Monty back yesterday after replacing the dricer's side mirror, tightening the running boards, and installing the sunroof wind deflector. Mirror doesn't look to be much better (still some distortion, maybe designed that way for wider FOV). Sunroof deflector is HUGE! Nearly covers half of the sunroof. Not sure this is a good thing. --Jimmy
Is it hard to get approved for this 4.9% financing? Don't know about you guys, but I sure do have bills,ie.: mortgage, couple of credit cards...etc. any advice?
As for the 4.9%, I suppose all you could do is ask them to run a credit check. I have a mortgage, credit card debt, etc. as well. But I believe as long as you don't have any 60-90-120 day delinquencies in your credit record, too much outstanding debt relative to your income, or any judgements against you, I think you should be approved.
I'm gonna try out the monty w/o the deflector, and see how it goes. if I can tollerate the wind noise, then great!, if not, I sure would hate to see that huge sunroof cut down to half w/ that visor taking up most of the space.
credit score 700 or above
more than 4 trade lines (credit accounts)
more than 3 yrs credit history
Less than 8 credit inquiries in the past 6 months.
Gonna put in another plug for fightingchance.com. I just read their book "Car Buyers and leasers negotiating bible" A must read for anyone getting a Mitsu Montero.
Also, pls go to carbuyingtips.com. Good advice. (In fact it was there that I learned about fightingchance.com)
Another question: Does anyone have a problem with the rear door on the mitsu? Mine squeaks real bad when I open, and it doesn't seem to close solidly, although the door open indicator is not on. Just doesn't "feel" right.
What if one were to score slighty shy of 700 points, but rather like 655.....would they be approved, or would they simply be denied the 4.9% rate?
Then I would ask the dealer what they could do for you, if your credit rating was on the borderline. Above all, don't let anyone check until you're ready to buy. (It's against the law for them to run a credit check on you w/out your knowledge, but after you give them a deposit, they can.)
I paid cash, so I'm not an expert on this loan, but I did investigate it as an option.
Anyone have the rear door problem I mentioned in a previous post?