After reading the previous entry on the throttle repsonse of our long-term 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander, I wanted to pinpoint the circumstances during which it occurs. Over the weekend I found plenty of opportunities.
The throttle response delay is most noticeable at slow speeds when dipping back into the throttle after having lifted completely. You can be taking off from a standstill, or simply reapplying throttle after a braking maneuver.
Blame the drive-by-wire throttle. The distinct pause is actually a panel of electronic engineers convening, conversing, and then coming to a verdict on just how far to open the throttle. In the meantime, the driver has pressed the throttle down even further... and you know what happens next.
There's another factor, too: the transmission. The Outlander has a tendency to upshift into high gears in an effort to improve fuel economy. Stab the throttle and there's a different pause while it decides whether to downshift. This happens quite often since the V6 just doesn't have the beans to provide ample acceleration without downshifting.
Shifted manually, however, the Outlander does downshift somewhat more rapidly than others I've tried.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 9,761 miles
redliner says:
04:03 AM, 08/21/07
so is it still sporty?
autoboy16 says:
04:51 PM, 08/21/07
I think mitsu should have put in the 3.8 instead of the current one! 260hp would make it more desirable to me IMO. And it would really give the RAV4 a run for it money!
jpr18 says:
04:53 PM, 08/21/07
This is EXACTLY the problem on about 70% of the 2007 BMW X3's made with the 6-sp automatic transmission. There is tons of talk about this on the internet. In our X3, there was major (2+ seconds) hesitation when driving at 15-25 mph. Like when exiting a turn, when you get back on the gas, press the pedal.....nothing.Press it harder...wait a second...woosh! This is a problem with the transmission, computer and possibly the fuel pump. The X3 was in service for three days, after going through exaustive tests and consulations with BMW of North America. Finally, BMW released a second TSB in addition to one that was known, and, with that, (a reprogram) everything was fixed. I suggest you look online for similar problems and bring it to Mitsubishi.
aurakr says:
01:36 PM, 08/22/07
It seems many of the new cars with 6 speed automatics have had this problem. From what I have heard on the Aura, Camry, Edge, Outlook, etc forums, it is most likely a programming issue. I wish edmunds would get a long term Mercedes to see if their 7 speed have the same issues.
It is amazing with all the testing manufacturers do, once productions starts people find the weaknesses in a car almost immediately. Amazing, really amazing.
desmolicious says:
06:25 PM, 08/22/07
And that folks, is why we should be driving with manual transmissions!
dodo2 says:
07:23 AM, 08/23/07
As noted before, this behavior is not isolated to the Outlander.
Although I thought it's related to the 6-speed transmissions, it seems like it occurs in vehicles with 4 or 5 speeds auto as well and one I'm aware of is the RAV4 (both I4 and V6) just because I was researching this vehicle as a contender for my SUV purchase.
However, it appears that the problem was recently fixed by Toyota with a firmware upgrade; therefore it can be mitigated.
The work around is to modulate your throttle and, as mentioned by Jason, to manually shift the gears when you need instant reaction from the car (e.g. quick highway merging or passing). The same goes for the gear hunting (e.g. when going uphill) which I’m sure it will come up at one point in these blogs.
At least the Outlander gives you this option (this was a big plus on my evaluation sheet).
Perhaps Mitsubishi will have firmware upgrades some time in the future to address some of these things.
dodo2 says:
06:33 AM, 09/ 1/07
TSB available to address throttle response. Check with your dealer.
rcpax says:
03:37 PM, 09/29/07
Throttle hesitation is totally solved in the Outlander. Fun fun fun! Now we can actually feel more lateral Gs on the turn rather than headbobs. Mitsu was quick to address this issue and did it right on the first try. More details on the throttle hesitation and lag here: http://outlander.freeforums.org/viewtopic.php?t=70