HJ seems to think its an issue hence I take it seriously.
How can you stop the throttle body and inlet manifold coking up? The car has full Mitsu history and it certainly didnt have any idle problems and drove spot on - is it a certainty that it will happen?
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Check out this thread I posted on a while back:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=40979&...e
Large numbers of GDi's seem to suffer. I am not qualified to say whether it will **certainly** happen or not - suggest you take a look at one of the Mistubishi forums. I just know that i have heard enough bad things through the local traders (we have a lot of Mitsis around here due to big local dealer).
BTW - which is the Suzuki dealer that you recommend? Was it Lutterworth?
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I just thought it was strange that neither HJ nor Parkers mention anything about this issue in their reliability sections - do you have any addys for Mitsu forums?
The Suzuki dealer I liked was Co-op at Kettering. Efficient and very honest pricing I found.
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If you have not yet bought this car then I would think very carefully and do some further research on the GDI's engine problems.
My mates missus has one. Big probs and pain in the proverbial.......................avoid I believe.
MD
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Is there a quick way I can get the make and model from a reg number online without paying anything?
I want to check this car isnt an MPi as opposed to a GDi because the advert says MPi but Im fairly sure it was a GDi!
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I could be wrong, but I don't think the MPi came in until 2002, so any 2001 car would be a GDi - but check it out for yourself.
The GDi is a unique engine, and really requires looking after by specialists (i.e. Mitsubishi). Not only does it have direct petrol injection, but also a compression ratio of 12.5:1. This gives them the rather 'Diesel-like' idle.
In addition to the coking problem they can suffer from a part-throttle misfire. This is because it is a lean-burn engine and at light throttle is running 30 or 40:1 air:fuel ratio - which is very lean. At this lean burn ratio the injectors have to open for sub-millisecond duration and not all examples can do this reliably as they they age - hence the injector fails to open and you get a misfire. New injectors require (each one is the price of a TV set).
A great engine in many ways (and Mitsi and have made a couple of million, so not all that bad) but whether you buy one depends on your attitude to risk and whether you like novelty (like running around in a Wankel engine car).
These 1.8 engines were fitted in some Volvos (e.g. V40) so looking at a Volvo forum might be useful.
I think there is a UK forum dealing with the Shogun (Pinin is a version of Shogun) but I don't know the URL, try Google...
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The car my sister is looking at does have 5 years of Mitsu SH and its not showing any idle problems or misfires at all - at 41,000 miles is this a good sign? Surely by this time something will have cropped up?
One thing I have noticed is that the car has not been taxed since August - should I be worried that its sat on the forcourt that long?
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I have noticed that some posters in the BR worry about cars sitting around and think high-mileage to be a very good thing, etc etc.
TBH I have had many cars over the years sit around, including for 6 months or more. Apart from obvious stuff like brake disc corrosion there shouldn't be a problem. Sitting around for 3-4 months is not unusual in car trade, expecially when cars are shipped between auctions and forecourts etc. Don't worry about it, just check the brake discs and for brakes sticking etc.
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Following link will give you vehicle model and number of owners from reg number :
www.rac.co.uk/web/vehiclechecks/dvla_lookup/
It wouldn't surprise me that a Shogn Pinin has been sat around since August, they were never big sellers due to the rough on-road ride - good off road from what I've read. I think most buyers preferred RAV4s - whether 3 or 5 door - there's very little rear room in a Pinin.
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The same 1.8GDI engine was also used in Volvo S40's and V40's built around 1996-99. There is history of de-coking required, generally around 70,000 miles I vaguely recall. Best hit the web and do some more research! It certainly put me off buying my Volvo with this particular engine!
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![2018 Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI SE [Nav] 5dr DSG](http://images.honestjohn.co.uk/imagecache/url/crop/90x60/https/cdn.uk.prod.group-mobility-trader.com/images/cas/6f40dedf5201341c61069b9edd633fe1/64dcdcfc693f27d86148a478c03a7e28.jpg)
