2019 Mitsubishi Mirage G4 5-speed

[smallie]

Vman, It came to $363 total for them to come out and replace it. I don't really know if that is considered cheap but it seems pretty expensive to me. Safelite was actually going to cost almost $100 more after all the fees. I went with Glass America. We will see how their work holds up. I probably would have been willing to pay more for safelite to do it since i have had good experiences with them, but their next appointment to come to my place was 9 days out, and glass america did it the next day. I had a windshield put on my Integra back in 2013 and my Nissan pickup back in 2016 and if I remember right they were just over $200 each. I guess back glass costs more

[MetroMPG]

Smallie - sorry I missed your earlier question: I used coroplast to make the modifications in the aero Mirage test thread.


Also: bummer about your back window! I'm lucky I haven't had to replace any car glass for a long time. (Did I just jinx myself?)

Originally Posted by wjohn

I haven't seen enough to convince me which car wins the reliability contest - yet. All I know is that I can afford to replace an engine or two in either one and still come out ahead of paying for a Fit, which is unfortunate.

There's a fleet mechanic on the Mirage forum whose company has owned both the Mirage and Spark as delivery vehicles. He's not as likely to say nice things about the Spark. In fact he was so impressed with the Mirage, he bought a used CVT one as his personal vehicle. Take that for what it's worth.

[wjohn]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

There's a fleet mechanic on the Mirage forum whose company has owned both the Mirage and Spark as delivery vehicles. He's not as likely to say nice things about the Spark. In fact he was so impressed with the Mirage, he bought a used CVT one as his personal vehicle. Take that for what it's worth.

Interesting. I've seen several CVT Sparks on my local CL with over 200K, and one with 297K. I have also seen some with CVTs under 100K that mention having a new transmission, so who knows. Most of the Mirages I've seen are under 100K and don't mention any major repairs but there just aren't many of them here. For me, I really only care about the manual trans anyhow.

smallie, if the rear window has the defrosting grid on it (sorry, I'm not up to speed on the G4 to know) then it probably does make sense that it's more expensive than the older windshields you remembered replacing. As more tech is added to them they get more expensive... One of my coworkers recently had to replace the front windshield on his Tesla and that is a bill you definitely do not want! $363 seems not too crazy to me, all things considered.

[MetroMPG]

I'm sure a Tesla windshield costs more than several cars I've bought in the past 5 years!

Originally Posted by wjohn

Mirages I've seen are under 100K and don't mention any major repairs but there just aren't many of them here. For me, I really only care about the manual trans anyhow.

I rarely see them too. The nearest dealership is 100 km / 60 mi. away. There's one or two other Mirages in this little city of 20k people. One is owned by a little old lady who relocated from where the dealership is. Interestingly, her first Mirage was written off in a collision, and she immediately bought another one.



I've yet to try a manual Spark, but would jump at the chance. GM sells them new in Canada for $10k plus delivery & taxes for a manual transmission, wind-up windows, and no A/C. From what I've read, reviewers find them more refined than the Mirage and (now discontinued) Micra.

[The Other Andy]

Originally Posted by wjohn

Interesting. I've seen several CVT Sparks on my local CL with over 200K, and one with 297K. I have also seen some with CVTs under 100K that mention having a new transmission, so who knows. Most of the Mirages I've seen are under 100K and don't mention any major repairs but there just aren't many of them here. For me, I really only care about the manual trans anyhow.

smallie, if the rear window has the defrosting grid on it (sorry, I'm not up to speed on the G4 to know) then it probably does make sense that it's more expensive than the older windshields you remembered replacing. As more tech is added to them they get more expensive... One of my coworkers recently had to replace the front windshield on his Tesla and that is a bill you definitely do not want! $363 seems not too crazy to me, all things considered.

I may be wrong, but I could swear the Spark, Mirage, and Versa all shared the same transmission. So reliability-wise that component would be the same.

[MetroMPG]

You're not wrong about the automatic transmission : JATCO CVT-7. Manuals are different.



I'm not sure if the redesigned 2020 Versa uses the CVT-7, but the previous generation did.


There are differences though: programming is vehicle-specific. Also, I wonder if durability may be affected by engine power: 74/78 hp (Mirage); 98 hp (Spark); 109 hp (previous gen Versa).

[smallie]

Originally Posted by wjohn

smallie, if the rear window has the defrosting grid on it (sorry, I'm not up to speed on the G4 to know) then it probably does make sense that it's more expensive than the older windshields you remembered replacing. As more tech is added to them they get more expensive... One of my coworkers recently had to replace the front windshield on his Tesla and that is a bill you definitely do not want! $363 seems not too crazy to me, all things considered.

Thatis accurate, it does have a defrost on the rear window. I wonder if it would have cost much extra for them to put the antenna there as well.

[The Other Andy]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

You're not wrong about the automatic transmission : JATCO CVT-7. Manuals are different.



I'm not sure if the redesigned 2020 Versa uses the CVT-7, but the previous generation did.


There are differences though: programming is vehicle-specific. Also, I wonder if durability may be affected by engine power: 74/78 hp (Mirage); 98 hp (Spark); 109 hp (previous gen Versa).

All of those numbers pale in comparison to the Juke, with 188hp going through that same transmission.

Wikipedia doesn't list the Kicks on it's page for Jatco transmissions, so either it's not up to date or the Kicks/new Versa uses something else. I'd be surprised if they didn't use that same transmission though.

[smallie]

1945 Miles

Just got my windows tinted. I went with Formula One Pinnacle. That is their ceramic film. This is the first time I have purchased ceramic tint. It is purported to have much better heat resistance. As I am hoping to keep this car for many years, I want to protect the interior as much as possible. I got TN legal limit which is 35%. Darker tint is nice, but I like how 35% allows you to see out at night virtually unimpeded. I also think the light tint looks tasteful.

I also installed Sylvania Zevo LED dome light, trunk light and reverse lights. This was my first time changing festoon-type bulbs (3175) and I like that design alot. They are very easy to change. I must say that the trunk and interior lights do not seem any brighter than stock. But at least if I accidentally leave my trunk or door open it won't run down my battery as quickly. The reverse lights, however, do seem noticeably brighter.

Here is what the tint looks like:

[MetroMPG]

Hopefully the LED reverse lights don't upset the car's computer.



Doubtful, but we've heard from a few owners who encountered bizarre miscellaneous problems after putting LED tail lights in these cars.