1992 Eagle Talon TSi AWD from North America - Comments

Well. I got this car a little while ago, really nice looking and very fast. I have to admit I was taken. Yes, I never should have bought this junk.

American cars are complete crap from DSM to Ford, they all suck. So most of you say this car is foreign... LOOK UNDER THE HOOD, IT SAYS MITSUBISHI!!! LOL, you guys crack me up. Mitsubishi is not foreign. It's American, hate to burst your bubble. SOME parts... a very minimal amount were manufactured in Japan, but probably in a junk yard :) Hence - DSM, Diamond Star Motor corp. <-----AMERICAN, no they don't own a Japanese car company, it's American.

The funny thing is that people still try and trick themselves by thinking it's foreign :/ I feel bad for ya, don't worry I got suckered too! The car does have very nice speed, but terrible handling. Doesn't even compare to the all trac but I won't get into that one :) I'm sure maybe these cars can run well if you don't drive them to the max all the time. But my friend tried that - nope you wish, car still broke.

I thought I was going to get a little upgrade from a CRX Si to this. WRONG, man I'd get a CRX any day over this car.

So, you ask. But sir what has gone wrong with your car? Oh yes plenty :) Clutch, timing belt snapped at 40k, piston ring popped off for some unknown reason and gashed up the cylinder pretty badly. Yup, that calls for a whole new engine :( Haven't had much problem with the turbo though.

Head gasket blew, valve cover leaks even with a new valve cover gasket.

Oil cap leaks, even with the new one.

Rotors seem to like to warp.

Oh and yes the paint blows chunks!

Sorry for rambling on but, I really hate this car, it's a complete peice of crap. I realy wish I had kept that 200,000 mile CRX, it ran a hell of a lot better.

Crap

That's what happens when you beat the crap out of cars and do not take care of them.

Yes these cars will be screwed if you don't take care of them, but if you love them like a baby, they'll love you back. So stop complaining about something you caused.

Japanese engineers, American builders - Talon at the time of the build is Chrysler engineer on top of a Japanese engineer.

Plymouth, Chrystler and Mitsubishi all collaborated on 1 particular style of car to sell to 3 different markets..

Compartively they are all the same, some are a little more sporty then others. They vary from model to model. But the 92 is hands down the most modifiable and sports the best body design and if your paint sucked, you didn't wax it properly.. even paint requires maintenance.

These care are NOT high maintenance, they just need to be maintained a little more than say a Lexus, or an Audi due to the performance issues that can change with various wear and tear items.

The rotors you experienced problems with could have been replaced with performance rated rotors, the tires - ARE expensive - because this car is not an Escort.. it is actually a high speed vehicle if you utilize the turbo like I do.. and this engine requires a little baby handling - because it uses a few more rpms/horses than your generic V8's without superchargers.

The 92 Talon TSi AWD is a very powerful, sleek sportscar.

If I had to buy another car, it would be another Talon TSi.. preferably the 92 - cause I can get parts for it for one, and my god is it a cool car. ;)

I think you just had problems with your car that you didn't know how to fix.

My suggestion is to join mailing lists of super gurus on this automobile, they are very helpful.. experienced mechnical wizards that KNOW these cars and how to make them last a long time with slightly higher then average part costs to reduce maintenance in the future..

Example - when changing the belts at 80k miles - change the waterpump also even if it doesn't need it.. since it's coming off anyhow.

Basic maintenance with an additional renewal of various parts will keep this car running like a dream.

www.eagletalon.net - michigan DSM club.

Join the mailing list, and ask around for clubs in your area who will share in group buying of parts, part trades and sales, and other extremly useful maintenance information.

Nothing is junk if you know how to maintain it properly..

I do not know much about cars. But this is the best car I have ever driven. Handles wonderfully and turns on a pin. I have had very few problems and mine is a '92 with 140,000 miles on it. Well worth my money anyday!!!

And I would gladly buy another...

I know what you mean about the automakers trying to get consumers to think an American car is an import. I had a Ford Probe - supposedly built by Mazda.

Anyways, ease up on the brakes and your rotors won't warp and piston rings don't just "pop" off - they get beaten off. Treat your car like a lady.

Maybe he doesn't know how to treat a lady.

DSM's are one of the best cars around buddy. What other car can reach low 10's with very little modifications (clutch, flywheel) with no nitrous! I suggest you stick to CRX's and Civics, maybe you'll enjoy the 105HP over 210HP on a 2G DSM.

I have had my 92 Eagle Talon Turbo for about one year and a half. At first I loved the looks, and the body. I paid $4,500 for my car because it looked great. I bought it from a friend. She sold the Talon because she doesn't like cars she likes trucks. It was for her boy friend. The day she got it he was driving down the highway when all of the lights came on in the dash board. The temp. read HOT. That mint a new motor. She had to call a record to take the car to Hudiberg, they were supposed to put a new motor in, but it cost only $2,000. Later I bought the car thinking it had a new motor. It was a rebuilt motor. I the car back to Hudiberg to get the water-pump replaced it cost $200.00. The day I picked it up I got on the out side of town and all of the lights on the dash board came on and it shot HOT fast. That blew off the radiator cap off and green crap went every where. {New Motor} $5,000 at a place here in town. All to gather with timing belt, rotor, breaks, oil caps, struts, alternator, and many other things. Now it's way over $11,000 for my 92 Eagle Talon. {Don't go by looks }

I still keep putting money in it because I will never get my money back. I still like my car. It taught me a big lesson. Good Luck to all of ya ll. (I still have it also)

If you blew your engine because of the problem with the lights coming on and the engine over heating, you obviously ran it to long when it started to over heat. I had the same problem, it was the alternator, and I turned my car off right away, towed it to put in a new alternator and nothing was else went wrong.

'92 talon esi owner.

I paid 500 dollars for a 92 talon tsi turbo due to a remanafactured alternator not working. my buddy thought it was an electrical short somewhere. I did too. I checked the alt. at prep girls and it was no good. so I got a free replacement from advanced auto and now it runs great. battery charges and everything. it's an automatic though. are they as fast as standards? I'm putting a complete apexi exhaust on it soon. the gas pedal is very stiff and hard to push at first? are all talons like that? is there anything I can do to make it easier to press?

I agree with the original reviewer. DSMs are crap. Always broken, crappily made. They require butt load of work to keep running and always develop DSM specific problems. IE: idle surge, t-case leak etc.

Original poster is right in every way. Let this be a warning to people who plan to buy a DSM as a daily driver. Do stay out, stay away from those cars unless you are looking for on-going project car. DSMs require constant upgrades and maintenance. I don't mean fluid changes and brake pads, I mean leaking t-cases, jumping timing belts, now infamous crank walk, leaking valve covers, cracked manifolds and so on.

Unless you are looking for a race-car projects and have a lot of disposable income, stay away. Don't listen to those who claim that their car runs 'fine', it is bull crap. Go to any DSM forum, dsmtalk. com for example. Look in the help section, look in the lounge. There is a reason why forum members joke that 95% of cars on the forum are not running, and help thread is full of HELP ME FIX IT thread.

DSMs will develop irregular, hard to fix and diagnose problems on the regular basis. It doesn't matter whether you car was maintained or not. Build quality is to blame for everything. For example, drive-shaft carrier bearings are held up by rubber washers, with one nut. There is no metal washers or anything. Once those two rubber washers rot, your bearing will drop down and so will your drive shaft.

You driver's side axle on 1G AWD cars is attached to the engine block with two bolts. In an event a bolt breaks, there is no way to take it out besides removing the engine.

If your timing belt jumps few teeth, chances are you are looking for a new head.

Due to design fault oil filters have tendency to unscrew themselves. Quite a few people had lost their motor because they didn't catch this in time.

Transfer case of AWD cars has a design flaw in the drive shaft output yoke that lets the fluid leak at high speed. Yoke seal might leak, or yoke itself since it is plugged with copper. To check if yours is leaking, get under the car and look in the area where drive shaft leaves the T-case for wet areas, or look at the downpipe for signs of burned liquid. If your T-case locks up at speed, all 4 wheels will lock up.

Hopefully this will help turn away few people from making a mistake of buying a DSM car. If you want a solid sports car, save some money and buy a M3 bmw.

I think I'd rather pay to repair a DSM before a BMW. That stuff is way expensive.

I've had my 1992 TSI for the last 10 years, from 80,000-150,000 miles. Fast, fast car, even when left stock. I maintained it with factory parts ie. exhaust manifold, C.V. rubbers, couple of sensors. Changed the oil with Castrol 20-50 because it smoked with thinner oil. I also commuted in it 30 miles a day, every day. Absolutely the funnest commute I ever had, couldn't wait to jump into this car. Just sold it, and she's gonna be sadly missed!!