1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST review from North America

CRANKWALK!!! Yes, this car has the typical factory defect that causes the thrust bearing to wear prematurely. It's a well-known problem that Mitsubishi has been trying to keep swept under the rug. I had a new set of bearings installed 20,000 miles ago and now they have worn through as well. I knew it was only going to be a temporary fix. The engine designers at Mitsubishi must have been smoking crack when they decided to put in oil squirters that get their oil from the main bearings. Check out www.clubdsm.com and www.dsmtalk.com. About the only thing people have been doing is just replacing the short block with a 1st Generation Eclipse (90-94) because it had a better stronger design. Note that this is all quite expensive.

The lifters started clicking at the 1 year mark after buying the car and have done so on a regular basis. Sometimes the ticking is so loud it is kind of embarrassing to drive the car. There is a newer improved design to the lifters that is available. This should have been a recall.

Rust - about the only place that I have rust on my car is right around the edge of the rear window right under the seal that goes around the glass.

Transmission problem at 50,000. Car would pop out of 4th gear when accelerating to get on highway. Eventually it became a grind while trying to get it into 4th...eventually grinding every time then got repaired under warranty.

Transmission developed a loud knocking sound at 98,500 miles most likely due to the second failure of my crank thrust bearings with the crank pressing against the tranny. This could get expensive. I am only having my tranny rebuilt by a race-proven professional, John Shepherd, www.shepracing.com. He can replace the stock parts with stronger parts that will last longer.

One wheel spinning problem due to high horsepower on a FWD vehicle. Cheap tires and rain make it a lot worse. This car should have had a Limited Slip Differential installed at the factory. I highly recommend getting the Quaife LSD installed. It is kind of pricey though.

The stock fog lights are easy to break from road debris. Even though both lenses are cracked with holes and there is rust inside the housings, the bulbs still work.

Driver side door switch failed after 6 years - easily replaced by myself.

Stock front rotors warp easily, but these were easily replaced by myself with an aftermarket higher quality cross-drilled or slotted rotor. Also these rotors are a tad undersized so I upgraded to the AWD (GSX) dual-piston calipers and slightly larger rotors. This should have also came stock on the GST.

Passenger side electric door lock has stopped working. I haven't begun to look at this problem due to the overwhelming problmes with engine and tranny right now. This might have something to do with rust proofing junk gumming up something.

A/C leaks bad starting after 5 years. I added dye to the system and it seems to be leaking at the connection next to the firewall behind the battery. I've heard that you cannot replace the O-rings and you must buy completely new hoses.

Excellent styling on interior and exterior. Nothing has ever broken.

Virtually no rust after 7 years.

The interior has held up quite nicely.

I have NEVER replaced a single bulb on this car in 7 years.

A GREAT car to modify to make it go faster!!! Lots of aftermarket products available. A good way to throw away a lot of excess cash.

This car is also easy to work on for the backyard mechanic and there is a whole online community of owners available to help you to modify this car to make it go faster. www.dsmtalk.com as well as a lot of local groups in various cities across the U.S. (and Canada)