Why buy a Triton?

[destorman]

mmm, interesting comments in reply to the OP, most of which totally relate to our experience.

Dealers - yes, all brands of cars have issues with dealers, and so too Mitsi ... and yep, we've been through that ringer, but, you know what, all the issues that arouse were dealt with under warranty. And, well we had a few of those:

- paint on roof had 'rust' starting to show through
- syncro 2nd to 3rd, yep she went
- turbo hose, yep it came off
- power steering pump
- squeaky rear springs
- fuel sensor replaced when lost power for no reason
- radiator fan "clutch" engaged permanently, so it was replaced
- and the carbon build up

So, yep, issues for sure, but other than some annoyance and car being out of action while work was completed, or waiting for parts, it was all fixed for no out of pocket cost. We were even given courtesy vehicles when the dealer stuffed up fixing some issues ...

Now, with the run-out deals ATM on the MN, we jumped at a change over of $15,000. Traded the 2010 MN and drove out with a 2015 MN, for an annual cost of $3,000. Our 2010 MN had another 5 years of Drivetrain warranty, but at the price of $3,000 pa, it was economical to upgrade while these run out deals were in the market.

PLUS, and the big plus, is we know what we are getting. Thanks for this forum the "known" issues with the MN model are well documented, and so, it is a relatively risk free purchase. With the MQ new and bound to have teething problems, we figured give it 5 years to develop and we'll probably upgrade again then, if the changeover price is right.

So, yep, the Triton has issues, but as others have posted, so too do all the other dual cabs. I'm just happy in the knowledge we didn't pay another $10k or $15k for the privileged of dealing with "issues" of one of the other dual cabs.

[srb]

Why buy a Triton? They're the best value 4x4 ute on the market and certainly one of the most reliable. If something mechanically does happen to go wrong, then they're not overly complicated or expensive to get repaired. Tritons are also easy to work on and maintain in the bush, compared to other makes.

Actually I'm not really qualified to comment on other 4x4 ute brands because I've never owned anything other than my MN Triton Is just what I've heard from my travels.

Anyway I guess I'm one of the lucky ones thats had outstanding performance and reliability for the last 3 years Yes it's heavily modified and well maintained, but it gets used and abused, hard every day.

The answer really comes down to your indervidual needs in a vehicle and personal situation... I have a few mates that have different utes, some with Hiluxs, Navaras and a Ranger... They all justify their indervidual choices with different reasons.. Hiluxs blokes say its 'reputation' or 'resale value' is major factor, D40 navara blokes don't say much other than curse at them Ranger bloke, because of its 'most powerful engine' (needs it to tow heavy loads) and thinks its worth the extra coin just on looks alone.

So at the end of the day I think you've just got to be realistic in your expectations and needs... The Triton isn't going to tick every box and suit everyones utility needs but you gotta believe it one heck of great value 4x4 ute for the money.

[har05l]

Why buy a triton ?

Because "It's a Mitsy"

[mIwoo]

^^^ who the hell invited this guy?

[1 Nathan]

My kids have long legs , best bang for buck !$$

[adzy]

Thanks for the reply's fellas, some good feedback in here.
Its obvious that they aren't as bad as I first thought and certainly looks like only some have issues and when they do they have a lot unfortunately.
I blame Friday cars and all the Thais building them on the piss whilst at work on a Friday arvo I have spent a year in Thailand and wouldn't doubt my last comment much haha
I still have a few months before I buy so if the coin permits its Dmax SX otherwise it will be Triton no doubt... and with the current deals I will be grabbing one under 30k which is awesome.

[Crash486]

Lol. At work yesterday a carpenter arrived in a new 70 dual cab, tray, chip etc. very nice. The downside, said it needs a 6 speed box and get horrible fuel figures above 100kph, only has vinyl seats, no carpet, a/c optional etc - way expensive.

[lachiem]

Thanks for the reply's fellas, some good feedback in here.
Its obvious that they aren't as bad as I first thought and certainly looks like only some have issues and when they do they have a lot unfortunately.
I blame Friday cars and all the Thais building them on the piss whilst at work on a Friday arvo I have spent a year in Thailand and wouldn't doubt my last comment much haha
I still have a few months before I buy so if the coin permits its Dmax SX otherwise it will be Triton no doubt... and with the current deals I will be grabbing one under 30k which is awesome.

I'd have thought you'd be lucky to still find an MN in a couple of months, stock looks to be running out pretty fast.
And BTW I never had any issues with the front airbags going off in a crash....

[destorman]

... I still have a few months before I buy so if the coin permits its Dmax SX otherwise it will be Triton no doubt... and with the current deals I will be grabbing one under 30k which is awesome.

Mate, doubt you'll get that price in a couple of months. It will be all new MQ stock by then, and there will be little to no discounting by dealers because stock of the MQ will be limited until the "big batch" arrives early next year.

I'd safely say, now is the time to pull the trigger.

$33k for GLX-R drive away or $27k for the GLX+ driveway would be easy to achieve in the next couple of weeks - both with limited choice of colour, it will be coming down to white or white very soon. If you jump now, you might find a Cool Silver or an very rare Red one, but the dealers with them will not be dropping their pants to sell the "no white" ones. You know, supply and demand and all that

[GLX58]

Why buy a triton ?

Because "It's a Mitsy"

...Vote mandatory 1 month ban for anybody calling it a 'mitsy'?

[AnOldFart]

Least Mitsui haven't sunk to the same level of -stupidity- as VW have with their current idiot-box adds ie, the male 'retard' sittin in the blue Polo talking to the bloody -pigeon- on the park bench outside of his window about what a great deal he got, or the shiela doin the same, but talkin to the little 2 year old kid outside her window, who's look on her face is absolutely priceless, ie, she's staring back at the yabbering shiela with her little mouth wide agape, like she's lookin at the biggest drongo GOD ever put on the Planet...
It almost seems that the takeaway message that VW -wants- to convey to you, from both of those adds, is that if you are now thinking of buying a VW, then first to qualify, you need to have just escaped from the local asylum for jibbering lunatics....
Even funnier still, is that some undoubtedly highly paid advertising media drongo in VW HQ obviously thinks that burning heaps of their corporate dough on making those 'moronic' TV adds in the first place, was a really good idea....

[Longranger1]

Although obviously not always the case, some owners are 'mechanical Bermuda Triangles' and can kill any vehicle and then whinge about it - regardless of make. I know a few people like that.

I guess I am lucky my Triton hasn't had the issues some have had. Maybe my maintenance has helped, maybe it makes no difference. Gearbox never touched, doesn't overheat, original fuel system components bar filtering (original SCV as well) and generally no issues (touch wood). Would I buy another one? Maybe, not in a hurry to get rid of it as it has proven its reliability. The new model has a lot more crap to go wrong especially the driveline. Time will tell...

[biggibbo]

Mine has actually been bulletproof since I stopped using dealers, and started using a mechanic I know and trust as well as doing mid services myself. I believe a lot of ongoing reliability issues are the result of incompetent techs. Once the design probs are sorted through warranty they can be reliable if looked after.

Still wouldn't be buying another one though.

[Longranger1]

I'm with you on dealer servicing Biggibbo. Probably why mine has been good, I avoid the local stealer like the plague. They have form...

[shortSteve]

Ok, as a balance...I have 2 mates with Dmax's, one with 40-50k km's on it, the other with around 25k km's. These 2 guys are the only ones I know with a Dmax. First vehicle has failed LHS rear axle bearing, replaced within a week of report (good) but now has leaking from same axle and not getting fixed anytime soon (bad). Has also suffered an EGR failure (limp mode and code), dealer again replaced within the week, vehicle returned and now running fine.
Second vehicle has had a whine develop in the gearbox (manual, happens only when accelerating/decelerating and not in neutral coasting, and not clutch related apparently) a month ago, dealer acknowledged problem and said they would get back to him within a few days with a repair/replacement time. Was followed up weekly for 6 weeks before a call was returned, and then told 6 weeks time for an "inspection", and if gearbox is stuffed, will have to wait for a new one to arrive (no time scale given). Now, in both cases dealer service has been the difference between a "small" inconvenience and a massive problem (different dealers), and this seems to be the same with all brands. Had always had a good run with Mazda, but seeing them drop the warranty on the BT50 to only 2 years, and knowing the problems, meant was too much of a risk and cost to either upgrade bi-annually or keep fingers crossed that your motor/gearbox/dash/wiring wasn't one with an issue...
Ford Ranger is the same, except the dealers typical bogan attitude (not mechanics, more the service staff) means a shit job and service experience (like charging us for a service only to find the vehicle wasn't touched or even moved, then denying it and "the oil is supposed to be black and filters come standard with mud/road grime spray on them". Stuff that...
Toyota (un)reliability comes predominantly from their "capped" servicing, which is basically nothing more than checks and oil changes. As an example, at no point in the 3 year cap is a fuel filter changed... This is what causes the injector/pump issues, not necessarily a Toyota build quality. Most of the utes use the same Denso or Bosch fuel systems, so saying brand "x" is reliable but "y" is a piece of poo is just BS.
Yep, my triton had the srs harness failure, and was ordered after the first fault code. While harness didn't arrive for 2 weeks, dealer was happy to drop everything and reset the fault code at any time while waiting for the harness, and replaced (with a loan car) at the earliest convenience to me, not them. I also suffered with surging and failed scv, in hindsight had I replaced fuel filters at 15k km intervals while being serviced, would never have occurred. As a side note, since the second failure (around 40k km) and fitting a prefilter, and doing regular filter changes, I have had ZERO issues whatsoever with my car. It is now just shy of 100k km's. I do drivelines every 30k and never suffered with synchro or box failures. I tow, go serious 4wd atleast twice a month, has been across Australia twice, and recently did a desert trip to Alice springs (I did have a power steering fitting come loose, but was a 5 minute fix and a bottle of fluid, and given the shocking conditions of that 7000km trip, I am surprised the car even survived). The key is preventative maintenece and a good dealer. This is more important than brand or price. The best car can still be a lemon if not looked after, and the worst can be reasonable with care and attention.
As for comments on the Landcruiser 70/200, seriously the petrol 200 or Patrol Y62 would be a far better and cheaper long term purchase proposition if thinking past the 200000km range. If in doubt, speak to a local diesel specialist
In fairness, Isuzu motors are known to be strong and reliable, but every other component is only as good as every other manufacturers are, at best. Given the sheer number of MN Tritons sold over the last 5 or so years (much longer than all but the D40 and Hilux) the numbers of issues are fairly "reasonable" and generally easy to avoid or fix (srs harness and cylinder head aside), and these get fixed, replaced and returned to owners with minimal fuss or hysterics (at the dealers I know anyway).
While MY dealers continue to offer great service, advice and understanding of their brands product, I will continue to return to them and buy their products. If you have a local dealer network that is the same, that is the product I would choose.

Just my 2 cents

sS

[scumbag]

i wouldnt buy another one.

carbon problems, pretty well known.
cylinder head failure caused by a cracked camshaft cap ( think the only poor bastard still left a bad taste in my mouth)
noisy engine
poor low end power
terrible paint.

[srb]

i wouldnt buy another one.

carbon problems, pretty well known.
cylinder head failure caused by a cracked camshaft cap ( think the only poor bastard still left a bad taste in my mouth)
noisy engine
poor low end power
terrible paint.

Fair enough you've been burnt, but it's not fair to paint that picture for all Tritons.

The fact is though its still the best value ute going around and on average it's one of the most reliable and capable.

I hope your luck gets better.

[Octaneruss]

I have a MN 2009/2010, it has 112 000km on it and never had any real issues, gearbox syncros were done at around 50k just after I bought it, 1st owner put the EGR blank plate in it from new and when I did the valve set on it at 90k there was not much carbon in the manifold, when I bought it I put a catch can and a racor 2 micron fuel filter on it so give my fuel system it best chance of lasting the distance. I change the oil and filter evey 7500k and normal servicing after that, valve set I do at 60k intervals not 30k like they recommend. I have taken it to city view 4WD park and it didn't miss a beat at standard height, I was truely amazed at how capable the car was, only a small dent in my after market bash plate. Love that car! By the way I have had 2 landcrusers that were lemons, vowed never to buy another.

[biggibbo]

i wouldnt buy another one.

carbon problems, pretty well known.
cylinder head failure caused by a cracked camshaft cap ( think the only poor bastard still left a bad taste in my mouth)
noisy engine
poor low end power
terrible paint.

Fair enough you've been burnt, but it's not fair to paint that picture for all Tritons.

The fact is though its still the best value ute going around and on average it's one of the most reliable and capable.

I hope your luck gets better.

Value = Price x Experience

If your experience has been positive the ute represents great value.
If your experience has been poor, doesn't really matter how much you paid, your value equation is diminished.

It's like buying a $1 pie - great price however if the staff are rude, or the pie is cold/tasteless is it really good value compared to a $5 pie that is yummy and the staff were friendly.

Price is only 1 component of the value equation, and don't forget some of us paid over $47K back in 2009-11. For those of us who have had lots of issues, the ute really hasn't represented good value at all.

I know we all say "but I paid $10K less" but the way Mitsubishi have discounted over the last few years, has had a huge knock on effect to second hand and trade in prices, to the point where your 2010 MN triton is worth a lot less than the equivalent competitor at the time and the gap of depreciation has widened.

[deermaster]

Some people get lemons and that's a fact. Others get a really great truck too. I myself brought Hilux's for many years and had ripper trucks and with three of the four I had I did 300000klms in each of them with no hassels at all. The fourth Hilux I brought was a late model one 2005 and it was the biggest lemon I ever brought. Everything that could break or fall apart did and it near cost me my life when a wheel fell off through a faulty axel at 115klms and hour just as I was passing a B Double. That was a real close shave and stuffed up a four week holiday as after the axel was fixed the whole rear end collapsed and had to get another rear end. .
I quickly fell out of love with Hilux's after spending over $12000 in repair bills in 12 months. I was lucky enough to sell it seeing as it was nearly completely rebuilt and brought a ML2007 Triton. This little truck has been exceptionally good and never cost me a cent so far in repairs, plenty in adding goodies though Anyway, I just love the Triton I have and will be keeping it for many years I reckon if it keeps on keeping on like it has done. I do heaps of off road work in it while hunting and trapping and it handles the rough stuff really well. But in saying that there are probably blokes out there who have got a lemon Triton and heard of a few lemon Fords and landcruisers and Mazda's and Rodeo's. It just shows that whatever we buy we have to hope to get one that wasn't made on a Friday or Monday. Good luck with whatever you buy and hope it goes well for you

[srb]

Biggibbo, no dissrespect but it's not really about that. We all know that everyone has different needs and expectations in a particular vehicle that will determine whether it's good 'value' for that indervidual. I could also argue that you could pay 10k more for a different brand and have expensive problems too. But that's insane, isn't it?

We're talking about the vehicle on a whole. No contest mate, It's the best 'value' ute.

[Duck]

Pretty sure the question is why buy a Triton ?
So let people make there case just because someone says the Triton is Crap we don' need to get defensive they think the car is CRAP - we don't see anyone having a crack at someone for saying they love the car.
Each to there own & let the forum continue.
I think it is not the best ute on Road, It is not the best ute offroad but for the price represents very good value. I have had a few issues that were sorted under warranty but have had a few issues with every car I have owned.
I would imagine getting a lot more to buy than not on a Triton Site.

[GLX58]

Pretty sure the question is why buy a Triton ?
So let people make there case just because someone says the Triton is Crap we don' need to get defensive they think the car is CRAP - we don't see anyone having a crack at someone for saying they love the car.
Each to there own & let the forum continue.
I think it is not the best ute on Road, It is not the best ute offroad but for the price represents very good value. I have had a few issues that were sorted under warranty but have had a few issues with every car I have owned.
I would imagine getting a lot more to buy than not on a Triton Site.

Fair enough duck and a good points, but in amongst the valid negative feedback some people do kind of make comments that don't really cut the mustard as well so I don't see the problems in people countering this kind of thing. If I was the OP, frankly I'd be wanting all these replies.

For example I'm kind of over people continually referring to carbon build up when it affects basically all diesels (i.e. whats the point in even discussing it? its possibly even a bit misleading to the OP in fact) and also the lag (yes it has lag but when it's already been raised...seriously do people not drive the thing before slapping down thousands and thousands of hard earned?).

Anyway, as you say it's good to hear the pros and cons and In the end the ability of this forum to highlight and in many cases address the cons is why its great (and was actually part of the deciding factor in me buying the triton)

[mIwoo]

I'll chime in here.

I paid close to $46k for a GLR active in 2010.
It has been a lemon- without a doubt. 100%
There are 2 reason why I haven't bought another truck yet-
1. Basically can't afford to (justify really) when the truck is now pretty reliable (issues seem to be sorted).
2. MMAL WARRANTY!!!!! By far the best in the biz. I've had ALL of my issues replaced under warranty! Yep, all of them! Now, I have 10 year, 160 k warranty, so that persuaded me to keep the truck. Thats 80K and 5.5 years to go form now.
Now, in saying that, when I upgrade next time, i'll be looking at other options? Why, well my needs have changed.
Regarding value of money- in my case I paid nearly $50 k. Now its worth about $20k. I've had issues after issues with the truck, noting they have been replaced under warranty.
- I don't think i've got value for money out of my truck.
With someone buying new now- $30K for a better version of mine, with all the issues nutted out, bucketloads of aftermarket parts/ support and limited scope to devalue quickly, yeah, I DO think a runout MN would be great value!

[jrs184]

Having fun with the 06 Ml, 120 Kkm, Cooper AT3's down to 20psi as 38psi was standstill and slipping sideways off the camber towards the bank, trying to get out of my bush block, I encountered the abandoned yellow clay slush from the weeks regrading of the approach road and heavy rain. Too late to turn back as the road narrowed and no turn around space in sight just decided to keep it moving and holding it right over on what was left of the crown, the front wheels pointing up the hill pulled straight but the back kept sliding out to my left so my little girl in the car seat behind was appearing almost beside me, the LSD was working all right but cutting a sideways path in contradiction to the front wheels tracking straight. Is this a typical characteristic of the easy select 4wd system in slippery conditions and does the super select offer a remedy with the locked centre diff in this situation as far as tracking is concerned. Got to the top and checked how much clay/mud was plastered under the guards and there was still plenty of clearance. The next hill was smooth with no previous traffic, let a few more psi out and I see-sawed the steering and that worked cutting two channels up to the top all at walking pace but got out ok. I wonder, reading the comparisons above whether a much more expensive and at 10 grand a pop for injectors set Hilux would have been as much fun, or a fancy BT-50/Ranger combo would be any better or capable....