Burtonrider1002

Anyone done it?

The manual states that the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport "is not reccomended for towing" but does not state why. The overseas models all seem to have tow ratings, and rather impressive ones at that:



Australia's ASX w/ 2.0L Gas, CVT:
Max trailer weight w/ trailer brakes: 2,315 lbs / 1,050 kgs
Max trailer weight w/o trailer brakes: 1654 lbs / 750 kgs
Max tongue weight: 232 lbs / 105 kgs
http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com.au/...specifications


Europe's ASX w/ 1.8L Diesel, 5 Speed Manual:

Max trailer weight w/ trailer brakes: 3,086 lbs / 1,400 kgs
http://www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/asx...fications.aspx


Puegeot (same as Aussie ASX)
http://www.themotorreport.com.au/spe...12ei?view=full


So I'm curious why the Outtie Sport has 0 lbs rating?


I intend to grab a Curts Class III hitch soon, and I will be towing a Polaris waverunner dry weight 500lbs on an old ShoreLand'R PWC trailer, dry weight ~235lbs, for a total with a fueled ski of just over 800lbs


Has anyone else pulled 800-900 lbs?

tdott

I haven't tried towing yet, I assume they have that listed because of liability. But then again the 2.0L CVT is pretty sluggish as is, towing something would make it worst, I wonder how the CVT will hold up, people say the CVT is a weak point.

Burtonrider1002

I will only be towing sporatically and quite infrequently. Looks like I might be picking the waverunner up this weekend so we will find out for sure then lol.

Still waiting on my replacement hitch, UPS damaged the first one a lot.

rlong007

Any update on this?

I just bought a 2012 Mitsubishi RVR up in Canada (same as outlander sport) and was told that if I added a hitch I would void the warranty. I suggested that the hitch would be for a bike rack and that I wouldnt be towing anything. They said if something happened to the transmission and they could link it back to the hitch in some way (which honestly they could just say 'the hitch caused your problem') then the warranty would be void.

The max cargo capacity for the RVR (passengers + cargo) is not supposed to exceed 827lbs (as per door sticker) which seems a little light to me. This suggests that I could tow something like a small fishing boat as long as it weighs less than 627lbs (Im 200).

Anyone have any experience with this?

I find it hard to believe that 5 grown men would exceed the capacity of a 5-passenger SUV but there you go...

FYI: Dealer verified that the RVR does come with a transmission cooler, which boggles my mind even further that it can only handle 827 lbs. Should this thing have even been created in the first place??

Someone drop some knowledge on me. Im new to this stuff. My old 2000 sunfire had a towing capacity of 1000lbs so am feeling a little lost...!

Burtonrider1002

I responded to your PM also. But overall, no, I have not ahd a chance to go get the ski. I got sidetracked fixing my motorcycle and have been wasting all my time on that. Bike is finished now, and I will HOPEFULLY be picking up the ski soon. As I said in the PM, my local Mitsu dealer said anything under ~1k lbs whould be fine to tow, just be gentle with it. I don't forsee you having any problems with a small boat, hell, even a civic can tow a U-Haul trailer.

Burtonrider1002

Ok, so I FINALLY got a chance to go get the damn thing. Installed the reciever (Curts Class III ~$120 Shipped from Amazon) without any issues. It is IMPOSSIBLE to torque some of the bolts w/o removing the exhaust though, so keep that in mind.

Total journey was approx. 175 miles, from Ft. Wayne, IN to downtown Chicago. Slightly noticable on accelleration and up hills, but on cruise control my RPM's were only ~50 over normal on flat land. Stopped fine, turned fine, accelled fine, cruised fine, overall the damn thing was FINE! Why the headache of not offering a factory hitch or guidelines for towing is beyond me.

Ski weighs 495 lbs, trailer weighs ~300 lbs. Full tank of gas and my 170lbs in the front seat and she didn't even blink. MPG's were slightly but noticably lowered.

Hiboost

iTrader: (9)

Thanks for the update! Figured it wouldn't be a big deal for a 800-1000 lb mini trailer setup.

rlong007

Thanks for the update! I JUST bought a boat (Lund SSV-16 w/40HP EFI Mercury-its gonna GO!!). Total weight including trailer is about 850lbs. That's not counting gas/battery or gear. Anyways, Within the next few days Ill be trying that out with my 2012 RVR (Canada; Outlander Sport in the US). Everyone Ive spoken with says Ill have no troubles whatsoever and I am inclined to agree with them. The only thing I can see being an issue is pulling the boat out of the water but I think Ill be ok as long as the incline isnt too bad. Gonna do some test driving on an empty road first to test braking etc.

How was the braking specifically Burtonrider1002?

Kendogg

I think this is probably the reason. That 2.0 is severely underpowered and I don't think the CVT can handle a heavy load on it. If I needed to tow something I probably would have purchased the Outlander V6

827lb's? I was not aware of that. They sell the vehicle as sitting 5 adults comfortably. I guess as long as the full size adults don't weigh more then 165lb's each.

Burtonrider1002

Braking, as with any tow vehicle was slightly increased. I have pulled ~1,500lbs in a GMC Yukon XL and I'd say the brake decrease was about the same, so when you figure the trailer to vehicle weight ratio, their probably pretty close, thus solidifying my theory that the Outlander Sport can handle ~800lbs. Then again, the OS started with terrible brakes, so you can't expect too much from them! lol.


I had zero intention of ever pulling a trailer with this car. I got the wave runner and trailer for free and I just couldn't pass up the offer, I mean hell, the price was right!

Hiboost

iTrader: (9)

Overlooking the size specs on the brakes I'm actually quite impressed by the pad selection and smoothness that the Outlander Sport stops from the factory. As far as braking with an extra 800 lbs in a trailer plus occupants then it might start pushing the limits more.

Burtonrider1002

Really though, it did ok. Just be smart and give yourself a few extra feet and the little CUV will stop it just fine. If anyone is really worried, just add trailer brakes lol

rlong007

Today is the day I test out whether I'll be able to pull a boat or not with the RVR. If not, I hit Kijiji for a cheap truck. I think what I am most worried about is pulling the boat out of the water. As previous people have posted, the CVT is definitely the weak point for this vehicle. It would seem many auto critics agree. We will see today!

As a sidenote, I read somewhere that the 2013 Outlander Sport/RVR is able to tow 1500 lbs! Obviously we wont know until word comes out. But! I am wondering. I'm not too keen on cars etc. Is it possible that they stayed with the 2012 CVT but just tweaked the settings, changing the timing etc? Is that doable in the world of CVTs? If so, I wonder if it would be possible to simply tweak the 2012 CVT the same way they tweaked the 2013 CVT. A lot of assumptions there I realize, and yea, I don't know much about cars. I just kind of doubt they manufactured a whole new CVT for the 2013 model.

Burtonrider1002

I know I read somewhere (but it may not have been an official source) that the newer CVT's have like one or two parts that were made a little thicker or hardened or something along those lines to make them a bit more durable, which may be why the new ones are going to list a towing capacity.

rlong007

Well I drove around the city with my boat yesterday as it was too late for the lake. It went ok. Braking was no issue at all, even at higher speeds. However, when going 100 on the highway I did feel that the RVR did have to work a bit harder at about 80+km/h. I suppose thats expected. Didnt make me feel great but I think it'll be ok. Still considering buying a small truck off kijiji. We'll see!

Hopefully ill get out on the lake monday