gas type MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE 2012 4.G Owners Manual

General information
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1
Ethanol (Gasohol) A mixture of up to 10 % ethanol (grain alcohol) and 90 %
unleaded gasoline may be used in your vehicle, provided the
octane number is at least as high as that recommended for
unleaded gasoline. Methanol Do not operate your vehicle on gasoline containing methanol
(wood alcohol). Using this type of alcohol could adversely
affect the vehicle’s performance and damage critical parts of
the vehicle's fuel system.Reformulated gasoline Many areas of the country require the use of cleaner burning
fuel referred to as “Reformulated Gasoline”.
Reformulated gasoline contains oxygenates and is specially
blended to reduce vehicle emissions and improve air quality.
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation strongly supports the use of
reformulated gasoline. Properly blended reformulated gasoline
has no adverse effect on vehicle performance or on the durabil-
ity of the engine and fuel system.MMT (methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tri-
carbonyl)MMT is a manganese-containing metallic additive that is
blended into some gasolines to increase the octane number.
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation recommends using gasolines
without MMT.
Use of gasolines blended with MMT may adversely affect per-
formance, and cause the malfunction indicator on your instru-
ment panel to come on. If this happens, contact an authorized
Mitsubishi Motors dealer or a repair facility of your choice for
assistance.
Sulfur in gasoline Your vehicle may have been designed to satisfy California’s
low-emission regulations based on clean-burning low-sulfur
gasoline. Gasoline sold in parts of the country other than Cali-
fornia is allowed to have a higher sulfur content. Using such
gasoline could adversely affect the vehicle's catalytic converter
and cause the engine malfunction indicator (“SERVICE
ENGINE SOON” or “CHECK ENGINE”) to come on. Illumi-
nation of this indicator while you are using high-sulfur gaso-
line does not necessarily mean the vehicle’s emission-control
system is malfunctioning. Your authorized Mitsubishi Motors
dealer may suggest you try using a different, lower-sulfur
brand of unleaded gasoline to determine whether the problem
is fuel-related.NOTE
Poor-quality gasoline can cause problems such as poor
starting, stalling during idling, abnormal engine noise, and
poor acceleration. If you experience any of these prob-
lems, try using a different brand of gasoline. If the engine
malfunction indicator (“SERVICE ENGINE SOON” or
“CHECK ENGINE”) flashes, have the vehicle inspected
as soon as possible by the nearest authorized Mitsubishi
Motors dealer or a repair facility of your choice.
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Seat and restraint systems
2-11
2 Rear seat
N00402500074
Folding the seatbacks forward (ECLIPSE only)
N00402900153
The rear seatbacks can be folded forward to provide additional
cargo area space.
Pull the left and/or right release knobs, and fold the rear seat-
backs forward.NOTE
Confirm that the seatback locks securely when it is
returned.
CAUTION
!
Switch off the seat heaters when not in use. Operate
the heaters at high for quick heating. After the seat
has become warm, set the heater to low to keep it
warm. Slight variations in the seat temperature may
be felt while using the heated seats. This is caused by
the operation of the heater’s internal thermostat and
does not indicate a malfunction.
If the following types of persons use the heated seats,
they might become too hot or receive minor burns
(red skin, heat blisters, etc.):
• Children, elderly persons, ill persons
• Person with sensitive skin
• Excessively fatigued persons
• Persons under the influence of alcohol or sleep-
inducing medication (cold medicine, etc.)

Do not place heavy objects on the seat or stick pins,
needles, or other pointed objects into it.
Do not use a blanket, cushion, or other material with
high heat insulation properties on the seat while
using the heater; doing so could cause the heater ele-
ment to overheat.
When cleaning the seat, do not use benzine, kero-
sene, gasoline, alcohol, or other organic solvents;
doing so could damage not only the surface of the
seat, but also the heater.
If water or any other liquid is spilled on the seat,
allow it to dry thoroughly before attempting to use
the heater. Turn the heater off immediately if it
appears to be malfunctioning during use.
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6-22 For emergencies
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Towing with front wheels off the ground (Type C)Release the parking brake.
Place the gearshift lever in the “Neutral” position (manual tran-
saxle) or the selector lever in the “N” (NEUTRAL) position
(automatic transaxle).
Operation under adverse driving conditions
N00837200721
If your vehicle becomes stuck in sand, mud or
snow If your vehicle becomes stuck in snow, sand, or mud, it can
often be moved by a rocking motion. Move the gearshift lever
(manual transaxle) or selector lever (automatic transaxle)
rhythmically between 1st and Reverse position (with manual
transaxle) or “Sports mode” and “R” (REVERSE) position
(with automatic transaxle), while pressing lightly on the accel-
erator pedal.
Do not race the engine nor spin the wheels. Constant efforts to
free a stuck vehicle can cause overheating and transaxle fail-
ure. Let the engine idle for a few minutes to cool the transaxle
before trying again.
If your vehicle is still stuck after several rocking attempts, call
for a commercial tow truck service.
WA R N I N G
!
To prevent entry of exhaust gas from the towing
vehicle, set the selection switch to the recirculation
position.
WA R N I N G
!
When trying to rock your vehicle out of a stuck posi-
tion, make sure that there are no people nearby. The
rocking motion can make your vehicle suddenly
lurch forward or backward, and injure any
bystanders.
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Vehicle care and maintenance
7-3
7 Catalytic converter
N00937400391
The catalytic converter requires you to use unleaded fuel only.
Leaded gasoline will destroy the emission-control effective-
ness of the converter.
Normally, the catalytic converter does not require maintenance.
However, it is important to keep the engine properly tuned for
the converter to continue to work properly. To reduce the possibility of catalytic converter damage:

Use UNLEADED GASOLINE ONLY of the type of rec-
ommended in “Fuel selection”.

Do not drive with an extremely low fuel level. Running
out of gas could damage the catalytic converter.

Do not try to start the engine by pushing or towing the
vehicle. If the battery is weak or run down, use jumper
cables to properly start the engine.

Do not idle the engine with any spark plug wires discon-
nected or removed, such as when performing diagnostic
tests.

Do not idle the engine for a long time if it is idling
roughly or otherwise obviously malfunctioning.

To prevent the catalytic converter from being damaged
from unburned gas, do not race the engine when turning
off the ignition switch.

Stop driving the vehicle if you think the performance is
noticeably low, or the engine has a malfunction. If you are
not able to stop driving immediately, slow down and drive
for only a short time. Have an inspection made by an
authorized Mitsubishi Motors dealer or a repair facility of
your choice as soon as possible.

In unusual situations involving major engine problems, a
burning odor may indicate severe and abnormal catalytic
converter overheating. If this occurs, stop in a safe place,
shut the engine off and let the vehicle cool. Once the
engine is cool, immediately take your vehicle to an autho-
rized Mitsubishi Motors dealer or a repair facility of your
choice for service.
CAUTION
!
Damage to the catalytic converter can result if your
vehicle is not kept in proper operating condition. If
the engine malfunctions or misfires, or if your vehi-
cle performance suffers, have it serviced promptly.
Running your vehicle when it is overheated may
result in damage to the converter and vehicle.
WA R N I N G
!
Do not park or run your vehicle in areas where com-
bustible materials such as dry grass or leaves can
come in contact with a hot exhaust, since a fire could
occur.
Do not put undercoat paint on the catalytic con-
verter.
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