 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor. Click image to enlarge |
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By Chris Chase
The last thing an auto manufacturer wants is for potential buyers – that is, anyone with a driver’s licence and a bank account – to be unaware of its products. While most driving Canadians know about Mitsubishi, many are not familiar with the Endeavor SUV.
A brand-new model for 2004, the Endeavor certainly started on decent footing, riding atop the same platform as the Galant mid-size sedan, which was redesigned the same year.
Price-wise, the Endeavor slotted in between the compact Outlander and the similarly-sized, truck-based Montero. The Endeavor was attractive, if generic, even when it was new, its looks inspiring about as much excitement as a discussion of the merits of soft versus firm tofu.
The Endeavor borrowed its 3.8-litre V6 from the Galant and Montero (though the Montero employed it in a rear-drive layout, where the Galant and Endeavor are front-drive based vehicles); in the Endeavor, it produced 215 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque. Basic Endeavors were front-drive, with all-wheel drive being an option.
 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor. Click image to enlarge |
Between 2004 and 2007, the Endeavor’s fuel consumption numbers strayed little from the 2004 ratings of 13.7 L/100 km (city) and 9.4 L/100 km (highway) for a front-drive model. Choosing all-wheel drive didn’t affect city consumption significantly, which increased to about 14 L/100 km, but highway consumption increased to 10.1 L/100 km.
Despite the Endeavor’s rather modest power output – at least by current standards – Mitsubishi recommends using premium fuel; regular can be used, but with reduced peak performance. There’s a fairly lengthy discussion on this topic in the Endeavor forum at Mitsubishi-Forums.com.
Reliability seems to be good: Consumer Reports notes few serious trouble spots. Several owners posting at Mitsubishi-Forums.com say the check engine light in their trucks comes on regularly; apparently, a software update for the engine control unit will fix the issue, but in some cases, the light appears to have been triggered by a bad oxygen sensor.
Propellor/drive shaft bearings seem prone to failure in early (mostly 2004 model year) Endeavors. It seems Mitsubishi has covered this under warranty in most cases; this is unrelated to a recall concerning the Endeavor’s propeller shaft. These early trucks also had noisy differentials caused by an improperly manufactured gear.
