Lancer's Central Locking Nightmare: Causes & Solutions

Hey there! I have some experience with cars and actually had a similar issue with my 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander Diesel last year. The symptoms were exactly like yours, super annoying when the central locking would unsual decide not to work! Turned out it was just a faulty cable connection between the door and the control unit. My mechanic found it pretty quickly, and it cost me around 155€ to fix. Since then, it's been working perfectly. Could you tell me if you're noticing the issue more on a specific door, or is it happening unsual on all doors? Also, have you noticed any other electrical issues? This might help pinpoint if we're dealing with the same problem. I'd say get it checked at a reliable workshop, these electrical gremlins can be tricky to diagnose on your own.

Thanks for your reply! My locking issue seems to affect all doors unsual, super frustrating! Got it serviced just 3 months ago at 62040 KM and everything was fine then. Haven't noticed any other electrical problems honestly, it's just this central locking that's being a pain. I think I'll follow your advice and take it to my mechanic. The cable connection thing you mentioned sounds like it could be the culprit, fingers crossed it's something that simple and not too expensive to fix! Thanks for sharing your experience, really helpful to know what I might be dealing with.

Hey again! Yeah, those unusual locking issues can drive you nuts, I totally get it! After seeing that your problem is affecting all doors and came up pretty suddenly, I'm even more convinced it might be similar to what I dealt with on my Outlander. Just to add to my previous experience, before I got it fixed, I noticed the problem would sometimes get worse in wet weather (not sure if you've noticed anything similar?). My mechanic explained that these cable connections can deteriorate over time, especially with our lovely weather conditions! Something else I remembered, before taking it to the shop, I tried cleaning the key fob contacts and changing the battery, just to rule out the simple stuff. Didn't fix my issue, but might be worth trying if you haven't already. The good news is that if it is the cable connection like mine was, it's usually a pretty straightforward fix. My Outlander hasn't had a single locking problem since getting it sorted last year. Really hope your Lancer's fix turns out to be just as simple and affordable! Keep us posted on what your mechanic finds, always good to know for future reference!

Thanks so much for all this helpful information! You know what's funny? I actually noticed the same thing about it acting up more when it's wet outside, should've mentioned that earlier! I did try changing the key fob battery last week but no luck there, so hearing about your similar experience with the cable connection issue is really reassuring. I've booked it in at my local mechanic for next Tuesday. Hoping it'll be a straightforward fix like yours was, €155 sounds way better than replacing the entire central locking system! I'll definitely update this thread once I know what's what. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and all the extra details, it's helped me feel a lot less worried about the whole thing. Thanks again for all the help!