Mitsubishi Pajero Gets 20 Locally Developed Accessories at December Launch

• Mitsubishi Motors Australia will have 20 locally developed accessories ready for the new Pajero when it reaches showrooms in December.
• A Genuine Accessory fitted before handover shares the car’s own warranty of 5 years or 100,000 km, and up to 10 years or 200,000 km on an eligible car with every scheduled service done at a Mitsubishi dealership.
• Mitsubishi says its Australian-made front protection bars leave the Pajero’s driver assistance systems fully working.

Mitsubishi Planned Its Pajero Accessories Almost Five Years Before Launch

Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL) will offer 20 locally developed accessories from launch, when the new Pajero reaches showrooms in December. Australian companies and engineers designed all of them, and a subset is also built locally: the driving lamps, winch cradle, both front protection bars, the distribution hitch and the headlight and hood protectors.

The warranty rule is the first thing a buyer who plans to add a bar, a tow bar or a snorkel needs to know. A Genuine Accessory fitted to a new Pajero before handover sits under the standard cover for the car, 5 years or 100,000 km. Where the car qualifies for the extended cover and every scheduled service has been done at a Mitsubishi dealership, the same accessory is covered for up to 10 years or 200,000 km, whichever limit is reached first.

Prices for the accessories and the Pajero’s towing ratings are the two numbers a buyer still needs, and the accessories announcement gives neither. Both are worth asking for in writing before a build sheet is signed.

The engineering goes back further than the showroom date. MMAL’s local accessories team began work with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) in early 2022. The team settled the wiring, mounting positions and body structure that bars and tow gear need, so those parts were planned into the Pajero program rather than bolted on afterwards. Access to MMC’s CAD data let the Australian team start concept work long before a physical vehicle existed.

Steve Pearson has been involved all the way through that work, as MMAL’s Engineering Manager, Accessory Development. He joined Mitsubishi in 1990, held factory and body design roles, and switched to accessories after Australian vehicle production ended in 2008. Mitsubishi puts his own four-wheel-drive experience at more than three decades, including extensive touring in Mitsubishi models.

“Pajero has been part of my entire career. I bought my first one in the early-1990s, and I’ve spent decades travelling Australia in Pajeros, Challengers and Pajero Sports,” Pearson said.

Pearson describes the brief for his team in terms of how Australians use a four-wheel drive. “Australians ask a lot of their four-wheel drives. They tow caravans, travel off-road and cover enormous distances, so our accessories must be more than cosmetic additions. They need to be engineered as part of the vehicle experience,” he said.

“So the core of our role is to understand what Australian customers need, work with MMC and our suppliers to find the right engineering solution and make sure the finished accessory works with the vehicle rather than against it.”

The next stage took place in Japan. MMAL engineers visit MMC’s Okazaki R&D facility, where they try prototype accessories on real cars years ahead of launch. “The next phase is vital; it’s the face-to-face engineering work that we conduct at MMC’s Okazaki R&D facility in Japan,” said Pearson.

“These visits, with access to the physical cars and the MMC engineering team years ahead of launch enable us to fit and test prototype accessories to assess marketability, functionality, practicality and durability aligned with the vehicle development schedule.”

“From there, we can then work with specialist suppliers to translate the concepts into production-quality parts that balance engineering, regulatory, durability, design and manufacturing considerations… all with the customer outcome at the forefront.”

What Is Ready on Launch Day and What Is Made Locally

The launch list splits into groups. Protection covers a hooped front bar, a hoopless front bar, black and polished nudge bars, a side protection bar, under-ride protection, a headlamp protector and hood protectors in clear, tinted or matte black (the matte black version carries a PAJERO logo). Lighting is a pair of driving lamps and an LED light bar. Touring and recovery gear covers a snorkel, a roof rack and a winch cradle. Towing needs a tow bar, a tow bar harness, an electric brake harness and the distribution hitch. The Australian-manufactured lines are marked in the maker’s list: driving lamps, both front bars, the headlamp protector, the hood protectors, the distribution hitch and the winch cradle.

A broader accessories range follows at market launch, so the 20 are a starting list rather than the full catalogue. For a buyer who wants the hard-use gear on the vehicle the day it arrives, the list covers front and underbody protection, lighting, a snorkel and a roof rack, with the towing hardware set out below.

Front Protection Bars Built to Keep Driver Assistance Working

The Pajero carries advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and a front bar has to leave them working. Mitsubishi’s steel front protection bars (FPBs), in hooped and hoopless styles, are Australian developed and manufactured, and Pearson names them as a program highlight. Mitsubishi says both keep the Pajero’s full ADAS functionality.

“The Front Protection Bar projects really demonstrated what local accessory engineering can achieve. We wanted something genuinely tough and functional, but we also knew from the beginning that it had to work with Pajero’s driver assistance technology,” Pearson said.

“That solution required us to work with MMC, the styling team, the accessory supplier and the technology suppliers from the project’s infancy. That early collaboration is what has allowed us to bring those different requirements together for a FPB that looks tough and does its job, with no compromise to the Pajero’s active safety systems.”

“Another point of pride is that the FPB is manufactured in Australia,” he said.

That claim is the maker’s, and the practical test sits with the buyer. A Genuine bar fitted before delivery keeps the warranty position simple, and the bar comes from the same engineering program as the vehicle rather than from a third party.

Towing: Tow Bar, Hitch and Off-Road Couplings

The Pajero’s towing package gets the same early attention. MMAL worked with MMC to alter the vehicle structure around the tow bar, reinforcing it and adjusting it so the bar fits accurately.

“The tow bar might not be the most glamorous accessory, but from an engineering perspective it is something we are incredibly proud of,” Pearson explained.

“With the close collaboration, we could look beyond simply designing a tow bar and work with MMC on its vehicle accommodation. That means Australian customers will have a genuine towing solution designed around the way they use their vehicles.”

“We can now offer a genuine weight distribution hitch, and our solution also supports the various off-road couplings touring Australians now demand.”

The accessories announcement does not give the Pajero’s braked towing capacity or tow ball download, and those two figures decide what a caravan or boat buyer can hook up. Anyone who tows a caravan also needs to look past the car, and the site’s UK report on towing breakdowns linked to caravan tyres is a useful check before a long trip.

How Fitting Accessories Affects Your Warranty

Mitsubishi’s published terms for Genuine Accessories sort the cover into three cases, and who fits the part, and when, decides which case a buyer gets.

Case one is a part fitted before delivery. It follows the vehicle’s own warranty: 5 years or 100,000 km as standard, or up to 10 years or 200,000 km for an eligible car with a full Mitsubishi dealership service record.

Case two is a part that a Mitsubishi dealer fits after the owner has collected the car. Cover is the longest of three options: 12 months or 20,000 km, whichever comes first; what remains of the 5 year/100,000 km standard warranty; or, for an eligible car with the full dealership service record, the extended 10 year/200,000 km period.

Case three is a part fitted somewhere other than a Mitsubishi dealership. It carries 12 months or 20,000 km, whichever comes first.

One caveat applies across the lot: items that are expressly excluded, or that have a separate warranty of their own, fall outside these terms. Those terms are published for the Genuine Accessories range as a whole, so ask the dealer to confirm them for each Pajero item. For comparison, the site’s UK guide to servicing without voiding the warranty explains British rules, which differ from Australian ones, so check Mitsubishi’s own terms.

What to Do Before You Order

Ask the dealer to fit the accessories before delivery, so they sit under the car’s own warranty from day one. Request the written price for each part, the Pajero’s braked towing capacity and tow ball download, and confirmation that the front bar you want is the ADAS-compatible Genuine Accessory. If the tow bar and distribution hitch are on your list, check how they affect the rated limits and who fits them.

Then keep the service book in order. The extended warranty position depends on every scheduled service being completed at a Mitsubishi dealership, and an accessory carries the same condition as the vehicle.

Reviewed by Preetam Gadekar

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