Owners of other Mitsubishi vehicles such as the Lancer, Outlander, Galant, Montero, Eclipse, 3000GT, Endeavor, Raider, Diamante, Attrage, Carisma, Colt, Grandis, Magna, Pajero, Space Star and the revised 2017 Mirage may also find these DIY instructions to be helpful.

A few compatible sets of replacement front brake pads with their part numbers include the following: TRW TPC1731, Power Stop 16-1731 and Centric 105.17310.

The tools needed to complete this procedure include a plastic automotive pry bar tool, a lug nut wrench, a floor jack, two jack stands, a 14mm socket, a "C" or "F" clamp, a 3/8" drive ratchet and a tube of brake caliper grease.

Gently pry off the plastic wheel cover or "hub cap" straight off the front wheel with a pry bar tool.

Set the wheel cover aside in a safe place.

Slightly loosen the four lug nuts on the front wheel with the tire iron by turning them counterclockwise.

Raise the front of the vehicle with the floor jack and securely support it with two jack stands.

I prefer to work on one side of the car at a time to keep three wheels on the ground for extra safety.

Pull the two caliper bolts / slide pins out of the caliper and the bracket.

Alternatively, you could suspend the caliper from the spring with a bungee cord or some twine.

Remove the old inner brake pad from the bracket.

The wear indicator bar or "squeal" bar is situated at the top of the old inner brake pad.

Attach the "C" or "F" clamp to the caliper and use the back of an old brake pad to evenly distribute the pressure across the piston.

Move to the right rear area of the engine bay and locate the white plastic brake fluid reservoir cap.

Removing the reservoir cap will allow the fluid to more easily travel back through the system when you compress the caliper piston.

Slowly turn the "F" clamp handle in the clockwise direction until the caliper piston is flush with the rubber dust boot surrounding it.

Try to avoid pinching or otherwise damaging the rubber dust boot that surrounds the caliper piston.

Replace the brake fluid cap as soon as possible since brake fluid is hygroscopic (easily absorbs moisture from the air).

Twist it on in the clockwise direction.

Thoroughly clean off the brake rotor, caliper bracket, brake caliper assembly and the lug nut studs with brake parts cleaner spray. Do not use compressed air or blow with your mouth to clean off the brake parts since breathing in brake dust can be harmful to your health. Brake dust can be carcinogenic (causes cancer) if inhaled.

 If your Mirage exhibits shuddering, pulsating, or vibrations during braking, you may need to have your rotors "turned" (resurfaced) or just replace them with new rotors. If this is the car's first front brake job and the rotors appear to be in excellent condition, you should be able to just replace the pads with great results.

To remove the existing rotors and install new ones, just remove the two bolts on the rear of the caliper bracket that attach it to the steering knuckle. Then loosen the old rotor with a rubber mallet, pull it off and slide the new one in its place.

Push the new outer brake pad in to the caliper.

Carefully lower the caliper over the rotor and in to the bracket.

Push the caliper slider pins through the holes in the caliper and in to the bracket.

Spin in the caliper bolts a few turns by hand in the counterclockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the car) to prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

Tighten the two caliper bolts with the 14mm socket and a 3/8" drive ratcheting wrench to just past hand tight or about 25 to 30 lb-ft of torque.

Double check that the caliper bolts are tight before moving on to the next steps.

If your brake pedal previously felt soft, mushy or spongy, the brake fluid might be contaminated with water or the brake lines may contain a few air bubbles.

It would be best to bleed the brake lines at this time in order to flush out the old fluid and replace it with fresh DOT 3 brake fluid. For more on this topic, check out my Brake Line Fluid Bleeding With An Assistant DIY Guide or alternatively the Brake Line Fluid Bleeding With A Power Bleeder Guide.

The tapered (slightly pointed) end of the lug nuts should be facing in towards the wheel. The flat side of the lug nuts should be pointing out away from the car.

Carefully lower the car from the jack stands by using the floor jack.

Progressively tighten the lug nuts in a "criss cross" or "star" pattern to about 1/4 to 1/3 turn past hand tight. It would be best to use a torque wrench or an electric impact wrench with a torque stick to tighten the lug nuts to about 72 ft lbs of torque.

The owner's manual specifies that the lug nut torque is 72 lb-ft + or - 7. So anywhere from 65 to 79 lb-ft of torque.

Double check that the hub cap is securely attached to the wheel.

To break in your new front brake pads, just drive normally for the first few hundred miles while trying to avoid any hard or "panic" stops which may glaze over the new pads and cause them to be noisy or not perform as well.

It's also a good idea to regularly check your driveway, parking spot or garage for drops of brake fluid which may indicate a leak, check the brake fluid level in the reservoir, and also verify that the lug nuts are still tight.

Don't forget to record the brake pad change in your car's service records.

For more, check out all of my 2012-2016 Mitsubishi Mirage DIY Repair & Maintenance Guides.