2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

ACD/ AYC PUMP FAILURE, ONE TIME I WAS DOING FLUID INSPECTION ON MY CAR WHEN I NOTICE THE CARS ATF FLUID RESERVOIR IN THE TRUNK IS LOSING OIL. LOOKED AT THE FLOOR FOUND SOME RED OIL DRIPPING. IT MAY HAVE SEEM THAT PUMP MAY HAVE BEEN FAILING TO HOLD PRESSURE AND LOSE OIL. POSSIBLE GASKET FAILURE OR PUMP CRACK. BEEN SEARCHING ONLINE FOR SIMILAR PROBLEMS, I FOUND OUT IT SEEMED TO BE MOSTLY EVERY OWNERS PROBLEM. IS THIS SUPPOSE TO BE COVERED BY MANUFACTURER? SEEM LIKE POOR MATERIAL BUILD. *TR

IT WAS A COLD WINTER DAY, I STARTED DRIVING MY EVO TO A NEARBY GROCERY STORE. ENROUTE, THE AWD SYSTEM WOULD THROW A WARNING AND A DASHBOARD LIGHT LIT UP. I WAS CONCERNED, STOPPED THE VEHICLE AND FOUND NO LEAKS OR NO WEIRD NOISES. THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT INTO SNOW/TARMAC/GRAVEL MODE. FORTUNATELY I WAS NOT STRANDED ON THE ROAD SIDE. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION I CAME TO KNOW THAT THE ACD PUMP FAILED AND HENCE IT THREW AN AWD ERROR. ITS COSTING ABOUT 2200 DOLLARS TO FIX THIS ISSUE. *TR

WHEN STARTING MY 2008 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION GSR, I RECEIVED A WARNING MESSAGE ON THE CLUSTER DISPLAY SHOWING A YELLOW-ORANGE SYMBOL THAT SHOWS 4 WHEELS CONNECTED BY AXLES AND THE MIDDLE-SHAFT, WHERE THE FRONT TWO WHEELS ARE FACING AT AN ANGLE TO THE SIDE. THE ERROR CODE READ AS C161E: DTC C161E: ELECTRIC PUMP RELAY CIRCUIT SYSTEM (STUCK). THIS HAS BECOME A VERY COMMON ISSUE WITH THE 2008 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION. SO COMMON THAT WHEN YOU SEARCH FOR THE CODE C161E, YOU CAN FIND COUNTLESS FORUM DISCUSSIONS ON MULTIPLE WEBSITES COMMENTING ON THE FREQUENCY OF THIS ISSUE. INCLUDING MYSELF, A SINGLE DISCUSSION IDENTIFIES AT LEAST 48 UNIQUE CARS, 42 OF WHICH ARE THE 2008 MODEL YEAR, WHERE THE ACD PUMP FAILED, ALL OF WHICH HAVING DRIVEN FEWER THAN 75,000 MILES AND NEARLY 60% WITH LESS THAN 50,000 MILES (HTTP://WWW.EVOXFORUMS.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=58221&HIGHLIGHT=C161E&PAGE=1). SEVERAL OF THESE VEHICLES REQUIRED MULTIPLE REPLACEMENTS OF THE SAME PART. THIS PROBLEM AFFECTS THE SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE VEHICLE'S ALL-WHEEL-DRIVE SYSTEM, LIKELY INCLUDING THE VEHICLE'S TRACTION CONTROL AND NEEDS TO BE RECALLED IMMEDIATELY. *TR

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL / S-AWC (TARMAC/GRAVEL/SNOW) INOPERABLE. TERRAIN SELECTION CAN BE PERFORMED AT 0MPH HOWEVER WHEN THE CAR IS PLACED IN MOTION: FORWARD / REVERSE, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL INDICATES THERE IS SERVICE REQUIRED IN THE AWD TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM. THIS IS APPARENTLY A COMMON PROBLEM, FROM THE MULTITUDE OF COMPLAINTS FOR THIS SPECIFIC ISSUE POSTED HERE. *TR

ACD (ACTIVE CENTER DIFFERENTIAL) PUMP HAS FAILED AND WITHOUT THIS PUMP PROVIDING PRESSURE TO THE ALL WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEM, THE VEHICLE GETS STUCK ON DRIVEWAYS AT A STOP WHERE THE TIRE AND WHEEL PACKAGES ARE ON DIFFERENT ELEVATED SURFACES. THE REASON THE PUMP HAS FAILED IS DUE TO PLACEMENT OF THE PUMP ON THE VEHICLE. MITSUBISHI HAS DESIGNED THE VEHICLE TO HAVE THE PUMP TO BE LOCATED DIRECTLY BEHIND THE REAR PASSENGER WHEEL. DUE TO THIS, WHILE DRIVING ON SEVERE WEATHER ROADS (PARTICULARLY SNOW SALTED ROADS), THE DIRT, WATER AND SALT GETS KICKED UP TO THE POSITION OF THE PUMP WHICH CORRODES THE FITTINGS AND THE PUMP ITSELF. THIS THEN CAUSES THE PUMP TO FAIL OVER TIME. IT COULD HAVE BEEN EASILY REMEDIED BY RELOCATING THE PUMP OR ANTI-CORROSION PROTECTION AND BETTER SEALING. BEING LOCATED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT THIS WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED TO ME, BUT EVEN DRIVING ONLY TWICE THROUGH SNOW ROADS IN THE PAST 3 YEARS HAS CORRODED THE PUMP TO FAILURE. MITSUBISHI HAS DENIED THAT THIS IS PART OF THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY, WHICH MEANS IT WILL BE A $2000+ DOLLAR FIX. *TR

AS MANY EVOLUTION OWNERS WHO LIVE IN THE MIDWEST CAN ALSO ATTEST, MY EXAMPLE NOW JOINS THE CLUB OF MODELS WITH DEFECTIVE ASC/AYC PUMP FAILURE. THE PUMP FAILS WHEN OUTSIDE TEMPERATURES RUN CLOSE TO FREEZING, ON TOP OF THE UNIT CORRODING, AND EVOLUTION OWNERS ARE BEING FORCED TO SHELL OUT $1800 MINIMUM TO MITSUBISHI FOR THE PUMP ALONE, NOT INCLUDING LABOR. I BELIEVE THIS HAS ONLY OCCURRED TO MY MITSUBISHI AFTER SIX YEARS BECAUSE I'VE BEEN VERY GOOD ABOUT KEEPING THE UNDERBODY CLEAN, AND IT'S NEARLY ALWAYS PARKED IN A HEATED GARAGE. WITHOUT THE PROPER FUNCTIONING OF THIS INTEGRAL DRIVETRAIN EQUIPMENT, WE AREN'T ABLE TO CONTROL POWER DELIVERY FRONT TO BACK AND THE VEHICLE COMPUTER GOES INTO A TYPE OF LIMP MODE WHERE NO CONTROL OF THE DELIVERY OF POWER TO THE WHEELS IS POSSIBLE. OF COURSE THE BRAKES WORK AND THE THROTTLE WORKS, BUT WHEREAS THE VEHICLE USED TO BE SELECTABLE FOR SNOW OR GRAVEL MODES, GREATLY IMPROVING TRACTION AND THE ABILITY TO LIMIT SLIPPAGE OF THE REAR WHEELS, WE INSTEAD STARE AT A DIGITAL READOUT INSTRUCTING US TO SERVICE THE UNIT THAT'S CORRODED AND THE PUMP HAS OVERHEATED AND ALSO FAILED AS A RESULT. WWW.EVOXFORUMS.COM AND WWW.EVOLUTIONM.NET HAS PLENTY OF OTHER CUSTOMERS WHO ARE BELONG FRUSTRATED WITH THIS ISSUE THAT MITSUBISHI DOESN'T WANT TO ADDRESS. NEARLY ALL OF US HAVE SPENT GOOD MONEY ON A VEHICLE WE THOUGHT WOULD BE A SOLID PERFORMER IN BOTH THE DRY, WET, AND SNOW AND INSTEAD, SOME OWNERS HAVE TO PAY NOT ONCE TO REMEDY THIS UNIT THAT'S FAILING ON ALL OUR CARS, BUT I'VE HEARD OF OWNERS HAVING TO DO IT TWO AND EVEN THREE TIMES. OWNERS ARE TRYING TO SAVE MONEY BY BREAKING DOWN THE UNIT AND REPAIRING THE INTERNAL MOTOR. PEOPLE ARE EXPERIMENTING WITH WAYS TO PREVENT THE UNITS THEY PURCHASE TO PREVENT THEM FROM RUSTING AND CORRODING. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CONTACT MITSUBISHI AND HELP US?? *TR