2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 MITSUBISHI MONTERO SPORT. THE CONTACT RESEARCHED THE VEHICLE ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE AND FOUND THAT THE VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN A RECALL REGARDING BRAKES. THE VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT TO A DEALER, WHO VERIFIED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE DEALER AGREED TO REMOVE THE FAULTY BRAKES AND REPLACE THEM WITH ANOTHER FAULTY PART. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE CONTACT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TOTAL COST INCURRED FOR THE RECALL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT A RECALL NOTICE WAS NEVER RECEIVED BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY OWNED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGE WERE 100,000.*AK

IN JAN. MY WIFE STARTED TO GET A WHIFF OF GASOLINE EVERY NOW AND THEN WHEN SHE GOT OUT OF HER 2001 MONTERO SPORT. IT WAS NOT ENOUGH TO AROUSE SUSPICION. IN THE WEEK OF 3/27/06, THE SMELL BECAME SEVERE. I FOUND GAS RUNNING DOWN THE GAS TANK, DRIPPING ONTO A HOSE RUNNING BELOW IT, AND TO THE GROUND. I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO BE REPAIRED AT VACHON MITSUBISHI ON THURS., 3/30/06. I WAS CONTACTED BY VACHON AND TOLD THAT THE TANK WAS ROTTED AT THE SEAM AND WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. I ASKED IF THIS WOULD BE UNDER WARRANTY AS THE CAR WAS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD AND HAD 44,000 MI. VACHON INFORMED ME THAT IT WOULD NOT BE UNDER WARRANTY. THE REPAIR WOULD COST $1083. I CALLED MITSUBISHI TO QUESTION THE WARRANTY AS I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF A GAS TANK WEARING OUT SO QUICKLY. THEY INFORMED ME THAT IT MIGHT BE COVERED UNDER THE 7 YEAR/100,000 MILE CORROSION WARRANTY. I CONTACTED VACHON AND HAD THEM LOOK INTO IT. IT WAS DISCUSSED WITH REGIONAL MANAGEMENT AND THEY DECIDED THAT IT WOULD NOT BE COVERED, IT WOULD BE PART OF THE EXPIRED EMISSIONS WARRANTY. I AGAIN CALLED CUST. SERVICE. I TOLD THEM THAT THIS FAILURE WAS TOO FAR OUT OF SORTS TO BE OUT OF WARRANTY. GAS TANKS LAST 20 TO 40 YEARS AND THIS DECISION SHOULD BE RECONSIDERED. I WAS TOLD THAT IT WOULD BE REVIEWED. I WAS AGAIN REFUSED. I ASKED THAT A HIGHER LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT REVIEW THE CASE. I WAS TOLD THAT IT WOULD BE DONE AND SOMEONE WOULD GET BACK TO ME. 5 DAYS LATER, I CALLED BACK BECAUSE NOBODY CALLED ME. I WAS TOLD THAT THE CASE WAS REVIEWED AGAIN AND AGAIN THEY DECIDED AGAINST ME. MY CASE NEVER GOT TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT, IT WAS DECIDED BY MR. TESSMER, THE REGIONAL PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGER EVERY TIME. I ASKED IF I COULD SPEAK TO MR. TESSMER. THE ANSWER WAS NO. AT THIS POINT THE CAR IS FIXED. IT WILL COST ME $1100.06 TO PICK IT UP, MORE THAN THE PRICE QUOTE. MY WIFE AND 7 YEAR OLD HAD BEEN COMPLAINING OF FREQUENT HEADACHES. THE HEADACHES HAVE SUBSIDED SINCE THEY STOPPED USING THE CAR. *NM

I PURCHASED A 2001 MITSUBISHI MONTERO SPORT USED IN MARCH 2004, ONE MONTH AFTER PURCHASE I BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALERSHIP WITH A COMPLAINT OF A KNOCKING NOISE IN THE ENGINE. THE DEALERSHIP SAID NOTHING WAS WRONG. I HAVE PROPERLY MAINTAINED MY VEHICLE SINCE DAY ONE AND LEARNED TO LIVE WITH THE KNOCKING NOISE. ON OCT 23, 2005 THE WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY THE KNOCKING NOISE BECAME EXCESSIVE SO I PULLED OVER, TURNED THE ENGINE OFF, WAITED A MINUTE AND RESTARTED. AS I STARTED TO ACCELERATE THERE WAS A LOUD KNOCK AND SMOKE WAS COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. MITSUBISHI IS CLAIMING THE VEHICLE THREW A ROD DUE TO SLUDGE IN THE ENGINE. THE ARE SAYING THIS WAS DUE TO NEGLECT OF THE VEHICLE DUE TO THE OWNER, ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE NEVER ONCE ASKED ME FOR RECORDS OF MAINTENANCE, WHICH I HAVE. THEY THEN SAY IT WAS FROM NEGLECT OF THE PREVIOUS OWNER. IN A REPORT I RECEIVED FROM THE DEALERSHIP MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN SITTING THEY SAY "ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO OIL STARVATION". I HAVE RECORDS OF 5 OIL CHANGES IN 18 MONTHS. RIGHT NOW MY VEHICLE IS STILL INOPERABLE AND HAVE A DATE SET WITH THE NATIONAL CENTER OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION. HOPEFULLY MITSUBISHI WILL SUCK IT UP AND DO WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO DO UNDER WARRANTY. *JB

DT: THE CONSUMER OWNS A 2001 MITSUBISHI MONTERO SPORT. ON 10-11-05 WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE THERE WAS A WRECK IN FRONT OF CONSUMERS VEHICLE. WHEN THE CONSUMER APPLIED THE BRAKES, THEY WOULD NOT STOP THE VEHICLE. THE BRAKE LIGHT HAD COME ON EARLIER THAT DAY. THE CONTACTS VEHICLE HIT THE VEHICLE IN FRONT. UPON IMPACT, THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED BUT NOT ALL THE WAY. THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED INJURIES. *AK (11/15/05) *SC

I HAVE A MISTUSBISHI MONTERO SPORT XLS 2001 3.0. NOW I HAVE ONLY HAD THE CAR FOR 2YRS I KEPT UP WITH THE OIL CHANGES AND ALL OF THE OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR THE VEHICLE. NOW THE MOTOR HAD A TAP TO IT. ASK THE HEAD OF THE SHOP IN THE FLORENCE SC AREA AND WAS TOLD THAT ALL USED MONTEROS TAP. SHOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM. NOW AFTER CONTINUING TO DRIVE THE CAR THE TAP GOT LOUDER AND THE OIL CHANGES STILL REMAIN AS RECOMMENDED. WITHOUT ANY REASON OR WARNING THE MOTOR STARTED TO KNOCK LOUDER, THE OIL LIGHT CAME ON. TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALER AND FOUND OUT THE KNOCK WAS CAUSED FROM THE OIL NOT GETTING TO THE TOP OF THE MOTOR. NOW AT THE DEALERSHIP THEY TOLD ME THAT MY CAR WASN'T NOR IS THE ONLY ONE WITH THE SAME ISSUE. FROM 20 TO 30 A MONTH WITH THE SAME ISSUE. I HAD ANOTHER MECHANIC CHECK THE CAR ALSO AND FOUND THE OIL PUMP TO BE FAULTY. BUT NOW THE DAMAGE IS EXTREME THE MOTOR BEGAN TO HEAT UP AND THE BAD THING ABOUT IT IS THAT I WAS TOLD THAT IT DIDN'T MATTER IF I TOOK CARE OF THE CAR OR NOT CAUSE IF THE FIRST PERSON DIDN'T TAKE CARE OF THE CAR THAT IT WOULD HAVE STOPPED AT SOME POINT WHILE HAVING THE CAR. *JB

IN DECEMBER 2002 I PURCHASED MY CAR (2001 MITSUBISHI MONTERO SPORT XLS 4X4) FROM A LOCAL PRIVATE SELLER. THE CAR HAD ABOUT 38,000 AT THE TIME AND WAS STILL UNDER THE 60,000 MILE MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY. THE SELLER INSISTED HE DID NOT HAVE THE RECORDS OF THE REPAIRS, BUT DID GIVE ME A SPREADSHEET OF ROUTINE MAINTENANCE FOR THE CAR. AFTER HAVING THE CAR CHECKED BY MY REGULAR MECHANIC I BOUGHT THE CAR DESPITE THE LACK OF RECORDS SINCE IT HAD LOW MILEAGE AND WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. I THEN DROVE THE CAR AND PERFORMED THE ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. IN DECEMBER 2003 THE CAR REACHED 60,000 MILES AND WAS THEREFORE DUE FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. DUE TO MY LOW INCOME WHILE ATTENDING GRADUATE SCHOOL I COULD NOT AFFORD TO GET THE SERVICE DONE UNTIL THE CAR REACHED 61,000 MILES. I OPTED NOT TO GET THE SERVICE DONE AT THE DEALER BECAUSE OF COST. THE MECHANIC (CAROLINA IMPORT AND DOMESTIC, 4235 CAPITAL BLVD., RALEIGH, NC, 919-872-0350) IMMEDIATELY INFORMED ME THE CAR WAS SLIPPING BETWEEN GEARS AND THE TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS BLACK- MEANING THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPING WAS CAUSING THE FLUID TO BE BURNED. THE MECHANIC TOLD ME THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NEED TO BE REPAIRED SOON BUT SUGGESTED I CHANGE THE FLUID EVERY 15K IN THE MEANTIME. AFTER LEARNING THIS I IMMEDIATELY APPROACHED THE SELLER AND REQUESTED THE SERVICE RECORDS, IF ANY, AND HE FINALLY RELENTED. THE TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS CHANGED AT 38K BY LEITH MITSUBISHI CARY AND IT WAS BLACK THEN TOO- DEMONSTRATING LEITH MITSUBISHI IGNORED THE PROBLEM WHILE THE CAR WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. I THEN CONTACTED LEITH MITSUBISHI AND THEY SAID THE FLUID SHOULD HAVE BEEN CHANGED AT 30K INSTEAD OF 38K WHICH CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION TO FAIL AND THEY WOULD NOT FIX THE CAR. FOLLOWING THIS I CONTACTED NUMEROUS MECHANICS AND THEY ALL AGREED THAT CHANGING THE FLUID LATE WOULD NOT CAUSE THE TRANSMISSION TO FAIL, THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS FAILING BEFORE THE FLUID NEEDED TO BE CHANGED. *AK