2001 Mitsubishi Montero

WOKE UP TO A LOUD ALARM. NEIGHBORS POUNDING ON OUR DOOR TO ALERT US SOMETHING WAS ALARMING. COPS IN THE DRIVEWAY. THE NOISE WAS 2001 MITSUBISHI MONTERO HORN ALARM. IT WOULDN'T SHUT OFF TILL THE BATTERY WAS DISCONNECTED. AN EASY FIX WOULD BE TO REMOVE THE FUSE, BUT IN MASS YOU ARE REQUIRED GET YEARLY DETAILED INSPECTION OF YOUR CAR. THEREFORE, MY TRUCK WOULD DEFINITELY FAIL AND I WOULD END UP PAYING THE 1,000-1500 FOR REPAIRS. THIS IS JUST ANOTHER SURPRISE PROBLEM ADDED TO MY LIST. VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOUR MITSUBISHI! *TR

WITHIN THE LAST 30 DAYS WHENEVER THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE DROPS BELOW 18F DEGREES THE HORN WILL CONTINUOUSLY BLOW. INITIALLY THE BATTERY IS DISCONNECTED TO STOP THE HORN FROM MAKING ITS NOISE. THEN HORN RELAY IS REMOVED TO DISABLE THE HORN COMPLETELY. THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN FIXED. THE PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED 5 TIMES. A MECHANIC HAS BEEN UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 MITSUSBISHI MONTERO. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND SHUT OFF FOR APPROXIMATELY EIGHT HOURS WHEN THE CONTACT HEARD THE HORN SOUND. THE CONTACT HAD TO DISCONNECT THE FUSE FOR THE HORN TO STOP IT. THE FAILURE OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY IN COLD WEATHER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 100,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 130,000.

THE HORN BUTTON SOMETIMES STICKS WHEN USED AND GOES OFF FREQUENTLY IN THE COLD OF THE EVENING MANY TIMES IN THE 4-6AM HOURS. THE HORN IS VERY LOUD AND WAKES THE NEIGHBORS. THIS HAS BECOME SUCH AN INCONVENIENCE THAT INITIALLY REMOVED THE FUSE FOR THE HORN - THIS IS VERY UNSAFE! RIGHT AFTER DISABLING THE HORN SOMEONE ALMOST BACKED UP INTO ME! SO I HAVE RE-ENABLED THE HORN SYSTEM (PUT THE FUSE BACK). THIS HORN BUTTON IS ALSO THE AIRBAG UNIT - SO IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE. SO I HAVE WIRED A SWITCH IN THE HORN CIRCUIT, SO THAT I AND MY NEIGHBORS CAN SLEEP AT NIGHT - I JUST HAVE TO REMEMBER TO FLIP THE SWITCH BACK ON WHEN I GET IN THE TRUCK. *TR

MARCH 25TH 2008: CAR WAS PARKED AT GOLF COURSE AND HORN BEGAN TO SOUND CONTINUOUSLY. HAD TO DISCONNECT BATTERY AND THE PULL FUSES TO STOP HORN. DEALER TOLD ME THAT IT WAS A STUCK SWITCH IN THE HORN ASSEMBLY AND THAT THE ENTIRE STEERING PAD/AIRBAG ASSEMBLY HAD TO BE REPLACED AT AN APPROXIMATE COST OF $1175 PARTS AND LABOR. ON SEARCHING THE INTERNET I FIND THIS BE A FAIRLY COMMON PROBLEM WITH MONTEROS PRIOR TO 2003. I CAN'T FIND A RECALL ON THIS BUT BELIEVE THAT THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ONE. *TR

FEBRUARY 02, 2008; AS I WAS DRIVING MY VEHICLE, THE HORN BEGAN TO SOUND CONSISTENTLY WITHOUT STOPPING. I HAD TO PULL OVER AND OPEN THE FUSE BOX IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AREA 7 REMOVE FUSE. MITSUBISHI DEALER ON 02/06/2008 TOLD ME THAT THE ENTIRE STEERING WHEEL WITH AIR BAG HAS TO BE REPLACE. MOST LIKELY IT HAS A SHORT AND THE INSIDE AREA HAS NO REPLACEMENT PARTS TO FIX THE HORN FROM NON-STOP SOUNDING. COST TO REPLACE STEERING WHEEL UNIT WITH AIR BAG IS $1,575.00 ! THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL OR SOMETHING FOR JUST A SHORT IN THE HORN SYSTEM. *TR

AT 35000, THE TRUNK DOOR LATCH MECHANISM IS BROKEN. AT 57000 MILES CHECK ENGINE LIGHT LIT, CAUSED BY SPARK PLUGS OR SPARK PLUG WIRES OPEN. REPLACE ALL PLUGS AND WIRES AT DEALERSHIP, COST $300.NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY. AT 77000 MILES, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT LIT, DEALERSHIP REPLACED CATALYTIC CONVERTER UNDER WARRANTY BUT I PAY FOR THE OXYGEN SENSOR PLUS LABOR THAT GOES WITH THE CATALYST.OLD PARTS NOT AVAILABLE. CAR DRIVEN ABOUT 3 MILES HOME FROM DEALESHIP AFTER REPLACING THE CAT. CONVERTER, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT LIT AGAIN. DEALERSHIP CHECKED AND SAID ANOTHER OXYGEN SENSOR IS BAD. TOTAL 4 OXYGEN SENSORS IN THE SYSTEM. COST $230 TO REPLACE ONE SENSOR. I COULD NOT BELIEVE THAT THESE SENSORS WILL GO BAD AT THE SAME TIME. IS THAT A COINSIDENCE OR MANUFACTURER PARTS DEFECTS???*AK