2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Powertrain & Transmission Problems

VEHICLE DECIDED TO SHIFT TO LOW GEAR WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY. IT SHIFT GEARS AUTOMATICALLY FOR NO REASON. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MITSUBISHI LANCER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE CLUTCH FAILED TO FUNCTION AND THE CONTACT HEARD A POPPING NOISE . THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MITSUBISHI LANCER OZ RALLY(NA). THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE CLUTCH SLAVE CYLINDER WAS LEAKING FLUID; THE FOLLOWING DAY THE CLUTCH PETAL WAS NO LONGER OPERABLE. THE DEALER OR MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN NOTIFIED NOR WAS THE VEHICLE REPAIRED OR DIAGNOSED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 68,000. UPDATED 04/12/11*LJ

THE CLUTCH CYLINDER RELEASE KEEPS LEAKING UNTIL IT WONT CLUTCH. YOU CANT SHIFT GEARS. ITS HAPPENEDD 6 TIMES IN THE LAST 3 YEARS. THE CAR ISN'T USED FOR ANY TYPE OF RACING BECAUSE IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE ENOUGH POWER, JUST FOR REGULAR EVERYDAY DRIVING. I'VE TALKED TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THAT THEY WILL NOT COVER IT BECAUSE IT HAS NO WARRANTY ANYMORE BUT THE CARS DEFECTIVE AND THAT IS THEIR PROBLEM. I'VE BEEN READING AND IT SEEMS MY CAR IS NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM. *TR

2003 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION. LOUD GRINDING NOISES COMING FROM THE TRANSMISSION WITHIN A FEW THOUSAND MILES. CARS UNDER 8 THOUSAND MILES HAVING TO REPLACE CLUTCHES AND TRANSMISSIONS. GEARS POPPING INTO NEUTRAL. DEALERSHIP ACCEPTED WARRANTY AND IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON THE CAR. CAR WAS RETURNED A 2ND TIME TO BE LOOKED AT AGAIN. *TR

THE 5TH GEAR SYNCRO HAS FAILED ON THE CAR AT 60,000 MILES. THIS IS A KNOWN DEFECT TO MITSUBISHI AND THEY HAVE DEVELOPED NEW, STRONGER PARTS AS PART OF A TSB. HOWEVER, MITSUBISHI IS REFUSING TO REPAIR THE DEFECT CITING "ABUSE". *TR

KNOCKING NOISE COMING FROM THE CLUTCH AREA. EVERY TIME I RELEASE THE CLUTCH ON MY CAR I HEAR THIS KNOCKING NOISE, WHEN I DEPRESS THE CLUTCH THE NOISE GOES AWAY. *TR

I LAUNCHED MY CAR FROM ABOUT 5500RPM. I PREVIOUSLY HAD A NEW EXEDY CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL INSTALLED ABOUT 2 MONTHS EARLIER. THE CAR JUMPED BUT WOULDN'T GO ANYWHERE AFTER I LET THE CLUTCH OUT. I THOUGHT MAYBE FIRST GEAR WAS GONE BUT WHEN I TRIED ALL THE OTHER GEARS IT SEEMED AS IF THE CAR WAS IN NEUTRAL. I HAD THE CAR TAKEN TO A LOCAL PERFORMANCE SHOP AND THEY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS BEING MY TRANSFER CASE. THE TOTAL COST FOR THE NEW OEM TRANSFER CASE WITH FRONT DIFFERENTIAL AND LABOR TO PUT IT IN WAS AROUND 3400. MITSUBISHI NEEDS TO ACT ON THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE I HAVE READ MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT IT AND HAVE HEARD MANY STORIES FROM EVO OWNERS ABOUT THEIR TRANSFER CASE ISSUES. *TR

WHILE TRAVELING 65 MPH MY TRANSFER CASE ON MY 2003 MITSUBISHI EVOLUTION UNEXPLAINABLE BEGAN TO MAKE A LOUD WHINING NOISE, ALTHOUGH ONLY HAVING ROUGHLY 13,500 MILES. AS I PULLED THE CAR OVER I COULD HERE THAT THERE WAS A METALLIC CLICKING SOUND COMING FROM THE TRANSFER CASE ALSO. TO CORRECT THIS THE TRANSFER CASE WILL NEED TO BE COMPLETELY REPLACED. *NM

AFTER ONLY 8057 MILES ON MY 2003 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION, MY TRANSFER CASE STARTED TO WHINE QUITE BADLY. AFTER READING SOME TECH ARTICLES, I FOUND THAT THIS IS NOT AN UNCOMMON FAILURE. I ALSO KNOW THAT MITSUBISHI HAS HAD TRANSFER CASE RECALLS IN THE PAST DUE TO THEIR POOR REAR SEAL DESIGN. THE RECALLS WERE BASED OFF OF LAWSUITS AND DEATHS TO INDIVIDUALS DRIVING THEIR VEHICLE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHEN ALL FOUR WHEELS HAVE LOCKED ON THEM CAUSING CATASTROPHIC LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. BASED ON MITSUBISHI'S TRACK RECORD, AND THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF LIFE THREATENING CONDITIONS UNDER TRANSFER CASE FAILURE, IT IS A NEGLIGENT ACT FOR THEM TO OVERLOOK THIS PROBLEM. A RECALL IS NECESSARY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY! *JB

TL*- THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE PARKED AND ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE THE 2003 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION HE TURNED ON THE IGNITION WHILE IN NEUTRAL AND THE VEHICLE LUNGED FORWARD AND FAILED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER STATED EVERYONE WITH THE SAME VEHICLE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM.

VEHICLE WAS BOUGHT USED. STILL HAS REMAINING FACTORY POWERTRAIN WARRANTY. VEHICLE HAD CLUTCH PROBLEMS WHEN I TOOK DELIVERY OF VEHICLE IN JULY. DEALER WAS INFORMED OF PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY AFTER TEST DRIVING VEHICLE. DEALER PROTESTED A REPLACEMENT. HAD SERVICE RECORDS PULLED FOR VEHICLE. CLUTCH WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY FOR FIRST OWNER. DEALER REPLACED DISC AND PRESSURE PLATE. LEFT ASSEMBLY LINE THROWOUT BEARING ON VEHICLE. STATED THAT IT IS A "NON-WEAR" ITEM. THROWOUT BEARING FAILED TO DISENGAGE CAUSING DISC FRICTION MATERIAL TO BE "SPUN" SOME TIME BACK. DEALER WAS INFORMED OF THIS INCIDENT. AGAIN, PROTESTED REPLACEMENT STATING IT IS A "NON-WARRANTY ITEM". CLUTCH IS CONSIDERED A WEAR ITEM, EVEN THOUGHT IT IS THE INTEGRAL LINK IN THE POWERTRAIN ASSEMBLY. CLUTCH COMPLETELY FAILED AND LEFT THIS AUTHOR STRANDED 45 MILES FROM HOME, ON THIS DATE. DEALER AGAIN NOTIFIED AND ONCE AGAIN, I WAS DENIED A CLAIM. *JB

3RD GEAR SYNRO WENT BAD AFTER 32000 MILES. *JB

I BOUGHT MY 2003 MITSUBISHI EVO SHORTLY AFTER RETURNING FROM A TOUR IN IRAQ IN 2006, AFTER A SHORT TIME OF DRIVING THE CAR I NOTICED A GRINDING SOUND COMING FROM THE CAR WHEN I LET THE CLUTCH OUT IN 1ST GEAR, AND NOW REVERSE AS WELL. I BOUGHT THE CAR UNDER ORIGINAL FACTORY WARRANTY AND WENT AS FAR AS TO PURCHASE THE PLATNUM EXTENDED WARRANTY. AFTER REPLACING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN PARTS ON MY CAR IT HAS COME DOWN TO THE CLUTCH, WHICH IS A WEAR ITEM AND NOT COVERED. THE MORE DISTURBING PORTION OF THIS IS THAT I WAS TOLD ON MY SECOND VISIT TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR THIS PROBLEM THAT THE CAR WAS SOLD TO ME WITH AN AFTERMARKET CLUTCH, AND THAT SHOULD HAVE VOIDED THE ORIGINAL FACTORY WARRANTY IN THE FIRST PLACE, TO INCLUDE MY EXTENDED WARRANTY AS WELL. NOW I AM STUCK WITH THIS PROBLEM AND HAVE TO LOOK FOR LEGAL ASSISTANCE. *TR

I AM CURRENTLY ON THE 5TH TRANSFER CASE FOR MY 03 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION 8. I HAD 2 GO OUT UNDER WARRANTY, ANOTHER REBUILT AND NOW I AM ON MY LAST ONE. THE FIRST WENT AT ~33K, REPLACED AND BROKEN WITHIN A MONTH REGULAR HIGHWAY DRIVING. *JB

I BOUGHT MY 2003 LANCER ES WHEN IT HAD 16,000 MILES ON IT, BY ABOUT 30,000 MILES I NOTICED THAT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SEEMED TO BE SLIPPING, SOMETIMES WHEN DRIVING AND I WOULD LET UP ON ACCELERATOR TO SLOW AND THEN WOULD DEPRESS ACCELERATOR AGAIN THE CAR WOULD ACT LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL, CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE, THIS HAPPENED ON THE HIGHWAY AND AT SLOW SPEEDS, 30 MILES AN HOUR OR SLOWER. ON 8-25-05 I TOOK THE CAR IN TO THE DEALERSHIP AT NORTHTOWNE MITSUBISHI AND REPORTED THIS PROBLEM AND THAT THE RIGHT PASSENGER BALL JOINT HAD FAILED INSPECTION AT 34000 MILES. I ASKED THE DEALER TO LOOK AT TRANSMISSION AT THE SAME TIME, I WAS TOLD THEY WOULD CHECK IT OUT, I WAS TOLD THAT THIS TYPE OF TRANSMISSION DEVELOPED A MEMORY AND IF ONE PERSON DROVE IT HARDER THAT ANOTHER THIS COULD HAPPEN, SOUNDED LIKE A BUNCH OF HOOEY TO ME, BUT I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT CARS. I TOOK THE CAR BACK IN ON DEC. 30, 2005 FOR A RECALL ON CAR,SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE EMISSIONS AND AGAIN COMPLAINED ABOUT TRANSMISSION, WAS TOLD AGAIN, NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. NOW MY CAR IS MAKING A WHINING NOISE, TOOK THE CAR TO A GOODYEAR SERVICE CENTER AND WAS TOLD MY TRANSMISSION WAS THE PROBLEM AND NEEDS REPAIR, MY CAR HAS APPROX 43000 MILES ON IT. THE DEALER NEVER PUT ON MY SERVICE TICKETS TO LOOK AT TRANSMISSION, JUST TO CHECK OVER VEHICLE. I FEEL THEY WERE TRYING TO PUT ME OFF TILL MY CAR WENT OUT OF WARRANTY. MY POWERTRAIN IS NOW STILL UNDER WARRANTY BUT THE REST IS NOT. I AM VERY UPSET. *NM

EVER SINCE I BOUGHT MY CAR 2 YEARS AGO IT HAS SPUTTERED AND JERKED BUT AT FIRST NOT THAT BAD. THE LAST YEAR HAS BEEN THE WORST. IT STAYS REVVED UP AND THEN IT WILL KICK INTO GEAR. FINALLY CHRISTMAS EVE IT BROKE DOWN. THE MECHANIC TOLD ME IT IS A HAIR LINE CRACK ABOUT 2 INCHES LONG ON THE TRANSMISSION HOUSING. SURE ENOUGH THERE IS AND I HAVE A DEAD CAR. *JB

CAR HAD MANUAL TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS ROUGHLY AT 30K, TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AGAIN, NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. CAR IS RUSTING ON FRAME, ON EXTERIOR, CARPET INSIDE IS PAPER THIN, ROAD SALT HAD EATEN THROUGH IT - ALREADY HAVE VISIBLE RUST ON WHEEL WELL. THIS CAR IS PATHETIC, WOULDN'T GIVE THIS MAKE TO MY WORSE ENEMY. I WILL BE MAKING ANOTHER PHONE CALL TO MITSUBISHI MOTORS. DEFINITELY A LEMON IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. *NM

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SLIPS/SKIPS WHILE SPEEDING UP AROUND TWENTY FIVE MILES PER HOUR, AND THIS OCCURS WHEN BREAKING QUICKLY. WHEN BREAKING QUICKLY, CAR WILL THEN JUMP FORWARD WHEN THE TRANSMISSION CATCHES. I BELIEVE THIS HAS ALWAYS SLIGHTLY BEEN THERE, BUT I BELIEVE MY SLOW DRIVING HAS MASKED THE ISSUE. I HAD THE TRANSMISSION FLUID CHANGED AND THEN THE DEALER DID TWO RECALL CHANGES, AND AFTER THE SKIPPING ISSUES WAS VERY MUCH THERE. AFTER READING THE OTHER COMPLAINTS, I AM SURE THIS IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. PRD. *NM

A FEW WEEKS AGO MY VEHICLE BECOME VERY TOUGH TO SHIFT OUT OF PARK WHEN PARKED ON ANY INCLINE OR, UNEVEN SURFACE. ONCE THE GEAR SELECTOR WOULDN'T EVEN MOVE AND THREE PEOPLE HAD TO STAND BEHIND THE CAR AND PUSH IT FORWARD TO ALLOW ME TO SHIFT OUT OF PARK. I'VE TAKEN IT TO CITY MITSUBISHI IN JACKSONVILLE FL. AND THEY HAVE INFORMED ME THAT THE BEST THING TO DO IS STOP, PUT IT IN NEUTRAL, SET THE E-BRAKE, THEN PUT IT IN PARK. I FEEL THIS IS UN-NECESSARY CONSIDERING IT ONLY HAS 25,000 MILES, I'M THE ORIGINAL OWNER, IT'S UNDER FACTORY WARRANTY, AND IT WASN'T DOING THIS 1000 MILES AGO. I HAVE LEFT IT THERE AND WILL BE CONTACTING MITSUBISHI MOTORS ON MONDAY TO SEE WHAT MY NEXT COURSE OF ACTION IS. *NM