2002 MITSUBISHI DIAMANTE Complaints

I NOTICED A MAPLE-SYRUP TYPE SMELL AND FOG COMING OUT OF THE VENTS EVEN WHEN OFF. UPON INVESTIGATION, COOLANT WAS FOUND LEAKING ONTO DRIVERS' SIDE FLOOR. WAS TOLD BY GARAGE THAT IT WAS THE HEATER CORE AND IT WILL COST $800 TO REPAIR. WAS ALSO TOLD THAT IF IT'S NOT REPAIRED IT COULD DAMAGE THE COMPUTER. I WILL HAVE TO GET IT FIXED SOON AS MY SON HAS ASTHMA AND BREATHING IN ANTIFREEZE VAPORS IS PROBABLY NOT A GOOD THING. *NM

LEAKING ANTIFREEZE INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. FOGGED WINDOWS, WITH A NEAR MISS ON HIGHWAY BEFORE I COULD GET OFF. *NM

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I AM COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM. THE END OF JUNE 2006 I DROVE TO WORK AND REACHED DOWN TO PICK SOME STUFF UP OFF THE PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR MAT. IT ENDED UP BEING SOAKED. AT FIRST I THOUGHT SOME WATER HAD COME IN BECAUSE THE PAST FEW DAYS OUR AREA HAD TORRENTIAL RAINS. WHEN I GOT HOME THE NEXT DAY I TOOK UP THE FLOOR MAT TO DRY IT OUT AND NOTICE ALL THE LIQUID UNDER IT WAS GREENISH YELLOW. IN MY MIND I WENT CRAZY BECAUSE THE SAME THING HAD HAPPENED TO ME A YEAR AND 2 WEEKS EARLIER. ONCE AGAIN THE HEATER CORE BECAME FAULTY AND POURED THE ENGINE COOLANT INTO THE PASSENGER SPACES. WONDERFUL, SINCE MY WIFE WAS 8 MONTHS PREGNANT, GREAT FOR HER TO BE BREATHING THOSE CHEMICALS. I HAVE TO SAY I WAS FORTUNATE THAT IT DIDN'T LEAK ON ANY OF THE COMPUTER COMPONENTS, LIKE HAS HAPPENED TO OTHERS, ESPECIALLY WHILE I WAS DRIVING. WOULD HAVE DEFINITELY CAUSED A SAFETY ISSUE. IT JUST BLOWS MY MIND THAT I HAVE HAD TO PAY FOR THE SAME SERVICE TWICE IN ABOUT A YEAR, ON A CAR THAT HAS LESS THAN 80,000 MILES ON IT. I REALLY HOPE THE NHTSA LOOKS INTO MAKING THIS A RECALL ISSUE, BECAUSE IT IS JUST HAPPENING TO TOO MANY CONSUMERS. JUST IMAGINE ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO DON'T EVEN KNOW THEY CAN FILE A COMPLAINT. YES, I KNOW THERE WERE NO DEATHS OR INJURIES IN MY CASE, BUT WHEN THE COOLANT LEAKS ON THE COMPUTER BRAIN OF THE CAR, IT COULD BECOME A REAL ISSUE IF DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY OR NAVIGATING CROWDED STREETS IN TOWN. THE POWER STEARING OR ANTILOCK BRAKES WOULD SHUT DOWN IF THE COMPUTER CRASHED FROM GETTING WET.

THE HEATER CORE HAS BEEN LEAKING FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS ON MY 2002 DIAMANTE. THIS CAUSES FUMES TO TAKE OVER MY CAR AND I CAN NOT SEE OUT OF MY WINDSHIELD. THERE IS ALSO SOME SORT OF ELECTRICAL PROBLEM THAT CAUSES MY CAR TO DIE WHEN IDLE AT STOPS OR WHEN I LET OFF THE GAS. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR ME. *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE DEFROSTER FAILED AND WOULD NOT DEFROST THE WINDSHIELD. THE DEALERSHIP DETERMINED A CLIP IN THE SYSTEM CAME LOOSE AND THE CLIP WAS RECONNECTED. NOW, SIX MONTHS LATER, THE PROBLEM HAS RETURNED AND THE DEALERSHIP DETERMINED THE CLIP NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.

WINDSHIELD FOGGING UP WITH FILM AND DEFOG NOT EVEN TOUCHING IT. NOTICED SMOKY LIKE AIR COMING FROM UNDER PASSENGER SIDE DASH. AC IS NOW FLAKY. SOMETIMES WILL WORK SOMETIMES WON'T. MOST LIKELY HEATER CORE IS DEFECTIVE OR LEAKING AS STATED IN MITSUBISHI DIAMANTE TSB. CAR IS 2002 WITH ROUGHLY 40K MILES ON IT. RIDICULOUS. FROM WHAT I HAVE READ ONLINE MOST DEALERS ARE CHARGING UP TO $1200 TO FIX THIS. THIS IS NOT JUST A SAFETY HAZARD BUT A HEALTH HAZARD DEPENDING ON HOW LONG ME AND MY FAMILY HAVE BEEN BREATHING IN CONDENSED ANTIFREEZE AND NOT KNOWING IT. WILL NEVER BUY A MITSUBISHI AGAIN!! *NM

OCPL.COM EPNET.COM AUTO REPAIR REFERENCE CENTER MISUBISHI MOTORS TECH INFORMATION UPDATE TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN NO: TSB-03-13-007 ODI ID NUMBER: 10152897 DATE: OCTOBER/2003 MODEL: 1997-2003 DIAMANTE MODELS PRODUCED BEFORE 7/7/03 PART: MR908180 DESC: FUEL TANK PUMP AND GAUGE ASSEMBLY SUBJ:LOW FUEL WARNING LIGHT ON SOME AFFECTED VEHICLES, THE LOW FUEL WARNING LIGHT MAY NOT ILLUMINATE UNTIL AFTER THE FUEL GAUGE REACHES "E". THE WARNING LIGHT SHOULD ILLUMINATE WHEN THERE IS APPROXIMATELY 3.7 GALLONS OF FUEL REMAINING. THE FUEL GAUGE SENDING UNIT HAS BEEN IMPROVED TO ELIMINATE CONDITION. IMPROVED PARTS HAVE A WHITE MARK LOCATED ABOVE THE LOWER FUEL WARNING THERMISTOR. *NM

CONTINUAL ODD ODOR ENTERING CABIN OF CAR. IT SMELLS SWEET LIKE MAPLE SYRUP. IT OCCURS WHEN I USE HEATER AND ODOR IS EMITTED THROUGH VENTS. I BELIEVE IT IS ANTI-FREEZE THAT HAS LEAKED, I AM SMELLING ANTI-FREEZE AND I'M CONCERNED FOR MY HEALTH. I HAVE READ NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS IN MITSUBISHI DIAMANTE ONLINE FORUMS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. THERE IS A HUGE NUMBER OF HEATER CORE HOSE O-RING GASKET FAILURES CAUSING LEAKS NEAR HEATER CORE. APPARENTLY IT ALSO DRIPS ONTO COMPUTER CONTROL UNIT ALSO. *JB

STRONG COOLANT (ANTI-FREEZE) SMELL IN CAR. WINDOWS FOGGED UP AND COULD NOT SEE AND PUFFS OF SMOKE COMING FROM VENTS. DEALER INFORMED ME HEATER CORE NEEDED REPLACING. ALSO STATED THAT ALTHOUGH IT WAS KNOWN ISSUE WITH VEHICLE MITSUBISHI WOULD NOT TAKE CARE OF COST. MITSUBISHI HAS EVEN ISSUED A TECH PUB ON PARTS NEEDED TO REPAIR THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY WERE EXPERIENCING A SHORTAGE. IT TOOK FOUR DAYS TO GET A HEATER CORE FOR MY VEHICLE DUE TO A CRITICAL SHORTAGE OF HEATER CORES. *NM

NOTICED BAD ODOR IN THE VEHICLE FOLLOWED BY THE WINDOWS FOGGING UP AND THE HEATER NOT WORKING A FEW DAYS LATER. REPAIR SHOP STATED THAT THE HEATER CORE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THIS IS UNUSUAL FOR CARS THAT ARE ONLY A FEW YEARS OLD AND HAVE LOW MILEAGE. REPAIR WOULD BE AROUND $1000.00. I HAVE THE 2002 DIAMANTE AND THIS PART WAS VERY HARD TO FIND. EVEN THE DEALERSHIP HAD TO ORDER IT. CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO HELP WITH THIS COST. JUST A STRUGGLING MAN TRYING TO PROVIDE FOR A FAMILY IN A HONEST WAY. PLEASE HELP!!*JB