2003 MITSUBISHI LANCER Complaints

ONGOING PROBLEMS WITH VEHICLE BRAKES WHICH SEVERELY LIMITS STOPPING ABILITY. INTERMITTENT SEVERE VIBRATION IN FRONT END OF VEHICLE DURING LIGHT TO MODERATE BRAKING, ESPECIALLY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS (45-70 MPH). VIBRATION AND RESULTING LOSS OF TRACTION AND CONTROL OF VEHICLE VERSUS ROAD SURFACE GREATLY REDUCES STOPPING CAPABILITY OF VEHICLE. THIS PROBLEM ALSO APPEARS TO NEGATIVELY EFFECT ABS OPERATION SINCE SMOOTH BRAKING CANNOT BE APPLIED AND THEREFORE ABS WILL NOT ENGAGE IN MOST INSTANCES. VEHICLE HAS BEEN INSPECTED SEVERAL TIMES BY DEALER, BUT THEY HAVE BEEN SLOW AND UNCOOPERATIVE IN RESOLVING THE PROBLEM. I HAVE ALSO FORWARDED THE DEALER AND THE REGIONAL SERVICE DIRECTOR COPIES OF POSTINGS ON SEVERAL VEHICLE/MAKE RELATED WEB FORUMS (E.G. EVOLUTIONM.NET) DESCRIBING SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH BRAKING IN THIS VEHICLE ACROSS THE US. *NM

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

03 EVO HEARD GRINDING NOISES IN MY TRANNY OR TRANSFER CASE AREA @ 15K MILES.. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME THEY WON'T CHECK IT IF ITS NOT BROKEN..THEY DID REPLACE A DRIVE SHAFT BUT NOISE WAS STILL THERE.. MY CLUTCH IS NOW SLIPPING @ 24K.. *JB

PAINT ON MY 03 EVO BEGAN FLAKING OFF, ROCK CHIPS BY BOTH BACK PASSENGER DOORS, 24K MILES AND I HAVE TOO MANY ROCK CHIPS EVERYWHERE, MY 98 CAVALIER DOESN'T HAVE THIS MANY ROCK CHIPS. *JB

MY 2003 MITSUBISIHI LANCER OZ IS EXPERIENCING SOME TYPE OF PROBLEM WITH THE REAR SUSPENSION. WE'VE HAD THE CAR FOR 3 YEARS AND IT HAS 45,000 MILES, AND WE'VE DRIVEN IN VERY GENTLY. MOST OF THE 45K ARE HIGHWAY MILES FROM COMMUTING TO WORK. THERE IS A HORRIBLE SQUEAKING NOISE COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. THERE IS NO REASON THIS VEHICLE SHOULD HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH THE REAR SUSPENSION, YET IT DOES, AND WE'RE NO LONGER COVERED BY THE WARRANTY SO WE HAVE TO PAY $75 TO EVEN GET IT LOOKED AT. *JB

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

CLUTCH FAILED AT 16K MILES AFTER 18 MONTHS OF OWNERSHIP. THE DEALER OFFERED TO EXAMINE IT FOR POSSIBLE WARRANTY COVERAGE, BUT BECAUSE OF PARTICIPATION IN AUTOCROSS EVENTS, THE WARRANTY CLAIM WOULD HAVE BEEN DENIED. HOWEVER, AUTOCROSSING DID NOT CONTRIBUTE ANY SIGNIFICANT WEAR TO THE CLUTCH ANY MORE SO THAN NORMAL EVERY DAY DRIVING. AS A 25 YEAR, SEASONED DRIVER OF MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS, THIS WAS THE FIRST CLUTCH I'VE EVER HAD FAIL ON A VEHICLE. BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM OTHER EVO OWNERS, VIA THE EVOLUTIONM.NET WEB SITE, I REPLACED THE CLUTCH WITH A NON-STOCK CLUTCH DUE TO THE INHERENT WEAKNESS OF THE STOCK PART. *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

FAILURE OF 5TH GEAR. MITSUBISHI HAS A CURRENT TSB RELEASED ON THIS FAILURE AND DENIED REPAIR UNDER WARRANTY. THE WARRANTY CLAIM WAS DENIED DUE TO THE FACT THAT AN AFTERMARKET CLUTCH, OF HIGHER QUALITY WAS INSTALLED ON THE VEHICLE AFTER FAILURE OF MANUFACTURER INSTALLED CLUTCH. *JB