2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER Complaints

I FIRST NOTICED THAT MY 2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION RS STARTED TO MAKE A GRINDING/SCRAPPING NOISE THAT SEEMED TO BE GENERATING FROM THE TIMING BELT AREA. THE CAR HAD APPROXIMATELY 18,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. IT SEEMED TO BE A NOISE THAT WAS PRESENT AT IDLE AND UPON COLD START UPS. I STARTED TO RESEARCH THIS ON VARIOUS FORUMS AND INTERNET, ONLY TO FIND THAT IT WAS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH A CLEAR SOLUTION. THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW DEALERSHIPS WHO HAVE SEEMED TO HAVE RESOLVED THIS ISSUE BUT EACH FIX SEEMED TO VARY WITHIN THE TIMING BELT AREA. THE TIMING BELT, SENSOR BLADE, TENSIONER, TENSIONER PULLEYS, ETC. HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO CAUSE THIS ISSUE. I DROVE MY CAR 3.5 HRS TO AN OUTSTANDING MITSUBISHI DEALERSHIP WHICH COULD NOT DIAGNOSIS MY PROBLEM. IT APPEARS THAT THE DRIVE MADE WHATEVER IT WAS GO AWAY FOR THE MOMENT. THIS SCARES ME! THIS CAR IS MY DAILY DRIVER AND ABOUT 90% OF THE TIMES MY KIDS ARE IN THIS CAR WITH ME. IT WOULD BE TERRIBLE IF MY ENGINE BREAKS DOWN ON ME WHILE DRIVING AROUND WITH MY KIDS IN THE CAR. THIS CAN BE A DANGEROUS PROBLEM. I URGE MITSUBISHI TO STRONGLY CONSIDER A RECALL FOR THIS. WITH SUCH AN AMAZING CAR I WOULD HOPE MITSUBISHI WOULD STANDBY IT AND DO THE RIGHT THING! *TR

I 1ST STARTED HEARING A METAL SCRAPING NOISE COMING FROM THE DRIVE BELT AREA AROUND 20,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER OF MY 2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX MR. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS ONLINE, I FOUND THIS TO BE A COMMON/FREQUENT PROBLEM REPORTED BY MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THE SAME CAR THROUGHOUT THE WEB. IN FACT, I EVEN FOUND A YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE EXACT SAME NOISE CREATED FOR THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. THE NOISE HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO BE INVOLVING THE TIMING BELT RUBBING AGAINST THE CRANKSHAFT BLADE. I'VE ONLY FOUND IT TO ONLY BE AUDIBLE AT IDLE, SO IT MAKES SENSE THAT IT'S SOME SORT OF TIMING BELT TENSION ISSUE. SOME DEALERSHIPS ARE RESOLVING THIS ISSUE BY REPLACING THE TIMING BELT, CRANKSHAFT BLADE, TIMING BELT TENSIONER, AND SOMETIMES EVEN THE IDLER PULLEY. MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP DENIED MY WARRANTY REPAIR CLAIM TO GET THE METAL SCRAPING NOISE ISSUE FIXED, AND CHARGED ME $140 TO SPRAY ENGINE DEGREASER ON UNDRESSED ACCESSORY BELTS, CLAIMING THAT THE ACCESSORY BELTS WERE OVERDRESSED AND THAT IS WHAT CAUSED THE NOISE. UNFORTUNATELY, MY CAR IS STILL MAKING THE SAME NOISE, WHICH I AM CERTAIN IS BEING CAUSED BY THE SAME TIMING BELT/CRANKSHAFT BLADE ISSUE. MY ONLY CONCERN IS THAT THE TIMING BELT WILL AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE FAIL DUE TO THE OBVIOUS RUBBING/CONTACT THAT IS OCCURRING WITH THE CRANKSHAFT BLADE, SO I WOULD LIKE TO GET THIS FIXED BEFORE THAT HAPPENS. GLENDALE MITSUBISHI IN GLENDALE, CA IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, AND ACKNOWLEDGED THAT IT'S A COMMON ISSUE, BUT WAS NOT WILLING TO DISCUSS IT WITH MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP, STATING THAT MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP SHOULD CONTACT THE MITSUBISHI TECH LINE INSTEAD. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE 2006 LANCER EVOLUTIONS, AND FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT MITSUBISHI SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ISSUING A SERVICE BULLETIN TO GET THIS RESOLVED. *TR

1. DRIVING 2. IRRITATING TICKING FROM PASSENGER SIDE OF ENGINE BAY. SEEMS TO CAUSE WEAR AND TEAR ON BELTS ON ENGINE. SO FAR NO CONSEQUENCES AS BELT HASN'T BROKEN. 3. NO PART HAVE BEEN REPLACED AS OF YET. 4. IN SHORT IT SEEMS ALMOST ALL EVO IX'S ARE AFFECTED BY THIS BELT WEAR ON THE IDLER PULLEY, POWER STEERING PULLEY, AND POSSIBLY OTHERS. I JUST DON'T WANT TO SEE ONE OF THESE BELTS BREAK ON THIS PERFORMANCE TURBO CAR AT HIGH SPEEDS... COULD CAUSE MANY INJURIES IN MY OPINION. KEEP AND EYE OUT FOR MANY MANY OTHERS TO SEND IN A REPORT IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS ON THE EVO IX'S AS I WILL BE POSTING UP A LINK TO THIS SITE ON OUR MAIN COMMUNITY SITE. *TR

HEADLIGHTS KEEP FAILING. WAS PULLED OVER AFTER HAVING JUST REPLACED A BULB AND NOTIFIED THE BULB WAS OUT AGAIN. BLAMED THE SHOP THAT REPLACED THE BULB, AND HAD THEM PUT IN ANOTHER. THEN WHEN DRIVING A LONG DISTANCE DRIVE, AS I BEGAN TO GET DARK, ANOTHER MOTORIST FLASHED ME TO NOTIFY ME THAT I DID NOT HAVE HEADLIGHTS ON, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE IN THE ON POSITION. BOTH LOW BEAMS HAD GONE OUT AND WOULD ONLY WORK ON HIGH BEAMS. I WAS LUCKY THAT THE MOTORIST NOTIFIED ME, AND THAT THE LIGHTS DID NOT BLOW AFTER DARK WHILE I WAS DRIVING. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN. TOOK TO SHOP, DIAGNOSTIC WAS RUN AND 1ST THOUGHT WAS THE ECU FOR HEADLIGHTS, ORDERED PART, INSTALLED AND 30 SECONDS AFTER RUNNING LIGHTS, BLEW THE NEW ECU PART. CURRENTLY ONLY 1 HEADLIGHT WORKS, AND ONLY ON HIGH BEAMS. SOMETIMES IT DOES NOT WORK EVEN ON HIGH BEAMS. IF UNPLUGGED & PLUGGED BACK IN, ONLY THEN WILL IT WORK, BUT ONLY ON HIGH BEAMS. THERE IS SOME SORT OF ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTION, BUT MECHANICS HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. TAKING BACK AGAIN MONDAY 4/27 FOR ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO FIND THE PROBLEM. IN THE MEANTIME, I CONTINUE TO HAVE TO DRIVE AN UNSAFE VEHICLE, WHEN CIRCUMSTANCES REQUIRE ME TO DRIVE AFTER DARK. ALL MITZUBISHI DEALERS & SERVICE IN MY TOWN HAVE GONE OUT OF BUSINESS AND THE CLOSEST DEALER IS 2 HOURS AWAY. I CANNOT AFFORD TO 1. TAKE THE TIME TO DRIVE IT DOWN. 2. GET A RENTAL CAR WHILE THEY TRY TO FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM. I HAVE PURCHASED NUMEROUS BULBS PRIOR TO KNOWING THERE WAS AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE, AND HAVE SPENT HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ON DIAGNOSTICS & ATTEMPTED REPAIRS. NONE OF THE OTHER ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS OF THE CAR HAVE FAILED. ONLY THE HEADLIGHTS. *TR

THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTIONS MADE FROM 2003-2006. I HAVE HAD 2 OF THESE CARS AND SAME PROBLEM... ALMOST STARTED A FIRE IN MY CAR.. . WHERE THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS GOES THROUGH THE DRIVERS SIDE FRONT FENDER, THERE'S A RUBBER GROMMET THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BLOCK WATER. WELL IN MY 2 CARS AND ABOUT 100 OTHERS ON THE AUTO FORUM I FREQUENT,(WWW.EVOLUTIONM.NET) THE RUBBER GROMMET FAILS TO DO ITS JOB OF BLOCKING WEATHER AND WATER IS LEAKING THROUGH GOING DOWN THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS AND INTO THE WIRING CONNECTORS. FROM THERE THE AVERAGE OWNER LIKE ME IS GETTING THERE HORN, LIGHTS WIPERS SRS LIGHT ETC. TURNING ON/OFF RAPIDLY WHILE DRIVING. SOME HAVE EXPERIENCED THE CAR SUDDENLY SHUTTING OFF WHILE DRIVING, WELL ALONG WITH THAT YOU LOOSE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES. PLEASE DO WHAT EVER NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MAKE THIS A RECALL. AS IT I AM SURE HAS AND WILL CAUSE MANY TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS. PLEASE KEEP OUR ROADS SAFE. *TR

1. SRS LIGHT, HORN GOING OFF FOR NO REASON, ANY AND ALL DASH FUNCTIONS GOING OFF FOR NO REASON. 2. WATER LEAKING IN CABIN DUE TO IMPROPER SEAL OF A WIRING HARNESS THAT GOES THROUGH FIREWALL. CAUSED WIRING HARNESS TO BE CORRODED AND NEED TO BE REPLACED. 3. DEALER REPLACED ALL WIRING HARNESSES IN INTERIOR OF CAR AND SEALED UP LEAKING AREA. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER. THE BRAKE PEDAL DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY DURING DECELERATION. WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE CONTACT TURNED INTO A DRIVEWAY TO PARK THE VEHICLE AND THE BRAKES FAILED. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP AND CRASHED INTO A BUILDING. A POLICE REPORT WAS FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP, BUT THEY HAD NOT PROVIDED ANY INFORMATION AS TO THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 1,700. UPDATED 06/09/08 *BF

I HAVE A 2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION SE. THE CAR ONLY HAS 13,000 MILES AND THE CLUTCH HAS FAILED. ITS A $2,600 REPAIR. MITSUBISHI REFUSES TO FIX IT UNDER WARRANTY. *TR

2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX AT 35,000 HAD TO REPLACE THE CLUTCH AND REFURBISH THE FLYWHEEL. OVER $1100 AND IT WAS NOT COVERED BY THE WARRANTY BECAUSE THE CLUTCH WAS WORN NOT DEFECTIVE. *TR

I OWN A 2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX WITH APPROXIMATELY 14,500 MILES. THE CLUTCH SEEMS TO HAVE WORN OUT FAR TOO SOON; FURTHERMORE SHIFTING IS VERY ROUGH FROM 1ST THROUGH 3RD GEAR AND CAUSES THE CAR TO PULSATE. IT IS AT ITS WORST IN FIRST GEAR. APPARENTLY, THIS QUITE COMMON WITH THE EVO CLASS MUST BE ADDRESSED. MANY ARE FRUSTRATED WITH THE FACT THAT THE DEALER IS NOT WILLING TO TAKE ANY CONSIDERATION TO A WORN OUT CLUTCH AND EXPLAINS THAT IT IS A "WEAR ITEM" THEREFORE EXEMPTING THEM FROM ANY LIABILITY OF THE MATTER AND IS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE THAT THE CLUTCH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO WEAR OUT, BUT THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THEM TO WEAR OUT THIS EARLY WHEN THE OPERATOR DRIVES AT A STANDARDIZED PACE. THIS IS EVEN EXCLUDING THE FACT THAT THIS IS A HIGH PERFORMANCE VEHICLE CLAIMING TO WITHSTAND AVERAGE DRIVER ABUSE. MANY COMPLAINTS FROM LANCER EVOLUTION OWNERS EXIST, AND MANY ARE MUCH WORSE THAN WHAT I HAVE DESCRIBED. THESE ISSUES CAN CAUSE DEADLY CONSEQUENCES TO ANY DRIVER DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE OPERATOR HAS NO CONTROL OF THE CARS ABILITY TO ACCELERATE. THIS MUST BE ADDRESSED AND BE CAUSE FOR A RECALL ON ALL MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTIONS. PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW MANY DILIGENT CONSUMERS PAY WITH THEIR LIVES FOR MITSUBISHIS FAILURE TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THIS BLATANT PROBLEM. PLEASE REFERENCE, HTTP://WWW.MITSUBISHISUCKS.COM/CARS/COMPLAINTS/USA/PARTS/POWER-TRAIN/LANCER.HTML FOR MORE COMPLAINTS. *TR