Good evening, folks! I've been lurking for quite some time but now that I edge closer to pulling the trigger on a pre-owned 2010 Ralliart (5500 miles, excellent condition) I find that I've a couple of concerns with the particular car I'm considering.

First, does anyone else experience what I can best describe as a "sticky" AWC button or Normal/Sport mode switch? When I've driven the car, sometimes the AWC button seems to get stuck down when depressed and takes about a minute to slowly creep back up to its normal position. It switches through the modes, but it feels quite sticky to press. And at other times it feels just like any old button that presses easily and quickly pops back up.

My other concern is a slight clunk emanating from what seems like an area beneath the engine when the car is idling; if this same noise occurs during travel I haven't been able to hear it. It sounds like . . . like a small chunk of metal falling into place. Sometimes it's a single clunk, sometimes it's more like a ca-clunk. It's the sort of thing that would never be heard with, say, music playing at even a low volume in the car. Incidentally, during a test drive today I saw the 4WD service message pop-up on the screen during travel, but after starting the car up a second time it was gone.

Otherwise the car is in great shape with a clean VIN. Should either of these be concerns?

 

The clunk is normal. The sticky buttons are probably due to spilled soda or something like that. The CEL light maybe nothing, but I'd definitely do a scan to make sure no codes pop-up. If there is a problem, it will be expensive to fix.

 

The sticky button can be easily replaced and doesn't cost much.

I'm not sure about the clunking noise at idle. Tc-sst clutches clunk whenever we're coming to a stop particulary when the tranny downshift from 3-2 or 2-1 and during start up.

 

If the AWC service light came on get it checked out at a dealer first. If it's not under warranty it's an expensive fix.

 

I can guarantee the sticky button is spilled drink. The cup holders aren't the most snug ones in the world, and I took a corner once too hard and I ended up with some coffee on it. After a few months it's working normal again. It always switched the traction control, but the button would stick.

 

DRINKING... IN THE RALLIART??????

Next you'll tell us you allowed FOOD to be consumed!

Rich

 

Blasphemer!!!!