Last Tuesday, on my way home from work, my 2nd gear sychro finally gave in. I just shifted to 2nd like normal, and it ground terribly. I couldn't get it into second from then on without a fight. I drove it 1st to 3rd for a day before taking it to the dealer.

That's where the fun begins. The dealer told me that all powertrain warranty items need to be approved by the district rep. no matter what. The dealer confirmed my shifting problem, and then drafted up an email to the rep. for his approval. That was Wednesday. The dealer started to give me some crap about my turboback exhaust work saying the rep. will have a problem with that and may deny my warranty. I told him that an exhaust, even if it does add Hp, has nothing to do with a synchro. The synchro only cares about RPM's at shifting and how agressively you shift. The dealer said to not waste my breath, it's in the hands of the rep. I also told him that it always grinded from day one if I agressively shifted. He said I should have brought it in right away then. I didn't think it was worth it because everyone on the forum was having the same problem.

So, here it is Tuesday again, and I haven't heard anything from the dealer because they haven't heard anything from the rep. This is my daily driver, and it's been sitting at the dealer for almost a week now. I need the care ASAP obviously. Mitsubishi obviously doesn't seem to care about timeliness. I have heard from numerous people that my warranty will most likely be denied even though I only have 18,000 miles on it!

So, I have been working on plan B right now. I called Shepherd racing this morning to talk about a rebuild with better components. If warranty falls through, it's an attractive option. John even said that there is a TSB on '03 2nd gear synchros because they are known to be bad. Wouldn't that take the cake if Mits. knows about the problem, has a car within the warranty period with few to no modifications, and still denies the claim?

I await word....

Tim

 

Its really upto the reps disrection, good luck. Hopefully the warranty will actually be put to use.

 

Good luck. Welcome to the wonderful world of and their BS

 

Some of you may already know the saga of my 2003 Mitsubishi Evolution and the broken 2nd gear synchro. Well, Mitsubishi finally made a decision after over 3 weeks of me calling and harassing as to whether or not they would cover it. They are NOT! Their report stated that my extensive modifications have voided my powertrain warranty for this claim and all future claims. My car has been red flagged.

They listed that my turboback exhaust with hi-flow cat, K&N air filter, coilovers, and rear sway bar effectively voided my powertrain warranty. I have spent the last few hours trying to explain that a gear synchro could care less about horsepower. Synchros only care about RPM’s and how aggressively you shift. No one at Mitsubishi even knows what a transmission is, let alone a synchro. In addition, there is a TSB stating that 2003 Evolutions have known synchro issues, and that the corrective action is to replace with 2004 synchros at the presence of any grinding noise.

I am livid! As I sit here listening to their commercials while on hold with Mitsubishi America, I get even madder. They keep looping the commercial bragging about the race-ready Evolution and that Mitsubishis are the best backed cars in the nation. I call BS on that one. If you are going to claim the car is a race car, engineer it to last, and stand behind it. Or, at least sell it without a warranty.

Is there any advice on my options? I have threatened legal action, but don’t want to take that path unless necessary. Mitsubishi America has a dispute hotline that I am going to call. I could repair it through Shepherd racing for about $1100 when all is said and done with installation and shipping. Shepherd Racing will do a better rebuild than the dealer anyways. Either way, I am so pissed, I am very sure I am selling the Evo.

Tim

 

Why sell the evo...why not get shep to do it, it ill last, and all said and done. I think the majority of us have had problems with mitsu. , but its no reason to sell the car. Its not going to be easy to find something to replace it. Good luck with whatever happens.

 

I'd sell it out of spite. I've had enough of Mitsubishi even if it is an awesome car. I'm looking at E36 M3's right now.

 

what dealership?

 

Don Jacobs, but it's not the dealership that is the problem. All warranty claims for the Evo must now go through the Mitsu dist. rep now. The dealer has no say.

 

I agree with you in some extent but a good dealer will fight to help you and gain your loyalty. Bottom line is sucks!!

This is my first and last . If the car didn't have a lot of mod and high mileage (30K with 60% HW) it would probably be sold by now . THe $$$ lost to mod and the depreciation is why I'm still driving the car.

 

Is all of this not legally valid? If these are real laws, then why are they not enforceable?

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/evom-new-member-faqs-evom-rules/2769-warranty-questions-answered.html

I have been reading these warranty related threads. It seems to me that in order for everyone to benefit, someone (or group) will have to file and follow through on a class action or other major legal challenge to Mitsu's practices. It probably will not help them that they market the "best backed cars in the world".

It will not be easy, or quick, or cheap. But it needs to be done by those with issues so that those with futures issues will benefit. It's like freedom...someone will have to work hard, give, and sacrifice first before the future changes.

The alternative is that we can all run this same mod>break>dealer>deny>gripe circle from now on. If there were such an action and money was collected, I would contribute...

 

Yes, there is legal precedence for this. The SEMA website has great information on it. How enforceable the law is is the problem. I have heard a horror story of a Subaru owner that took Subaru to court to fight a warranty claim. He lost, and had to pay Subaru's lawyer fees of $75,000! I'd rather pay to fix my problem.

 

wow!!i hear a lot of ppl having problems with there dealer....i live in socal and my shift linkage went after 3 months....i brought it into the dealer and had it fixed under warranty...i told them it was my daily driver and they gave me a rental for a few days till it was fixed...they even wash my car for me when i go in for my free oil changes..haha...

 

I see...I think that's the problem. One person can't win or afford to win. This would need a large group of people giving money to fund a group suit. A dedicated group action website could sign people up and collect donations.

Unfortunately, most people just don't care enough to band together, act collectively, and cough up a few dollars. Think about if a few thousand people put in $25...

 

I had syncrho problems and Mitsubishi fixed it for me with no problem at all. They even offered me a free rental while my car was in their shop. They were very nice about everything. I've got to give them props. The drive train has nothing to do with any of the mods you've done. They had a recall on a synchro a while back, so it should be repaired.

Your case involves a very rotten dealer. He's a crook. I can pretty much guarantee that he didn't get the refusal from the district rep. It doesn't take three weeks to get a decision. He's playing the part of the innocent dealership being handcuffed by some bogus district rep. If he told the rep this was a legitimate case, you would have your warranty work... it's as simple as that. If I were you, I'd call around to a few other dealerships, describe the situation and see if anyone will do the work for you.

Good luck!

 

That's interesting. I guess I'm just too trusting. It's worth a call to another dealer. I will try contacting a friend who works for a dealership first. I did call direct though, and they verified the refusal and redflagged VIN for powertrain related problem. They said the Dist. rep made the decision, but I bet the dealer didn't help any.

By the way, how long ago was it that you had your warranty work performed?