I have an '03 Evo with about 4k miles on it. It is now in the shop for the 2nd time with a blown 2nd gear synchro.

The first time it happened was at about 2,500 miles and yes I did drive it hard then, even missed 2nd gear twice. And yes it did go to the dragstrip once (13.6 @ 98) But after they fixed it the first time, I drove the car pretty gently. Yes I went fast a few times, but not gear-slamming street races, only the occasional 4th or 5th gear roll on.

The ONLY mod to the car is a B&M shifter, which was installed during both failures. Aside from that, I have changed no fluids, no bushings, no parts, nada. Everything is stock bc after this, I didn't want them to void my warranty on a technicality.

The tranny broke the same way both times. I was cruising at (very) high speed on the Turnpike and when I got off at the exit, 2nd gear was toast. It drives in 2nd fine, but will NOT go into 2nd at ANY rpm or from ANY gear without grinding unless I double clutch (clutch in, take it out of gear, clutch out, then in again, then engage 2nd, then clutch out). Not exactly kosher for a performance car. The first time I held the high speed for 3-4 minutes, the 2nd time not only was it slower, but it was only 20-30 seconds. Is this coincidental? Could there be an alignment problem inside the trans?

Does anyone have any idea what would cause this? The dealer is saying they sent pics to some regional guy who said I abused the car, (which I didn't) and of course wants me to pay for the repair! Why the f**k would I buy a car like this that can't be driven at high speeds? I absolutely DOGGED my Acura and it has held up for 40,000 miles and the Evo has been in TWICE in 4,000 miles? Someone please help me with this. I don't want to but if I must I will, out of sheer principle, trade this thing in on an STI and never buy a Mitsubishi product again. Sorry so long, by the way.

 

Might be your shifter.

I had transmission problems with B and M speed shifters many years ago, albeit on an automatic. The parts were fractions of an inch different, and that caused the trannie to blow.

I suggest you put the OEM back, fix the trannie and try again.

 

you were downshifting to second in the offramp?

-joe

 

No, just downshifting like normal, actually coasted to the offramp in Neutral, it was not a "spirited" offramp maneuver. Fast on the highway, then slowed like normal gradually. and when I got to the light, the trans sounded funny and when it came time to go to 2nd .... GRIND CITY.

Just found out the dealer wants $1,875.00 to fix it ... HOLY ****!

 

hmm.. that sucks.. i guess two trannies in a few months really raises flags with them

what did they say was wrong with it?

-joe

 

Well, since it's bound to happen I'll be the first to be an ignorant member that has nothing constructive to say....

"You dont know how to drive!"

Just messing! We're lucky here in SoCal to have HB Mitsubishi who is really good about modded evos. They dont blast your waranty out of the water if you have a turbo timer (yes, a dealer tried that on me) and they do all the dealer work for RMR so they have a lot of experience with Evos. One of the mechanics there supposedly one of the top rated Evo mechanics in the US.

Some of these dealers really get me all riled up. For any little thing they need to consult the disctrict manager who's as happy to tell you that your warranty is voided as a the kid who breaks the pinata at the bday party.

I would take out the B&M right away. If this gets really high up in the chain of command they send a person from MMSA HQ that has a fine tooth comb and will find out you have that shifter in there and he'll likely blame it on that.

 

That's the ****ty part, they don't know what caused it! or how to prevent it! I am just supposed to drive differently.

Well, I just called Mitsu of America and they told me I am f*cked. No recourse whatsoever, so now I am contacting an attorney, the Better Business Bureau, and Consumer Affairs of Palm Beach County to see what my legal options are.

I hope for everyone's sake that this goes well, either way I was going to get rid of it next year, was just hoping it would be in exchange for the Evo MR instead of an STI.

 

The car is at the dealer on a lift, can't replace the shifter, also had to "modify" the stock shifter to get it out of the car, so that's not an option. But plenty of others have this and I haven't seen this problem on any other forums anywhere else.

My dealer is shaky at best, the mechanics don't seem to know what's really wrong and look at me like a punk, too. I am a 28 y/o engineer, not an 18 y/o spoiled brat. I was gonna buy it at a different dealer, but the salesman seemed nice and invested a lot of time, so I felt he deserved the sale. Guess I was wrong.

 

I found one complaint filed on the NHTSA website that is similar to mine, anyone else having this problem?

ODI ID: 10063730 NHTSA Complaint IDs: 464401
Make: Mitsubishi Model: 2003 LANCER 03

Component/Parts: Manual Transmission

Failure Date: March 23, 2003 Complaint Date: March 23, 2004
Entered in NHTSA Database: March 23, 2004

City/State: FT LADUDERDALE, FL (Florida)
Crash: No Fire: No Injured: 0 Deaths: 0

Complaint Description: the transmission in my 2003 evolution is sometimes very rough going into second gear. the tranny feels as if the gears are grinding for a second before engaging; i have brought this up to the attention of mitusbishi corporate and several service depts and they do not appear to be concerend. this is an issue that a lot of evolution owners are experiencing.

 

***UPDATE***
Talked to a lawyer who specializes in lemon law cases. He told me to take it to another dealer first and play dumb, so that's what I'm gonna try to do. After that, It's time to go after Mitsubishi in court. I am not trying to pull one over on anyone, and I'm not trying to get something that isn't rightfully mine, all I want is to have my car fixed and fixed right so this doesn't happen again ... I hate this crap

 

If I was you I would take out your short shifter, cause it does cause your syncros to work harder and puts more stress on them. Which they could say cause your second gear syncro to fail.

 

But it breaks while I'm in 5th gear! Never any other time and I have NOT been shifting hard into 2nd or 3rd since it happened the 1st time.

 

don't ignore the obvious. you have an aftermarket shifter, now you are having trans problems. there's a good chance the two are related.

 

going to another dealer and acting dumb dont' work any more because these days all the warranty claims and service work is linked.. they can pull up your entire warranty or service history by inputting your VIN number

-joe

 

I hope this is not the case which I don't believe so. This just goes to how sucky MIT quality is!!!