I dont want to stray this offtopic at all but here is my thing.

There is so much going into getting kids (adults too) off the streets and on to the tracks where it is safe to compaire cars (call it what you want, racing, etc...) and Mitsubishi is going out of their way to force people back on the streets. Why? It gives the mantality to people that if I race illegally on the street and brake my car it is covered under warrinty and insurance and if i go to a track it isnt. (i realize it isnt if they can prove you racing) In Canada there are programs that are there to help avoid racing, for ex PACER and ERACE in Ontario. They work with communities to help stop street racing. Mitsubishi pays a lot of money to have their cars accioated with the "Street Racing Image" through Fast and Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and the new Rally Art Comercial that basically says "If your old and buy this car racers will think your cool" (those are my words and what the comercial made me feel not nessarly stated in the advertisment) Honda wrks with legal services trying to get people to race safely on the track. Mitsubishi doesnt give a ****. I talked to one person who indirectly worked for mitsubishi and I was told about things in the design of the car (OZ edition) that are there to hide very illegeal (almost everywhere) mods from Legal authorities. when they should be telling you to take it to the track and race safe.

I hope this post doesnt come back to haunt me.

 

In my opinion auto forums, including Evom, offer a distorted view of model reliability and an opportunity for Mitsubishi to wrongly conclude that most warranty claims are caused by abuse. Also, there is a legitimate concern that dealerships do not evaluate what constitutes abuse consistently. IMHO owners who change AFR’s or boost or ECU software have voided their warranties. Restoring a car to stock after blowing a transfer case is costing Mitsubishi and the owners with legitimate TC failures time and money. Unless you have a prior agreement, your dealership is not your sponsor.

A blanket denial of warranty on a stock car (if true) based upon participation (whether instructional or competitive) in any SCCA event or track day is a mistake in my opinion. Right now it appears Mitsubishi is making it up as they go and it is inconsistent. The owners who may be affected should not wait to find no warranty coverage when their cars are sitting in the service bay, so this does need to be resolved. Plus some have paid for extended warranties and may be due a refund if Mitsubishi should prevail in arbitration. Good luck MSM_S2K and please keep us informed as to your progress.

I am going to ask that from now on we keep this thread on the specific topic of SCCA events voiding warranty. It may affect many owners and will be a bit easier to follow without a lot of clutter. Please feel free to start a new thread on a related topic. Thanks.


Speedlimit...

 

Almost all automotive arbitration goes like this: You are required to go to arbitration first. The arbitration is binding on the company but it not on you. If you have a problem with the arbitration decision, you can then go to court. If they have a problem with the decision, they have to suck it up. They do this because arbitration is much less costly than courts.

 

I agree. It's frustrating that I'm being punished to the tune of nearly $10k for encouraging my son to do SCCA auto-x, rather than racing on the streets. I received a fair number of PMs and emails from other Evo owners with motor failures. A consistent theme seems to be rod failure.

I just found out the issue with my motor ... yep ... rod failure for cylinder #2 with signs of #1 failing as well. When the motor failed, neither my son nor I heard anything. Stereo was on, but the only way we realized there was an issue with the car is that it stalled in the Starbucks parking lot. When he restarted it, it sounded rough and I got out of the car to listen. I heard a fairly soft metal on metal sound and we shut the motor down and had the car towed to the dealer.

Motor is out of the car. I asked my son to stop by the dealer and take some photos. If he get's to it, I'll post them here.

 

What is your build date? I wish more inspection was done with these failures to see if the main bearings or the balance shaft bearings disintigrated and then flow along through the motor cuasing more damage until it fails.

I suspect a bad batch of balance shafts bearings went in some motors.

 

Where can I find my build date?

 

On your drivers sider lower B-pillar/door jam.

 

Sticker on drivers door frame.

d

 

Hey, according to your car is perfect for weekends at the track:
(Full ad may be seen here...that is of course until reads this post and takes the ad down)
http://www.mitsubishimotors.com/MMSA...ures_specs.jsp

It sounds like you were using the vehicle exactly as advertised for its intended purpose. If you bought a truck advertised to tow 5,000lb, then you towed 5,000 lbs and your engine blew up, could they logically claim abuse? The logical answer is, no, the vehicle broke doing something it was intended to do. Using that same logic, if you take your car to a weekend track event, and it was advertised as a perfect weekend track car, and the engine blew up, that is also a legitimate claim. There is something called truth in advertising, and doesn't seem to have heard about this. You can't sell and apple and warranty it as an orange.

You can only claim a car is abused if it is used outside its intended operating parameters. For example, if I try to tow 5,000 lbs w/ my EVO, or autocross Cummins turbodiesel, and either break in the process, well I deserve what I get. However, turn those scenarios around and I'm not doing anything wrong.

Have you ever seen an ad from Mitubishi talking about how much headroom the EVO has? How about its conveniences as a grocery getter? Trunk space? Any soccer-mom perks? What about how comfy the ride is? Any such thing? NO!!!!!!!!!! So I ask you, what on EARTH does intend us to do with our cars?

 

The ads always carry disclaimers. Every manufactuer brags what their sports cars will do, but then they always cover it by saying "Obey all posted traffic laws, X does not condone speeding." The warranty book has the final say and it does specifically say "no racing." Which is indeed the bottom line.

I really do hope Mitsu fixes your car, this time - but that's it. But saying that the company is "forcing" his/your son, or anybody else to street race by not letting them compete on the track with a warranty is absolute complete madness - ludicrous to the nth degree. You can compete all day long with your Evo, Mitsubishi is encourging you to, go forth and modify and conquer, but they aint gonna finance your "team's" repair bills.

 

LOL ludicrous & madness, eh? Really...dodging cones in 2nd gear in a totally stock car high-performance car...equivalent to being on a race team...alright whatever lol. If you would look at that ad I posted, or any other ad by Mitsubishi, you would know they don't carry disclaimers like that. Reason being: It's a performance car...not a "sporty" car like an eclipse, but the real deal. It has no other purpose in life. The famous "go forth and modify" disclaimer says they don't cover aftermarket parts, but that's not to say they void the warranty for factory parts. You can't just come in and say "well all the ads for what it is supposed to do, all the brochures, all the sales pitches, they are all false advertising and having no basis in reality" and actually get away with it.

Further...I don't condone speeding and I encourage obeying all traffic laws ON THE STREET but last I heard, they don't have speed limits on the track...Also, in Germany on the unrestricted sections of the authbahn, you can go as fast as you want all day. I have a favorite mountain road that is far more punishing on a car than your average 35 second romp through a parking lot around cones. So I ask you, what is the difference? Now, if I saw our unfortunate blown engine victim on Speed channel in a Group-N rally, or in a GT event, I would not expect them to warranty a single thing (although they would probably have factory sponsorship anyway lol) But if you want to go to an open track day or auto-x to stretch your EVO's legs, it should be up to the task. Now, if I went & beat up on an eclipse, that might be a different story, they are only "sporty" cars...

In short, the only "finances" you should need for auto-x are for pads, rotors, tires...not even a clutch since you stay in the same gear the whole time...I wouldn't even expect a Kia Rio, let alone an EVO, to blow a motor like that.

 

For example, here is what says about eclipses:
Notice the shockingly different suggested use and implied intended purpose? It lies in stark contrast to suggested use of an EVO:
So if on the weekend you break sitting in traffic, you should be covered. If on that very same weekend I am doing an open track day, I should be covered as well.

 

The fact that Mitsubishi is voiding warranties for participating in SCCA solo-II is ridiculous. Does anyone have contacts with any of the automotive publications? Given Mitsubishi’s recent bad press, I can see Car and Driver, Road and Track, Automobile magazine, Sport Compact Car, Auto Week, etc. jumping all over this story. We should also try to get the SCCA involved. The last thing Mitsubishi needs right now is bad press concerning customer service. I can see the interviews: Reporter asking SCCA official, “What do you think about Mitsubishi voiding warranties on Evolutions for participating in sanctioned Autocross?” SCCA official, “I have never heard of a manufacturer voiding warranties for dodging cones! Due to this, we are advising anyone that wants to participate in SCCA solo-II and keep the factory warranty not to buy a Mitsubishi.” Mitsubishi Evolution owner and Autocross participant, “I bought the EVO because it is a great performance car. I want a car that I can track on the weekends and still use it to get the groceries and drive the kids to school during the week. After this warranty fiasco, I will never buy another Mitsubishi!” Does anyone want to email this thread to the Auto Mags?

 

It seems Mitsubishi has chosen a poor method of protecting itself from excessive warranty claims. I am of the opinion that, given a reasonably robust car, driving style has more to do with mechanical failure than venue. I know or racers who are so gentle on their cars that they simply never experience failure. I also know drivers who never venture to the track but severely abuse their car - mostly from incompetence or ignorance. Would not a reasonable compromise be to fix cars that fail under warranty, but to do so a limited number of times? And to specify said policy in writing in advance.

The Evo is a delightful car, but my ongoing conflict about replacing (unwarped) rotors that are contaminated with stock pad material under warranty has led me to the BMW dealer. I hope you have better luck.

 

No racing.

There is no grey area, a line has to be drawn and that's where it is No Racing.
I have no clue as to what people can do in Germany on some special stretch of highway has any bearing on the discussion here.

If you tell people its okay to go 25 mph around cones in second gear, then people who do 35 mph in 2nd will want to know why they are being punished, then it'll be 3rd gear 55, and so on and so on. You give an inch and people will take a mile (or a quarter mile as the case may be). So a line has to be drawn. No racing. It doesn't matter what I think the difference is.