I'm running 19.5 PSI, fuel trim, aftermarket intake, and a few other goodies. Every time I am at the dealership, I make no attempt to hide my mods. I actually talk about them with the techs and the service reps. Every now and then somebody will point out another Evo that is /was in the shop for repair work that was mod-induced. I always asked how they were able to pinpoint it down to the actual modification and they said most of the time the guy would tell them. Running 24 PSI on the stock turbo / stock block = not a good idea. Drag racing and then bringing the car in for transmission work due to missed shifts = not a good idea.

I've talked to Mitsu of America on the phone a few times, and I would start talking about modifications, asking when Ralliart parts were comming to the US and when they would be considered warranty-friendly, much like the Mopar upgrades for the SRT-4. Every time I would start to mention this, I would get cut off in mid sentance and they would say "ANY modification you do to the motor or drivetrain will void your entire drivetrain warranty. DO NOT do it." Oh really? So if I change to a K&N panel filter and then my rear differential locks up, that was my fault? I had this arguement numerous times, every time they would back down and eventually say "Well, if we can find reason to suspect...." and then I would cut them off in mid sentance and say "Don't you mean PROVE WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT?" and then they would say "Well, yes, we would have to prove it." Of course, the only reason that I would start this conversation with them was just to see what their stance was on mods, and compare that to Mitsubishi's sold elsewhere in the world. The FQ-3xx's get to keep their warranties.......

I'm not trying to sound like a tough guy or anything. I just know my rights and I think you do, too. They have to PROVE it was your modification that caused the failure. Before they do that, they have to prove what the failure was. The thing you have working against you is that the experst they will probably call in for this work for the same boss-man as they do. Guess which side he is going to be biased towards.....

 

first, no oil reading on the dipstick does not mean there's zero oil in the engine. 2nd, you expect dealer to believe that you have an EBC installed set to stock boost (boost taper and all)? Hell even I don't believe you and i'm a fellow Evo owner. If this goes to court mitsu would probably win due to your mods which puts more stress on the engine. Does that mean that your mods caused this problem? Not necessarily but mitsu could definitely use your mods as probable cause. Another thing is the test pipe is not going to look good for you in court either. Really bad move bringing the car to the dealer w/o returning the car to stock IMO.

 

Hey there- I dont know much about the Evo yet, and even less about massive mechanical failures, but I am in law school right now and can help out with your warranty claims. My advice: before you spend any $ on a lawyer, READ and RE-READ the warranty. Look for a loophole. Look for where the burden of proof lies, on you or the dealer. Look at what it says about aftermarket parts. Ask around if anyone else has had similar problems who had a totally stock car. Figure out exactly what went wrong and don't let the dealer try to intimidate you or back you into assuming any damages whatsoever. Woulda coulda shoulda on removing the boost controller - do your homework on this one and convince the dealership you know what youre talking about and that you refuse to back down. People are intimidated by lawyers - talk like one, act like one, mention that you spoke with one, and leave em quaking in their boots. Litigation is a pain in the *** for any business, no matter how large they are, and the mere threat can get a lot done.
PS - good luck in law school, its tough!

 

First of all, to everyone that advised you take off your BC and/or intake and/exhaust before going in: You are shady and dishonest and I hope you never get warranty work, ever.

I'm glad you left your mods on, because buddy, they might have cause them. And if they did, I'm sure you want to do the right thing and pay for the bill yourself rather than needlessly punish a company that's already in financial trouble... RIGHT? I am amazed at how many people out there are looking for ANYONE else to take responsibility for their actions. Own up, grow some *****, and be the man. Stop acting.

I also have to say that in this situation, as it stands, I take the dealers side. Why? Because the story doesn't add up at all. Why?
1. You "babyed the **** out of it" but you have an intake, catless exhuast and BC on it. Those aren't show mods brother.
2. You noticed there wasn't any oil in the engine, but decided to drive on it anyway (?!), probably erasing any chance you had of winning the case in your favor. Which I still find odd because...
3. You didn't notice any smoke, or any smell, or high engine temperature, or check engine lights (that you mentioned).

You can't deny that those 3 reasons ALONE give the dealship and anyone else with common sense plenty of reason to have a HUGE red flag go up.


Listen up people. When you buy a car, you buy a warranty for the car STOCK. I know that many aftermarket parts are better than OEM, but who's to say which are and which aren't. Whose to certify the install and maintenance work? The dealer? Who's trying to rip off who? I know there are some dealers that are straight up lying cheating scum, because I've been there. But if you mod your car, DO SO EXPECTING TO TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY ON YOURSELF!

 

I agree....for most of it. Something is wrong with the car if it is leaking that much oil in 3 weeks....but wouldn't you put more oil in it and then take to the dealership and say "I am going through 4 and a half quarts of oil in three weeks, something is wrong"

In regards to the warranty I agree...pony up on your own mistakes. If you are running 27 psi on a stock turbo all the time and racing the hell out of it, then yes you should have to pay, but if the car is running stck boost with a few mods, nothing major, then I say FIGHT....FIGHT.....FIGHT. Don't let them bully you.

At this point from what I have read, I would see if you can break a deal with them and offer to pay half. ....since you did let it run out of oil.

just my 2 cents. don't want to step on any toes.

 

How often does the manual tell you to check the engine oil?

 

I get the impression that you have never had to get warranty work with a MMUSA dealership, have no aftermarket mods. or you are lucky enough to have a honest dealership. (wait til you actually have a real problem & a MMUSA district rep gets involved)

the truth of the matter is nearly every one of MMUSA's dealerships & district service reps have a dishonest, lazy, "blame the customer first" attitude




"may your warranty be denied for a failed syncro caused by your aftermarket shift knob"

 

did you not read my post? did you not read the reasons? so you must be implying that everything said thusfar adds up!

the fact of the matter is
1. yes i have aftermarket mods
2. yes i have a good dealer
3. from what i've heard MMCA is pretty stringent on warranty work. this case however, is not a good example to prove that

 

I agree that if the mods caused the failure then you are responsible.

Unfortunately Mitsubishi is developing a reputation of voiding warrantees for any reason. This is why people are recommending that you need to be "shady" and remove parts to potentially avoid the automatic denials such as in this case.

If he had removed the mods then there is at least a good chance that the dealership would have torn into the car to determine the actual problem. This could actually be a genuine mechanical defect and a valid warrantee claim.

BTW -- if you were using the BC to up the boost to unreasonable levels then you probably did cause your engine to fail.

If everyone was honest and had integrity (including Mitsubishi) then Mitsubishi probably wouldn’t have a bad reputation for warrantees. Unfortunately, as it stands right now, you have to play the game and be “shady” to get the support you deserve.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

 

no way. integrity isn't swayed by difficult, even one sided circumstances. that's what integrity is! you keep to a conviction even when you've been wronged or its tough. for crying out loud...

MMCA and customers can both point fingers and blame each other, but you know what someone has got to step up and do the right thing. who better than evom members? after all, last time i checked this isn't a MMCA forum, so why would i waste time trying to speak to them here?

 

I had the same symptoms occur in my supercharged Integra GS-R. All the oild went somewhere very suddenly and there was no tell tale somoke cloud that I could see. It probably happened due to detonation, but my car was highly modified and never designed for forced induction.......

OK, first I like to offer a possible defect in the car. It's a known fact that some EVOs knock even with the stock map and using good fuel (mine did). To me it sounds like the rings in one or more cylinders might have broken or work prematurely. I think it's a good chance that it's due to a defect in workmanship or materials quality.

Having said that, I think that Mitsubishi is gonna try to get out of doing the work under warranty because the car was modified and "might" have been abused. I'm not gonna get down on you like some self righteous pr!ck, but I'll tell you that they definitely have a cause to fight you on it. I think however, that if you have a good dealership and they understand what you really did or didn't do, they should be able to work with you and help you to obtain warranty coverage if possible and if fairly needed.

You could fight them on this, but it will be a tough fight and there is a good chance they'll win even if you are right.... You can always look at it in a positive light. Maybe this is the ideal time to get a built shortblock from AMS or Buschur ..... Really, if it comes to a rebuild, you'll probably do better going to Buschur or AMS, I think $4K will have you a new, professionally installed and tuned motor in there.

Good luck

 

First off I totall agree with purecoda.

Second...if you take any part off your car and replace it with a non OEM approved (aftermarket) part then expect to have some sort of warrenty issue if your car develops a problem. Yes even if you replace your stock air filter with a K&N filter instead of an OEM filter, that, i believe, can and should cause a warrenty issue. Why not? its NOT AN OEM replacement part.

Third....you had a BOOST controller on your car. i'm sorry but most people don't buy an expensive boost controller to just read the boost. thats what a boost guage is for. and guess what!? you can get a factory OEM guage for your car. so if i was a dealership and you told me you were only using it to read your boost, not raise or adjust it, i would call you a liar and deny your warrenty claim. its as simple as that.

if you go to court and mention your "catless" exhaust i'm sure they will LOVE that. they will love you so much that they will take another $5,000 out of your pocket.

 

I've never had a turbo, let alone a BC....that said, don't they record and log the boost you were running for a specified period of time? I was under the impression it acted like a 'black box' so to speak.
I think the downpipe w/ cat-eliminater is what they will ultimately blame it on and void your warranty.

 

some electronic boost controllers probably record the data, but manual BC most definitely do not.

dittos on the bringing up the catless exhaust in court. even if it was complete 100% mitsubishi's fault, you gave them an ace in the whole with an illegal exhaust. in a court of law, its kinda like discrediting a witness. doesn't have to do anything with the case at hand, just so long as you can "prove" they can't be trusted. that of course, is another can of worms.

 

I think that there's a seperate issue here too. This wasn't a problem that suddenly catostrophically failed (ie rod through block). The car was low on oil (1 quart). The driver then tops it up without trying to determine the cause. Then proceeds to drive for 3 more weeks without checking the oil.

I think it's not necessarily that the mods were the cause, but responsibility falls on the owner of the car to ensure it is maintianed. If the owner would have taken it into the dealer the first day it showed low (1qt is not a little bit low) and said there was a problem the situation might be different. Driving the car to the dealship with "no oil showing on the dipstick" while the engine is clicking (rod knock anyone?) qualifies as abuse. I've had more than one motor start knocking (rally cars tend to lose oil occasionally) and it's a sound that you can't mistake. A rod doesn't have to ventilate the block to require the "blown engine" moniker, rebuilds are required when you run a car without oil.

I personally don't think that mitsubishi should be responsible for this repair, mods or no mods.

Sorry for the rant, and the misfortune with the car, but I think that's one reason why you really have to pay attention to maintence high performance cars.