Transfer case trashed after 3500 miles on STOCK GSR. Why?
10,000 miles on a factory 180 tread wear tire (read this as the real tread wear rating is probably lower) is about the most you can hope for. With a proper alignment (not the one the car is delivered with) you can get more, main reason I had my alognment done by GrandTurismoEast two days after I picked up the car.
If any dealer gave me crap about tire wear on a 180 tread wear tire I would have a field day with them.
OP may not have a bad TC but he certainly has a service manager with a bit of tard in him.
If any dealer gave me crap about tire wear on a 180 tread wear tire I would have a field day with them.
OP may not have a bad TC but he certainly has a service manager with a bit of tard in him.
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 74
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From: N.J.
Ha. I have all the TV ads, along with documents with qoutes from the VP of sales saying this is a "weekend track car". You know what that means in court? NOTHING. My lawyer friend threw some word at me which I forget, but it basicly states that although they work for the company that is the soul opionon of that person and is in no way related to how 
feels.
Like the TV adds. They clearly state "Do not attempt." in the fine print.
If you do decide to go to court please contact me and I will support you and bring my case forward as well.
But like I said, Be VERY happy they worked on you're car. Take the SM advice and don't go back.
Even if its 180 tire tread rated at 10,000 miles. SO it should last 10,000 miles. If its extra worn, YOU were racing. Right? Or driving the car in a manor that is unsuitable.
My question though. Why do dealers void warranties? Does not pay the dealer for the work? I would feel they lose money by turning people away. Maybe someone can explain that to me. 
TIA
feels.Like the TV adds. They clearly state "Do not attempt." in the fine print.
If you do decide to go to court please contact me and I will support you and bring my case forward as well.
But like I said, Be VERY happy they worked on you're car. Take the SM advice and don't go back.
Even if its 180 tire tread rated at 10,000 miles. SO it should last 10,000 miles. If its extra worn, YOU were racing. Right? Or driving the car in a manor that is unsuitable.
My question though. Why do dealers void warranties? Does
not pay the dealer for the work? I would feel they lose money by turning people away. Maybe someone can explain that to me. TIA
The dealer will have to explain Mitsu the reason they understand that the part was driven under abuse. (Which is not easy on a car that requires maintenance so often and parts that wear out really fast.)
That will create a delay for the payment to come from Mitsu to the dealer and the dealer will be better off taking care of all the maintenance that will be reimbursed fast from Mitsu (i.e. Pit-Pass). Thus, the reason they will send you away for anything related to their ads and promotions of spirited driving.
Locally, Mitsu have a tech manager that will come to the dealer once a week and will make a decision if the part is under warranty or not. After that.... In order to get your point across, you will have to talk to Mitsu USA and escalate the issue.
I started to heavily mod my car after my first three attempts to claim warranty and got kicked in the *****: 1. Grind on 4th gear after 10K miles w/o any track event. 2. Peeling brembos after 13K miles. 3. Bad lifter and a lot of ticking after 8K miles.
I ended up replacing/fixing those items from my pocket! That is the reason I am not buying an Evo X until they are under 30K new. Never.... I know! You got my point! Worst service ever!
To the OP, if the dealer replaced/fixed the TC for free.... you can consider yourself a lucky man!
That will create a delay for the payment to come from Mitsu to the dealer and the dealer will be better off taking care of all the maintenance that will be reimbursed fast from Mitsu (i.e. Pit-Pass). Thus, the reason they will send you away for anything related to their ads and promotions of spirited driving.
Locally, Mitsu have a tech manager that will come to the dealer once a week and will make a decision if the part is under warranty or not. After that.... In order to get your point across, you will have to talk to Mitsu USA and escalate the issue.
I started to heavily mod my car after my first three attempts to claim warranty and got kicked in the *****: 1. Grind on 4th gear after 10K miles w/o any track event. 2. Peeling brembos after 13K miles. 3. Bad lifter and a lot of ticking after 8K miles.
I ended up replacing/fixing those items from my pocket! That is the reason I am not buying an Evo X until they are under 30K new. Never.... I know! You got my point! Worst service ever!
To the OP, if the dealer replaced/fixed the TC for free.... you can consider yourself a lucky man!
Ha. I have all the TV ads, along with documents with qoutes from the VP of sales saying this is a "weekend track car". You know what that means in court? NOTHING. My lawyer friend threw some word at me which I forget, but it basicly states that although they work for the company that is the soul opionon of that person and is in no way related to how feels.
Like the TV adds. They clearly state "Do not attempt." in the fine print.
If you do decide to go to court please contact me and I will support you and bring my case forward as well.
But like I said, Be VERY happy they worked on you're car. Take the SM advice and don't go back.
Even if its 180 tire tread rated at 10,000 miles. SO it should last 10,000 miles. If its extra worn, YOU were racing. Right? Or driving the car in a manor that is unsuitable.
My question though. Why do dealers void warranties? Does not pay the dealer for the work? I would feel they lose money by turning people away. Maybe someone can explain that to me. TIA
feels.Like the TV adds. They clearly state "Do not attempt." in the fine print.
If you do decide to go to court please contact me and I will support you and bring my case forward as well.
But like I said, Be VERY happy they worked on you're car. Take the SM advice and don't go back.
Even if its 180 tire tread rated at 10,000 miles. SO it should last 10,000 miles. If its extra worn, YOU were racing. Right? Or driving the car in a manor that is unsuitable.
My question though. Why do dealers void warranties? Does
not pay the dealer for the work? I would feel they lose money by turning people away. Maybe someone can explain that to me. TIA
iam about to buy a brand new evo x mr and my dealer here in honduras doesnt want to give me the warranty cause they say mitsu japan doesnt give it to them
so this means mitsu doesnt standup for the products they sell this is so cheap from them... i hope you resolve your transfer case problem and they should give you the warranty period.
so this means mitsu doesnt standup for the products they sell this is so cheap from them... i hope you resolve your transfer case problem and they should give you the warranty period.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Renton, WA
Just to be clear, they DID fix the transfer case - it had a bad bearing. So yes, I do feel lucky they fixed it.
I just wanted to ask around and make sure there was nothing that *I* did to mess up the transfer case and that it was likely a factory defect.
Thanks for all the feedback.
I just wanted to ask around and make sure there was nothing that *I* did to mess up the transfer case and that it was likely a factory defect.
Thanks for all the feedback.
dude, i live in canada and i have not hear of any t/c problems. there is many tuned evo x in my city, but mine is bone stock. i am scared that they will not honor warranty. I do not think you did any thing wrong to cause this, you just got a bad t/c. i hope you feel better. good luck with your car )
)
it sounds like u did not let the differential + gears to bed in properly and metal bits are still in ur transfer case and produced more heat than the limit.
that the combination killed ur transfer case.
I assume u did not flush the differential oil before u drive it like that. if so it is bad for the gear and the oil.
that the combination killed ur transfer case.
I assume u did not flush the differential oil before u drive it like that. if so it is bad for the gear and the oil.
Evolving Member
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 176
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From: If you're not 1st...You're last
That sucks man, It should not be like that. If it happens again take it to another dealership because it is under warranty REGARDLESS the way your tires look. Don't take **** from the dealership.
uhhhh, with car being stock, bring it to a dealer
I have about 3500 miles on my Evo X GSR, which is still bone stock. I haven't been all that hard on the car - no drag launches, clutch drops, or jerky shifting. I drive it fast on the freeway, take corners pretty fast and such, but definitely no where in the realm of abusive driving (as mentioned in our warranty).
So 2 weeks ago, I filled up the gas tank and I went out for a morning of... "very aggressive" driving. Speeds between 35 and 125mph, extreme braking and cornering. Black-top asphalt. Pretty much like road racing - but not racing - just driving the hell out of the car and enjoying how awesome it handles and drives. Still exercised smoothness in braking, acceleration, and shifting. On some of the tight turns I made, the ASC kicked in - maybe 4-5 times total.
(I refuse to admit to the idea or implication that I was driving laps around a road course with or without a driving instructor in the car with me - considering the close call with my warranty detailed below)
I drove the car like this for about 30 minutes, then drove for a minute or two at reduced speeds to cool it down, then parked it for about 30-45 minutes. I then took it out again. After about 25 minutes of "high performance" driving, my gas light came on (uggh, from full tank to gas light in 55 minutes). Well, the nearest gas station was about 10 miles away, and at the rate I was burning gas, I decided to just stop. So I parked the car (no cool down drive this time) for a bit - maybe 10 minutes - then headed to the gas station.
When I was driving down the local streets heading towards the highway, I heard this whining sound coming from under the car. Speed related (faster = higher pitched whine) only - clutch engagement, gear selection, and engine RPM had no affect on the sound - only the speed of the car. I suspected it was the transfer case and decided to immediately take it to the dealership where I bought it, which was only about 10 miles or so.
After taking the service manager for a ride and letting him hear it, the first thing they did was take it in the bay and inspect it for mods - thankfully the car is still 100% stock. He walked out and mentioned it was good it wasn't modded, but he had some concerns - pointed out the fact that my tires were fried and said it looked as if I'd been road racing the car. I explained that wasn't the case - didn't do any racing, had just been doing some high speed, very aggressive driving/braking/cornering/etc. He told me if he mentioned the tires to Mitsu, they'd void my warranty and deny the claim. He ended up "doing me a favor" and NOT telling them, and in the end replaced the transfer case under warranty - but with the disclaimer that "if the car comes back in again, it's on you."
I know this is long, so who knows who is still reading, but:
WTF? Should the transfer case be going out (they said it was a bad rotational bearing) after only 3500 miles and 2 x 30 minute sessions of high-speed driving on a normal road surface? Could I have done something wrong while driving the car, which again, is BONE STOCK? Could it have been a simply an unlucky bad bearing from the factory? A heat issue? The car had no leaks in my garage, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't from lack of fluid in the transfer case.
My concern here is that I don't want to repeat something that I may have done to cause this to happen.
Several people I've talked to have said what I pretty much feel, and that is if I'm driving this car bone stock and not doing drag launches, there shouldn't be ANYTHING I could do to cause this (outside of gross abuse, such as putting it on SNOW mode and doing wheel-locked figure eights on an asphalt parking lot with traction chemicals on the ground). One would think buying a $40k high performance vehicle like this, you could drive it in a high performance manner without it breaking on you.
I'm hoping to hear more of the same, from more people with experience with these cars - but I just want to be sure.
Any thoughts or ideas?
So 2 weeks ago, I filled up the gas tank and I went out for a morning of... "very aggressive" driving. Speeds between 35 and 125mph, extreme braking and cornering. Black-top asphalt. Pretty much like road racing - but not racing - just driving the hell out of the car and enjoying how awesome it handles and drives. Still exercised smoothness in braking, acceleration, and shifting. On some of the tight turns I made, the ASC kicked in - maybe 4-5 times total.
(I refuse to admit to the idea or implication that I was driving laps around a road course with or without a driving instructor in the car with me - considering the close call with my warranty detailed below)
I drove the car like this for about 30 minutes, then drove for a minute or two at reduced speeds to cool it down, then parked it for about 30-45 minutes. I then took it out again. After about 25 minutes of "high performance" driving, my gas light came on (uggh, from full tank to gas light in 55 minutes). Well, the nearest gas station was about 10 miles away, and at the rate I was burning gas, I decided to just stop. So I parked the car (no cool down drive this time) for a bit - maybe 10 minutes - then headed to the gas station.
When I was driving down the local streets heading towards the highway, I heard this whining sound coming from under the car. Speed related (faster = higher pitched whine) only - clutch engagement, gear selection, and engine RPM had no affect on the sound - only the speed of the car. I suspected it was the transfer case and decided to immediately take it to the dealership where I bought it, which was only about 10 miles or so.
After taking the service manager for a ride and letting him hear it, the first thing they did was take it in the bay and inspect it for mods - thankfully the car is still 100% stock. He walked out and mentioned it was good it wasn't modded, but he had some concerns - pointed out the fact that my tires were fried and said it looked as if I'd been road racing the car. I explained that wasn't the case - didn't do any racing, had just been doing some high speed, very aggressive driving/braking/cornering/etc. He told me if he mentioned the tires to Mitsu, they'd void my warranty and deny the claim. He ended up "doing me a favor" and NOT telling them, and in the end replaced the transfer case under warranty - but with the disclaimer that "if the car comes back in again, it's on you."
I know this is long, so who knows who is still reading, but:
WTF? Should the transfer case be going out (they said it was a bad rotational bearing) after only 3500 miles and 2 x 30 minute sessions of high-speed driving on a normal road surface? Could I have done something wrong while driving the car, which again, is BONE STOCK? Could it have been a simply an unlucky bad bearing from the factory? A heat issue? The car had no leaks in my garage, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't from lack of fluid in the transfer case.
My concern here is that I don't want to repeat something that I may have done to cause this to happen.
Several people I've talked to have said what I pretty much feel, and that is if I'm driving this car bone stock and not doing drag launches, there shouldn't be ANYTHING I could do to cause this (outside of gross abuse, such as putting it on SNOW mode and doing wheel-locked figure eights on an asphalt parking lot with traction chemicals on the ground). One would think buying a $40k high performance vehicle like this, you could drive it in a high performance manner without it breaking on you.
I'm hoping to hear more of the same, from more people with experience with these cars - but I just want to be sure.
Any thoughts or ideas?
