Ok, bought my '08 X in August '09. I do not track, race (ok, maybe stop light to stop light but no worse than most others here), never launched the car and an overall pretty tame driver.

However, early Feb '10, I lost my 3rd gear synchro at 2723 miles. Took it to the dealer, they took pictures of the wheel tread and other things to submit to Mitsu to see if I had voided the warranty. After 2 weeks the rep OK'd the swap and a week later, I was driving around in a brand new tranny and was told that they had also inspected the clutch to make sure that no damage had been done to it. During the service, Mitsu gave me a rental car (props!).

I noticed second gear was a bit 'tight' but just chalked it up to cold fluids and decided that I would mention it to the dealer in a follow up phone call but unless something else happened that would force me back to the dealer (it's about 70 miles away), I'd deal with it.

This brings me to about a week ago. I started having problems AGAIN with the 3rd gear, now at roughly 4200 miles. Last time I could barely get it into 3rd (even double-clutching) but this time it grinds when shifting anything quicker than a lazy throw from 2nd to 3rd and every time I downshift into 3rd. Double clutching is more effective than last time but still grinds occasionally.

Drove the 70 miles back to the dealer this morning fully expecting to leave the car again (I'm actually going on vacation for a week so I wasn't really "out" that much) and grabbing a rental car and starting the process all over again. I had time to wait this time so instead of just boogying back outta there to the rental place, I hung out to hear what the initial thoughts were.

They took pictures and took her out for a spin to experience the grinding themselves. After some time on the phone (to I assume the same rep) they told me that not only were they not going to give me a rental car (so I could leave the car to allow the rep can inspect it when he arranged to get to the dealership), but they weren't even sure that they'd cover another new transmission. The dealership told me to drive my car back home and they'd contact me when to bring the car BACK up to have the rep look at it and make the warranty decision. The mechanic said he couldn't see any 'excessive' wear on the car (a warranty void-able offense).

I don't mind the driving. Yeah it can get boring but it's more the efficiency that bothers me. I'm going out of town for a week and, even though it took him 2 weeks to get down there last time to look at it, maybe he could have come to the dealership during this next week and the process could still be moving forwards instead of the car sitting in my garage doing nothing for a week, then tacking all the miles on it again just to take it up there.

I appreciate your thoughts...

 

If your car is totally stock (must be to get a tranny covered) then that's amazing. Many of us are running double the stock power without synchro issues.

Obviously if you have to pay out of pocket then you should have Shep rebuild the thing with stronger parts.

 

have you been granny shifting and not double clutch'en like your suppose too?

 

lemon car?

 

^ maybe.

Was it a whole new Transmission? or just re-built?

is there another dealer around that could take a look at is or maybe just talk to a manager. it sound like right now that they're just messing you around now and you'll probably just have to wait a little longer.

good luck.

 

Keep track of the down time. Many Lemon laws have a time out of service component involved in claims.

Document every conversation with each and every Mitsu person involved. Get names, dates, times, and notes of what is discussed.

DO NOT LET THEM F YOU OVER.

MG

 

Awesome guys, thanks for the quick responses. Like I said, I'm going out of town for a week so I won't be able to answer all the questions but I'll do my best...

mlom... I don't plan on paying out of pocket. Mitsu will cover it. No excessive wear = no voided warranty = they replace it.

kwlevo... yes, I'm afraid to say that I granny shift most of the time. only when I'm having tranny issues do I DC... #2- I believe they told me it was a new transmission. The next dealer is where I actually bought the car, another 30 minutes from where I take her now. My current maint guys are saying it is Mitsu that is putting the restrictions on the rental car / replacement. I guess (if it happens again or if this dealer gets denied) I can take it all the way to my actual dealer and see what they say...

Evil & Coach... God I hope it's not a lemon... I like my "one model year evo"... I'll have to look further into the Lemon Laws; not very knowledgeable on that...

Thanks guys!

edit - God I love google! According to Maryland's Lemon Laws, it must be repaired 4 times or out of service for 30 days (consecutively). I'm on attempt #2 but with them sending me home, the car isn't out of service... grr

 

Are you sure 3rd is actually going out and you're not just shifting it hard enough into gear? I know from first hand experience that a lot of the Evo's both 08 and 2010's have difficulty going into gears at times and when I gently try and shift it into a gear, say 3rd for example, it doesn't always like to go in immediately. You need to be shifting with authority into the gears with the clutch fully engaged.

 

Thanks Silver... I do shift with authority. Like I said, usually I try to take it easy but I'm very deliberate in my shifts, even more so when I'm quick shifting for aggressive acceleration. That's when the gear grinding is most noticable.

 

sometimes it the mechanics fault, prolly they didnt do the clutch properly or messed up the trans puting it together. Most of the mitsu mechanics DONT see a lot of evos, since we mod them right away and we tend to lose our warranty, so we take it to a performance shop instead. I dont think the mitsu mechanics have a lot of experinece/training with evos, thats why the cars get worse after going to a dealer.

 

that's a great point erald.. since I have to drive up to Mitsu for the rep to look @ the tranny, I might ask the rep if I can have a reputable performance shop do the warranty repair instead of the dealer and continue my warranty...

 

Ah sorry I was misinterpreting it as more casual and less authoritative shifting. Don't know what to say then dude because usually I get some notching/grinding when I try to drive more subtle and less aggressive. I'm leaning more towards the most recent post and them not re-assembling everything right and incorrect shims

 

Trade it in on a new one and tell them to make you a deal.

Post your vin so no other person gets your lemon

Document everything.

 

You really should, especially from 1st to 2nd let the rpms fall... they will likely rise when you push the clutch in for a second or less, let them start to fall back before you shift or it will grind everytime. Is this your first AWD car? If so, they shift and behave much differently than other 5 speeds.

 

Agreed. And take it one step further. If they won't do the work when you take the car back, have them put it in writing (and in detail) as to why the warranty was denied.