On my way to work today I got the death light. I have just over 14k miles on the car. Work is only about a 7 mile commute. I stopped at Dunkin Donuts before work which is about 1/2 mile away from work. The light was not on when I pulled into the parking lot. Got my stuff then left to go to work. I pull up to the driveway and start to back in (can't make it in the parking lot at work due to a big dip). The light is still not on at this point.. I come to a stop and right when I go to turn off the key I see the light flash on the dash but I was already in the motion turning off the car. I turned back on the car just to make sure I was not seeing things and sure enough there it was. Now that's the story of what happened today.. Now a little about my car/driving style/blah blah

I pretty much drive like a grandma getting up to speed. I shift at 3k (today was no different). Since my tune I maybe only stepped on it a handful of times and when I did I really never went about 5.5k rpms. Last time I did that was over 2 months ago. Car got above 300 miles since July because I needed an alignment and took my motorcycle everywhere unless it was raining. The oil was just done at 13k (changed every 3k since I got the car at 4k miles) so the oil is new.

Questions are can I drive about 20 miles to the dealer to get it looked at or should it really be towed? I know I have mods and they are going to deny any work but that's the closest shop around really. I just want to find out if its stretched and then if it is my plan was going to take it probably to Ivey to get it replaced which is about a little over an hour away and should I probably have it towed there right? I read in the one thread that the tune may need to be checked as well..

 

If the dealer can deny warranty because of mods and tune, can they deny even looking at your car at all? I mean seems like a waste of time for them to even look at your car if they know they will not warranty you.

Keep us updated. I would try to take it to the dealer I guess

 

I would assume they will at least diagnose the problem then tell me my warranty is denied and tell me the crazy dealer price to fix it.

 

The responsibility to prove your mods caused the issue is on the dealer. They can't very well do that without figuring out what the issue even is.


...not that they won't try, I'm in the middle of a fight with a dealer with some sort of rear diff issue on my car.

 

Are you talking about the triangle with the exclamation mark in it?
If so i believe that can be triggered by numerous things, not only timing chain stretch.
The triangle comes on in mine when im low on fuel, or if i have my summer wheels with no TPMS, when i hold info to clear the warning.
Im just saying with only 14k it might be something else... maybe.

 

That seems way to soon for the Timing Chain to stretch. ****, mine isn't stretched and i have 65,000 miles. Knock on wood.

 

A little update. I took the car down the street for lunch and the light was NOT on anymore.

But just from the amount of claims that have been denied from the timing chain even on a stock car I don't expect it to be cover under warranty. I am more worried about if the light is on how far can I drive with it to get it fixed and once replaced will the tune need to be checked..

 

I have seen plenty of threads around with timing chain but not one this low before. Hopefully you're right. I have different wheels on the car but switched over the TPMS and nevered had a light on for that. I am about 1/4 tank of gas and maybe the angle of the slope while I was backing up made the light popped on if other things can cause it.

 

what light and who did the tune? What error code are you getting?

 

Ivey did the tune. I have a little more than 1k miles on the tune. Yellow traingle with ! point. Did not get a chance to pull the code since I was at work and now its not there..

 

If there was a code for the timing chain, it's still there to pull unless you cleared it or disconnected the battery.

 

There seems to be a little confusion on the process of bringing a car in to be looked at by a dealer. At the outset, you are on the hook for what they will call something like "diagnostic work." If they discover a problem that is covered by the warranty, then the diagnostic fee is waived. If they discover a problem that is not covered or find no problem at all, then you must pay for the diagnostics.

Note: dealers that are either jerks, incompetent, or under orders from corporate to reduce their warranty work may claim to have found no problem when it's pretty obvious that there is at least one. For example, the dealer nearest to me either has techs with hearing impairments or has replaced too many whining T-cases, because they claim to hear nothing when driving my car. This can be very frustrating, because you still have to pay them for hearing nothing because the diagnostic work did not - according to them - find a problem that is covered by warranty. Be ready for this.

 

What Iowa999 said about the diagnostic work is true. I recently brought my car to a Mitsubishi dealer and was told the exact thing- if its a problem covered by warranty, no diagnostic fee but if there is no problem or a problem not covered by warranty your stuck with the fee. I was told it was $112 for the diagnostic. Good luck

 

UPDATE:

I drove the about 30 miles since and the light has not came back on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iowa999

There seems to be a little confusion on the process of bringing a car in to be looked at by a dealer. At the outset, you are on the hook for what they will call something like "diagnostic work." If they discover a problem that is covered by the warranty, then the diagnostic fee is waived. If they discover a problem that is not covered or find no problem at all, then you must pay for the diagnostics.

Note: dealers that are either jerks, incompetent, or under orders from corporate to reduce their warranty work may claim to have found no problem when it's pretty obvious that there is at least one. For example, the dealer nearest to me either has techs with hearing impairments or has replaced too many whining T-cases, because they claim to hear nothing when driving my car. This can be very frustrating, because you still have to pay them for hearing nothing because the diagnostic work did not - according to them - find a problem that is covered by warranty. Be ready for this.

Thank you for the input. Went to the dealer a while ago for a turbo whine that was happening and they saw the mods and said if it's the turbo it won't be covered under warranty. We took the car for a ride and I could hear the noise but they couldn't(I feel your pain with the noise) so we took it back into the shop and they spent at least 30 mins just looking around and found nothing. I wasn't charged for anything so maybe it is just the dealer. I know the timing chain will most likely be different.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirkendargen

If there was a code for the timing chain, it's still there to pull unless you cleared it or disconnected the battery.

I will try to pull the code when I get home from work to see if its there. I did not clear or disconnect the battery. The light was off a couple hours later when I started the car and has not came on since.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JACOB3RD

What Iowa999 said about the diagnostic work is true. I recently brought my car to a Mitsubishi dealer and was told the exact thing- if its a problem covered by warranty, no diagnostic fee but if there is no problem or a problem not covered by warranty your stuck with the fee. I was told it was $112 for the diagnostic. Good luck

Thank you for giving me a heads up.

 

that's just like a dingy light it doesn't mean anything, the Check Engine is the one you don't want. Sometimes that one you're talking about will come on if it's cold outside and the air pressure in your tire drops, too.