dammit!

Right before my brother passed the car down to me, he had just gotten that Code and went to get it fixed, if im not mistaken it was $750.00 to get the warm up catalyst replaced and with labor and blah blah. if im not mistaken when i received the car it had 72K miles, and it still has under 80K now

do you think Mitsu would re-imburse him? if so i hope he kept tha paper work!

if not, womp womp that SUCKS!

 

It's unfortunate but the mileage does count/matter!

I recently(ongoing for several months now) went through hell dealing with this P0421 code, taking my 2002 Lancer OZ to several shops, all of them claiming that I had problems with the 02 Sensor(which is indicated via the code). I eventually gave in and had both replaced(costing me several hundred$ for the parts + labor) but it still didn't alleviate the problem.

Even worse off, It failed inspection 2x times(simply resetting the ECU will not allow you to pass inspection). Taking matters into my own hands I searched online(which is probably something everyone should do first when dealing with common vehicle problems). I found out via several sites that this was due to a factory recall(One that I had never been informed about, no letter & apparently no shops knew about it).

At 105k miles, I took it to a dealership service center. They took care of the PCM Reflash(this is an error[Bank 1 warm up catalyst below threshold] that kicks in after 80+k-100+k )and also replaced a fan(also a factory recall) for free. Thinking that everything was alright so I continued driving my vehicle as I normally would. Until last month when I noticed that the CEL(Check Engine Light) lit up again.

Now I'm being told that if the problem is a catalytic converter it will not be covered by warranty or factory due to the fact that the vehicle has exceeded the 100k coverage.

Granted someone made a good point, if your vehicle has over 300k miles on it, no service center should take care of the problem. That's quite understandable. But when your vehicle is known to have problems that kick in AFTER the coverage period, shouldn't the factory deal with it? That's like selling a TV that will work great for 6 months and immediately after the warranty expires, it dies. Whose responsibility should it be to get this fixed? As a consumer, I'm outraged that a company would knowingly deceive their customers in this manner.

While searching for information on Mitsubishi Factory recalls you'll find hundreds of vehicle issues that Mitsubishi seems to knowingly ignore. This has left me with a very bad taste for Mitsubishi vehicles.

Anyone in my position, one who purchased the 2002 Lancer when it first appeared on US market should know that Mitsubishi is not looking after their own products. In fact with the numerous issues I found it's very clear to me that the first gen US Lancer was a rubbish vehicle. Not surprisingly first gen US Evos' and their subsequent revisions also seem to have a boat load of recalls that aren't being dealt with by Mitsubishi.

My suggestion, don't ever buy another Mitsubishi.

 

Hey all, I've got this same error code but I already had this "recall" flash taken care of around 20k. I'm at 80,630 now, so no free cat replacement, either. Sooooooo. . .is replacing the cat the best option on this, or is there a better chance that its the O2 sensor down there?

 

[Just an update to the situation since my last post in July 2008]

This will probably also serve to be my last post on this forum as I no longer have any interest in Mitsubishi products(hell, I won't even bother with any electrical appliances from them either)

As mentioned previously, when I encountered the CEL; I initially took the vehicle to several repair shops. This led to the replacement of not one, but both 02 sensors. Even after these replacements and repairs + additional "testing" done by mechanics. The car failed 2x inspections; The CEL still came back on, eventually one of the mechanics finally advised me to check with a Mitsubishi repair center. This was only after I had already plunked down over a $1000 in costs(labor + repairs + replacements + time).

Once I had an appointment with a Mitsubishi repair center, they told me that the CEL was a recall issue and that there were two possibilities. One is that a firmware update would remedy the situation or possibly something COULD be wrong with the catalytic converters. I was explicitly advised that they would flash the firmware and update it with the corrections(free of charge), and wait for any additional problems AND that the catalytic converters should not be a problem.

After having the ECU firmware updated, I was back on the road for nearly 3 months when suddenly the CEL came back on again. I went back to the Mitsubishi repair center for further diagnosis. They then tell me that the catalytic converters needed to be replaced. BUT Mitsubishi could no longer cover the costs and I'd have to pay out of my own pockets. This is an additional $600-700 cost. With the economy the way it's in now. I came to one conclusion, F-ck it! There's no way I'm spending another dime on this Mitsu****ty's vehicle. Now granted most vehicles have an average lifespan of close to 5 yrs. But I treated this car with great care and never once tried to run this car into the ground. I wasn't planning on driving this car for the rest of my life, but I know for a fact that the Rav4 my family purchased back in 2001 is still running perfectly.

I called up the Salvation Army and donated the car, I also made a pledge that for as long as I live, I will NEVER purchase another vehicle, electronic appliance, or anything with the Mitsu****ty badge on it.

Now as I said, I will no longer be posting on this forum so some of you Mitsubishi fans may think I'm jumping the gun when I came to this juncture. But keep in mind two things, I've kept this car with great care & fearing that any performance modifications might lower the life span of this car, I've never done anything to the internals.

Also be aware that Mitsubishi has a tendency NOT to provide necessary recalls until several if not thousands of complaints have been lodged with them and the car compliance commissions. You'll also notice that the Lancer series of cars, including those later than 2002 and EVOs' have both received several poor ratings when it came to performance, recalls & other problems.

My final word of advice, if your having any problems now with CEL or anything else. Get your car FIXED immediately, there's no telling what the faulty ECU may not register and could cause even more subsequent problems further down the line.

As for JohnnyXmas,

I don't know the specifics of your problem but if your at 80k miles, you should still qualify under the 100k warranty coverage for parts(if you require a catalytic converter). Considering your car is a 2004, it could be a different problem than the one I had faced but definitely get it checked by a Mitsubishi repair center. They should be able to figure out if it's truly the 02 sensor that's the problem or something else. AND make sure they replace any parts that need replacement and not let them tell you to sit on it.

 

I had my recall for this done at the Mitsubishi Dealer in Salem, VA, now in Roanoke, VA at 110k miles. But the fix didn't last but for 100 miles. I said screw it and said it wasn't worth getting it fixed anymore. I know thats bad for those in Cali, but for me, I'll just throw on some aftermarket exhaust and call it a day.

 

it was explained to me that this wasn't a "recall" but a "TSB" and some dealers will help, and some won't.

 

Just thought I'd tag my experience on the end of this.:

I've got an 04 Lancer that was affected by this recall. I had it taken care of around 20k, though I wasn't experiencing trouble. Just got the letter in the mail, so I brought it in. At 80,650, I got the P0421 code. Called the dealer trying to see if I could get them to cover a new cat under the standard 80k Fed warranty (I knew it could be o2, but hey, free cat, right?). They said call Mitsu to see if they'll cut me some slack. I did, and had BY FAR the BEST customer service experience EVER. Total shocker.

Within a minute someone who speaks ENGLISH answered. I told her my prob, and she didn't baulk at my request. She took all my info, told me the name of who was being assigned to my issue, when they would call back, and even what area code they'd be calling from, so I'd recognize it on my phone. Who does that? Within an hour, I got a call form the dealer near me, who said Mitsu had called and said to take care of me IMMEDIATELY. His exact words were "I don't know who you spoke with down there, but our regional rep was pretty serious about making sure you got your car fixed." Odd, as I didn't even raise my voice, or sound at all upset when I called. Immediately after that, the case rep at Mitsu called me, and already knew I had a service appt set up. Here's where it gets fun\weird:

I took the car in, and 3 hours later, got the call that its ready. I asked what they did. The tech said they replaced the cat and flashed the comp per the recall. I told him I had already brought it in for that recall, and he said "Yeah, I see you had it done in 05." I asked if he flashed it with the same version again, and he said "Yeah, per the recall."

OK, whatever. I got a free cat out of the deal (yes, I stuck my head under there to make sure they actually did something). Everything seems fine, though I'm only 1000 miles in, now.

 

Every brand has isolated issues, even Mitsubishi.
I'm surprised you felt let down. I don't think you'll ever find another brand of car you can beat for 6 straight years and still be driving it for a seventh. You're driving a tank. Who gives a damn about the cat.

 

i just bought a 03 lancer has 82,000 miles. im getting p0135 code. o2 sensor is good. im sure the the catalytic convertor. both local dealers are telling me the warrenty is only good until 80,000 miles and the 1800 number to mitsubishi says 80,000 also. the reflash was done last may on the car. so is it 80,000 or 100,000? or is because they did the reflash they wont replace it now?

 

p0135 refers to the first o2 sensor, not the second one. The first sensor is located in your exhaust manifold, while the second one is located right before the cat, after your intake manifold.

So... is your o2 sensor still good? Are we both talking about the same sensor?

 

well i read that the 02 sensor may not be bad but if the Catalytic converter is bad it could throw the 02 sensor code?
my friend looked at the 02 and it appeared good. is there a way to know for sure its the o2 without buying one?

 

Hopefuly someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

The first o2 has pretty much nothing to do with the cat.

Exhaust exits the combustion chambers and enter the exhaust manifold
The first o2 takes a reading
The exhaust keeps flowing through the first cat and reaches the 2nd o2
The 2nd o2 takes a reading and compares it the first o2 reading to ensure the first cat is doing a good job.
The exhaust keeps on flowing through the second cat to clean the exhaust stream even more and out the tailpipe...

As you can see, the first o2 sensor has no clue what the emissions rules are, so even if your first cat was bad, the first o2 sensor wouldn't know the difference because the first o2 sensor only takes a sample reading and gets it compared to the second reading. The sencond o2 sensor will tell you if the first cat is bad.

There as got to be ways to test your o2 but I do not know them. Someone else will have to tell you how, or you may want to google it.

 

Ya I paid $700 for my 03 es and my CEL came on with that code. I took it in they reflashed for free, still didnt work and they put a brand new cat with reflash all free, that job alone would have cost more than I paid for the car initially ha!!!

 

Does anyone have a copy of the customer notification letter that Mitsu sent to all the owners of vehicles affected by the recall? My '02 Lancer has 77k miles and I want to walk into the Mitsubishi dealer with proof in hand that they should fix the PCM and the cat for free.

 

Nevermind, I found it.