There are merits to both sides of the fence though. I think it's silly to expect free handouts, which many internet enthusiasts seem to. On the otherhand could stand to look out for their most loyal customers a little better.

I think it really depends on the individual case. Most people should not expect to have their warranty honored if they mod/race the car. However I think safety recalls should be done regardless of the use of the car. Within reason that is. I don't think you should expect to be reimbursed for work done before a safety recall as long as your car is fixed. I think it should be a system where you bring your car in and if the work for the recall needs to be done then it should be done for free. Just my .02, but I don't think ANY car company will be very cooperative in doing work on a "modded" car for free...

 

You've missed the point. Mitsubish tries to track down people from the forums online to void their warrentee. THis is very low even for a car manufacture. safty recalls should always be honored period... Dont' get confused from warrentee repair!

 

how can they prove that i am the post-er on the forums? i don't see much personal info that can identify me. and besides, it's an online forum. you can't prove ****, it's all talk. i could say "i put a 200 shot of nitrous on my car and blew all the pistons" that doesn't mean i really did it, and it isn't legal tender to hold against me if i did bring my car in for service. i don't see how they can take a post on a forum, attribute it to a person, and hold them legally responsible for it. i'd be ready to fight them if they pulled that ****.

 

Cup, ur absolutely right... Internet is a whole new world and can not be comparable to the real world. For instance, I can say... "Im the REAL cupOZnj and I dropped my car 3 inches and stuck some dubs on it." Does that really mean that cupOZnj did that? No... see... they cant prove a thing on the internet. I just bought a ferarri... does that really mean I have one? NO!!!!

I can go on and on.... but i'd rather not. Also safety recalls should be honored regardless of the circumstances... as gtr mentioned. Thats my $2, oops.. I mean $0.02

 

As far as I know, the NHTSA is looking to expand regulations regarding safety recalls. The expanded version will permit subsequent owners of used cars that had a recall issued previously get the work done under the recall provisions. I don't think it covers mods or dammage caused by racing though.
If a safety recall was issued and the dealer refuses, contact the NHTSA.
About "hunting down" owners... that sounds like unsubstatiated BS. As posted above, how can they prove it was you? Unless you post your VIN, SS#, name and address there is no way this would stand up in court. It would also appear to be a huge waste of time to try to find what owners of what cars were racing or modifying... and again how could they prove it?

 

I was under the impression the car dealers cannot refuse to perform recall work if NHTSA has issued a safety recall. You can take a modded car in to have recall work done. This is slightly different because they aren't necessarily refusing to do the recall, they are just refusing to refund him money he spent to have his car fixed for something that has since been issued a recall on. Anyway, I'm fairly certain they can't refuse to do recall work when a safety recall has been issued.

-Loris

 

Well, apparently someone at Mitsubishi did this. Did you check out the link I posted and read the letter he received from Mitsubishi? They told him they checked out his website and are denying his claim based on what they read on his website. They certainly can't prove it was his website or what he posted was true, but they are using that as an excuse anyway.

-Loris

 

I did see the letter. It just does not click. Legally it makes no sense either, since it is not enforceable. I'm not saying did not send him this letter. I am questioning the reasoning behind the assumption that specifically "hunted down" owners.
It would seem far more likely that the guy and the other owners on the list were ratted out. Notheless, it still does not give any legal standing ground. In addition, although the NHTSA is planning to change the recall legals to cover repairs done before the recall, right now is not legally obligated to reimburse for that. Sucks but true.
The thing to remember, don't condemn an entire company based on a single experience that was not even yours to begin with.