tv206

Hi all. A few months ago, my 2013 Mitsubishi Ralliart began having transmission issues. It would shift jerky and harsh. At one point as I was driving, it disengaged and the car would not move without a restart several times before I made it to the dealership. I brought it in the dealership and I got the dreaded P1875 - damper speed sensor rationality code. Service manager said I would need a new transmission for $17k. The kicker is I was just past the Powertrain warranty by about 60 days. I reached out to corporate to see if an exception can be made and long story short, they came up with every excuse in the book to deny my request.

As I was doing more research, I saw a section in the Warranty manual about the California Emissions Warranty, which applies to my vehicle because I am in Washington State. It basically says certain emissions-related parts are covered up to 7 years or 70,000 miles. Two of the parts listed are the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) and the Engine Control Unit (ECU). My question is, would the damper speed sensor fall under one of these 2 covered parts? The customer service rep just flat out denied it saying its a Powertrain issue and that warranty already expired. I am under the impression the speed sensor is at least part of the TCU, which would make it covered under the California Emissions warranty. I filed a compliant with the BBB for them to prove that the speed sensor is not a part of the TCU and would not be covered.

Do I have a case or is it a longshot? I also have the extended warranty as a back up, but they are wanting the transmission to completely fail before they consider replacing it. I'd rather not get into an accident while waiting for the part to completely fail so I was hoping going through the manufacturer warranty would be faster, but Mitsubishi and this service manager in particular are no help at all. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

kozmic27

The speed sensor has nothing to do with emissions equipment. The engine doesn't even care if it is working, and the transmission only uses it for it's own internal calculations. It uses engine speed from the engine ecu via CAN. It is likely based on the mileage that the damper is shot or the sensor has failed.