NHTSA Complaint #10112735 — 1993 MITSUBISHI 3000GT

MY CAR BEGAN TO BUCK VIOLENTLY ON THE WAY HOME THE REAR WHEELS LOCKED UP AND THE FRONT CONTINUED TO MOVE, WHICH CAUSED HEAVY VIBRATIONS. I TURNED THE HAZARD LIGHTS ON AND SLOWED DOWN TO A STOP. I THEN REMOVED THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION AND RESTED THE CAR WHERE IT STOPPED, 120 FT FROM MY HOUSE. IMMEDIATELY, I KNEW THE CULPRIT -- THE TRANSFER CASE, AND A RECALL WAS ISSUED APPROXIMATELY 2 YEARS AGO. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO DARCARS MITSUBISHI TO HAVE THE RECALL PERFORMED. INITIALLY, SERVICE SUPPORT TOLD ME THE PROBLEM WOULD BE TAKEN CARE OF. A FEW DAYS PASSED, AND I RECIEVED A CALL FROM THE DEALERSHIP SAYING IT WAS NOT COVERED BECAUSE THE "FLUID PLUG WAS MISSING." THEY PROPOSED THE REMEDY OF REFILLING THE FLUIDS AND REPLACING THE PLUGS, SOMETHING THAT ALSO SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED BY THE RECALL -- AT THE CHARGE OF ABOUT $82. I RECIEVED THE CAR THE NEXT FRIDAY, AND THE CAR WORKED FINE... TEMPORARILY. THE VERY NEXT FRIDAY, THE CAR EXPERIENCED THE SAME SYMPTOMS AS BEFORE. I PULLED OVER BY A NEARBY SHOPPING CENTER AND CALLED TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED. IT WAS TOWED TO THE SAME DEALERSHIP AS BEFORE -- DARCARS MITSUBISHI. THE DEALERSHIP GAVE ME A RATHER LARGE LIST OF FAULTS -- MOST NOTABLY, AN INTERNALLY DAMAGED AND LEAKING TRANSFER CASE. I ONCE AGAIN FOUGHT FOR THE RECALL, BUT THE DEALERSHIP REFUSED. THE RECALL EXPLICITLY STATES TRANSFER CASE, YET THEY WERE ARGUING THAT IT WAS THE YOKE THAT IS COVERED -- WHICH IS COMPLETELY FALSE. I CALLED MITSUBISHI AMERICA AND THEY SAID THAT THE CAR HAS HAD ITS TRANSFER CASE REPLACED BEFORE -- IN 1999, 3 YEARS BEFORE THE TRANSFER CASER RECALL HAD BEEN INSSUED IN 2002. THE CAR WAS THEN TOWED HOME AND HAS SAT SINCE. HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH SEVERAL OTHER DEALERSHIPS WHO WERE UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING, BECAUSE DARCARS SIGNED OFF AS COMPLETING THE RECALL ON MY CAR -- WHICH THEY DID NOT, AS I WAS CHARGED FOR THE ONLY WORK THAT WAS DONE ON MY CAR AT THE DEALERSHIP. *AK