NHTSA Complaint #10132569 — 2002 MITSUBISHI DIAMANTE

MY WIFE AND I OWN A 2002 MITSUBISHI DIAMANTE VR-X. THIS PAST JUNE 2005 I STARTED NOTICING THE CAR WAS OVERHEATING WHEN I WOULD STOP AT LIGHTS OR IN TRAFFIC. AT FIRST I FIGURED IT WAS THE REALLY HOT WEATHER WE WERE HAVING. AFTER A DAY OR SO I NOTICED THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE WOULD FLUCTUATE EVEN AT HIGHER SPEEDS, SO I PULLED INTO A GAS STATION AND CHECKED THE COOLANT. IT WAS LOW. I BOUGHT SOME COOLANT AND FILLED UP THE RESERVOIR THINKING I HAD FOUND MY PROBLEM. THE NEXT DAY I NOTICED I WAS HAVING PROBLEMS AGAIN AND CHECKED THE FLUID LEVEL, IT WAS LOW AGAIN. I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG THEN AND I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC. LOW AND BEHOLD I COME TO FIND OUT THAT THE ANTIFREEZE, WHICH IS POISONOUS, HAS LEAKED ALL OVER PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR AND WAS TOLD THAT IT PROBABLY HAD BEEN BLOWING OUT OF THE VENTS ALSO. THIS WAS VERY DISCONCERTING NOT JUST FOR THE HEALTH OF MY WIFE AND MYSELF, BUT ALSO BECAUSE WE HAD, AT THE TIME, A FIVE MONTH OLD WHO ALSO HAD BEEN BREATHING THIS POISON. I PRAY WE DON'T END UP HAVING ANY RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS, ESPECIALLY MY DAUGHTER, FROM THIS IN THE FUTURE. WHAT ENDED UP BEING THE PROBLEM WAS THE HEATER CORE CORRODED AND WAS LEAKING INTO THE CAR. MY MECHANIC SAID THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO A CAR WITH ONLY 50K MILES. ACTUALLY, THEY SAID IT GENERALLY SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN TO A VEHICLE. I COME TO FIND OUT THAT THE LEAK IS JUST ABOVE THE CARS COMPUTER SYSTEM. FORTUNATELY THE LEAK DIDN'T AFFECT THESE ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS. I SEE FROM THE HTTP://WWW.MYCARSTATS.COM WEBSITE THAT THIS PROBLEM IS VERY PREVALENT AND I'M SURE IT HAS HAPPEN TO OTHERS THAT DON'T KNOW WHO TO CONTACT ABOUT THE PROBLEM. IT ENDED UP COSTING ME $1300 TO GET IT FIXED. THE PROBLEM LIES BEHIND THE DASHBOARD WHICH ENDS UP CREATING A LOT OF LABOR CHARGES TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I HOPE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING DONE BY THE ODI IN RESPONSE TO THIS COSTLY, UNNECESSARY PROBLEM. *NM