NHTSA Complaint #10325831 — 2001 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE SPYDER

ON 2/21/10 EARLY SUNDAY MORNING I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT APPROX. 55MI/HR WHEN MY MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE JUST STOPPED. IT WOULD NOT GO FORWARDS OR BACKWARDS. THERE WAS NO NOISE OR SOUND OF ANY KIND TO INDICATE SOMETHING WAS WRONG. I HAD TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY AND SAT THERE FOR 3 1/2 HRS FOR A TOW TRUCK. CAR WAS TAKEN TO SOUTH PARK MITSUBISHI IN BETHEL PARK. IT WAS DIAGNOSED AS A TOTAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. MY CAR HAD ONLY 57183 MILES AND I WANTED THE TRANSMISSION REBUILT. THEY WOULD NOT DO THAT. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO AAMCO. I READ ON LINE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION USED IN MY CAR AND ALSO CERTAIN CHRYSLER MODELS WITH A DEFECTIVE "WAVE SPRING" THAT BREAKS SUDDENLY AND CAUSED CATASTROPHIC FAILURE IN THE TRANSMISSION. I ASKED AAMCO TO SAVE ALL BROKEN PARTS. THE WAVE SPRING BROKE, WENT THROUGH THE PUMP, AND BROKE THE GEARS JUST AS DESCRIBED IN THE ARTICLE "MITSUBISHI F4A51 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HAZARD PROBLEM". THIS PROBLEM WAS WELL KNOWN BY MITSUBISHI BECAUSE THE WAVE SPRING WAS REDESIGNED BUT TOOK NO ACTION TO NOTIFY OWNERS OF THE HAZARD THAT EXISTED. BY SWAPPING OUT A REBUILT TRANSMISSION, THE MITSUBISHI DEALER DOES NOT MAKE THE CUSTOMER AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND JUST ASSUMES THE TRANSMISSION WENT BAD AND NEEDED REPLACED THEREFORE NOT MAKING THE ACTUAL PROBLEM WELL KNOWN. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM AND HAD THE PART REPLACED WITH THE NEW DESIGNED WAVE SPRING. THIS ACTION WOULD HAVE SAVED ME A LOT OF MONEY AND NOT PUT MYSELF AND OTHERS IN DANGER OF HARM OR DEATH. MITSUBISHI KNEW OF THE PROBLEM AND DID NOTHING, THEY NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ERROR AND MAKE OTHER OWNERS AWARE SO THAT THE PROBLEM CAN BE RESOLVED BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED. THEY CAN NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR CLAIM THAT THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY BECAUSE THIS IS NOT A JUST WEAR AND TEAR CASE. IT IS A DEFECT AND I WANT OTHER OWNERS OF CARS WITH THIS DEFECTIVE PART NOTIFIED AND MY EXPENSES REIMBURSED. *TR