NHTSA Complaint #710875 — 1991 MITSUBISHI GALANT

I BOUGHT A 1991 MITSUBISHI GALANT LS 4DR FROM A LOCAL DEALER(YORKTOWN MITSUBISHI, NEW YORK) 4 MONTHS AGO. A FEW DAYS AGO WHILE DRIVING MY CAR, THE ECU UNIT (ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE) BURNED OUT AND ALL OF THE POWER IN THE CAR SUBSEQUENTLY SHUT OFF. KEEP IN MIND THAT THE FUSE DID NOT BLOW WHEN THIS HAPPENED WHICH INDICATES THAT IT WAS THE PART ITSELF WHICH MALFUNCTIONED AND NOT SOME OTHER ELECTRICAL SOURCE. IT WAS A GOOD THING THAT I WAS NOT DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN REAL TROUBLE. ANYWAY, AFTER TAKING WITH SEVERAL DEALERS, I WAS TOLD THAT THE "ECUS" "HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO GO (BURN OUT)". THE DEMAND FOR THIS PART IS VERY AS WELL AS THE PRICE $800 WHILE THE SUPPLY IS VERY LOW. A COUPLE OF DEALERS TOLD ME THAT SEVERAL CUSTOMERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM, REPLACED THE UNIT WITH A NEW ONE AND IT BURN OUT AGAIN, SOME OF THEM TWICE MORE. SINCE THIS PROBLEM HAS OCURRED TO SEVERAL OTHERS AND PRESENTS SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN, I DEEM IT NECESSARILY WORTHY OF AN INVESTIGATION OF SOME SORT , PERHAPS LEADING TO A RECALL. *AK