2000 Mitsubishi Diamante

WINDOWS FOG CONSTANTLY AND I CAN NOT GET THEM DEFROSTED. SMOKE AND SMELL OF ANTIFREEZE COMES INTO CABIN OF CAR. TOOK TO DEALER A YEAR AGO AND WAS TOLD NOTHING WAS WRONG, CAR NOW HAS 98,000 MILES AND THEY ARE TELLING ME IT WILL COST 672.00 TO REPLACE THE HEATER CORE. I HAVE FOUND SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME ISSUES. I BECAME ILL IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, THE DOCTORS (4 OF THEM AND THREE HOSPITALS, CT SCANS, ETC) COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT IT WAS. TURNS OUT IT WAS BREATHING THE FUMES IN MY CAR. AT THAT TIME, THE SMOKE ONLY APPEARED A COUPLE OF TIMES, BUT NOW IT HAS INCREASED CONSIDERABLY. I THINK IT'S SAD THAT MITSUBISHI WILL NOT REPAIR THIS PROBLEM, NOR HAVE THEY CORRECTED IT.*AK

I PURCHASED THE CAR USED FROM A MITSUBISHI DEALER, A MONTH OR SO LATER I NOTICED A MAPLE SYRUP TYPE SMELL. THE PROCEEDING MONTHS THE PROBLEM GOT WORSE AND NOTICED THAT MY WINDSHIELD KEPT FOGGING UP. I TOOK IT TO MY LOCAL REPAIR GUY WHO GAVE ME AN ESTIMATE OF ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS TO REPLACE THE HEATER CORE AND INFORMED ME THAT IF I DONT I COULD HAVE A COMPUTER FAILURE BECAUSE IT IS RIGHT UNDER THE HEATER CORE WHICH IN TURN MAY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT DUE TO LOSS OF CONTROL. MY PASSENGER SIDE CARPET IS NOW SOAKED WITH COOLANT AND THE SMELL IS HORRIBLE COMING FROM THE VENTS. I HAVE HEARD THAT THE COOLANT IS TOXIC AND CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS IN YOUR RESPIRATORY SYSTEM WHICH CONCERNS ME EVEN MORE.*AK

FOR SEVERAL WEEKS IT WAS BECOMING INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT FOR ME TO CLEAR THE WINDSHIELD ON MY CAR AND I ATTRIBUTED IT TO HOT, HUMID WEATHER. COMING BACK ON THE FREEWAY ONE EVENING IT SUDDENLY BECAME MUCH WORSE AND MY HUSBAND AND I TRIED MANY DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF COOL/WARM/FRESH AIR TO BE ABLE TO SEE OUT OF THE WINDOW, BUT IT NEVER FULLY CLEARED. IT WAS DANGEROUS TO DRIVE UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS, BUT WE MADE IT HOME. THERE WAS A WHITISH FILM BEGINNING TO FORM ON THE WINDOW, VISIBLE IN DAYLIGHT. WHAT WAS IN THE FUMES THAT FORMED THE FILM I AM AFRAID TO IMAGINE. SEVERAL DAYS LATER AS I WAS DRIVING MY SON TO SCHOOL WE BOTH NOTICED A WHITE, CLOUDY SMOKE COMING FROM THE VENTS DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF US. WE KEPT THE WINDOWS DOWN TO AVOID BREATHING IN THE FUMES. THE NEXT DAY I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THE GASKETS ADJACENT TO THE HEATER CORE HAD FAILED. IT COST $5.10 FOR THE REPLACEMENT PART, BUT THE REPAIR COST TOTAL $560.00 BECAUSE THEY HAD TO REMOVE THE ENTIRE DASH TO REPLACE THE O-RINGS. MY CAR WAS IN THE SHOP FOR A FULL DAY. I'M ALSO CONCERNED BECAUSE I'VE SINCE LEARNED THAT THE ANTI-FREEZE LEAKING FROM THE "WORN-OUT" RINGS DRIPPED DOWN ONTO MY CAR'S COMPUTER. WHAT POTENTIAL DAMAGE COULD HAVE OCCURRED TO THE COMPUTER, IS IT OK NOW, AND COULD IT HAVE CAUSED A MAJOR ACCIDENT IF THE COMPUTER FAILED.*AK

NOTICED FAINT SMELL OF ANTI FREEZE IN OCT 2003. HAD PROBLEMS WITH DEFROSTER CLEARING WINDOWS, VERY HARD TO CLEAN. NOTICED PASSANGER SIDE FLOOR CARPET IS SOAKED WITH ANTI FREEZE. OBVIOUSLY A PROBLEM WITH THE HEATER CORE OR THE HOSE(S) WHICH CONNECT TO IT ARE LEAKING. CAR HAS 60000 MILES, AND IS WELL MAINTAINED. THIS HEATER CORE LEAKS DIRECTLY OVER COMPUTERS WHICH, AS FAR AS I KNOW, CONTROL THE ENGINE - AND COULD CAUSE IT TO ACT UNPREDICTABLY OR CUT OUT ALTOGETHER WHEN DRIVING. HEATER CORE GASKET WAS THE PROBLEM ACCORDING TO DEALER AND I HAVE HAD IT FIXED. *AK