2009 Mitsubishi Lancer

The car started to slow down on its own even when my foot was on the gas it wouldn’t pick up speed over 20mph then it started to over heat, then smoke. It sounded like sparks like from a firecracker and smelt like something was burning to the point I had to pull over and turn the car off so my children and I could get out and breathe. When I restarted it turned on but would not drive when put into gear. I had it towed and the next day I tried again only this time the battery was dead and nothing was left on in the car I couldn’t understand how this happened so I bought a new battery put it in and it started still wouldn’t move though so I gave it a few days went to try again and the new battery was dead like something was draining all the power.

THE FOLLOWING IS A RESULT OF A DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION FLUID DIPSTICK ACKNOWLEDGED BY MITSUBISHI AND ADDRESSED BY A SERVICE BULLETIN. THEY HAVE NOT ISSUED A RECALL OF THE DIPSTICK. (HTTPS://MITSUBISHITECHINFO.COM/DATA/TECH_DOCS/2010/52005696/HTML/520056966.HTM) AFTER DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT NORMAL SPEEDS, 70MPH AND UNDER, THE TRANSMISSION OVERHEATED AND A SLOW DOWN WARNING APPEARED. I PULLED OVER, LIFTED THE HOOD AND LET IT COOL DOWN FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES; THE WARNING HAD DISAPPEARED. I RESUMED DRIVING AT SPEEDS 45 AND UNDER, AND WHILE DRIVING UP A HILL THE TRANSMISSION WHINED VERY LOUDLY AND I LOST SO MUCH POWER THAT THE CAR BEGAN TO SLOW TO A STOP ON THE ROAD. I HAD TO PULL OVER TO AVOID BEING STRUCK BY ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THE SLOW DOWN LIGHT WAS NOT ON, BUT I DID RECEIVE ENGINE CODE P0741. IN ANOTHER INCIDENT, I LET IT COOL DOWN ON THE SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE THEN TOOK AN EXIT. WITH NO SLOW DOWN WARNING, I WAS ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN WHEN THE TRANSMISSION WHINED VERY LOUDLY AND THE CAR STOPPED MOVING FORWARD. AN 18 WHEELER WAS ONCOMING AND WAS NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO STOP. THANKFULLY, THE CAR WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT SAFELY OUT OF THE WAY, BUT IT WAS CLOSE. I HAVE EXPERIENCED MANY SIMILAR INCIDENTS. THE TRANSMISSION HAS FREQUENTLY OVERHEATED SINCE I'VE HAD IT WHEN IT HAD ONLY 30,000 MILES. THE TRANSMISSION FLUID AND FILTERS HAVE BEEN REGULARLY CHANGED PER THE OWNER'S MANUAL. WHILE IT HAS A REBUILT TITLE, THERE WAS ONLY EXTERIOR DAMAGE AND NO PART OF THE POWER TRAIN WAS EVER DAMAGED. I DISCOVERED THE SERVICE BULLETIN FROM RESEARCH AND FORUMS. MANY OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS ISSUE, BUT MOST JUST ASSUMED THE FLUID NEEDED TO BE CHANGED MORE THAN THE MANUAL RECOMMENDED. THE DEFECT AND THE OVERHEATING THAT RESULTS IS VERY DANGEROUS AS I'VE RECENTLY EXPERIENCED. IT'S AN ORIGINAL FACTORY DEFECT THAT IS COMPLETELY UNAFFECTED BY MILEAGE OR WEAR AND TEAR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 MITSUBISHI LANCER. WHILE IDLING, THE VEHICLE HESITATED TO ACCELERATE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT A "SLOW DOWN" ERROR MESSAGE AND TRANSMISSION INDICATOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE FAILURE WAS PERSISTENT. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 130,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 MITSUBISHI LANCER. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE SLOW DOWN WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE THE FAILURE WAS UNDETERMINED; HOWEVER, THE TECHNICIAN INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE PERSISTED AND THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. THE CONTACT HAD TO PULL OVER AND RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.

SHORTLY AFTER STARTING THE ENGINE; TAKE A TURN LEFT AND THEN MADE; I TURN ON THE ABS LIGHT SHORTLY AFTER ENGINE LIGHT LIT TOO AND, DAYS LATER, THE ABS LIGHT WENT OUT. THE NEXT DAY I STARTED THE ENGINE; RUNNING THE CAR AT 15 TO 35 MILES, SOUNDS A HIT; IN THE TRANSMISSION AND ABS LIGHT COMES ON AGAIN. THIS HAS BEEN DOING SO FAR. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 MITSUBISHI LANCER. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ENGAGED, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,000. UPDATED 11/24/14*LJ

I WAS DRIVING NORTHBOUND ON THE CA IS-15 NORTH AT APPROXIMATELY 5:55 PM PST BETWEEN THE EXITS OF 138/WRIGHTWOOD AND THE ROUTE 395/JOSHUA STREET EXIT. I WAS TRAVELING IN THE FAST LANE GOING ABOUT 68-72 MPH. I GOT A "SERVICE REQUIRED" ERROR LIGHT FLASHING, THEN THE "SLOW DOWN" LIGHT CAME ON WITH A PICTURE OF A THERMOMETER. I CHECKED THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE (WHICH IS DISPLAYED ON THE LED SCREEN BY THE SPEEDOMETER, NOT THE USUAL INDEPENDENT GAUGE) AND THE TEMPERATURE SHOWED THAT IT WAS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE, WHICH SHOULD BE WORKING GREAT. I SLOWED DOWN TO 50 MPH AS I MERGED FROM THE #1 (FAST) LANE TO THE SLOW LANE BY THE ROAD SHOULDER AND MY ENGINE LOST POWER. LUCKILY I HAD ENOUGH POWER TO GET OVER TO THE SHOULD BEFORE THE USUAL LINE OF SEMI-TRUCKS BLEW PAST ME. I CHECKED THE COOLANT, OIL, AND CTV TRANS FLUID LEVELS, ALL WERE AT CAPACITY. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT I HAD EXPERIENCED THIS ISSUE. THE FIRST TIME WAS THIS SAME TIME LAST YEAR (AUGUST, 2012). I HAD BOUGHT THE CAR USED IN JULY 2012. THE FIRST TIME THIS OCCURRED THE DEALERSHIP (VICTORVILLE MITSUBISHI) FIXED IT UNDER TSB 10-23-005. AT THAT POINT THE CAR ONLY HAD 46,000 MILES ON IT. I PLAN TO TAKE THE CAR BACK INTO THE DEALER THIS SATURDAY, PROVIDED I CAN MAKE IT BACK UP THE HILL TODAY AND TOMORROW. THIS IS A REALLY SERIOUS PROBLEM AND I HOPE IT BECOMES AN OFFICIAL RECALL. LUCKILY I WASN'T RUN OFF THE ROAD OR REAR ENDED AND KILLED WITH THE LOSS OF POWER ISSUE DUE TO THE FAULTY SENSOR. *TR

AS I WAS DRIVING UP THE I5 GOING UP THE GRAPEVINE IN CA AT 65-70MPH MY VEHICLE MADE A BEEPING NOISE AND DASH SHOWED THERMOMETER THAT SAID SLOW DOWN. I SLOWED DOWN TO 60MPH AND WENT INTO THE LEFT LANE OR (SLOW LANE WHERE SEMI TRUCKS DRIVE). ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CAR STARTED TO SLOW DOWN MORE AND MORE UNTIL A SEMI TRUCK GOT EXTREMELY CLOSE AND HAD TO VEER INTO A FASTER LANE BECAUSE MY CAR WAS ONLY GOING 40MPH. I FOUND AN EXIT AND EXITED THE FREEWAY. I CAME TO A STOP, WHEN IT WAS MY TURN TO GO, MY CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THE CAR WAS ON AND IT WAS IN DRIVE BUT WOULD NOT MOVE. FORTUNATELY A CHP VEHICLE CAME ALONG AND STOPPED TRAFFIC LONG ENOUGH FOR MY BROTHER AND 13 YEAR OLD NEPHEW TO PUSH THE VEHICLE OFF THE ROAD. THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME THIS EXACT INCIDENT OCCURRED IN THIS VEHICLE. THE FIRST TIME I WAS WITH MY MOTHER AND WAS ON THE SAME FREEWAY, LUCKILY THAT TIME WE WERE CLOSER TO THE EXIT AND WERE ABLE TO GET SAFELY TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS ISSUE BECAUSE IT IS EXTREMELY UNSAFE TO HAVE THESE VEHICLES ON THE ROAD SUDDENLY SLOW DOWN IN FRONT OF SEMI TRUCKS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO STOP AT SHORT DISTANCES. *TR

I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE IN 2009 FROM THE MITSUBISHI DEALERSHIP IN GA, BRAND NEW. I TRAVEL OFTEN AND LONG DISTANCES SO I HAVE ACCUMULATED A LOT OF MILEAGE ON MY VEHICLE WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. I MAINTAIN THE VEHICLE WITH ALL THE PROPER INSPECTIONS AND SERVICES AND THE SUGGESTION TIMES (OIL CHANGE EVERY 3K MILES, BRAKES AND TIRES AT 50K,...). I BEGAN HAVING ISSUES WITH MY TRANSMISSION IN AUGUST 2012 WITH THIS WHINING NOISE EVERYTIME I ACCELERATED. MY "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" LIGHT CAME ON SHORTLY AFTER THE NOISE STARTED. WHEN I TOOK THE CAR TO AUTO ZONE, THEY PULLED A "FAILED SHIFT SOLENOID" CODE. I HAD A TRANSMISSION FLUID FLUSH DONE AT AROUND 70K MILES WITH THE PROPER CVT TRANSMISSION FLUID ADDED TO THE VEHICLE. WHEN I WAS TRAVELING THE HIGHWAY FOR CHRISTMAS FROM MISSOURI TO GEORGIA, ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE TRIP I SAW THIS RED SIGNAL ON THE DASHBOARD THAT READ "SLOW DOWN!" WITH A THERMOSTAT ABOVE THE WARNING. I READ THROUGH THE MANUAL AND GOOGLE SEARCHED THE WARNING AND READ THAT IT MEANT THAT THE TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS OVERHEATING. FOR THE REST OF THE 13-HOUR DRIVE, ANYTIME I DROVE OVER 75 MILES AN HOUR FOR MORE THAN 30 MINUTES THE LIGHT WOULD COME ON. I TRIED TO IGNORE IT AT ONE POINT AND THIS CAUSED MY TRANSMISSION TO STOP SHIFTING (I HAVE AN AUTOMATIC). I HAD TO STOP 4 TIMES BETWEEN THE TRIP BECAUSE OF THIS LIGHT. I HAVE A POWER-TRAIN WARRANTY ON MY VEHICLE FOR 10 YEARS/100K MILES. WHILE IN SAVANNAH, I HAD THE MITSUBISHI DEALER RUN A DIAGNOSTIC IN WHICH THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN INDICATED THERE WAS AN INTERNAL TRANSMISSION ISSUE. THEY WERE UNABLE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE AT THE TIME BECAUSE THE DEALERSHIP WAS CLOSING. NOW BACK IN MISSOURI, THE DEALERSHIP IS "UNABLE TO REPLICATE THE CODE" AND IS MORE BENT ON MAKING ME PAY THE DIAGNOSTIC FEE. MITSUBISHI CUSTOMER CARE ISN'T MUCH HELP EITHER. I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING TO BE STUCK ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD SOON. SOMEBODY HELP! *TR