1994 Mitsubishi Montero

1994 MITSUBISHI MONTERO BOLT SECURING CRANKSHAFT PULLEY CAME LOOSE RESULTING IN LOSS OF POWER STEERING. ACCIDENT AVERTED, THANK GOD. AS STATED IN OTHER COMPLAINTS, MITSUBISHI DEALERSHIP AND MITSUBISHI AMERICA ABSOLUTELY REFUSE TO REPAIR MY TRUCK BECAUSE MY VIN IS NOT A MATCH FOR THE RECALL ON THIS SAME EXACT PROBLEM. MY GUESS IS THAT WHEN SOMEONE DOES HAVE AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE OF THIS MALFUNCTION THEY'LL PAY DEARLY IN LAWSUIT LOSSES WHEN THEY COULD SIMPLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM AND KEEP THEIR CONSUMERS SAFE! I WILL BEGIN A WRITING CAMPAIGN IN REGARD TO THIS ISSUE BECAUSE IT'S CLEAR THAT MITSUBISHI DOESN'T CARE UNTIL SOMEONE DIES. NICE WAY TO RUN YOUR COMPANY. BY THE WAY, THERE ARE NO FIRES/DEATHS/DAMAGE OR POLICE REPORTS BECAUSE THUS FAR, EVERYONE EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN LUCKY! *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY 1994 MITSUBISHI 3.0L MONTERO AT 55MPH ON A FOUR-LANE HIGHWAY, THE POWER STEERING SUDDENLY FAILED. I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITHOUT HITTING ANY OTHER VEHICLES.WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MY DEALER'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT, THEY DETERMINED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY BOLT HAD BROKEN OFF INSIDE THE ENGINE. THEIR RECOMMENDATION WAS TO INSTALL A REBUILT ENGINE (IF THEY COULD FIND ONE) FOR $6200. THEY DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT A SAFETY RECALL EXISTED FOR THIS PROBLEM.*AK

I SPENT $ 6000 LAST YEAR ON A NEW HALF BLOCK ENGINE. LAST MONTH MY MITSUBISHI MONTERO STALLED. I WAS ABLE TO GET IT TO THE DEALERS, AND THEY FOUND THAT THE PLENUM NEEDED TO GET CHECKED. THEY DID THAT, BUT NOW THEY FOUND THAT THE BUTTERFLY VALVES ON THE PLENUM BROKE OFF ( WHICH WERE PLASTIC) AND WENT IN TO THE ENGINE. THIS DAMAGED BOTH HEADS AND THEY NEED TO BE REPLACED FOR A COST OF $ 4700. MY PROBLEM IS, MITSUBISHI KNOWS THIS IS A PROBLEM (WHICH IS APPARENT BECAUSE THEY HAVE MADE A REPLACEMENT PART TO FIX IT), BUT BECAUSE THE REPLACEMENT PLENUM IS SO EXPENSIVE THEY NEVER DID A RECALL TO FIX IT. *AK

I WAS DRIVING MY MITSUBISHI MONTERO 3.5L DOHC WHILE TRYING TO JOIN FREEWAY ON RAMP WHILE ACCELERATING TO REACH 60 MILES AN HOUR TO KEEP IN PACE WITH HIGHWAY TRAFFIC. THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE VEHICLE SPEEDOMETER STARTED TO DECLINE DESPITE ME STEPPING ON THE GAS. AT THE SAME TIME I LOST POWER STEERING AND I NEARLY DIED DUE TO A POSSIBLE HIGH SPEED ACCIDENT WHILE TRYING TO CORRECT THE SITUATION AND GET OFF THE ROAD AT ONCE. I MANAGED TO DRIVE THE CAR AT VERY LOW SPEED TO THE NEAREST MECHANIC, AND IT DIED RIGHT IN HIS FRONT YARD. UPON EXAMINING IT HE TOLD ME THE CRANK SHAFT BOLT BROKE AND THATS WHY I LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. I ALSO CHECKED OUT IN THE INTERNET AT THIS SPECIFIC SITE: WWW.MITSUBISHISUCKS.COM/CARS/COMPLAINTS/USA/MODELS/MONTERO/1994.HTML. *AK I DISCOVERED THAT MITSUBISHI MONTERO RANGING FROM THE LATE 80S TO AS LATE AS 2002 ALL HAVE THIS COMMON DEFECT AND NOT ALL OF THEM ARE COVERED BY MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY DUE TO VIN OF THE VEHICLE. I WOULD LIKE TO PUT IT TO MITSUBISHI THAT IF THEY CANNOT PUT SAFE CARS ON THE ROAD THEN THEY BETTER WIND UP AND LET TOYOTA RUN THE SHOW . IF YOU GO TO EVERY DEALER IT IS THE SAME SONG :WE CANNOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM DO THEY THINK IM LYING IN THE FIRST PLACE? MY EXPERIENCE HAS TAUGHT ME AFTER GOING THROUGH 2 MONTEROS THAT THEY ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS AND UNSAFE CARS ON THE ROAD AND ANY OTHER DRIVER SHOULD WATCH OUT JUST INCASE ONE GOES NUTS AND LOSES STEERING CAPABILITY. I HAVE BEGUN KEEPING AN EYE ON THEM ESPECIALLY AT HIGH SPEED CRUISING. THIS IS THE LAST OF MONTERO THAT I WILL EVER BUY IN MY LIFE TIME SINCE I DONT WONNA DIE QUICK DUE TO STRUCTURAL FAILURES. MY FAMILY WHO ARE MONTERO FANS HAVE PUT THEM UP FOR SALE AND OVE ON TO OTHER BETTER MODELS AT LEAST WITH MINIMUM ENGINE FAILURES COZ THE COST OF PUTTING MY MONTERO BACK ON THE ROAD IS LIKE $5000 AND I BOUGHT IT AT $10,000. LOOKING AT THE MATH IT MAKES SENSE TO INVEST ON A NEW CAR FOR THAT AMOUNT. ARRRGH. DRIVE A MONTERO AT YOUR OWN RISK&FORE WARNED IS FOR ARMED !*AK

I WAS DRIVING ALONG, WHEN MY AIRCONDITIONING AND POWER STEERING WENT OUT. BELIEVING IT WAS A BELT, I LOOKED UNDER THE HOOD TO FIND OUT THAT MY CRANKSHAFT BOLT HAD BROKEN CAUSING MY KEYWAY AND HARMONIC BALANCER TO FALL OFF. I CALLED THE LOCAL MITSUBISHI DEALER TO LOCATE THE PARTS, AND THEY NOTIFIED ME THAT THE CRANKSHAFT BOLT WAS DEFECTIVE AND A NHTSA RECALL WAS IN PLACE ON IT. THEY THEN TOLD ME THAT THE BOLT WOULD BE REPLACED AS WELL AS ANY SUBSEQUENT DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE BREAKING OF THE BOLT. THE DEALER HAS NOW CALLED ME BACK, AND SAID THAT THEY WERE HAVING TROUBLE REMOVING THE BROKEN BOLT FROM THE CRANKSHAFT AND HAD ALREADY SPENT TO MUCH TIME AND MONEY, AND SO THEREFORE WOULD NOT CONTINUE ANY WORK. IF I WANTED THE VEHICLE FIXED, IT WOULD BE ON MY DIME, THEY WERE NOT GOING TO HONOR THE SAFETY RECALL. NO WORK HAS BEEN DONE ON THE VEHICLE SINCE.*AK

POWER STEERING SUDDENLY FAILED WHILE MY WIFE WAS EXITING THE FREEWAY ALMOST CAUSING A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. A MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY FELL OFF. THERE IS A RECALL (CAMPAIGN ID # 00V311001) BUT MITSUBISHI STATES THAT MY MONTERO IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON, EVEN THOUGH MY VEHICLE EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM AS THE RECALL STATES.*AK