2003 Mitsubishi Outlander

SINCE THE SECOND YEAR SINCE I'VE OWNED THIS CAR THE TEMPERATURE CONTROL KNOB HAS BEEN FROZEN. THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN TURN THE KNOB IS TO HAVE A MECHANIC MANUALLY TURN THE KNOB UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE. MITSUBISHI MOTORS ADMITTED THIS WAS A DESIGN FLAW IN 2002 TO 2007 MITSUBISHI LANCERS AND OUTLANDERS. I HAVE CALLED MITSUBISHI MANY TIMES AND SENT LETTERS OF COMPLAINTS BUT THEY WILL NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BUT LEAVE THE VEHICLES OWNER IN WHAT CAN BE A DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. I'VE HAD TO DRIVE IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS BEFORE AND THE KNOB WAS STUCK ON AIR CONDITIONING IT WAS FREEZING TEMPERATURES WHERE I WAS DRIVING IN AND YOU COULD NOT USE THE DEFROSTER BE CAUSE IT WAS ON COLD AIR! YOU HAD TO PULL OVER AND SCRAPE THE WINDOW AND CONTINUALLY WIPE THE CLOUDED OVER WINDOW. I PAID $23,000 FOR THIS VEHICLE AND NOT TO HAVE CONTROL OF THE HEAT AND AIR IS REDICULUS! YOU CANNOT ALWAYS GET YOUR VEHICLE INTO A MECHANIC AND HAVE THEM MANUALLY TURN THE HEAT AND AIR KNOB. AND THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE A CHOICE OF IS EITHER HEAT OR COLD AIR. THE HVAC SYSTEM WAS INAPPROPRIATELY DESIGNED BY MITSUBISHI AND THE CABLE FROM THE KNOB BUNCHES UP AND DOES NOT WORK ANYMORE. I THOUGHT NOT BEING ABLE TO USE THE DEFROSTER IS A SAFETY HAZARD. MITSUBISHI NEEDS TO OWN UP TO THIS AND RECALL WHAT HAS AFFECTED 1000S OF VEHICLES. YOU CAN BE IN AN AREA OF THE COUNTRY WHERE YOU NEED THE AIR CONDITIONING AND THEN DRIVE INTO A SNOW STORM AND YOU CAN'T USE THE DEFROSTER UNLESS YOU FIND A MECHANIC IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TO CHANGE IT OVER TO HEAT. THIS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE NOT BEING ABLE TO TURN THE KNOB TO THE SETTING YOU NEED AT WILL FOR THE DEFROSTER. VEHICLE OWNERS HAVE COMPLAINED TO MITSUBISHI BUT WILL NOT FIXIT. THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING ISSUE WITH MY CAR SINCE 2004. THE PHOTO SHOWS THE HEAT AND AIR CONDITIONING KNOB THAT CAN ONLY BE MANUALLY TURNED BY A MECHANIC.

THE ISSUE BEGAN IN 2004 WHEN MY VEHICLE WAS 1 YEAR OLD. THE TEMPERATURE CONTROL KNOB BECAME FROZEN AND YOU COULD NOT TURN IT FROM HEAT TO AIR CONDITIONING OR THE OTHER WAY. I SPENT $23,000 ON THIS CAR AND YOU COULD NOT TURN FROM AIR CONDITIONING TO HEAT AT WILL ONLY A MECHANIC CAN MANUALLY TURN IT UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE AND THEN ONLY PUT IT ON HOT OR COLD. ONE TIME I WAS DRIVING 600 MILES FOR AN EMERGENCY WITH THE KNOB STUCK ON AIR CONDITIONING AND I WAS NOT ABLE TO TURN IT TO HEAT. IT WAS BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND THE WINDOW FOGGED UP BECAUSE I WAS NOT ABLE TO PUT THE DEFROSTER ON. I HAD TO CONTINUALLY PULL OVER TO WIPE OFF THE WINDOW AND THE FROST. THERE COULD HAVE BEEN AN ACCIDENT IF I HAD NOT CONTINUALLY PULLED OVER. 2002 TO 2007 LANCERS AND OUTLANDERS HAVE THIS PROBLEM. IT WAS A DESIGN FLAW BY THE MANUFACTURER BUT THEY WILL NOT OWN UP TO THIS DANGEROUS PROBLEM. I HAVE HAD IT TO A MECHANIC MANY TIMES BUT THEY CANNOT FIX IT. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY MITSUBISHI IS NOT FORCED TO FIX THIS FOR CONSUMERS WHEN THIS IS CLEARLY A DANGEROUS PROBLEM IF YOU CANNOT USE THE DEFROSTER. I SHOULD NOT BE MADE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING WHEN IT IS A MANUFACTURING FLAW. THERE ARE 1000S OF VEHICLES ON THE ROAD WITH THIS PROBLEM AND MITSUBISHI WILL NOT OWN UP THAT THIS IS A CLEARLY SAFETY ISSUE. THE CONSUMER HAS NO POWER IN THIS SITUATION I HAVE CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM TOLD THEY WILL DO NOTHING ABOUT IT UNLESS IT'S RECALLED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP IN THIS MATTER I HAVE NO PLACE ELSE TO GET HELP WITH THIS AND I CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER VEHICLE. THIS IS WRONG MITSUBISHI ALLOWS CARS ON THE ROAD WITH THIS PROBLEM AND TURNS A BLIND EYE TO POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE.

I AM REFERRING TO A WELL KNOWN "STICKY HVAC MIX DOOR" ISSUE IN THE MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER AND LANCER VEHICLES IN MODEL YEAR 2003 (PERHAPS AMONG OTHER YEARS AND MODELS). THIS ISSUE CAN RESULT IN AN INABILITY TO DEFROST THE WINDSHIELD DURING COLD WEATHER DRIVING. I HAVE HAD THE "STICKY" ISSUE FOR SOME TIME, WHICH, WHILE IT WAS DIFFICULT TO TURN THE KNOB, WAS NOT A HUGE ISSUE. HOWEVER, RECENTLY WHILE DRIVING, THE DOOR WENT FROM "STICKY" TO "STUCK," ON THE "COLD" SETTING. MY WINDOWS GRADUALLY STARTED TO FOG AND I WAS UNABLE TO DEFOG THEM SINCE THE SYSTEM COULD NOT BLOW HOT AIR DUE TO THE STUCK MIX DOOR. I WAS DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY (I-39) IN CENTRAL WISCONSIN AT THE TIME, ON AUGUST 27, 2016 IN THE EVENING. IN LATE SUMMER / EARLY AUTUMN, THERE IS A WIDE TEMPERATURE SWING DURING THE DAY AND NIGHT, SO FLIPPING FROM HOT TO COLD SETTINGS IS VERY COMMON. FORTUNATELY IT WAS NOT EXTREMELY COLD SO I WAS ABLE TO TURN OFF THE HVAC AND OPEN ALL MY WINDOWS IN ORDER TO GET BY DURING MY SHORT DRIVE. HOWEVER, IN THE WINTER, I NEED TO HAVE IT SET ON "HOT" AT ALL TIMES: THEREFORE, FOR WINTER DRIVING, MY CAR WILL NOT BE DRIVABLE AT ALL DUE TO THIS ISSUE. PLEASE ISSUE A RECALL IN COLD WEATHER STATES ASAP. THIS IS A VERY WELL KNOWN ISSUE WITH THESE VEHICLES, BUT ONLY AT THIS TIME DID IT BECOME A SERIOUS CAUSE OF CONCERN: WHEN THE HVAC MIX DOOR IS STUCK ON THE COLD SETTING, THE INABILITY TO DEFOG THE WINDSHIELD IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE FOR THE DRIVER AS WELL AS FOR ANYONE ELSE SHARING THE ROAD.

HVAC KNOB HAS ALWAYS BEEN HARD TO TURN FROM HEAT TO COOL, BUT IT HAS NOW COMPLETELY BROKEN. IF YOU TURN IT TO HEAT IT BOUNCES BACK TO COOL. I HAVE NO HEATER OR DEFROST! I WAS QUOTED $1,500 TO FIX THE PROBLEM BECAUSE THE HVAC CABLE AND DOOR ARE STUCK SHUT. THE DEALER KNEW MY EXACT PROBLEM AND THE PART NUMBER OFF THE TOP OFF HIS HEAD! HE SAID IT IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM, BUT THEY DON'T RECALL IT BECAUSE IT ISN'T A SAFETY HAZARD. I DON'T SEE HOW THIS IS SO. WE WERE PLUMMETED WITH SNOW AND FREEZING TEMPERATURES THIS WEEK AND I HAD TO USE AN ICE SCRAPPER ON THE INSIDE OF MY WINDOWS WHILE STOPPED AT LIGHTS! FREEZING AND NO VIABILITY SEEMS LIKE A SAFETY CONCERN TO ME. *TR

I PURCHASED MY 2003 MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER IN FEBRUARY, 2013 WITH 104,000 MILES ON IT. AT FIRST EVERYTHING SEEMED FINE, BUT AFTER 2 WEEKS THE BACK END OF THE CAR ON THE PASSENGER SIDE SQUEAKS AND MAKES LOTS OF NOISE. AT FIRST IT WOULD ONLY DO IT A LITTLE BUT IT GOT WORSE AND WORSE WITHIN A COUPLE WEEKS IT CONSTANTLY MAKES NOISE, WHICH IS VERY ANNOYING. I THINK THE DEALERSHIP MUST HAVE DONE A QUICK CHEAP FIX ON IT SO WHEN I TEST DROVE IT, IT WOULD NOT DO IT UNTIL IT WAS PURCHASED. I ALSO HAVE WATER SEEPING IN IN THE FLOOR NEXT TO THE DOOR ON THE DRIVER SIDE AND WATER COMING THROUGH THE DASH AREA ON THE PASSENGER SIDE WHEN IT RAINS OR IN A CAR WASH. I READ ONLINE THAT THAT CAN CAUSE ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS WHICH WORRY'S ME. MY HEAD LIGHTS ALSO HAVE CRACKS AND FOGGED UP AND MAKES IT HARD TO SEE AT NIGHT, WHICH I'VE SEEN TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS CAR WAS NEVER RECALLED FOR ALL THE PROBLEMS IT HAS, THIS IS RIDICULOUS! *TR