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Mitsubishi - Air Bag

Mitsubishi • Airbag • Paint • Timing belt • Transmission • Miscellaneous

Joy of Granada Hills CA (9/8/03):
I took our 2000 Mitsubishi Diamante to the Miller Mitsubishi dealership located at 5319 Van Nuys Blvd. on 7/28/03. My husband and I purchased the car at this dealership, and have always kept our cars well maintained inside and out. I brought the car in for some standard maintenance namely, oil and filter change and an air conditioning inspection and service. Also, I inquired about the on/off again SRS light and as to why the front drivers side door would not close properly without first rolling down the window.

I was informed that the car had troubles relating to the airbag. More specifically it had a faulty spring clock and module. That was surprising to hear for a car that is only 3 years old. However, what was more unbelievable was that we were told it would cost $982.00 to repair the faulty parts. My husband and I have owned many cars and have never experienced a problem such as this. We certainly understand normal wear and tear on moving parts on a vehicle. The spring clock and module are not moving parts and should not have failed before ever being used.

I asked if Mitsubishi would stand behind their product. Basically, I was informed that the car was out of warranty. After long discussions with one of the employees, Randy in the service department, I was told they would drop the price to $800.00 – still an exorbitant amount – (or pay $85.00 for the estimate to get our car back if we decided not to replace the ineffective parts.) This car has never been in an accident. The airbag has never been deployed. Obviously, these are original defective parts.

I asked Jay Akers (parts and service Director) if this has been a common problem with other customers. He replied that it was not. Therefore, my husband and I believe the company should in all fairness stand by the product for their customers and replace the two parts at their cost. A friend of ours also had problems regarding their airbag parts. Chrysler/Plymouth promptly replaced the parts with no charge to their customers. I drive my two daughters and myself in this car. This is an important safety issue concerning the air bag, which we want resolved by your company. I also have since learned that if I wanted to sell this car, a smog check could not be performed until the SRS light problem is resolved.

My husband I were considering purchasing a Mitsubishi SUV, yet so far the lack of loyalty to stand by its cars and customers after a car is sold off the lot is very disconcerting and at this point would not consider doing follow up business nor recommend Mitsubishi to our family and friends.

Dean of Charlotte NC (12/30/01):
I took my Mitsu convertible (2001 Ecplise Spyder GT) in for service on 12/4/01 for 2 issues. The first, the SRS light was coming on while I was driving occasionally, the second being the rear window defroster was not working. On the first issue, they determined that one of the airbags needed to be replaced, and they ordered the part, and told me they'd call when it arrived. On the second issue, he stated that the rear window defroster had become disconnected with the rear glass. He said that this piece was welded on to the glass, and the only Mitsubishi recommended way to fix it was to replace the top.

On their own, they had gotten a recommendation from the Chevy dealer next door that they tried so they could avoid this. They got a Camaro defroster kit from the Chevy guys, and tried to use that to replace the wiring/connector, but after gluing it in, the service guy tested it, and the defroster still did not work. The service rep told me he would speak with the district service manager about this, determine next coarse of action, and call me. This never happened.

About 2 weeks after I got my car back, I noticed that they had damaged the top while it was in the shop that day. One of the snaps that connects the inside top liner with the outer liner back next to the rear window had been ripped out of the cloth. When I went back in to get the airbag replaced on 12/26/01, I pointed this out to them, and the service guy just looked at me like I was stupid. I asked about the rear defroster as well, and he mentioned that since I was the second owner, it may be an issue. He said that Mitsubishi did not like to replace tops for rear window defroster failures for second owners, as there may have been neglegence I did not know about.

I mentioned that the car was still under warranty, and he repeated the comment. He said that since it was a separation of the wiring, it may not be an issue. After arriving at home after dropping my car off, I immediately called MMSA and spoke with a customer servive rep. After explaining the situation, she called the service manager, who assured her that everything would be fixed that day. When I went back to get my car that night, I was told that the rear defroster was working, but I should not use it for 24 hours to allow the glue to dry. I asked about the liner snap, and he said that it went right back in to place.

After getting home, I got back there to see if the snap was fixed, and he had lied. The snap did not go back in, they made another hole and put the snap in there. Does not seem very stable to me, and I would assume that if I ever took the car to aother dealer for top work, they would invalidate the warranty based on this. Also, I tested out the rear defroster for the first time today (4 days after picking it up) and it still does not work. Appears they tried another Camaro kit in my car. If I wanted a Camaro, I would have bought one. I expect my car to be restored to the condition it was when it left the factory.

April of Frederick, MD, writes:
I was involved in a head-on collision. I was traveling about 40 mph and hit the person head-on. I had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance so I did not get to immediately see my car. Once I saw my car I realized that the airbags did not deploy.

The bodyman that fixed my car told me that the car had never been in a accident before mine and that he could not locate the sensors for the airbags. He bought a schematic from Renn Kirby here in Frederick, which is where I bought the car from. He looked over the car once again and could not find any sensors on the car at all.

I took my car to Renn Kirby for them to hook the car up to a computer and see if the airbags are working, however, once I got there then they refused to give me a service slip or give me verification that the airbags were working. I know that there is something wrong with my car and it seems as if no one is here to help me. I have researched this online and found several occasions where this has happened to several other people. When is someone going to listen?

April should file a report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which investigates safety defects.

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