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dmitchell
11-08-2013, 12:38 PM
Driving to work today, my transmission started doing weird things. Would rev really high, and not shift out of second gear, then it started lagging between shifts, then jumping, and making really distressing clunking sounds when shifting from 1st to 2nd. I decided to head to the dealership right away, and about halfway there, the "Check transmission" icon lit up (as well as the engine), and things went from bad to worse - the car would no shift out of 2nd gear. I had to continually pull over and restart the car. Then it started getting stuck in 1st gear. I just barely made it to the dealership before it was totally undriveable.

Dealer found that the tranny cooler had failed and pissed all that really expensive SST fluid all the way between my house and the dealership. The car only has 39k on it. Of course, the bumper-to-bumper warranty is up, and they don't consider the cooler to be part of the drive train, so I am shit out of luck and on the hook for the repair.

The bigger kicker is that the dealership also says there's a possibility that the actual transmission could be damaged from this is well. Obviously this will cost a fortune to fix. Has anyone else had the same issue? Any guesses to what the odds are I am facing a broken transmission now too?

Man, it has just been one thing after another with this car. Unbelievable....

MTZL
11-09-2013, 11:17 AM
Transmission is part of the drive train & drive train is 60k miles for warranty.
Dont let them jerk / push you around.

dmitchell
11-09-2013, 03:12 PM
Yeah, I agree. I still fail to see how a "transmission cooler" could not be considered part of the drivetrain. Just like the ACD pump... same thing - "not part of the drivetrain". A part which is, incidentally, failing on my car as well.

crak
11-09-2013, 09:38 PM
Same way the Bracket holding the rear differential is not part of the drive train.

My bracket broke and was not covered under warrenty. Even the service rep at the dealership can confused. Shit happens man:(

TrailBrake
11-11-2013, 02:42 PM
This is the first time I have heard of a tranny cooler failing. Did a line break or was it a defect/failure in part of the cooler itself?

Hopefully the dealer has talked with corporate and somehow a deal can be negotiated on the repair cost.


...
Dealer found that the tranny cooler had failed and pissed all that really expensive SST fluid all the way between my house and the dealership.

dmitchell
11-11-2013, 02:44 PM
Mitsubishi won't budge on it, but the dealership is stepping up and not charging me labour on the repair.

Pump just came in today. Tomorrow I find out if the transmission itself is damaged.

Just an endless saga of throwing money at this car.

TrailBrake
11-15-2013, 06:54 AM
Hopefully this doesn't turn into a monster bill for you.

Please keep us posted on what exactly failed, and if the deal can speculate why it happened.

dmitchell
11-15-2013, 08:53 AM
The transmission cooler has been replaced. Car has been tested and the tranny is not throwing any codes. So it appears there is no damage to the transmission.

Decided to sell the car, though. Time to move onto something more reliable and less expensive to fix.

TrailBrake
11-16-2013, 11:52 AM
Sorry to hear that, but you decision is understandable.

There should have a "Slow down" warning when the transmission was overheating due to the cooler failure, and that would trigger limp mode to minimize damage. That doesn't appear to have happened.

I hope your next vehicle doesn't have the pain in the arse factor this one did.

dmitchell
11-16-2013, 02:35 PM
Sorry to hear that, but you decision is understandable.

There should have a "Slow down" warning when the transmission was overheating due to the cooler failure, and that would trigger limp mode to minimize damage. That doesn't appear to have happened.

I hope your next vehicle doesn't have the pain in the arse factor this one did.

Thanks, I hope so too. This has not been the best experience. I have to say, I have been really impressed with the service dep't at my local dealership, they have gone the extra mile and then some to make things work for me. With Mitsubishi head office, not so much.

TrailBrake
11-17-2013, 01:54 PM
That has been my experience as well. A good local dealer can certainly make the ownership experience more tolerable, but Mitsu Canada does an extremely poor job of backing both the RA and the Evo. The numbers of loopholes they use to avoid warranty coverage is disturbing.

dmitchell
11-17-2013, 02:30 PM
The numbers of loopholes they use to avoid warranty coverage is disturbing.

That has been my experience as well. How can a transmission cooler not be part of the drivetrain, but the transmission is? My ACD pump failed too (twice!) and of course, this is not considered part of the drivetrain as well.

fearfulmaster
11-17-2013, 09:26 PM
I guess if the car is doing strange thing, best to stop the car and have a look to see if there is anything obvious. And if the problem is severe, rather than pushing on to a dealer, call a tow truck.

In Australia, here is what Mitsubishi say:

The Powertrain is the vehicle’s (if and as applicable);

• Engine (including engine black, cylinder head and all internal mechanical components), intake and
exhaust manifold(s), water pump, turbocharger, transmission or transaxle, engine and transmission
mounts, four wheel drive transfer case (including all internal mechanical components), propeller
shaft(s), drive shafts and axle shafts, final drive assembly (including differential).

The Powertrain warranty does not cover or include:

• Rubber and plastic components (including but not limited to) seals and dust boots and electrical/
electronic components attached to or mounted on powertrain components are not covered by
the Powertrain Warranty.

TrailBrake
11-22-2013, 07:34 AM
If any other Canadians on here have an issue such as this, where an item that logically should be covered under the warranty (like in this case the tranny cooler, or the ACD pump for example), send me a PM.

Sometimes the squeaky wheels gets the grease.

iralli_iskustvo
11-22-2013, 01:42 PM
What car you replacing RA with?