That's a possibility but I doubt it very much. Matter of fact, I don't understand how a timing chain can stretch over a short period of time cuz they're supposed to last almost a lifetime comparing to timing belts. Correct me if I am mistaken and open to opinions....

 

^IIRC, the timing chain stretch can occur when the engine is run to redline very quickly under load and then suddenly goes back to idle, and done numerous times in rapid succession. It shouldn't occur under normal driving conditions.

 

Got my car back after 7.5 days ( Friday 17th tow after closing, picked up Saturday 25th in the morning )

Seems to be working fine.

The dealer paperwork shows the repair would have been $1100.00 which honestly doesn't sound all that bad for the amount of labor involved.

This is a small dealership and they have never done one before, this tells me that it's not all that common.

Other than the time required to fix it, I was happy, didn't have to argue that it was a warranty issue or anything, they called and told me what it was and took care of it.

They were very specific that corporate had them check if the ECU had been flashed, it hadn't and they said they wouldn't have covered it if it had.

From what I read/saw on the training video it throws the triangle warning when it has detected that the chain has stretched to 60% of the allowable limit, mine was at 70% when they replaced it according to the ECU.

The only thing I haven't checked is that the tech training video says the oil pump chain also needs to be replaced when this is done, I haven't checked if that was on the bill or not.

Anybody interested in having me post the paperwork from the job ?

 

lancerdave86 @ what mileage are you at when that triangle came out? I'm @ 50,000 km right now and still running ok. I just did the 48,000 km service and cost me around $700 Can. I told them to replace all fluids to cover my warranty. Its my dd and I dont race it. Its gotta last, things are pretty expensive nowadays.

 

We have had a few come back with this issue. Most of them have been MY10 models. we havent heard of the earlier ones with any problems,

 

I got the same warning and assumed it was an error as the car is an 09 and has only done 25k. The car was due a service in a few weeks so got it checked out then. Had to take it back a week later once the parts arrived for the cam chain to be replaced.

 

This is very concerning. One of the reasons I bought this car was because it had a timing chain and not a belt.

Now one factor in chain stretch I recall reading or seeing in a training video was the oil change interval and buildup that happens when high-revving. Here in Canada the severe maintenance schedule is followed, which means oil changes every 3 months or 4800km.

Have there been any reports of chain stretch on cars that have had their oil changed this frequently?

 

Bump.

For those who have had their timing chain stretch, how often were you changing your oil?

As a community, we need to identify the factors that may contributing to this design flaw.


Thanks.

 

I was pretty good about oil changes went about 5K on Mobil 1 on average.

Not hard on the engine at all, just some spirited back street driving occasionally, usually in "sport" shift mode, not full manual, so the ECU was making the decisions on shift points it does a passable job so I use it.

Chain was replaced at 55K miles.

I can see how wear on the chain can cause it to stretch by making all connections between linkages looser as they wear.

BUT it does seem that a properly designed chain and tensioner would prevent this from being a problem for the life of an engine, and 55K seems a bit short to me.

Hopefully the replacement is a newer design without the problem mentioned.

All-in-all it doesn't seem like something that anyone should lose sleep over, even if you have to replace it after warranty it would cost $1,100.00 compare that to a couple of timing belt changes and I think it all works out in the end.

Mitsubishi was also nice enough to give you a warning indicator that it needs to be replaced before it damages anything, I'm assuming that if your T-Belt lets loose you have a lot of other things to replace.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

I agree with you, coming from a car that required a timing belt and belt tensioner rebuild every 4 years or 50,000km at a cost of $1500-$2000, Mitsubishi's flawed chain design is still cheaper.

In an ideal world, there would be no timing chain stretch, but all we can hope for now is a more robust chain that prolongs the interval between replacement.

 

i'm at 44k miles and my timing chain is stretched too. I also got a bonus of the piston damaging some valves too... which are getting replaced. I dont have any dealers close to me, or the ability to put it back to stock, so i'm paying full price at a shop nearby.

oh and its an 09 model

 

Can it be the 09 model's ,i think that it's the way there being used. im at 320 hp and 300tq and my RA is going strong no problems yet ,my oil changes are at 3000 mile mobil 1

 

I can't find in the manual anywhere, when the timing chain should be changed. I went to the dealer for a free oil change and he said I need to do a fluid swap on my cvt transmission. I don't see that in the manual either.