Just take the person in question for a drive in one, and show them.

Downshift flick... Beep-Beep.... No downshift.

End of excuse.


Also, the stock RA ECU does NOT have a redline rev limiter at 6500. It is set at 6800.

It's quite possible for factory ECU to bounce off the 6800 rev limiter under full boost in such a way as to pip 7095rpm for an instant. That's 295rpm over its limiter.

But this is the same engine as Evolution X - one of the selling points of the Ralliart - and in the Evo X, the ECU rev limiter is well north of 7095rpm, so there's no mechanical stress issue here.


Detective time. If you want to find out why the motor asploded, check two simple things...

(1) Fuel Pressure Regulator vacuum/boost reference hose. Front left of engine... innocuous little thing. Mitsu didn't see fit to use a clamp or tie on this hose. If this comes off off, fuel pressure won't rise in line with boost, and mixtures will lean out at WOT. Boom.

(2) Fuel Pump "full voltage switch" relay. The relays used weren't very good, and there have been known failures - quite a few, in fact. If relay ever decides not to switch on when the ECU tells it to, fuel pressure won't be sufficient, mixtures will lean out at WOT. Boom.


The former can be visually inspected in a moment. The latter item can be tested easily by swapping relays into something like "high beam" slot, IIRC. Use marker pen on the relays before testing, so it's clear.


If a straightforward cause is identified like the above, it'll be a game-changer. Just saying...


Rich

 

These are some good guesses at a couple possible conditions that may have caused your engine failure. Only other thing I can think of is that your oil level was extremely low. I've both ziptied my hose to minimize the chance of scenario #1 happening, and I've changed my fuel relays to defend against #2 happening. Everyone else should do the same.

 

Did not know about the hose...gonna do that.

Anyways, wonder if we can get a class action started against mitsu over these issue as basically it seems the warranty is at the whim of the dealership and not an actual warranty and there is a definate cost associated with the warranty that we paid good money for.

 

UPDATE: Due to the info I've gotten here, I'll be going to the Mitsubishi dealership in the town over for a second opinion. The feedback about the printouts I posted as well as the rev limiter being 6800 not 6500 like I was previously told, I feel like I should be able to get somewhere. The dealership the car is currently at is actually a Honda dealer...they just sell Mitsu and VW's. It may just be ignorance on their part. I really appreiciate everyone's feedback! Thanks guys.

 

So this whole time its been a Honda dealer that has been denying the warranty?

 

Well it's a Honda/Mits/Volkswagon dealership...but it is predominately a Honda dealer. The closest Mitsu dealer is about an hour away.

 

I would absolutely get a second opinion from an actual Mitsubishi dealer. Also, you may want to consider canceling your extended warranty. You can cancel those at any time and get a pro rated refund. When I traded in my previous WRX, I called the company I had purchased an extended warranty from and cancelled it. I ended up being refunded 1800.00+ dollars.

 

Oh absolutely! I'm cancelling that thing as soon as I get all this resolved. Not only was the extended warranty company completely useless...their customer service blew.

 

I'm sorry to hear it man, and good luck getting this all resolved!

 

This has me wondering if I should cancel my ext Warranty. (only got it because I had financed the car beond it's warranty period.) But storries like this where they deny it from dealer hear say instead of investigating on there own is pretty low. I hope you at least got a free rental car from the ext warranty while they are fixing/looking at it.

 

UPDATE: After re-submitting my warranty claim to Mitsubishi, it was denied literally the next day. I got a nice call from a lady who probably doesn't even know how the check oil in her own car. Their justification again was the "over-rev" of the engine. I then asked her if they was anyone there who could explain to me how the over-rev happened and she responded "there is no one here that could answer that question." How amazing is that!?!?

So now the real fun begins. The next step is going to arbitration against Mitsubishi. Has anyone here ever had to do this before? I have a basic understanding of what its going to entail, but I'm unsure of what the best way to prove my case. Maybe get a statement from an independent mechanic?

Any advice would be super apprieciated!

Thanks

 

Arbitration favors mitsu unfortunately. The arbitor is gonna be somebody who get a LOT of buisness from mitsu and not one lick from you...take a wild guess who they will favor. You can have all the expert testimony you want, but the chances the arbitration coming on your side will be extremely small. That said, the arbitration MUST be held in good faith. If mitsu does not even bother to produce expert testimony on their side and you do and the arbitor still picks mitsu over you, then you have a pretty good case to move this to a trial setting. BUT, if they do produce expert testimony that counters yours and the arbitor does not choose you, it gets pretty hard to prove that they did not act in good faith. Not only that, but just because it is arbitration does not mean you do not need a lawyer...and a lawyer for arbitration is just as much for a trial.

So let me ask you a question...when they denied it the very next day, did the district manager send somebody to look at your car over again? Did s/he call you at all to talk with you? Or did corp just call the dealership and then agreed with said dealership? Because my issue was handled in the no second look, no call manner. Which means their conflict resolution team to the warranty work only bothered to get one side of the story (which honestly is no way to run a buisness...much less the conflict resolution portion of your buisness). This is where you MAY have a legal actionable cause for a class action however...assuming you can find a lawyer who will take the case. Class actions are harder to get started then you think...and it is kinda shaky as they aren't exactly the ones that are doing the denial of warranty...they just aren't investigating. But then again lots of payout happen due to negligence as well. If your starting a class action, the arbitration clause may mean nothing. In california for example (where mitsu US is headquartered), there is a common law that states that consumer class action waivers are considered unconscionable.

Anyways, sounds like you need a good lawyer in either case...and if you do go with a class action and need some testimony to get things started, PM me and I can help you with that. Oh and good luck.