The incidents with the transfer case locking up wasn't a sudden surprise to the owner... A very close friend of mine is a head mechanic a Mits... He says that in all cases the transfer case starts to leak before it locks up.. And that it has to be bone dry and heat up in order to lock... It was the owners responsibility to keep the car well maintained in order to avoid the incident. It smells really bad when it leaks cause of the differential fluid that drips onto the exhaust... If you see something leaking and smell a really bad smell, Get it looked at.. DUH... No lawsuits were won by owners for this because it was considered preventive maintenance.. But they did start the recall to fix the leaking seals... It aggravates me to see people blame a car manufacturer for their own laziness in not maintaining their ****..