7.4
pretty bad- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 6,973 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Rim bent easily after hitting pothole.
- Kingston, NY, USA
I read the news story on the website for 7 on your side about the defectiveness of the metal alloy rims for the '1997 through 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse rims and wanted to go on record with you as having problems with the same rims on my Eclipse. Not only are they a cause of much headache and financial drain ion thier owners but also they are a safety hazard and this should be rectified.
- Doylestown, PA, USA
The front passenger side alloy rim on my 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT was bent and cracked from simply hitting a pothole in the road. This caused my tire to rapidly deflate and the rim unable to be used.
- Portsmouth, VA, USA
While accelerating on an on ramp to get onto interstate 84 in Connecticut, I hit a small pothole in the road and it majorly bent the wheel and caused the tire to come off of the wheel. This happened in the night and on a stretch of the highway that had no shoulder. I had to drive approximately a mile on this blown out tire and wheel to the next exit. The failure of this wheel cost me $350 (for the wheel) and another $150 (for the tire) plus labor charges. No mention of the problems with these wheels was mentioned when I took it to the dealer.
- Groton, CT, USA
The first week of buying the car I noticed a little scratch by the front drivers side tire. Then I started hearing little squeaking noises when I was reversing coming from the same left tire. Then I noticed the rim was bent I brought it to the dealer they said I was hitting curbs & road hazard. Months later the scratch at the bottom by the fog lights was getting bigger and deep the tire kept losing air and those springing sound noises I still heard. Make the long story short it is 2 years later the deep gashes from the left front tire is now all the wayaround the bottom of the fog lights almost reaching the midde.I went thru 2 tires no blow outs thank god 3 rims and one was a replacement the tire keeps leaking air there is nothing wrong with the right side of the car its all the left front. I spoke to the manufactuer of mitshubshi they are aware of this they said its not a safety issue.don't blowouts happen due to bent rims? they noticed its only happening in certain states that certain states road conditions are bad. All states have potholes but when you are driving 15 mph, hit a pothole, & your rim bends causing your tire to leak air something wrong. These rims are constantly bending but on my car it S only the left side. Its unsafe, because when I hit a potlhole it makes a loud banging noise even my brake pedal shakes. If I knew all these complaints I would of never bought this car now I know its not me but the way these cheap soft wheels were made something should be done about this its unsafe and the whole car shakes and steers to the left after hitting a pothole. I dont use my car alot mostly back and forth to work on a highway 15 miles one way. I am tired of purchasing rims at $300 I pay enough for this car and for the money I pay I should have decent rims that can stand driving over a 15-30 mile an hour pothole. I had cars before this never had a dented rim.something should be done about this there are even complaints on jdpower's website.
- Garnerville, NY, USA
The left driver side rim keeps bending, which causes a flat tire. I bought 3 rims already. Always with in a week the rim is bent. The car makes a noise from the front end coming from the left tire and there are deep scratch marks on the lower front by the tire. At speeds of 15-20 miles an hour if I hit a pothole the rim bends and the whole thing shakes even when I hit the brake the brake pedal shakes bake and forth. If I knew the rim would be like this and I have to go through all this trouble of tires and rimes costing $300 I would of never bought this car.after I hit the pot hole the car start steering to the left. And the scratches on the bottom by the left tire keep getting bigger and bigger and deeper
- Garnerville, NY, USA
I own a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse. I have 54000 miles on this car. On April 16, 2003, I had my third flat tire (2 of them have been blow outs). All three (as told by Goodyear) were caused by bent rims. Two of the bends were very noticeable and each occurred with regular driving. I feel like I am driving on a time bomb. Even with minor bends, air releases from the tire. I check my pressure every week, but still to no avail. From other complaints I have read, this is a major problem that Mitsubishi appears to be ignoring.
- Lewisville, TX, USA
A loud bang was heard as if running over a large object in the road. However inspection revealed the right front wheel rim had a large dent. The tire was not damaged but had been knocked off its bead due to the damage to the rim.
- Camden, SC, USA
The driver side front rim bent, which caused the tire to lose air.
- Oakton, VA, USA
I was traveling down rt. 135, coincidentally passing a Mitsubishi dealership, around 7:15 in the evening. There was pretty heavy rainfall, so I made sure to stay around 25 miles/hr. As I passed the dealership I heard a thunderous boom from the right side of my car. I made it back to my house (which is less than a mile away). When I got out of my car, I found the front of my front right rim bent, and the inside of the rim was missing an 8 inch chunk of metal near the seal. I took it down to the dealership the next day only to hear them tell me that damage was normal in regular road conditions. The only option I was given was to buy a new rim (at about $350). This was even with the extended 100,000 mile warranty on the vehicle.
- Natick, MA, USA
2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse gs, rims have either a stress fracture or bent under normal driving conditions. There type of rims are 16 inches, ten spoke and are the aluminimum alloy type. Trying to work with Mitsubishi as they are refusing to fix problem.
- Southaven, MS, USA
Two of my Mitsubishi Eclipse (2001) 17" six-spoke rims bent, one to the point of failure, when I contacted a pot-hole at low speed.
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
I was driving my 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse equipped with 17 inch alloy wheels, going about 30 miles per hour, when I heard a loud bang from the right front area. It was after dark and the car seemed to handle okay so I proceeded on but after a short distance I heard a similar bang. I pulled over and found that the right front wheel rim was greatly deformed and the tire knocked off the bead. I changed the tire and proceeded home without further incident. I inspected the road the following day in another vehicle and drove over the same rough spots and barely noticed them. There were no signifigant pot holes in the road. I believe that a wheel that will fail so easily is a hazard. If I had been traveling at highway speeds and struck a hole in the road I believe the tire would have gone flat immediately and control of the vehicle would have been lost.
- Camden, SC, USA
I have 17 inch alluminum wheels on a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT. Under normal driving rims bend and tires loose air resulting in weaken tires and bloww out under norma driving conditions. Not safe. Must check tire pressure daily. Metal used is soft and allows space between ties and rims. Tires fail. One tire blew on highway due to sidewall failure potential safety problem to me and public. Rims are too soft.
- Dracut, MA, USA
Consumer stated the alloy rims are made of extremely soft metal that bends easily which occurs during ordinary driving conditions and are a safety hazard. The dealer refused to replace the defective rims. Scc
- Port Chester, NY, USA
My wheel bent when I hit a small pot hole while traveling at 35mph. The tire will no linger hold air.
- Sugar Land, TX, USA
The factory rims that came with the vehicle upon purchase are described by the owner as "butter". aluminum is too soft to handle normal road driving conditions. The rims bent and two of the tires had blowouts.
- Yonkers, NY, USA
I am reporting two separate incidents, both involving the quality of the manufacturer's rims on the 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT. I have somehow managed to dent both the right front and right rear rim on my new 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT within the first 6 months of driving (odometer read less than 3600 miles after the second incident). I previously owned a 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse gst I purchased new without any rim issues and traded in after 45,000 miles for the new Eclipse. The first incident occurred while making a right turn at a stop light driving less than 10 mph. I drove too close to a curb and my front tire hit a pothole. The tire instantly deflated, and there was no damage to the actual tire, however the rim was bent in at least 2-3 inches and had to be replaced. The dealer would not replace under warranty, so my cost for a new rim was around $300, and then the dealer stated that I had to go elsewhere to have tire and rim installed because their tire machine was broken! total cost of the first incident was approximately $320. The second incident occured only a couple of months later, but I am still not sure how or where the incident occured. The damage to the right rear rim is substantially less as I am still driving on this rim today. (the right rear rim is dented less than 1/4 inch and there was no effect on the tire or the steering.) neither my driving skills nor the driving conditions have changed since owning the previous Eclipse to merit those reasons as factors for the faulty rims.
- Round Rock, TX, USA
At 4,000 miles rims began collapsing, not retaining air, bent easy. These are manufactured rims that came with vehicle upon purchase.
- Ronkonkoma, NY, USA
- Garnerville, NY, USA