when i press the gas peddle to go the car will stop
The letter below is one that I sent to the Attorney General's office - I will be posting the day to day information I have kept in a file.
Office of the Attorney General August 17. 2015
Civil Litigation Division
RE: CIC 15-06185
I’m not satisfied with the response from the Avondale Mitsubishi – they have left out several things which I have attached. I want you to know that I don’t have any issues with the Dealership they have been more than willing to try to fix my brand new vehicle – it seems that they are taking direction from the Manufacture. Since the issue doesn’t happen every day they can’t pin point the issue without having a record mechanism in the vehicle.
I have never had to complain about any vehicle that I have bought, this is the 2nd brand new vehicle that I have bought from Mitsubishi my first one was in 2004, this is the same vehicle that I had traded in and bought the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport.
Since May 2015 I have had the same issues with this car – I have made complaints to the Better Business Bureau, National Highway Safety Administration and contacted a Lemon Law Group Partners. I found with my research that there are 3 other vehicles in the State of Arizona that have filed a complaint with the National Highway Safety Administration they are also having the same issues with their brand new 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Vehicle, one vehicle is in PA per the report that I have enclosed. All of our VIN Numbers are the same with the exception of the last 5 digits.
I have mailed Channel 10, 3 and 15 news to see if I can somehow get the other Arizona Residents who are having the same issue and we can file some type of claim against the Manufacture.
I’m enclosing every document that I have filed or received – including all my research – on June 4, 2015 I was talking to a friend of mine who called her mechanic and he said that from what I was describing to him about my car he said that he would have also checked the MAP Sensor and the Knock Sensor.
I want Mitsubishi Motors to refund me all of my money and I want them to buy back my car so I can purchase another vehicle. This vehicle is not safe, if someone rear-ends me it will not be their fault, if I get hurt or someone else gets hurt because of this mal-function with my vehicle it will be a lawsuit against the manufacture.
It’s so sad to say that many people have to die in order for a Manufacture to do a recall on a vehicle. The Manufacture should be pro-active and study the issues with brand new vehicles instead of concentrating on adding 100 new options to their 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport vehicles.
Sincerely,
Becky Trujillo
Update from Jan 21, 2016: On January 2, 2015 I purchased a brand new 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport from Avondale Mitsubishi Dealership with 12 miles on it from the help of Landon Day The reason I chose Mitsubishi – back in 2004 my first brand new vehicle was a 2004 Mitsubishi Outlander AWD – this vehicle never gave me any problems just the normal ware and tare, this vehicle had over 239,000 miles on it. I liked the Safety Ratings that I saw on line this is one of the reasons why I chose this vehicle along with the 5 year/60,000 mile limited warranty and a 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty.
On January 3, 2015 I contacted Kevin Tyser the Service Manager at Avondale Mitsubishi around 8:30am to tell him that I woke up and went outside and found a screw in my tire and that I didn’t know if my the warranty for the tires would cover a screw he said to bring it in and he would see if it could be repaired.
Unfortunately the tire couldn’t be repaired but to my surprise Kevin was able to replace the tire for me at no charge. I was very pleased that Kevin was able to get me back on the road again feeling safe.
In February 2015 I contacted Kevin at the Avondale Mitsubishi location and told him that I was experiencing some issues with my car and I explained to him that I never had a vehicle that had ECO Boost and that maybe what I was experiencing had something to do with it. I was at a stop light and I pushed the gas pedal and my car felt like I was running out of gas. I asked Kevin if anyone else had complained to him about this issue and he said no. He said that he would check with one of his mechanics and the dealer to see if they had any reviews about this issue.
Now it is March 2015 and my car has had the same issue once again this time it has happened 3 more times – once at an on ramp getting on the freeway and the other 2 times at a stop light. I called Kevin again and he asked me how many miles I had on the car and I told him a little over 4,000 and he said for me to bring in the car and they would do the oil change and that he would have one of his mechanics re-boot the whole car system and that he would have the outcome sent to the Mitsubishi dealer to see what they thought of the computer reading of my vehicle and that he would contact me as soon as he heard back from someone. We made the appointment for Saturday March 14, 2015 at 7:30 am. (I kept this appointment and Kevin did exactly what is stated above) – The only issue is that I never heard back from Kevin in regards to the system print out that he sent to the dealer.
On March 21, 2015 I was driving my car and I had my grandkids with me and we were at a stop light – once again I pushed the gas pedal and my car started to go forward and then it stopped and then it went forward – I almost got rear ended by a truck – thank goodness he was paying attention and slowed down. This is what I’m afraid of – someone getting hurt because of a mal function with my new vehicle; this would not be a good thing at all.
I called the Avondale Mitsubishi again and Kevin was not in the office – I wasn’t going to tell anyone else about all the issues I have been dealing with because Kevin knows all about my car. I’m probably the “Thorn†in his side every time that I call he has always been nice and patient with me, he knows that I’m just frustrated.
March 23, 2015 – I called the Avondale Mitsubishi office and talked with Kevin he told me that his Manager would be at this dealer ship on Tuesday March 24th and that he would check with him to see what they could do for me, he said he wanted for me to drop off my car for the day to see if they could diagnose the problem. He got my cell number and said he would contact me sometime today to let me know what was going to take place.
I received a call from Kayli Pfeiler today (3.23.15) she is a Service Advisor at Avondale Mitsubishi she asked me when would be a good time for me to bring in my vehicle I asked her if I could bring it in sometime today before they closed she asked me to hold so she could check with someone. She got back on the phone and said that I could bring it in before six and that Avondale Mitsubishi would give me a loaner vehicle to drive.
On 3.23.15 – I picked up the loaner – V6 Mitsubishi Outlander GT – it wasn’t ready – no license plate, no gas and it had a 6 inch crack on the center of the windshield. I was at the dealership for a while until the loaner was ready. I drove it home and to work the next day and I decided to ask for a smaller vehicle that would save me on gas. I called Kalyi the next day and asked her if I could get a smaller vehicle and she said that I could, on 3.24.15 – I picked up a smaller vehicle 2013 Hyundai Elauntra 2 door – everything was fine with this car, the floor mats are in the trunk and there were a few slight scratches on the outside of the trunk and a couple of little dents on the passenger side of the car towards the trunk, Kayli also said it has some gas. I also talked to the mechanic that was going to be driving my car around to see if it would do the same thing to him that it was doing with me –he asked me several questions about how I drove my car – I explained to him that I don’t use the shifting mechanism that I use the manual – R=reverse D=drive – I’m at a stop sign I push the gas to go – the car moves forward and then stops like I’m running out of gas – so then I push on the gas pedal again and the car goes forward like normal. This has happened more than once –
I received a call from Kayli today 3.25.15 – giving me an update on my car – she said that the mechanic put a recording devise in my car and will continue to drive it – hoping it will do the same thing to the mechanic as it did to me. I asked her why I couldn’t have my car back with the recording devise and she said that the devise is big and it costs about $5,000 and that I couldn’t take it.
I didn’t hear from anyone at the dealership on Thursday or Friday – March 26th, 27th and thought I would hear from someone on the 28th – Saturday – but I didn’t.
3.30.15 – I called the dealership this morning around 7:45 am and I was told that no one was at their desk and if I could leave a message – I left my first and last name and my cell number for someone to contact me about the status of my car.
3.30.15 – Kayli called me and said that over the weekend the car did have the same issue that I had explained to the mechanic and that it did record it but that the mechanic couldn’t figure it out so they sent the recording to the Engineers at Mitsubishi and I was more than welcome to pick up my car at any time, I told Kayli but you just said that the mechanic couldn’t figure out the recording – I asked her is my car fixed? She said no, so I told her I would pick up my car as long as I got a letter from Avondale Mitsubishi stating that they would be responsible if I got into an accident in my car for the same issue that I brought it in for – and that it wasn’t fixed. She told me she would check with her manager and get back to me.
Kayli called me back in the afternoon of 3.30.15 and told me to keep the loaner car for a couple of days.
Well it has been six days since I have heard from Avondale Mitsubishi so I called them on 4.6.15 – I left a message for someone to contact me on my cell.
4.6.15 – I received a voice mail message from Kayli I called the Mitsubishi dealer ship and spoke to Kevin he said that the Engineer’s want them to keep the car for a few more days – there is an issue they just want to pin point it out – it’s either the speed control, traction control or they might have to reprogram my vehicle again. Kevin also stated that I needed to bring the 2013 Hyundai Elantra back to the dealership because it was going to Texas – he will put me in a 2014 Lancer – I told him that I would be there at 3:30 today.
4.6.15 – I picked up a 2013 Dodge Dart – some light scratches on the passenger side along with a small dent by the passenger back window and had almost a half tank of gas. I spoke to Kevin and he told me that they found out that there are other 2015 Outlander Sports in 3 other states with the same issue as mine – but mine is the only one that has been able to record what has been happening.
4.9.15 – Kayli called and said that they recorded the same incident once on Tuesday the 7th and 3 times on Wednesday the 8th and they send all the recordings to the engineer’s once again – she will keep me posted they are going to keep my car for a few more days.
4.16.15 – Kayli called and said that the engineer’s said it was an inhibitor switch which is located by the transmission. The inhibitor switch is mounted on the transmission case. It includes the electric switch plate circuit and is directly connected with the transmission lever via transmission cable. When the driver shifts the transmission lever, the contact point on the switch plate varies and the electric current process changes, and engages the gear intended by the driver. In addition, the inhibitor switch cuts off power from the circuit to prevent the motor from running if the driver attempts to start the engine from any gear positions other than P or N.
Kayli said that they are going to change that switch in my car and drive it again for a few days – she will call me when it is ready for me to pick up.
4.21.15 – I called the dealership and spoke to Kevin today he said that they have changed the inhibitor switch and they drove the car again about 40 miles and nothing has happened. He said I can pick up my car tomorrow 4.22.15 he will have a complete report for me along with my car.
4.22.15 – I got to the dealership about 3:30 – I called Kayli and told her I was on my way that I had stopped to wash the Dodge Dart and clean it out – I asked her how much gas my car had this way I could put the same amount of gas in the Dodge Dart – she told me don’t worry about the gas and your car we filled up – I said are you sure she said yes. I was surprised to see such little documentation on my car since it was at the dealership for over 30 days. I also questioned the dates that they had on the paperwork, I’m starting to get conflicting information from Kevin and Kayli one of them said yes they did a recall and that they have started to replace the inhibitor switch on the vehicles that were in their lot and then I got another story that there is not a recall but they did replace the inhibitor switch is the Outlander Sport in Florida that was having the same issues. I asked Kayli if I could talk with the Sales Manager she said yes, the sales manager wasn’t the same one that was once there before – Mark Bernard greeted me outside as I was putting stuff into my vehicle, he shook my hand and introduced himself and we walked into the dealership and went into his office we sat down and he asked me what the issue was – I talked to him about the Lemon Law out here in Arizona and I also gave him my 4 pages of notes that I have kept in regards to my car. He said he knew the lemon law in California but not Arizona – I read him the language that I had regarding the Lemon Law in Arizona he asked me what I wanted and I said a new car, I also told him I was a loyal Mitsubishi customer for 11 years I had my 2004 Mitsubishi Outlander AWD I traded it in for the new 2015 Outlander Sport. He told me that he would contact his manager and also the manufacture to see what they are willing to do and that he would call me.
4.23.15 – I didn’t hear from Mark so I filed a complained with the BBB.
4.26.15 – I called the dealership at 1:54 PM my car did the same thing again – I had just left my apartment and was about 10 minutes away and was stopped at a stop light off of Greenway Parkway and 19th ave when the light turned green I pushed the gas pedal and my car started to cross the intersection when it stopped I quickly tried to press the gas again because the black car behind me was going to hit me, my car didn’t move and the car behind me went around me so he wouldn’t hit me, I pressed the gas again and my car finally went forward and I passed through the intersection I honked and waived down the car that almost hit me I asked him to pull over and he did – I had Mark on the phone at this time and I was so shaken up that I told Mark what happened and that I actually had a witness I told him I would call him back. Mike Hale was kind enough to listen to my story, I was thankful that he was paying attention when he was driving otherwise we would have had an accident and it wouldn’t have been either one of our faults – it would be on Mitsubishi.
I proceeded to drive back home because I was shaken up and I didn’t want to drive my car – I called Mark at the dealership and I apologized for being so short with him and so upset, he told me he didn’t blame me at all and for me to bring in my car and that he would give me a loaner. I went home to calm myself down and about an hour later I took my car to the dealership and Mark had a very nice salesman by the name of Stuart Raskin help me. I got the 2013 Dodge Dart back again; Stuart said that they couldn’t put gas in it because they didn’t have the card it was with another salesman, I told him not a problem – I transferred the stuff from my vehicle back into the Dodge Dart and took Stuart my key to my car – Mark told me that he would have Kevin the Service Manager call me on Monday.
I have received calls from Stuart Raskin on 4.26 and 4.28 just to check up on me to see how I’m doing and if there is anything I need to contact him.
4.27.15 – received a call from Debbie at Mitsubishi Motor Credit – X1326 866-876-3018 – left her a message.
4.28.15 – received a call from Jessica at Mitsubishi Motor Credit – x1205171 866-876-3018 – she received my 10 page fax and is working with upper management to see if they are willing to let me by pass my April payment and add it to the end of my loan since I didn’t have my car for 31 days. She also said if I were to file a Lemon Law Claim that she would like a copy of it – her fax number is 314-702-4622.
5.1.15 – I received a call from Kevin the Manager of the service department he said that they have driven my car about another 100 miles and that is has not acted up on them. He said that his parts manager said to call me to see if I wanted to pick up my car – I told him no – it has not been fixed and that his parts manager shouldn’t even ask me to pick up my vehicle – if I were to get into an accident because of the issue there would be a laws suit against both the dealership and the manufacture.
I also spoke to Mark Bernard the Sales Manager to let him know that I have plans to go out of state and if I’m able to take the loaner out of state – he said he would call me on Monday to let me know.
5.2.15 – I called Jessica at Mitsubishi Motor Credit and left her a message to see if upper management approved my request. I didn’t hear from Jessica so I assumed that my request was denied so I continued to make payments even though I was behind.
5.3.15 – 11.11.15 – During these 7 months my car has proceeded to continue to act up the same 2 issues and there is nothing that the dealership can do, so I have maintained the regular maintenance on my vehicle and continued to drive it since it was my only means of transportation. I also updated my issues with my car on several websites, National Highway Safety Administration, Better Business Bureau, Attorney General’s Office, Lemon Law Lawyer, Car Fax and Channel 12 News. It’s very sad to say that I was a true believer in Mitsubishi back in 2004 when I bought my first brand new Outlander with 13 miles on it, this car was paid off and it was the vehicle that I traded in to get 2016 Outlander Sport ES 2WD – that had issues from the first 30 days. I found 4 other brand new owners like myself who were having the same issues, some of them had less mileage then my vehicle did when my issues stared.
Well on November 11th I got a rude awakening and my car was repossessed, I had made arrangements to get caught up by the end of November 2015. I called Mitsubishi Motor Credit and spoke to Megan and then to James and I was told where my vehicle was and that I needed to pay $1159.36 plus repo fee’s , I told James that I would have all the money on Friday November 13th in a cashier’s check or I could call with a Debit card.
On November 12th I called Mitsubishi Motor Credit because I had received a letter regarding my personal property that was in my car, All State was going to charge me for picking up my person stuff , I was told by Sam that they have every right to charge me and that Mitsubishi has no control over the company who picked up my car. I mentioned to Sam that I would be calling on Friday to make the payment for my car and if I needed to make a separate payment to Allstate for the repo charges, Same proceeded to tell me that a decision was made and if I wanted to get my car I had to pay it off $20,756.66 plus the repo fees and that my car was going to be auctioned off on 11.26.2015. I told Sam if I had that kind of money just laying around that I wouldn’t be in the predicament that I’m in right now and that I didn’t feel that it was fair that a decision was made within 24 hours from the time I talked to Megan and James with a different amount I was supposed to pay.
Well it is now December 1st and I have not received a letter from Mitsubishi Motor Credit with the detailed information as to how much my car was auctioned off for and what the remaining amount is that I will have to pay.
12.4.2015 – I checked my mail today and what a surprise to me that I received a Service Campaign Information letter from Mitsubishi in Fenton, MO – the date of the letter just states November 2015 and it states that Mitsubishi is recommending that the following product improvement be performed on my Outlander – the same 2 issues that I have been telling Avondale Mitsubishi every time my car acted up.
I’m furious and very upset because this issue should have been taken more seriously months ago and according to Service Managers and Mitsubishi technicians that were sent all my codes that were recorded – which obviously was not the “Inhibitor Switch†that was replaced in April and a week later my car acted up again and left me stranded in the middle of an intersection almost getting rear-ended.
when i press the gas peddle to go the car will stop The letter below is one that I sent to the Attorney General's office - I will be posting the day to day information I have kept in a file.
Office of the Attorney General August 17. 2015 Civil Litigation Division RE: CIC 15-06185 I’m not satisfied with the response from the Avondale Mitsubishi – they have left out several things which I have attached. I want you to know that I don’t have any issues with the Dealership they have been more than willing to try to fix my brand new vehicle – it seems that they are taking direction from the Manufacture. Since the issue doesn’t happen every day they can’t pin point the issue without having a record mechanism in the vehicle. I have never had to complain about any vehicle that I have bought, this is the 2nd brand new vehicle that I have bought from Mitsubishi my first one was in 2004, this is the same vehicle that I had traded in and bought the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. Since May 2015 I have had the same issues with this car – I have made complaints to the Better Business Bureau, National Highway Safety Administration and contacted a Lemon Law Group Partners. I found with my research that there are 3 other vehicles in the State of Arizona that have filed a complaint with the National Highway Safety Administration they are also having the same issues with their brand new 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Vehicle, one vehicle is in PA per the report that I have enclosed. All of our VIN Numbers are the same with the exception of the last 5 digits. I have mailed Channel 10, 3 and 15 news to see if I can somehow get the other Arizona Residents who are having the same issue and we can file some type of claim against the Manufacture. I’m enclosing every document that I have filed or received – including all my research – on June 4, 2015 I was talking to a friend of mine who called her mechanic and he said that from what I was describing to him about my car he said that he would have also checked the MAP Sensor and the Knock Sensor. I want Mitsubishi Motors to refund me all of my money and I want them to buy back my car so I can purchase another vehicle. This vehicle is not safe, if someone rear-ends me it will not be their fault, if I get hurt or someone else gets hurt because of this mal-function with my vehicle it will be a lawsuit against the manufacture. It’s so sad to say that many people have to die in order for a Manufacture to do a recall on a vehicle. The Manufacture should be pro-active and study the issues with brand new vehicles instead of concentrating on adding 100 new options to their 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport vehicles. Sincerely, Becky Trujillo
Update from Jan 21, 2016: On January 2, 2015 I purchased a brand new 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport from Avondale Mitsubishi Dealership with 12 miles on it from the help of Landon Day The reason I chose Mitsubishi – back in 2004 my first brand new vehicle was a 2004 Mitsubishi Outlander AWD – this vehicle never gave me any problems just the normal ware and tare, this vehicle had over 239,000 miles on it. I liked the Safety Ratings that I saw on line this is one of the reasons why I chose this vehicle along with the 5 year/60,000 mile limited warranty and a 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty. On January 3, 2015 I contacted Kevin Tyser the Service Manager at Avondale Mitsubishi around 8:30am to tell him that I woke up and went outside and found a screw in my tire and that I didn’t know if my the warranty for the tires would cover a screw he said to bring it in and he would see if it could be repaired. Unfortunately the tire couldn’t be repaired but to my surprise Kevin was able to replace the tire for me at no charge. I was very pleased that Kevin was able to get me back on the road again feeling safe. In February 2015 I contacted Kevin at the Avondale Mitsubishi location and told him that I was experiencing some issues with my car and I explained to him that I never had a vehicle that had ECO Boost and that maybe what I was experiencing had something to do with it. I was at a stop light and I pushed the gas pedal and my car felt like I was running out of gas. I asked Kevin if anyone else had complained to him about this issue and he said no. He said that he would check with one of his mechanics and the dealer to see if they had any reviews about this issue. Now it is March 2015 and my car has had the same issue once again this time it has happened 3 more times – once at an on ramp getting on the freeway and the other 2 times at a stop light. I called Kevin again and he asked me how many miles I had on the car and I told him a little over 4,000 and he said for me to bring in the car and they would do the oil change and that he would have one of his mechanics re-boot the whole car system and that he would have the outcome sent to the Mitsubishi dealer to see what they thought of the computer reading of my vehicle and that he would contact me as soon as he heard back from someone. We made the appointment for Saturday March 14, 2015 at 7:30 am. (I kept this appointment and Kevin did exactly what is stated above) – The only issue is that I never heard back from Kevin in regards to the system print out that he sent to the dealer. On March 21, 2015 I was driving my car and I had my grandkids with me and we were at a stop light – once again I pushed the gas pedal and my car started to go forward and then it stopped and then it went forward – I almost got rear ended by a truck – thank goodness he was paying attention and slowed down. This is what I’m afraid of – someone getting hurt because of a mal function with my new vehicle; this would not be a good thing at all.
I called the Avondale Mitsubishi again and Kevin was not in the office – I wasn’t going to tell anyone else about all the issues I have been dealing with because Kevin knows all about my car. I’m probably the “Thorn†in his side every time that I call he has always been nice and patient with me, he knows that I’m just frustrated.
March 23, 2015 – I called the Avondale Mitsubishi office and talked with Kevin he told me that his Manager would be at this dealer ship on Tuesday March 24th and that he would check with him to see what they could do for me, he said he wanted for me to drop off my car for the day to see if they could diagnose the problem. He got my cell number and said he would contact me sometime today to let me know what was going to take place. I received a call from Kayli Pfeiler today (3.23.15) she is a Service Advisor at Avondale Mitsubishi she asked me when would be a good time for me to bring in my vehicle I asked her if I could bring it in sometime today before they closed she asked me to hold so she could check with someone. She got back on the phone and said that I could bring it in before six and that Avondale Mitsubishi would give me a loaner vehicle to drive. On 3.23.15 – I picked up the loaner – V6 Mitsubishi Outlander GT – it wasn’t ready – no license plate, no gas and it had a 6 inch crack on the center of the windshield. I was at the dealership for a while until the loaner was ready. I drove it home and to work the next day and I decided to ask for a smaller vehicle that would save me on gas. I called Kalyi the next day and asked her if I could get a smaller vehicle and she said that I could, on 3.24.15 – I picked up a smaller vehicle 2013 Hyundai Elauntra 2 door – everything was fine with this car, the floor mats are in the trunk and there were a few slight scratches on the outside of the trunk and a couple of little dents on the passenger side of the car towards the trunk, Kayli also said it has some gas. I also talked to the mechanic that was going to be driving my car around to see if it would do the same thing to him that it was doing with me –he asked me several questions about how I drove my car – I explained to him that I don’t use the shifting mechanism that I use the manual – R=reverse D=drive – I’m at a stop sign I push the gas to go – the car moves forward and then stops like I’m running out of gas – so then I push on the gas pedal again and the car goes forward like normal. This has happened more than once – I received a call from Kayli today 3.25.15 – giving me an update on my car – she said that the mechanic put a recording devise in my car and will continue to drive it – hoping it will do the same thing to the mechanic as it did to me. I asked her why I couldn’t have my car back with the recording devise and she said that the devise is big and it costs about $5,000 and that I couldn’t take it. I didn’t hear from anyone at the dealership on Thursday or Friday – March 26th, 27th and thought I would hear from someone on the 28th – Saturday – but I didn’t.
3.30.15 – I called the dealership this morning around 7:45 am and I was told that no one was at their desk and if I could leave a message – I left my first and last name and my cell number for someone to contact me about the status of my car.
3.30.15 – Kayli called me and said that over the weekend the car did have the same issue that I had explained to the mechanic and that it did record it but that the mechanic couldn’t figure it out so they sent the recording to the Engineers at Mitsubishi and I was more than welcome to pick up my car at any time, I told Kayli but you just said that the mechanic couldn’t figure out the recording – I asked her is my car fixed? She said no, so I told her I would pick up my car as long as I got a letter from Avondale Mitsubishi stating that they would be responsible if I got into an accident in my car for the same issue that I brought it in for – and that it wasn’t fixed. She told me she would check with her manager and get back to me. Kayli called me back in the afternoon of 3.30.15 and told me to keep the loaner car for a couple of days. Well it has been six days since I have heard from Avondale Mitsubishi so I called them on 4.6.15 – I left a message for someone to contact me on my cell. 4.6.15 – I received a voice mail message from Kayli I called the Mitsubishi dealer ship and spoke to Kevin he said that the Engineer’s want them to keep the car for a few more days – there is an issue they just want to pin point it out – it’s either the speed control, traction control or they might have to reprogram my vehicle again. Kevin also stated that I needed to bring the 2013 Hyundai Elantra back to the dealership because it was going to Texas – he will put me in a 2014 Lancer – I told him that I would be there at 3:30 today. 4.6.15 – I picked up a 2013 Dodge Dart – some light scratches on the passenger side along with a small dent by the passenger back window and had almost a half tank of gas. I spoke to Kevin and he told me that they found out that there are other 2015 Outlander Sports in 3 other states with the same issue as mine – but mine is the only one that has been able to record what has been happening.
4.9.15 – Kayli called and said that they recorded the same incident once on Tuesday the 7th and 3 times on Wednesday the 8th and they send all the recordings to the engineer’s once again – she will keep me posted they are going to keep my car for a few more days. 4.16.15 – Kayli called and said that the engineer’s said it was an inhibitor switch which is located by the transmission. The inhibitor switch is mounted on the transmission case. It includes the electric switch plate circuit and is directly connected with the transmission lever via transmission cable. When the driver shifts the transmission lever, the contact point on the switch plate varies and the electric current process changes, and engages the gear intended by the driver. In addition, the inhibitor switch cuts off power from the circuit to prevent the motor from running if the driver attempts to start the engine from any gear positions other than P or N. Kayli said that they are going to change that switch in my car and drive it again for a few days – she will call me when it is ready for me to pick up. 4.21.15 – I called the dealership and spoke to Kevin today he said that they have changed the inhibitor switch and they drove the car again about 40 miles and nothing has happened. He said I can pick up my car tomorrow 4.22.15 he will have a complete report for me along with my car. 4.22.15 – I got to the dealership about 3:30 – I called Kayli and told her I was on my way that I had stopped to wash the Dodge Dart and clean it out – I asked her how much gas my car had this way I could put the same amount of gas in the Dodge Dart – she told me don’t worry about the gas and your car we filled up – I said are you sure she said yes. I was surprised to see such little documentation on my car since it was at the dealership for over 30 days. I also questioned the dates that they had on the paperwork, I’m starting to get conflicting information from Kevin and Kayli one of them said yes they did a recall and that they have started to replace the inhibitor switch on the vehicles that were in their lot and then I got another story that there is not a recall but they did replace the inhibitor switch is the Outlander Sport in Florida that was having the same issues. I asked Kayli if I could talk with the Sales Manager she said yes, the sales manager wasn’t the same one that was once there before – Mark Bernard greeted me outside as I was putting stuff into my vehicle, he shook my hand and introduced himself and we walked into the dealership and went into his office we sat down and he asked me what the issue was – I talked to him about the Lemon Law out here in Arizona and I also gave him my 4 pages of notes that I have kept in regards to my car. He said he knew the lemon law in California but not Arizona – I read him the language that I had regarding the Lemon Law in Arizona he asked me what I wanted and I said a new car, I also told him I was a loyal Mitsubishi customer for 11 years I had my 2004 Mitsubishi Outlander AWD I traded it in for the new 2015 Outlander Sport. He told me that he would contact his manager and also the manufacture to see what they are willing to do and that he would call me. 4.23.15 – I didn’t hear from Mark so I filed a complained with the BBB.
4.26.15 – I called the dealership at 1:54 PM my car did the same thing again – I had just left my apartment and was about 10 minutes away and was stopped at a stop light off of Greenway Parkway and 19th ave when the light turned green I pushed the gas pedal and my car started to cross the intersection when it stopped I quickly tried to press the gas again because the black car behind me was going to hit me, my car didn’t move and the car behind me went around me so he wouldn’t hit me, I pressed the gas again and my car finally went forward and I passed through the intersection I honked and waived down the car that almost hit me I asked him to pull over and he did – I had Mark on the phone at this time and I was so shaken up that I told Mark what happened and that I actually had a witness I told him I would call him back. Mike Hale was kind enough to listen to my story, I was thankful that he was paying attention when he was driving otherwise we would have had an accident and it wouldn’t have been either one of our faults – it would be on Mitsubishi.
I proceeded to drive back home because I was shaken up and I didn’t want to drive my car – I called Mark at the dealership and I apologized for being so short with him and so upset, he told me he didn’t blame me at all and for me to bring in my car and that he would give me a loaner. I went home to calm myself down and about an hour later I took my car to the dealership and Mark had a very nice salesman by the name of Stuart Raskin help me. I got the 2013 Dodge Dart back again; Stuart said that they couldn’t put gas in it because they didn’t have the card it was with another salesman, I told him not a problem – I transferred the stuff from my vehicle back into the Dodge Dart and took Stuart my key to my car – Mark told me that he would have Kevin the Service Manager call me on Monday. I have received calls from Stuart Raskin on 4.26 and 4.28 just to check up on me to see how I’m doing and if there is anything I need to contact him. 4.27.15 – received a call from Debbie at Mitsubishi Motor Credit – X1326 866-876-3018 – left her a message. 4.28.15 – received a call from Jessica at Mitsubishi Motor Credit – x1205171 866-876-3018 – she received my 10 page fax and is working with upper management to see if they are willing to let me by pass my April payment and add it to the end of my loan since I didn’t have my car for 31 days. She also said if I were to file a Lemon Law Claim that she would like a copy of it – her fax number is 314-702-4622. 5.1.15 – I received a call from Kevin the Manager of the service department he said that they have driven my car about another 100 miles and that is has not acted up on them. He said that his parts manager said to call me to see if I wanted to pick up my car – I told him no – it has not been fixed and that his parts manager shouldn’t even ask me to pick up my vehicle – if I were to get into an accident because of the issue there would be a laws suit against both the dealership and the manufacture. I also spoke to Mark Bernard the Sales Manager to let him know that I have plans to go out of state and if I’m able to take the loaner out of state – he said he would call me on Monday to let me know. 5.2.15 – I called Jessica at Mitsubishi Motor Credit and left her a message to see if upper management approved my request. I didn’t hear from Jessica so I assumed that my request was denied so I continued to make payments even though I was behind. 5.3.15 – 11.11.15 – During these 7 months my car has proceeded to continue to act up the same 2 issues and there is nothing that the dealership can do, so I have maintained the regular maintenance on my vehicle and continued to drive it since it was my only means of transportation. I also updated my issues with my car on several websites, National Highway Safety Administration, Better Business Bureau, Attorney General’s Office, Lemon Law Lawyer, Car Fax and Channel 12 News. It’s very sad to say that I was a true believer in Mitsubishi back in 2004 when I bought my first brand new Outlander with 13 miles on it, this car was paid off and it was the vehicle that I traded in to get 2016 Outlander Sport ES 2WD – that had issues from the first 30 days. I found 4 other brand new owners like myself who were having the same issues, some of them had less mileage then my vehicle did when my issues stared.
Well on November 11th I got a rude awakening and my car was repossessed, I had made arrangements to get caught up by the end of November 2015. I called Mitsubishi Motor Credit and spoke to Megan and then to James and I was told where my vehicle was and that I needed to pay $1159.36 plus repo fee’s , I told James that I would have all the money on Friday November 13th in a cashier’s check or I could call with a Debit card.
On November 12th I called Mitsubishi Motor Credit because I had received a letter regarding my personal property that was in my car, All State was going to charge me for picking up my person stuff , I was told by Sam that they have every right to charge me and that Mitsubishi has no control over the company who picked up my car. I mentioned to Sam that I would be calling on Friday to make the payment for my car and if I needed to make a separate payment to Allstate for the repo charges, Same proceeded to tell me that a decision was made and if I wanted to get my car I had to pay it off $20,756.66 plus the repo fees and that my car was going to be auctioned off on 11.26.2015. I told Sam if I had that kind of money just laying around that I wouldn’t be in the predicament that I’m in right now and that I didn’t feel that it was fair that a decision was made within 24 hours from the time I talked to Megan and James with a different amount I was supposed to pay.
Well it is now December 1st and I have not received a letter from Mitsubishi Motor Credit with the detailed information as to how much my car was auctioned off for and what the remaining amount is that I will have to pay.
12.4.2015 – I checked my mail today and what a surprise to me that I received a Service Campaign Information letter from Mitsubishi in Fenton, MO – the date of the letter just states November 2015 and it states that Mitsubishi is recommending that the following product improvement be performed on my Outlander – the same 2 issues that I have been telling Avondale Mitsubishi every time my car acted up.
I’m furious and very upset because this issue should have been taken more seriously months ago and according to Service Managers and Mitsubishi technicians that were sent all my codes that were recorded – which obviously was not the “Inhibitor Switch†that was replaced in April and a week later my car acted up again and left me stranded in the middle of an intersection almost getting rear-ended.
- Becky T., Phoenix, AZ, US