2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport Transmission Problems

JULY, 2005 A/TRANSMISSION SHIFTING ERRATIC, SLIPPING, CREATING HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS DUE TO LOSS OF CONTROL. MITSUBISHI DEALERSHIP PERFORMED A/T FLUSH AND ERRATIC BEHAVIOR WAS CLEARED. ON FIRST ROAD TRIP AFTER THIS REPAIR, THE NEUTRAL SHIFT INDICATOR, "N", BEGAN TO FLASH AFTER VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING ON HIGHWAY FOR 45 MINUTES. ACCORDING TO THE OWNERS MANUAL, THIS INDICATES THE A/T IS OVERHEATING AND VEHICLE SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO A STOP TO AVOID DAMAGE AND/OR INJURY. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE BACK SEVERAL TIMES WITHOUT ANY RESOLUTION AS THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMS THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO DUPLICATE MY COMPLAINT. ON MY LAST VISIT OF 12/19/06, THE DEALERSHIP RECOMMENDS I UPGRADE THE A/T OIL PAN TO A LARGER ONE PER TSB 00-23-008 AT MY COST. THIS POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD IS NOT DUE TO A DAMAGE OR A PART THAT HAS WORN OUT. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS DESIGN DEFECT THAT THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD CORRECT AT NO COST TO THE CONSUMER. PLEASE ASSIST ME IN RESOLVING THIS SITUATION. *JB

NHTSA ID

10176631

Incident

Aug 19, 2005

Mileage

60,000 mi

MITSUBISHI MONTERO SPORT, YEAR 2000 - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE LIGHT CAME ON AFTER DRIVING ~ 200 MILES AT 70 MPH. STOPPED AFTER DRIVING 20 MORE MILES. SMOKE WAS COMING FROM ENGINE COMPARTMENT NEAR TRANSMISSION. APPEARS TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS VENTING AND HITTING HOT ENGINE. ALLOWED CAR TO COOL DOWN, AS RECOMMENDED IN OWNERS MANUAL. THEN PROCEEDED TO AUTO MECHANIC WHO CONFIRMED VEHICLE WAS SHIFTING HARD BETWEEN 2 & 3RD GEAR AND WAS NOT LOCKING IN THE TORQUE CONVERTER AFTER GOING INTO OVERDRIVE. VEHICLE HAS ~ 118,000 MILES AT THE TIME. SAME THING OCCURRED BACK WHEN VEHICLE ONLY HAD ~ 30,000 MILES AND DEALER DID SOMETHING AT THAT TIME. I NOTICE THERE ARE A NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ON NHTSA WEBSITE. SUGGEST MITSUBISHI SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM AT THEIR EXPENSE. *JB

NHTSA ID

10166305

Incident

Aug 18, 2006

Mileage

117,700 mi

INITIALLY THERE WAS A RATTLING SOUND WHEN THE GEAR SELECTOR WAS PUSHED A CERTAIN WAY. THE MITSUBISHI TECH'S WOULD NOT EVEN LOOK AT THE PROBLEM TILL I FIGURED OUT HOW TO REPRODUCE THE NOISE FOR THEM. THEN ON LONG TRIPS THE A/T LAMP WOULD COME ON. I WOULD PULL OVER AND LET THE ENGINE COOL THE PROCEED UNTIL THE NEXT A/T INCIDENT. SOME OF THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY THE TRANSMISSION HAVING BOLT HEADS RATTLING AROUND INSIDE THE TRANS HOUSING. OTHER PROBLEMS WERE CAUSED BY POROSITY OF THE TRANS BELL HOUSING LEAKING TRANS FLUID. MITSUBISHI 'FIXED' THE LEAKS AND BOLTS RATTLING AROUND INSIDE THE TRANS, BUT NOW ON TRIPS OF 100 MILES OR SO WHEN YOU ACCELERATE FROM A STOP DURING THE REV UP TO SHIFTING AROUND THE 2ND TO 3RD GEAR SHIFT THE TACH WILL INDICATE A HIGH REV THEN FALL BACK WHEN THE SHIFT IS ACCOMPLISHED BY THE TRANS. THE VEHICLE WILL 'BUCK' IN RESPONSE TO THIS SHIFTING ANOMALY. THIS EFFECT WILL NOT HAPPEN UNLESS THE ENGINE HAS BEEN RUNNING FOR AN HOUR OR SO. I NOW NO LONG TAKE THIS VEHICLE ON LONG TRIPS UNLESS COMPELLED TO DO SO. *JB

NHTSA ID

10132849

Incident

Jan 1, 2005

I JUST PURCHASED THE VEHICLE MAY OF 2004 AND ALREADY IT NEEDS A NEW TRANSMISSION, I HAVE TALK TO ALOT OF OTHER PEOPLE AND THERE VEHICLE IS DOING THE SAME THING. *NM

NHTSA ID

10112124

Incident

Aug 4, 2003

WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS THE "N" LIGHT ON THE GEAR SHIFT STARTED FLASHING. THIS INDICATES THAT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IS OVERHEATING, AND THAT I SHOULD PULL OVER TO LET IT COOL PER THE OWNERS MANUAL AND A STICKER ON THE DRIVERS DOOR. *AK THIS IS INCONVENIENT AND HAS HAPPENED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS BEFORE...AT LEAST 20 TIMES. I HAVE GONE TO THE DEALER MANY TIMES TO HAVE THIS FIXED TO NO AVAIL. IF THE MFR. KNOWS THAT THE PROBLEM EXISTS, WHY CAN'T THE FIX IT?

NHTSA ID

10110135

Incident

Dec 17, 2004

Mileage

169,000 mi

MISTUBISHI MONTERO SPORT 2000- AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE LIGHT COMES ON WHEN THERE ARE MORE THAN 2 PERSONS IN THE VEHICLE, OR WHEN THERE IS CARGO IN THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE WHEN DRIVING DISTANCES OVER 1 HOUR IN LENGTH. PULLING OVER AND STOPPING WOULD LET LIGHT GO OFF AFTER A/T TEMP COOLED DOWN. ALSO, WOULD LEAK A/T FLUID WHEN LIGHT COMES ON. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, THEY TOLD ME IT IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MAKE/MODEL AND THAT IN ORDER TO PREVENT A/T DAMAGE, I HAD TO HAVE A LARGER A/T FLUID PAN INSTALLED TO ALLOW FOR THE "OVERHEATING OF THE FLIUD", OR ELSE I WAS NOT TO TRAVEL WITH MORE THAN ONE OTHER PERSON OR CARGO IN MY VEHICLE OR IT WOULD DAMANGE THE TRANSMISSION. IT COST ME OVER $350 TO REPLACE THE A/T PAN. I TRUELY BELIEVE THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL, AS WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO REPLACE SOMETHING LIKE THIS IF IT WASN'T CORRECLTY INSTALLED/PUT TOGETHER IN THE FIRST PLACE!*AK

NHTSA ID

10093026

Incident

Sep 17, 2004

Mileage

90,000 mi

I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN MY 2000 MONTERO SPORT AND THE LACK OF ANSWERS THAT I HAVE RECEIVED IN THE PAST. IN ADDITION MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHEN I TOOK THE CAR IN I WAS TOLD THE PROBLEM HAD BEEN FIXED. LATER THE SAME DAY IT CAME BACK ON, I RETURNED THE FOLLOWING DAY, AND WAS TOLD TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS WRONG I WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE THE CAR ONE COMPLETE DAY TO DETERMINE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS SINCE NOTHING APPEARED TO BE WRONG. I LEFT IT AND WHEN I PICKED IT UP I WAS TOLD THAT THE CARS COMPUTER WAS TRYING TO PLACE THE CAR IN 2 DIFFERENT GEARS AT THE SAME TIME AND THE PROBLEM WAS RESOLVED. A FEW DAYS LATER WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY ON MY WAY TO WORK THE CAR SHUDDERED AND SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL ON ITS OWN AND REFUSED TO MOVE, SUBSEQUENTLY THE AIR-CONDITION STARTED BLOWING HOT AIR. WHEN I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO DRIVE IT REMAINED IN 1ST GEAR AND WOULD NOT SHIFT TO SECOND. AT THAT POINT I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON, I WAS TOLD THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH THE TRANSMISSION BUT THEY COULDNT DIAGNOSE WHAT EXACTLY WAS WRONG AND THE CAR WAS RETURNED TO ME. THE CAR WAS THEN TAKEN TO AAMCO TRANSMISSION TO FIND THE PROBLEM SINCE THE CAUSE COULD NOT BE FOUND AT THE DEALERSHIP. I WAS TOLD THE FOLLOWING OCCURRED OVER TIME AND IN THIS ORDER: TORQUE CONVERTER FAILED (CAUSING THE SHUDDERING AND JERKING WHEN GEARS WERE CHANGED), PUMP FAILED DUE TO CONVERTER PROBLEM, TRANSMISSION FAILED DUE TO PUMP FAILURE, BUSHINGS AND PLASTIC PARTS WERE WARPED DUE TO HIGH TEMPERATURE CAUSED BY PUMP FAILURE. CURRENTLY THEY ARE UNABLE TO LOCATE REPLACEMENT PARTS THAT WILL FIT MY CAR WHICH IS EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING. THE REASON I AM WRITING THIS LETTER IS BECAUSE I HAVE SPENT OVER $3000 THIS YEAR ON MY CAR AND NOW I HAVE TO PURCHASE A TRANSMISSION, TORQUE CONVERTER, TRANSMISSION PUMP, AND AIR-CONDITION UNIT. I AM A STUDENT, I AM NOT RICH OR WELL OFF. *AK

NHTSA ID

10093004

Incident

Jun 1, 2004

Mileage

123,000 mi

WHILE DRIVEN AT 85 MPH VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE UNDER THE HOOD. PRIOR THE INCIDENT DEALERSHIP PROVIDE A GENERAL TUNE UP. THE INSURANCE COMPANY INDICATED TO CONSUMER THIS VEHICLE HAD RECALL ON TRANSMISSION, AND THAT WAS THE PROBLEM. *AK

NHTSA ID

10089921

Incident

Aug 27, 2004

WHILE DRIVING, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONSUMER PULLED OVER TO CHECK THE OWNER'S MANUAL. THE MANUAL STATED TO PULL OVER AND WAIT UNTIL THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE LIGHT GOES OFF AND TO PROCEED DRIVING. THE CONSUMER STARTED DRIVING AND THE TRANSMISSION ILLUMINATED AGAIN. THE CONSUMER MANAGED TO PULL OVER AGAIN. *JB THE ENGINE STARTED TO SMOKE AND THE CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AAMCO TRANSMISSION WHO DIAGNOSED THE TRANSMISSION AS BEING DAMAGED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. UPON COMPLETION OF THE TRANSMISSION, THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO EXPERIENCE ROUGH SHIFTING. *SC *JB

NHTSA ID

10044698

Incident

May 4, 2003

Mileage

73,000 mi

MY MONTERO HAS HAD SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS FROM DAY ONE WITH REPEATED/NUMEROUS VISITS TO SEVERAL MITSUBISHI DEALERSHIPS IN MY AREA. I HAVE HAD ALL OF THE SAME COMPLAINTS I HAVE READ FROM OTHER OWNERS AND AM VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT I BOUGHT THIS SPORT UTILITY AND HAVE SPENT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO REPAIR. THE MONTERO HAS HAD PULL TO THE RIGHT AS DESCRIBED, A VIBRATION WHEN DRIVING AT ANY SPEEDS, AND A HORRIBLE PERFORMANCE OF BRAKING THAT HAS ALMOST CAUSED SEVERAL ACCIDENTS THAT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN MY LIFE AND MY DAUGHTERS AND COUNTLESS OTHER FAMILIES. I HAVE A LIFETIME PURCHASE PLAN FOR ALIGNMENTS WHICH ARE PERFORMED ON A BI-WEEKLY BASIS AND I HAVE ALSO GONE THROUGH 4 SETS OF BRAKES. I HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED MY MONTERO TO JUST DIE, COMPLETELY SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC- DANGEROUS!! THEN AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES AND EVERYONE HONKING AND CURSING ME OUT IT STARTS AFTER I RESTART IT. ALSO, WITH THIS COMES A FIRE BURNING SMELL THAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY VARIOUS MECHANICS THAT I HAVE AN OIL LEAK IN MY ENGINE. I HAVE SINCE TAKEN THE MONTERO BACK AND THE DEALERSHIP HAS REPAIRED A MELTED GASKET IN THE ENGINE. I HAVE ALSO REPLACED ALL MY BELTS AND SPARKPLUGS. THE SUNROOF HAS HAD IT'S SHARE OF PROBLEMS OF LEAKING UNCONTROLALLABLY WHEN IT RAINS AND HERE IN FLORIDA IT HAS BEEN BETTER TO STAND IN THE RAIN THAN IN MY SUV. NOW MY FRONT READING LIGHTS UNDER MY REAR MIRROR IS LEAKING BUCKETS OF WATER AND THE DEALERSHIP WANTS TO CHARGE ME OVER $500.00 FOR A NEW SUNROOF AFTER I PAID OVER INVOICE FOR THIS LUXURY! ALL OF MY BRAKE LIGHTS IN THE REAR HAVE BLOWN OUT NUMEROUS TIMES TO HAVE TO REPLACE. THIS SUV IA THE MILLION DOLLAR MONEY PIT MISTAKE AND DO NOT RECCOMMEND ANYONE TO BUY! I'M SO GLAD THAT I AM NOT GOING CRAZY AND THAT OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME AND HOPE TO NOT EVER EXPERIENCE MY AIRBAGS NOT DEPLOYING IN AN A ACCIDENT! MITSUBISHI WILL HAVE A HUGE LAW SUIT!!

NHTSA ID

10040982

Incident

Sep 30, 2003

Mileage

9,000 mi

THE DRIVERSIDE WHEEL IS POPPING, DEALER FOUND NO PROBLEMS. (ATTORNEY FOR CLIENT) *YH

NHTSA ID

561848

Incident

Mar 1, 2001

TRANSMISSION IS NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY, AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO GAIN SPEED ,BUT ONLY AT LOWER SPEEDS. FROM TIME TO TIME VEHICLE WILL JUMP OUT OF GEAR. CONTACTED DEALER, AND THE DEALER HAS VEHICLE AT THE DEALERSHIP WAITING FOR PIECE TO COME IN.*AK

NHTSA ID

879570

Incident

Jul 1, 2000