Tim, if you still have the factory exhaust why not just put it back on, take it to a new dealership and get the problem resolved before they blacklist you as indicated by Jason?

The last thing you want is to have ALL your warranty work voided from something so stupid (on their part).

I'll look into any outstanding TSB's or recalls. I have full access to them at work, so I'll check it out for you.

I think going to ANOTHER dealership will probably be your best bet after you rectify the exhaust so there isn't any issues when you take it in.

Would you really want to take it back to the same dealership after so much hassle? What kind of quality repair are you going to get after leaving a bad taste in their mouth.

I really don't understand why they are giving you such a hard time, if it's warranty work, won't the dealership get their money one way or another??

The main issue i have is i do not have any service records anyways. So that was their first cop out. I was considering replacing just the cat and trying elsewhere but they told me that they already reported to the Mitsu head office. They said that it was his responsibility and he had to. what a douche!

So Ziggy, i am not sure what you were getting to? Are you saying that would not help me?

I am saying that if the program still works the way it did when it first started, I would not trust it personally.

If the previous owner is a licensed mechanic, can you get some sort of letter from him stating that he is a licensed mechanic and performed all the necessary maintenance? I would think they would have a hard time arguing with that, no?

I was told a long time ago (by a Honda salesman, so not sure how much truth there is to it), that most dealerships don't like to do warranty work because there is no profit in it. The company replaces parts the dealership used, and pays a small hourly rate to cover costs. He told me back then that Honda was the only company that paid their dealers full retail value of warranty repairs. Again, not sure about the truth of it, but I DID find that Honda was AMAZING for honouring their warranty. Ford, on the other hand, was the exact opposite!

I am sure that is not what you want to read on a DSM board, but that was my personal experience.

Mazda was good as well. My transmission went and they didn't ago me for anything. Just fixed it

Ago=ask

Tim, there is only three recalls for the 08 Lancer Evolution.

(1) Service brakes, air; supply; check valve
(2) Fuel system, other; delivery
(3) Air bags, frontal: Senso/Control module

There is, however, 162 TSBs...

Thanks Jay. They told me there was also an update for the ECU but they wanted me to pay for it.

It's a TSB, but not a formal recall.

162 TSBs?!?!?!?!

I thought I said something about these cars stretching the timing chain and needed motor replacments at 50k..... some time ago.....

Seems like your just going to get the run around. Find out how much the thing is going to cost to fix yourself, and make a judgement from there.

400 in parts. 800 labor. Not sure I can do a chain. Besides I paid $3000 for a warranty. It is the principle of it. If they won't honor the warranty give me my money back. What good is a warranty if it won't cover anything!

They tried to call the chain a wear item like a clutch. I checked the manual. There is no service interval for it similar to a timing belt where the recommend u change it after 120 k or so.

That's not too bad. I'd just pay the $1200 at this point, get the car fixed and enjoy it. I know how these dealers are, there not gonna do anything and will just piss you off even more.

Or just drive it till the new warranty is covered and try then. You will get the run around again, that is just the way these business's operate. At that point you might even wish you paid the $1200 to get it fixed right from the get go.

There is a link in the chan that stretches and throws the code. I don't know what the solution really is, but at Markham Mitsu last year, they had 4 evo's in the back getting motor replacements under warrantly at around 50k because of the same issue. Well at least that's what the service manager told me. Whether they got new motors or were fixed properly, I am not 100% sure.

Go after Coverage one to cover it. That's your warr you paid for and they would have to deny which should give you grounds to go after your money back if that's the path you wish to travel. It sucks I see it everyday.
Ziggy the dealerships do typically get hosed on warr work. There are different job book times some vary to such an extent that the service tech loses money doing the job. There are the Mitchell numbers and then they set up a vehicle in a lab and every tool needed laid out and see how fast it can be done. There are very few techs that I know that make money on warr unless they make special tools and or cut corners (both happen)

Will it sucks that the customers suffer because of it. I have been driving for 20 years and had many different cars from Mazda to Honda and never once had this experience! Never even asked for service records. I guess that is why mitsu can offer 10 year warranties. They don't honor them any ways. I have never been treated like this by any dealer. Treated like it was my fault.

I have the 10 year, 200000km warranty through Mitsu that I paid a lil extra for and now this makes me worry that if I ever need to claim anything it'll get denied. I know Eric had a claim for his tranny in his rally art and that ended well.

I know you arent allowed to mod cars as it does void the warranty but a better flowing exhaust is really pushing it. Are they going to void my warranty if I put a K&N in my car? They better not, they'll never hear the end of it.

I am on the Evo forums and a guy was denied for having a k&n drop in filter

We only void warr on parts directly Related ie I have a customer with 2.5 wheel spacers so I had to inform him that we would no longer offer him warr on his wheel bearings. We did give him a set before cutting him off.
It's a shame that things went this way. I see a lot of bullshit go down at dealerships. I also see a lot of goodwill given out to people so do and don't deserve it. Often we will go goodwill to settle out a unhappy client they pay labour we cover parts and yes they come out of a fund we are allotted. It's not just a cash grab.
Still try another shop before you finalize things. See if he indeed put the info onto mitsu system.

well i dont want to have to tow the car to a place to do the exhaust then tow it to the dealer. I can understand if the cat could have caused the issue. That would make sense. Like i slapped on a garrett gt35 turbo and blew my motor. Makes sense.

But the cat causing a chain to stretch is BS! They really didnt take the time to investigate. I said to him that if he opened it up and they could show me that it failed due to neglect or abuse and i would gladly pay.

I also asked when i bought my car if i would install an exhaust or intake. They said the 3rd party vendor did not care. Wish i knew that i still had to deal with Mitsu.

Mitsu also said that because i could not show any service records my warranty is void anyways. I bought the car used!

Tim that sucks! You'd figure an exhaust wouldn't even be considered for something like that. That's like saying your engine blew because you changed your valve cover color.

Only thing I could understand is that usually in the event of mods a majority (not saying you) of the people will be thrashing the car because they modded it for that reason. They should not put this on every driver, however, specially when the car is used. But, how many police officers make the distinction between the driver and the sports car in a sea of normal/family cars? Stereotyping is bad for many reasons. Then again I have yet to find a dealership that doesn't overcharge/lie to people who don't know anything about cars or try to cop out on warranties.

That's what you get when greed becomes people's motivation instead of happy customers and long lasting company-public relationship.

Well that brings me to the next point! I bought an Evo! I did not buy a na lancer. I bought a SPORTS car.

that is like saying that the porche owner will never drive fast. This is a damn rally car. You are telling me it can not handle a little spirited driving? How fast can i possibly go without being arrested.

Make a more solid product. They appear to have released a revised timing chain. That tells me that they are aware there was a problem and have made an effort to resolve it.

Yup totally understandable. Like anything else though, people tend to try to get out of anything that involves them taking responsibility. There are two sides to that because you have people who abuse the system and use insurance/warranty as their parts replacement store after they break stuff (due to their own fault) and people who actually have issues with the car because of the way it's built. There's always someone to make it a pain for others.

This in turn makes the manufacturers have to become strict on what/when/why you can have a warranty. Manufacture defects would help your case (chain), but how many times will you see a car manufacturer admit to a fault easily. It takes time/court/licensed organizations for them to even begin admitting it so imagine if you're only the little customer and the recall isn't official (Per Jay's post).

How about getting a written evaluation of the car damage by another shop (not necessarily Mitsu) stating it's a fault in the chain which has nothing to do with the exhaust? Don't get them to repair it, but just make a professional evaluation of the damage and it's cause. At least that gives you a legal basis on which to prove that the exhaust shouldn't be considered in the matter.

I'm no professional, just a thought.

Did they give you a parts list?

Did they include all the sprockets?

I don't think the onus should be on Tim to prove why the chain is faulty, I think Mitsubishi should prove the aftermarket cat caused the problem!

Of course, this would only happen in a perfect world!

I think if Tim were to let another shop dive into the motor to figure out the issue, you might as well just pay to have the chain fixed and be done with it.

Similar dealer story I heard with rotary engine in Mazda RX8 and hybrid battery in Honda Civic. Based on my experience....if there is a common expensive problem dealers will do their best to save money by denying it until there is a recall. Early defective cars will get fixed without a fight but as more of them come the harder it will get. Just my 0.02 cents.

no they spent more time telling me why they couldnt help me then to actually look at the issue. No work was done. They said for $400 they could open it up and look at it but if the chain is stretched then its not covered anyways so i would be throwing away my money and have to pay anyways

Did buy it from a private seller or used car dealer?

used dealer with extened warranty

so how do you know a tech owned it before?

Funny you mention this.

My buddy had an '08 M3 coupe that he bought brand new. Not only did the dealership not care about performance mods/etc., but when he went for service they would ask him what track he was planning on going to and would set the car up based on the specific track. Yes, they ASKED him if they could set up his car for the track...warranty claims were never an issue.

Fast forward to last Fall, he sold the M3 and bought a barely used (~10k) STi Sedan from a Subaru dealership. Turbo goes - they replace it but don't do a proper job and leave the lines loose...coolant and oil everywhere. Not to mention they gave it back to him and said 'sorry, but it won't make boost and we don't know why. All he did was reset the ECU and it worked fine.
A few weeks later - engine starts going...he takes it in and gets a call the next day saying that he's not covered because under the dash they found a wire harness for a Subaru aftermarket boost gauge (in the US it is a dealer-installed option - all Subaru parts). The car was completely stock otherwise and there was no gauge actually installed. The car had ~12k on it at this point.

He called Subaru Canada, the BBB, etc., etc. to no avail. He was considering litigation but decided to say 'screw it' and is doing a fully built engine, aiming for ~500-600hp.

I guess my point is to say, at Mitsubishi and Subaru, the Evo and STi (respectively) are 'the rarity'. Their bread and butter are the cheaper cars - lancer/impreza/outlander/forrester/etc. - or at the very least, not high performance vehicles. Whereas at a BMW dealership an M3, although expensive, is not anywhere near their most expensive car (although it ain't cheap) yet they still provide you with over-the-top service. They sell the M3 (and the M cars in general) as high performance track beasts - just like Subaru and Mitsubishi - but they actually back it up with the service one expects. This applies to Mercedes/Porsche/Audi/etc. as well.Why do you think they're getting rid of the Evo? It's not a market they care about.

See thats my point! I was stuck between getting an Audi/BMW or another Mitsubishi. I love the look of the Evo and on the first drive i was hooked. I asked the used car place about after market parts at the time. I informed them that i was just planning simple things like intake/exhaust. They said to me that how does the 3rd party vendor know what parts were on the car when i bought it? So he went on to say it was fine.

I will never buy another Mitsu! My buddy also has a m3 and never has any issues with warranty. BMW stands behind its products. You can also buy an exhaust/cat back right at the dealer. They would never claim it broke the car.

I will call other dealerships and see what their stance is on cat/exhaust. Maybe find a friendly dealer.

Tim,
I would take it to Mitsubishi Canada. The office is on Matheson east of Dixie.
I've gone to 401 dixie dealer and they're pretty good. I've got an intake and my car is lowered and I've never had issues with them. If they're giving you the run around, I'd take it to the next level as they're image being tarnished isn't work a few thousand $$.

Good luck.

For the record for anyone that wants to know what dealer it was it was Erin Mills Mitsu. I would not as much as buy a oil filter from them.

Keep in mind too that the dealerships are franchise operations, all owned by different people. They are not owned by Mitsubishi themselves. Those owners are of course trying to increase their "bottom line". If you find one that places more value on customer satisfaction, you MIGHT have some success.

Thanks Ziggy. I am going to drive to the Dixie Mitsu at my lunch and talk with someone. See how far i get. I can not afford to drag this out too long as i need my car.

This is horrible.

Also, are you speaking directly to sales or the service department?

My experience with Sherway Nissan was horrible a few years ago.

My seatbelt came right off the pillar and the salesman told me "I told you, you should've gotten the extended warranty."

I almost ripped his head off.

Why do they have to be so damn difficult?

I really hope you get this resolved Tim, it's just plain unfair.

It's not like you're trying to exchange a defective electronic device at Futureshop or something, cars are a big expense and they should properly warranty these types of problems and be reasonable about it.

It's like some insurance companies refusing to insure your car if you have changed the wheels. What the hell!?

>:(

I might have found some usefull info:

In the states you have something called the Lemon law or the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act.

In Canada we have something similar to small claims court for auto companies:

http://www.camvap.ca/eng/consumers_guide.htm

CAMVAP is an "arbitration" program that can help you resolve disputes with an automobile manufacturer. These disputes can be about defects that you allege in the manufacture of your vehicle or how the manufacturer is implementing its new vehicle warranty. Most domestic and imported passenger cars, light trucks, sport utility vehicles, vans and multi-purpose passenger vehicles that are purchased or leased in Canada are covered by CAMVAP. The vehicle must be from the current or the previous four (4) model years. A list of all manufacturers that participate in CAMVAP and their contact telephone numbers is at the back of this booklet.

http://www.camvap.ca/eng/media_mitsubishi_09_06_06_eng.htm

As stated before, Mitsubishi is not a member.