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| Most common problems with 2000 + Eclipses. |
October 26, 2007 |
Most common problems with 2000+ Eclipse:
- Front brake rotors become warped and cause steering wheel pulsation when brake is applied at freeway and at lower speeds. This is very often the case, on my car it happened from the factory, so I assume that poor quality parts are to blame here. Rotors must be resurfaced in order to eliminate this problem, but if rotors are faulty pulsation is going to come back after ~10000 miles.
- Shifting problems with 5 speed manual transmissions are very often seen on GT models. I was also lucky to run into it and even had my clutch replaced and later transmission rebuilt. For some reason shifting into second gear on some GT cars requires a lot of effort, specially when car is cold. I was told by an ASE certified technician that this issue is transmission design flaw, because blocking rings, which are supposed to slow down gears before the up shift are not doing their job well, maybe because Mitsubishi makes them out of paper, unlike other manufacturers that tend to use more expensive material. As a result excessive wear of synchronizers leads to very expensive transmission rebuild. Sometimes rough shifting can be partially avoided by adjusting clutch pedal to push deeper. See Tips to make your Eclipse perform properly and last longer on how to adjust your clutch pedal.
- Clutch vibration on takeoff. My first clutch assembly had this problem already when I bought my car and I heard other Eclipse online club members complain about having the same problem. There is no easy fix for it, most likely your flywheel is warped and has to be resurfaced, or replaced, but it might also be the pressure plate of the clutch. In any case transmission has to come out and the sooner you notify Mitsubishi dealership of this problem the greater chance that they will cover it under warranty.
- So called: "Throw Out Bearing rattle" problem is very common and even though it is not the Throw-Out-Bearing that rattles, but the clutch disk it does make driving annoying. Ticking noise will be heard from the driver's front wheel well when car idles and it would go away, or change tone when clutch pedal is depressed. Cause of this problem is the clutch disk springs, they tend to loosen up and rattle. Eventually this might lead to the clutch failure. Curing this problem is especially difficult since dealerships tend to treat clutch components as "wear and tear" item and try to charge clients for servicing those. There is another type clutch disk available from Mitsubishi, this one is quiet and supposedly fixes the problem, but Mitsubishi dealership services and regional service managers tend to keep it under wraps to keep the cost down and avoid expensive warranty repair.
NOTE: Service Bulletin 8121 has just been issues by Mitsubishi, so if you have slight rattling noise from transmission side of your engine bay, please stop by and have your car serviced by your local Mitsubishi dealer.
- Bent rims, this is very well known issue among second and third generation Eclipse owners. Please see our Links to read more about it. Some 2000+ Eclipses came with so called GSX style rims that bend and crack so easily that you don't even have to hit them much, or even damage your tire before the rim bends. Please see attached picture for a typical example of classic 10 spoke GSX rim all bent up, but the original tire is in good shape.
- Many people complained to Mitsubishi and tried to get those rims replaced under warranty, but very few got lucky. Most of the time the answer is, ‘it is your fault’. If you follow my links you will see that many Eclipse owners are participating in class action law suit to get this issue resolved: Poor quality rims were also an issue with 95-99 Eclipse, but apparently Mitsubishi learned nothing: http://www.rbdesigns.net/mitsubishi/
- Power sunroof failures are rather common, sunroof starts to stick and after while locks in closed position, or needs help to move forward and back. Dealerships keep replacing rail guides, but after while sticking comes back.
- Rust, this is probably the most upsetting problem with Eclipses. If you live in any state where salt is used, even occasionally like in our state your car is bound to rust very quickly. Just like on pictures on my Eclipse, or another white one in Complaints, rust starts developing from inside the seams and around spot welds. The reason for it is very poor rust proofing, or merely absence of such on the top of poor body assembly. If you look at this picture you will see that wheel wells have holes that were not sealed with the sealer during the body assembly, on my car there is no sealer in those seams at all, so water and gets blown through those openings from the wheel well right into the engine bay and causes rust to form almost immediately, on a brand new car.
Please see Tips to make your Eclipse perform properly and last longer on how to rust proof your car. Rust starts coming from inside the seams and therefore is not repairable, it can only be temporarily stopped until it comes out again. This is picture of rust forming on my garage kept, 16 months old Eclipse and I do not live in Chicago. Please see other rust stories in Opinions..
- Dashboard and interior rattles are very common, I too have a few gerbils living under my dashboard, recently I think at least one cricket got under my panels as well. Even though this problem does not affect drivability of the vehicle, it does make owning it very disappointing.
- Struts can go out at very low mileage I heard few complaints myself from other Eclipse owners. My right front strut has some oily fluid on the outside of it, but it still functions properly, so until it leaks out and my car get bouncy I can’t complain.
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