Three problems related to engine exhaust system have been reported for the 1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
On January 14 I took my car to punte hills Mitsubishi for a recall on the lower control arms. Since I was there I asked them to inspect my car for anything that needed to be replaced. At this point they recommended the timing and balancer belts, tensioners, left tie rod, and a broken air valve which I did at a cost of $736. 52. Upon receiving my car I heard a chirping noise coming from the engine which they told me was the timing belt was new and needed to be broken in, which I took their word for. Within the following month the chirping became louder and louder to the point I called and requested they look at it again. On the way to the dealer my car just stopped in the middle of the street almost causing an accident . After lifting the hood I noticed the timing belt cover split open on the top revealing the timing belt was not on properly. After towing my car to the dealer a quick inspection concluded that my crank pulley has "walked" into the timing belt cover burning a hole through it causing the disassembling of the timing unit and major damage to the heads, pistons, etc. . . I asked the mechanic why when I brought my car in just a little more than a month ago they didn't let me know my crank pulley had such significant wear. His response was that there is no way to tell a crank pulley is going bad. I did research of my own and found out this is happening to most eclilpse, all years and that there is a way to tell if the crank pulley is going bad by measuring the amount of movement side to side making sure it meet the manufacturer requirements. Obviously the crank pulley had very significant wear seeing that the pulley came apart. I did research on this matter and found out Mitsubishi knows these parts are defected but covers most of them under warranty so it brings down the numbers. I feel the repairs should be covered and would like to open and investigation on "crankpulley/shaft walking" hopefully leading to a recall. Thank you.
Maintained regular oil changes and was notified that I had an oil leak in my engine. I saved enough money to have the head gasket replaced to fix the oil leak. The head gasket was replaced (new) in March of 2000. 4 months later my car started to smoke from the exhaust when standing still in traffic. I contacted the dealership about the problem because I thought that this was due to the work that they did. I was then informed that I need my value guides replaced. I was going to have this work done until I was informed that in order to replace the value guides in the engine, I must purchase another new head gasket. I asked why this was not inspected at the time that the head gasket was replaced. My answer was that I did not ask them to check the value guides. If this would of been corrected at this time, I would not be spending tons of money on oil for my vehicle. Since 2000, I check the oil in my car every other day and add oil to the engine. This has been a major problem for me. I do not have another $1000 plus to fix this. I've spoke with other friends and people who own the same type of vehicle and they as well have problems with their leaking head gasket and value guides, making the car smoke.
Car was idling at a very low rpm. I had the car serviced and was still idling very low. When coming to a stop, the car wanted to stall. Meaning the rpms dropped to zero and then the idle jumped extremely high for a few seconds. A few days later the car started to stall when stopping or going around turns at a very slow speed. I took the car to a dealership to have them hook the car up to a diagnostic machine. Nothing registered on the machine. Car did not stall for the dealer, but did stall for me every time after leaving the dealership or mechanics garage. I then paid more attention to when the car would stall. It would only stall or shut off during the very cold winters and every time it rained. . . . After two days or so after a rain, the car seemed to dry out and run fine. I later was told that the throttle bottle needs to be cleaned out. I had this done and the car improved. I have to clean the carb out of the car after we have rainy days. I was paying about $60 for a mechanic to do this for me. I would only resort to a mechanic after I cant deal with pressing the brake and gas pedal at the same time when stopping or turning at a slow rate of speed. So today 7-25-04, I went to the local auto parts store and bough carb cleaner and sprayed about 1/4 of the can and cleaned out what I could reach of the gum and build-up in the carb. At first the car does not want to start but then after pressing the gas pedal a few times, tons of white smoke poor out of the exhaust. Then the car ideals much better than before, meaning I don't have to press both the brake and gas at the same time. I was told about a year ago, that this problem is caused by something that deals with the throttle body. I do not have $300 + to fix this, but I do have 1/2 hour a couple times a month to clean the carb out of my car. This is the biggest complait besides, my rotors, that I have with my car. The car is not enjoyable anymore.