general problems of the 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse

The contact owns a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse spyder. The contact stated that the vehicle was hesitant to start and exhibited an overpowering gasoline odor. When the vehicle was able to be started, it would sputter and stall sporadically. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the dealer could not determine what caused the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 120,000 and the current mileage was 127,000.

The service engine light was on and the codes show an evaporative emissions leak. Several service visits did not resolve the problem. Finally it was found that the fuel filler tube was totally rusted out and close to falling off. Apparently this is a fairly common problem with the 2001 Eclipse and was causing fule leakage as well as vapor leakage. This could have caused a fire or resulted in the vehicle being disabled. The mechanic said he had never seen a fuel filler tube in such bad shape. Mitsubishi dealer stated they didnt want to deal with the issue due to the high repair cost.

I had to replace a rotted gas filler neck on my 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse gt. The mechanic told me it was a poorly designed part and should not have rotted. I have had many cars and never heard of anything like this before. Mitsubishi should be made to have a recall for this defective part.

Idle air controller failed.

Engine is missing. Gas is not circulating throughout engine. Engine check light illuminates on and off. Dealer can't find cause. Consumer adds engine not producing enough power. Also experiencing poor gas mileage.

Consumer states there is black smoke during start, dealer did not remedy problem, vehicle is sluggish and gets poor gas mileage, vehicle was shuddering at idle and dealer replaced the air box, there was a hissing noise caused by the heat shield on the catalytic converter.