Windshield problems of the 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer

My 2002 Lancers temperature control knob broke this morning while I was trying to engage the heat portion of the temprature gage to defrost my windshield. I did a little research on how to fix the problem on the internet and discovered that this a common issue with the Lancer. If this is such a common issue, Mitsubishi should be held accountable and issue an immediate recall on the system to fix it. Now I have no heat in the winter and the dealer wants $1000+ to fix the system that was never engineered properly.

The hvac control unit in my 02 Mitsubishi Lancer has a mechanical flaw starting with the heat /ac knobs. The vacuum line behind the knob is too weak to activate the heater core lever and defrost controls making it very difficult to see when driving. The system as a whole needs to be replaced by Mitsubishi as I have read there are a lot of complaints in forums around the web. The defrost on the front windshield doesn't work because of these controls and visibility is really poor during fall and winter months and this is something I cant fix myself and I am posting to help other Lancer drivers as well as it is a persistent underlying problem.