Clutch Problems of Mitsubishi Lancer - part 2

I have owned the car for 4 months and have about 6500 miles on the odomoter. The clutch has started slipping when the turbo kicks in. The problem is getting progressively worse. I have notified my local dealer who acknologes the car needs a clutch, but claims this is a wear item and isn't covered under warranty. They also implied driver abuse. This car is my daily driver, I do not race it or drive it above its intended use. I have even offered to supply a quality aftermarket clutch and have the dealer simply provide the labor, they were not agreeable to this at this point.

See all problems of the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer 🔎.

Clutch failure after 2778 miles of driving a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer evolution viii. Purchased new vehicle (used broker jim estrada autobroker 602-683-2120) from mark Mitsubishi with 1586 miles. After driving 1192 addtional miles the clutch started slipping. Returned car to mark Mitsubishi to find that clutch problem is not covered by auto warranty. After researching NHTSA website I found 13 similar failures of clutch problems with same result with dealers. There are now 30 reported incidents. I tried to have problem repaired under warranty but was told it was my problem. While negotiating repair my daughter was told by salesperson he knew of clutch problems with this model car. I was also told by this same salesperson that they had problems. His reply when asked why buyer is not informed was that I should do my homework. I do not think a new car should have a problem at 2778 miles of driving. Mitsubishi had troubles with their truck clutches sending one of their excutives to jail in japan. I had to pay $889. 89 to have clutch replaced.

Clutch failure.

Powertrain: clutch assembly.

The vehicle was taken to the dealer because the consumer thought there was a transmission problem. Upon further examination the dealer found that the clutch needed to be replaced.

On June 1st the clutch failed completely it was composed of the clutch slipping and then exploding. This car was not abused and from the 3rd day I bought the car the clutch was slipping. I tried to get the factory to do somthing about it then but had no luck. I was told I was going to have to pay for it out of pocket. I ended up paying for the clutch replacement out of pocket anyway now they are threatening to void my warranty because I didnt replace it with their stock replacement! after the clutch replacement the transfer case and transmission is giving me troubles after only 700 miles. The dealer that I had the clutch repair done then refered me to another dealer to have the car fixed. It has developed a high pitched whine that starts about 40mph it sounds like a wwii bomb shelter warning siren. This has been a miserable experience!.

The clutch is shuttering / chattering when pulling from a stop in 1st and more so in reverse. This started happening mildly when new and is now much worse at 7000 miles. In reverse the shaking and shuttering is often so bad I must push the clutch back in and start over. This happens on a daily basis.

2003 Mitsubishi evolution clutch defective at 5500 miles. Also 3rd gear syncho is gone. Very weak clutch.

I have had problems with the clutch on this vehicle. I have only 7,000 miles on the vehicle. 5th gear synchros went bad. This is not acceptable. The dealership specifically advised they have had numerous complaints about this, and it should be recognized.

Premature clutch wear and failure. On my vehicle, a Mitsubishi Lancer evolution viii, the clutch started slipping at 5700 miles from purchase. The clutch failure occured from normal usage, and this behavior has been exhibited in other evolutions as well. This is unacceptable from a safety standpoint as it can lead to the vehicle becoming inoperable.

The clutch on my 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer evolution viii went out after only 3000 miles. Mitsubishi refused to replace it under warranty saying it was due to customer abuse. When asked to cite a reference to suggest customer abuse they simply said that the clutch had gone out. After talking to many people on internet forums about their evolutions it would appear this is an extremely common problem, and Mitsubishi has made every person pay out of pocket for the repairs.

I purchased a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer evolution 8 from antwerpen Mitsubishi in randallstown,MD and I could not have asked fo a better buying expierence,that is untill my clutch started to slip. . . . I bought it only 3 months ago w/183 miles on it(even though the contract said it had 83 miles on it)and at about 2200 miles my clutch started to slip so I took it to the dealership . I fought with the service manager for days and they just denied the claim stateing that I would have to pay 350. 00 to have the clutch inspected to even see if it could be warrented but according to the service manager it was more then likely due to abuse and it would not be coverd I am not going to sit here and let Mitsubishi steal from us I believe they put a cheap clutch in the car to lower the cost of production to keep the price of the car down something must be done about this so now I am forced to pay over $1000. 00 to have a real clutch put in so if you other evo owners out there feel like I do contact a lawyer like I am going to to ASAP!!!.

Clutch failure at right around 10,000 miles.

I own a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer evolution with 10,500 miles. The clutch appears to have prematurely worn out as engagement is very rough and causes the car to jump and lurch from a stand still. Coming from a start in first gear is the primary problem. This "clutch shutter/chatter" is very common in the evo viii community and should be addressed. The dealer tells me it is due to a worn clutch plate and is a "wear item" and thus not covered under warranty. The car has not been driven aggressively let alone abused. From the info I gather many evo viii owners are experiencing the same syptoms with even less mileage than mine. This definetely should be cause for a recall!!!! thanks .

My clutch just goes out at 2k and Mitsubishi doesn't want to replace it because they say its burn.

Premature clutch wear on new vehicle. Experiencing clutch slippage at 3000 miles. This problem has been noted by many other drivers of the same vehicle. The manufacturer (Mitsubishi) has not equipped the vehicle with a strong enough clutch.

The clutch wore out prematurely while driving between 45-55 mph. Vehicle was taken to a dealership, who indicated that the clutch needed to be replaced. This was a common problem with these vehicle.

I had bought my car brand new on January 10th, 2004 with about 300 miles on the car already from the day I bought it from fred beans Mitsubishi. Since then I have not been hard on my car at all. But about 2,500 miles on the car, my clutch started to stick and I felt that something was wrong. I reported it to Mitsubishi and I was told that it was a normal thing these car's do. On March 6th 2004 I was driving normally down the boulevard, when out of nowhere when I am starting to pull away in my car, the clutch sticks down all the way and would not release back. I had to scoop my foot under it and manually pull it back. I barely got it home before the clutch totally died on me. I took it to Mitsubishi that following weekend and they told me that they will not cover the clutch because they say all of us youngsters abuse cars and that we will not warranty the part. So I had to go and spend nearly $800 to buy a new clutch and have it installed. I don't feel that I was treated right and for the car to have a clutch go that fast, it must of been a defect. But they just wanted my money.

Clutch failure at 7,000 miles. Dealer won't pay for repair, I had to pay $1350. 00 plus $350 rental car. Car was not abused , raced or modified. I have read many complaints on various websites that people have submitted.

I have a Mitsubishi Lancer evolution 8, purchased in may 2003. I have 12000 miles on the car and I am now getting slippage when accelerating the car. I did not abuse this car, I did not race this car in any way. It is a daily driven car for approx 10 miles a day. I called the dealership and they told me the clutch was warranted for 1000 miles and no more. I talked to an employee at the dealership who told me that there are a lot of owners coming forward with clutch issues, and Mitsubishi was not servicing any of them. I am displeased that the clutch would go out at 12,000 miles under daily driving.

Failure of clutch at around 6,000 miles on a 03' Mitsubishi Lancer evolution. Mitsunishi claims under warranty that it is covered up to 12,000 miles or 12 months. They wouldn't even look at the clutch or check to see if it was under warranty. I communicated with the head of service shop and he communicated that Mitsubishi motors had stated they would not cover problem. After numerous phone calls I didn't recieve any help and was forced to replace bad part myself for over $2000 w/labor. I have seen this in numerous evolutions with them even going out under 1000 miles. Out of 6 friends that own the same car 5 have had to replace clutch and all under 7000 miles.

Clutch starting slipping at 10000 miles, car is not modified or abused in any way. Way to early for a vehicle to have such major problems. Waiting to see what service will do.

Clutch started slipping after 4800 miles, had my clutch replaced, $1125.

Clutch defective, went out at 9000 miles, had to replace with my own money as dealership said that they will not honor warrenty on my car, but provided no proof or reason why.

Mitsubishi Lancer evolution clutch has been making loud squeeling noises since 4000 miles. It now has 8300 miles on it and is getting worse. The other day I went to start the vehicle, (clutch fully depressed and in 1st gear) and the car lurched forward about 6 inches before the clutch disengaged!.

At 1000 miles the clutch in my 03 Lancer evo began to slip occasionally. I brought this to the attention of the Mitsubishi service department and they explained that they could not help me unless the problem could be recreated. At 3000 miles the transmission began to grind into 5th gear occasionally. Again I was told not to bring it in until it could be recreated. At 4000 miles I was able to recreate the condition. Mitsubishi agreed to repairing the transmission under the terms of the warranty. A convenience inspection of the clutch was also performed at this time. The initial response from Mitsubishi was that they were not going to repair the clutch even though it showed signs of slippage, and they attributed it to abuse. The claim was unfounded and eventually reversed by the district parts representative for Mitsubishi and the repairs were covered under warranty. My concern is that without my diligence my claim would not have been resolved and more importantly had I not convinced them to perform the inspection the inevitable failure of the clutch may have manifested itself in such a manner to cause a serious accident. The failure rates for the drivetrain of this vehicle seem very suspect to me and may warrant an independent investigation into the reliability of those components. These items should not fail so early in their service life or with such frequency unless there was a mechanical defect that required a recall. I am also suspicious that the service departments seem to have received instructions to dismiss claims regarding warranty drivetrain repairs. I was warned numerous times throughout the service that if any sign of abuse was present my warranty would be voided and all the charges associated with the inspection and repair would be my responsibility. This felt more like a tactic to deter or scare me into continuing to drive a vehicle that was potentially dangerous.

I have a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer evolution bought it brand new and my clutch had to be replaced at 3000 miles costing nearly 1500 dollars and would not be covered under warranty by Mitsubishi. It was replaced with a aftermarket clutch I have had no problem with as of yet and it has 17000 miles on it.

I purchased the vehicle brand new with 26 miles. 6 months later and 17000 miles the clutch slipping and not ingauging. It was so bad that the car would not even move. The rpm would just raise, even all the way up to 6500 in first gear with the car not responding. The Mitsubishi dealer ship here in town would not even want to cover it or touch it.

My Mitsubishi evolution 8 clutch stopped working at approx. 12,000 miles. I took my car to my dealer and I was denied a warranty claim. I never done it hard or even took it to a race track.

Clutch failed at 10k000 miles. Car was never raced or abused. Cost of repair $1600. Ot covered under new car warrenty even though it is listed as a coverable item in the warrenty book. Dealer denied any problem upon initial inspection. Car was driven an approx 300 miles b4 problem became unbearable and dealer agreed that there was an actual problem.

When my Mitsubishi evolution viii had 3,600 miles on it, the clutch began slipping -- this occurred while driving 45 miles per hour in traffic. I was able to drive to dealer. The dealer said the clutch was a "wear item," and refused to replace it.

The clutch failed in the first 8500 miles of operation. The failure was sudden and occurred while trying to pass on a 2 lane road. While driving 55 mph, the car failed to accelerate.

Under the first few weeks of ownership of my 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer evolution, my clutch began to slip. I immediately notified my dealer and went in to have it inspected. I spoke directly with the district manager but before any questions he assumed I had abused the vehicle and said they would only check for problems if I paid to the cost of a teardown before anything. I explained that I was still in the "break-in" period and driving very carefully. He did not care and said many people abuse this car, so he still would not try to understand. Furthermore, while being at the dealer for other problems, someone had taken my car for 20 miles without any explaination. I let him know about this and he still insisted that I was abusing the clutch and would only allow an inspection if I paid the labor for a teardown first. Basically, the district manager of Mitsubishi was unreasonable and would not listen to my concerns.

2 months ago approx. I purchased a mitsubshi evolution viii. Recently the clutch failed causing great inconvenience and possible safety risk. The vehicle left me stranded on the highway at night. The clutch failed quickly and without warning. It was not possible to take the vehicle out of gear, which is very dangerous. After brief research I found that many customers are having the same problems, as high as 35 percent. Eventually this will cause an injury. The dealer would not repair the vehicle and had no help for me, aside from the free tow. The cost of repair was only 550. 00 from an independent service facility. Mitsubshi informed me that this repair was not acceptable and would void the drivetrain warranty. The dealers quote was 950. 00. Thank you for your time and consideration. I thank a recall may be in order, even if mitsubshi was willing to repair the clutches for free, they do not have an adequate updated repair or part.

In August, 2003, my 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer evolution viii clutch failed with only 5000 miles on it. Dealer denied warranty coverage as "wear item". Arbitration failed to produce a favorable result, although service writer stated "it does not look like abuse" and afadavit from ase master mechanic stated that there appeared to be no abuse involved.