Problems with 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mitsubishi diamante. the contact stated that while driving at 75 mph, the contact attempted to brake but the brakes failed to respond without any warnings. the vehicle crashed into a passenger van. the vehicle was destroyed. the contact mentioned that two months prior to the failure the check engine light had illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis and was informed that the vehicle misfires, needed spark plugs, a fuel pump, a fuel injector, an egr valve, and the engine surged erratically. the failure and current mileage was 140,000. updated 12/06/12*lj updated 12/6/2012 *js

The heater core is an extremely dangerous problem. the windows in the car fog up so bad i couldnt drive the car...had to pull over and wipe the windows down. but the thing is...i didnt know what the problems was...until i realized the windows werent just being fogged by the cold, ect it was a toxic mist from a heater core problem...i pulled over 2 times because i got sick...i noticed a mist coming out of the vents....so all in all i called mitsubishi and they refuse to do anything about this.this heater core problem can lead to accidents, sickness, and othe expensive problems in the car! the fumes are extremely toxic!!! there are 1000's of complaints and blogs about this problem...i'm sure there are 100,000+ complaints abpout this problem. and mitsubishi refuses to help or do anything about this. i told them, is this gonna take a fatal accident for them to do something?" they replied, "im not answering that!" i told them that they should have recalled this problem. they replied, "sorry but your warranty is up we can't do nothing about it." this heater core problems leads to faulty transmission problems, electrical problems, hazerdous problems, sickness, interior of the car can be ruined because anitfreeze leaks through the dash board...where mitsubishi placed the heater core. made no sense to place a heater core above the electrical component of the transmission. they really messed up here and will not do anything about this. i think that the media should get involved because they probably wont do anything about if someone doesnt speak up! *tr

I have a 2002 mitsubishi diamante with less than 100,000 miles and already i need to replace the heater coil. i guess this is on going problem with mitsubishi. *tr

Heater core is leaking car only has 82,000k on the dash. as i have gone through various car forums and have come to realize this is a very common problem. *tr

I own a 2002 mitsubishi diamante car, i bought this car in 02 since the 1st day i bought the car there was problems. the computer in the car went crazy my check engine light,,cruise control,anti lock brake, tcl light all started flashing . i took the car back to the dealer & they replaced the computer but it didn't work they put 3 computers in since then, these lights are still on till this day. in 06 my trans blew i took the car back to the dealer they replaced my trans the car still doesn't ride right. my a/c turns on but nothing comes out sometimes. in the winter the inside of my car becomes a fog all over my windows and it wont stop fogging up. a smell is coming out of my vents like a coffee smell & im inhaling this smell whenever im in the car i have to go to a doctor to get checked out to see if i have health issues .my sun roof leaks when it rains,i took my car back to the dealer to have all these issues fixed but they never did i purchased the car in 02 the warranty lasted 02-05 b/c that is when my warranty expired. when i call they tell me i have to pay out of pocket b/c the warranty expired. this isn't fair to any mitsubishi owner i shouldn't have to pay to have my car fixed now after the warranty when all the same problems have been recurring since i purchased the car and they never fixed it to begin with. i can understand if i was the only person with these problems i decided to search the internet to see if anyone else owned my make and model of my car to see if they had similar problems sure enough i came across a website called www.carsurvey.org/viewcomments_review_76426.html there's over 50 people with the same problems i have with my car.mitsubishi should fix these problems and stand by there cars. i called corporate headquarters today & was told there's nothing they can do b/c its out of warranty. *tr ...

The heater core. i start smelling an antifreeze smell inside the car then the check engine soon light came on. also the tcl is on. the dealer said that it is a wheel sensor that will run me $625. the heater core is $1,200. every one that i talk to on the email sight is having the same problem. please help! thanks. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 mitsubishi diamante. the check engine light began illuminating, the heater coil was leaking, and the windows were steaming. the contact smelled a foul odor coming from the vehicle. a mechanic diagnosed that the heater core needed to be replaced. the failure mileage was 67,800 and current mileage was 67,990.

I found postings of the same heater core issue. windshield fog and the awful syrup smell of anitfreeze. there needs to be a recall as you can clearly see the history of complaints dating back to 1995 or earlier. please look into this urgent matter. *tr

Leakage of antifreeze ( engine coolant) into the passenger compartment of vehicle. the coolant smell was apparent within the car. *nm

Heater leakage from faulty seals, complained of headache for 3 weeks as soon as leak was discovered and fixed headaches have been gone. *nm

Heater core leaks into car steams up windows and leaks on the computer and changes the transmission shifting. *tr

I purchased a used 2002 mitsubishi diamante in august 2005. the car had 45,000 miles on it. in october when i started to use the heater i could smell an unusual smell inside the car. in january of 2006 my brother rode in the car and told me the smell was anti-freeze. i went on the internet and instantly found out that this model car has a problem with the heater core o-rings failing. the smell in the car got real bad real quick and i had to have the leaking o-rings repaired. i would get sick from the smell and had no choice but to have it fixed. i brought the car to a mitsubishi dealer and had the repair done for $650.the car had 48,000 miles on it when the repair was made. that is alot of money for problem that mitsubishi should have corrected. *jb

Our 2002 mitsubishis diamante vr-x has been misting from the heater core for a few years. the problem is bad gaskets (o-rings) that join the heater core with the lines for the heater hoses. the heater core is installed right over the pcm unit. if it leaks badly enough, the pcm and transmission relay will be destroyed. it (heater core) failed shortly after the warranty expired and when we went to mitsubishi dealer, they refused to fix it. they quoted us $1400.00 for repairs. on the internet, there are hundreds of complaints for the same problem, but no one has gotten any satisfaction from mitsubishi. i put some radiator stop-leak in and this seemed to help somewhat, but it is starting to mist again with anti-freeze in the passenger compartment. this is a toxin and is dangerous to inhale and will jeopardize my family's health. *tr

My wife and i own a 2002 mitsubishi diamante vr-x. this past june 2005 i started noticing the car was overheating when i would stop at lights or in traffic. at first i figured it was the really hot weather we were having. after a day or so i noticed the engine temperature would fluctuate even at higher speeds, so i pulled into a gas station and checked the coolant. it was low. i bought some coolant and filled up the reservoir thinking i had found my problem. the next day i noticed i was having problems again and checked the fluid level, it was low again. i knew something was wrong then and i took it to my mechanic. low and behold i come to find out that the antifreeze, which is poisonous, has leaked all over passenger side floor and was told that it probably had been blowing out of the vents also. this was very disconcerting not just for the health of my wife and myself, but also because we had, at the time, a five month old who also had been breathing this poison. i pray we don't end up having any respiratory problems, especially my daughter, from this in the future. what ended up being the problem was the heater core corroded and was leaking into the car. my mechanic said this is not something that should happen to a car with only 50k miles. actually, they said it generally should never happen to a vehicle. i come to find out that the leak is just above the cars computer system. fortunately the leak didn't affect these electronic components. i see from the http://www.mycarstats.com website that this problem is very prevalent and i'm sure it has happen to others that don't know who to contact about the problem. it ended up costing me $1300 to get it fixed. the problem lies behind the dashboard which ends up creating a lot of labor charges to fix the problem. i hope that there is something done by the odi in response to this costly, unnecessary problem. *nm