Problems with 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse WHEELS

Tl*- the contact has a 2001 mitsubishi eclipse gt. the contact has a complaint about the alloy wheels on the vehicle. the contact's vehicles tires were balanced on 1/15/07 at that point the contact was notified that one of the allow wheels was slightly bent and may cause air to leak and the tire to be damaged. the contact wants to make a formal complaint to mitsubishi in regards to this issue. there has been no tire failure to date. *jb the consumer stated the rims are soft and they bend easily. updated *jb

My daughter hit a pot hole in her 2001 mitsubishi eclipse and the rim bent severely and the tire went flat. *nm

The rims on my car are peeling. because of the peeling they are now rusting. i am trying to sell the car but now i have to replace all the rims because these ones looks horrible. i have talked to other people with 2001 eclipses that have done the same thing. *nm

Driving home at approximatly 9:00pm est going 40 mph on route 611 north around warrington, pa in the rain. heard a loud bang from the passenger front side of the car (really loud). i assume that i had hit a pot hole and was not immedialty concerned until i heard a weird flapping noise. i pulled into a safe location to check out the tire and wheel and the wheel was heavily dented. the tire had lost all air, but was not torn up. after putting on the spare i checked the wheel using a flashlight and noticed that the wheel was cracked. i will need to replace the 17" alloy wheel at cost of $350. i have had other alloy wheels that have stood up to pot holes before. i have read all previous complaints, as well as, the report finalization by nhtsa. i am lucky that in the rain i didn't lose control of the vehicle and be part of/cause an accident. i am a little concerned as to the structure and security of these rims for the future. if this happend at a speed of about 40 mph, what would have been the ramifications at 55/60mph on a highway? currently, i still have the cracked wheel in my possession. i am planning to purchase another wheel tomorrow march 12, 2005.*ak

Normal road conditions lead to my wheel rim cracking and requiring a new rim. this failure may have caused a severe accident if i was traveling at high speed, luckily i was only traveling at 25 mph when the failure occurred, leaving the car disabled. new rims are very costly with added repair costs ($686). further the spare tire does not fit the front of the car? how is this legal?*ak

On january 2003 while driving at 40 mph, the consumer hit a small pot hole. one half month later, the consumer experienced a flat tire on the passenger front side. the vehicle was taken to goodyear dealership to replace the tire. the dealership indicated the rim was cracked. *ak *jb

My experience, online testimonials and news regarding mitsubishi eclipse alloy wheels' faulty construction convinced me that my suspicions were confirmed. although odi claims all damage is cosmetic, i suspect they've never taken a 2001 eclipse for an extended spin.*ak

While driving 30 mph consumer lost the control of the vehicle. consumer stated that passenger wheel rim was bent. consumer found on the web page many consumers having the same problem. the wheels were made of very soft easily bent metal. *ak *nm

While driving consumer noticed vibration coming from the rear. consumer drove the vehicle to dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the passenger's side wheel was bent and needed to be replaced. *ak

6 blowouts 4 rims all on the front drivers side there are scratches all along the drivers side by the tire. the drivers side door doesn't align. this has been happening since the 2nd day i financed the car.and i found out that my strut was blown which may of caused all the scratches. dealership said it was my fault but i have a picture to proof those scratches were there the 2nd day i had the car. i just had another blowout this morning about a foot away from entering the highway.incident from 10/2001-to today. *ak

Ea 02- 007/aluminum alloy wheel denting: consumer was concerned that the original rims were denting prematurely when driving over pot holes. dealer was notified. *ak

Rim bent easily after hitting pothole. *ak

I read the news story on the website for 7 on your side about the defectiveness of the metal alloy rims for the '1997 through 2001 mitsubishi eclipse rims and wanted to go on record with you as having problems with the same rims on my eclipse. not only are they a cause of much headache and financial drain ion thier owners but also they are a safety hazard and this should be rectified.*ak

I was driving down the road two separate times now when i have hit potholes that resulted in a bend in my rim. the first time all the air was let out due to it breaking the seal on the tire. i was left stranded for several hours before help arrived to help me in the middle of the winter. the second time was about a week ago when i hit a pothole and now the air slowly leaks out everyday and before i can go anywhere i must reair my tire. i bought a replacement rim the first time since they said it was unrepairable. this time i am filing a complaint with my city since it is the same pothole again that they didn't correctly fix the first time. i will have to purchase a new rim again since they say it can't be fixed since they are allunium rims. i have the 6 spoke rim that came standard on the 2001 eclipse. *jb

The front passenger side alloy rim on my 2001 mitsubishi eclipse gt was bent and cracked from simply hitting a pothole in the road. this caused my tire to rapidly deflate and the rim unable to be used. *la

I too have had several problems with rims and tires. i have had to replace 2 tires and 1 rim already. while driving my car now over 65 mph the steering wheel will shake. i am often scared to go over 50 due to that fact that i fear my tires will blow.*ak

I own a 2001 mitsubishi eclipse. i have 54000 miles on this car. on april 16, 2003, i had my third flat tire (2 of them have been blow outs). all three (as told by goodyear) were caused by bent rims. two of the bends were very noticeable and each occurred with regular driving. i feel like i am driving on a time bomb. even with minor bends, air releases from the tire. i check my pressure every week, but still to no avail. from other complaints i have read, this is a major problem that mitsubishi appears to be ignoring. *jb

I leased a 2001 mitsbuishi eclipse. within the first two years of the lease, i have had to replaced all four rims on the car. i contacted family auto mitsubishi here in indianapolis where i leased the car and asked them to replace the rims with ones from a newer model because of the excessive problems i had. i was told that they were not faulty, that they were damaged by excessive road wear. i contacted the bbb they contacted the dealership. all they did was send me a letter stating i should take the car into the dealership and see what they would do for me. they had already stated that they would not replace the rims.

I was traveling down rt. 135, coincidentally passing a mitsubishi dealership, around 7:15 in the evening. there was pretty heavy rainfall, so i made sure to stay around 25 miles/hr. as i passed the dealership i heard a thunderous boom from the right side of my car. i made it back to my house (which is less than a mile away). when i got out of my car, i found the front of my front right rim bent, and the inside of the rim was missing an 8 inch chunk of metal near the seal. i took it down to the dealership the next day only to hear them tell me that damage was normal in regular road conditions. the only option i was given was to buy a new rim (at about $350). this was even with the extended 100,000 mile warranty on the vehicle.

The driver side front rim bent, which caused the tire to lose air.*jb

2001 mitsubishi eclipse gs, rims have either a stress fracture or bent under normal driving conditions. there type of rims are 16 inches, ten spoke and are the aluminimum alloy type. trying to work with mitsubishi as they are refusing to fix problem.

I was driving my 2001 mitsubishi eclipse equipped with 17 inch alloy wheels, going about 30 miles per hour, when i heard a loud bang from the right front area. it was after dark and the car seemed to handle okay so i proceeded on but after a short distance i heard a similar bang. i pulled over and found that the right front wheel rim was greatly deformed and the tire knocked off the bead. i changed the tire and proceeded home without further incident. i inspected the road the following day in another vehicle and drove over the same rough spots and barely noticed them. there were no signifigant pot holes in the road. i believe that a wheel that will fail so easily is a hazard. if i had been traveling at highway speeds and struck a hole in the road i believe the tire would have gone flat immediately and control of the vehicle would have been lost.

A loud bang was heard as if running over a large object in the road. however inspection revealed the right front wheel rim had a large dent. the tire was not damaged but had been knocked off its bead due to the damage to the rim. *tt *jb

Two of my mitsubishi eclipse (2001) 17" six-spoke rims bent, one to the point of failure, when i contacted a pot-hole at low speed.

While driving 25 mph, the consumer's vehicle hit a pot hole and the passenger's side wheel bent. as result, there was damage to the tires. consumer indicated the wheel rims were made of very soft easily bent metal. *ak the consumer stated the remaining rims bent and had to be replaced. *jb

The vehicles front passenger side wheel bent. dealer notified. *nlm

While accelerating on an on ramp to get onto interstate 84 in connecticut, i hit a small pothole in the road and it majorly bent the wheel and caused the tire to come off of the wheel. this happened in the night and on a stretch of the highway that had no shoulder. i had to drive approximately a mile on this blown out tire and wheel to the next exit. the failure of this wheel cost me $350 (for the wheel) and another $150 (for the tire) plus labor charges. no mention of the problems with these wheels was mentioned when i took it to the dealer.

My wheel bent when i hit a small pot hole while traveling at 35mph. the tire will no linger hold air.

I have 17 inch alluminum wheels on a 2001 mitsubishi eclipse gt. under normal driving rims bend and tires loose air resulting in weaken tires and bloww out under norma driving conditions. not safe. must check tire pressure daily. metal used is soft and allows space between ties and rims. tires fail. one tire blew on highway due to sidewall failure potential safety problem to me and public. rims are too soft.

2001 mitsubishi eclipse 17" rims - the rims are soft and bend easy. i had several incidents where i was left on the side of the road after hitting a pot hole as the rim had bent and created a flat tire. after owning the car for two years, i had to replace the rims as they were a hazard and creating driving problems. i bought off the shelf rims for half the cost of the mitsubishi rims and have not had a single problem since (2 years later). three of my four rims were in really bad shape from hitting the smallest of pot holes. when replacing tires, my mechanic would take the time to try and re-bend the rim to its original shape and mentioned to me that this was a common problem he saw on the mitsubishi eclipse model. *jb

Rims were defective. consumer advised that rims bend very easily and adversely, affecting steering control while driving.*ak

Vehicle was taken in to dealer on a routine oil change and dealer noticed two rims were bent. cause unknown.*ak

While driving all four rims bent without being hit.it was caused by material that rims were made, being so flimsy.common problem. dealer contacted.*ak

Rims are bent and crumbling, my tire continuously loses air/ accidents have been caused by this defect. *ak

While changing the right rear tire the consumer noticed a crack in the rim, dealer contacted. feel free to provide any further information.*jb

Tires did not feel right for over 6 months, went to 3 different dealerships until someone finally realized that two of the rims were bent one in front and one in back, on two opposite sides of the car. i was told that i must have hit a pot hole, but that would be impossible if the rims bent were on two different sides. after losing the battle i paid over $600 to replace the rims. *ak

Vehicle hit a pothole and front passenger's side rim bent. rims should not bend under normal wear and tear. *akjlg

Bent rims. each rim on the vehicle has/was bent, possibly due to defect in the rim material. i avoid most potholes, so the bending was not caused by hitting large holes or large objects. the bend on the rim causes the air pressure to go down or a flat tire, which caused the vehicle to vear to the right or left. also the tires are wearing very fast do to loss of pressure. four new rims were purchased at the price of $1100, but the handling of the car has already been affected from the suspension to the brakes.*ak

Rims are too soft. when mounting a tire, the rims have dents and bends posing a road hazard. dealership is aware of problem.*ak *tt

I was driving in a snow covered road when i hit a pothole i could not see. the rim bent and the tire went flat immediately. i've hit much larger potholes in the past in other cars i've owned and never had this happen.*ak

I have had two rims bend in the past two years from normal driving in northwest indiana.

I have a 2001 mitsubishi eclipse and have lost all the original rims to dents from normal road driving--i had to replace all 4 rims because they we so warped they wouldn't hold a seal on the tire--that's $850.00!!!! on a new car!*ak

Consumer took the vehicle into the dealership for inspection and was informed by the mechanic that all four rims were bent on the vehicle. the consumer stated that the vehicle had neither been driven off road nor hit any potholes. *la the rims bent during normal driving. the bends also affected the tires ( two tire failures) and the steering. *sc *jb

Frpont passenger front rear 2 pc wheels are dented, vehicle not taken to dealer yet.*ak

Wheel is dented. sunroof is skipping and chattering.*ak (tiresize: 205/17/55)

No injuries: a blow out within a 2 yr period, front left tire flat 13 times, replaced that rim 3 times. drivers side door, left side of hood, left rear by trunk does not align properly to the right side. already had a manufacturers defect in my left strut scratches by left tire started out small now are 5 inches wide. *ak

One front and one rear rim were replaced because they were bent. at this time the second rear rim is bent and has to be replaced.*ak

The first week of buying the car i noticed a little scratch by the front drivers side tire. then i started hearing little squeaking noises when i was reversing coming from the same left tire. then i noticed the rim was bent i brought it to the dealer they said i was hitting curbs & road hazard. months later the scratch at the bottom by the fog lights was getting bigger and deep the tire kept losing air and those springing sound noises i still heard. make the long story short it is 2 years later the deep gashes from the left front tire is now all the wayaround the bottom of the fog lights almost reaching the midde.i went thru 2 tires no blow outs thank god 3 rims and one was a replacement the tire keeps leaking air there is nothing wrong with the right side of the car its all the left front. i spoke to the manufactuer of mitshubshi they are aware of this they said its not a safety issue .don't blowouts happen due to bent rims? they noticed its only happening in certain states that certain states road conditions are bad. all states have potholes but when you are driving 15 mph, hit a pothole ,& your rim bends causing your tire to leak air something wrong. these rims are constantly bending but on my car it s only the left side. its unsafe, because when i hit a potlhole it makes a loud banging noise even my brake pedal shakes. if i knew all these complaints i would of never bought this car now i know its not me but the way these cheap soft wheels were made something should be done about this its unsafe and the whole car shakes and steers to the left after hitting a pothole. i dont use my car alot mostly back and forth to work on a highway 15 miles one way. i am tired of purchasing rims at $300.00 i pay enough for this car and for the money i pay i should have decent rims that can stand driving over a 15-30 mile an hour pothole. i had cars before this never had a dented rim .something should be done about this there are even complaints on jdpower's website.

The left driver side rim keeps bending, which causes a flat tire. i bought 3 rims already. always with in a week the rim is bent. the car makes a noise from the front end coming from the left tire and there are deep scratch marks on the lower front by the tire. at speeds of 15-20 miles an hour if i hit a pothole the rim bends and the whole thing shakes even when i hit the brake the brake pedal shakes bake and forth. if i knew the rim would be like this and i have to go through all this trouble of tires and rimes costing $300.00 i would of never bought this car.after i hit the pot hole the car start steering to the left. and the scratches on the bottom by the left tire keep getting bigger and bigger and deeper

Not only do i have the aggrevation of bent rims and flat tires, and financial hardship on this, my left side of the car doesn't align to the right. water leeks in on the left side. sometimes the heater blows out cool air. the sunroof shakes when opening. i already had a manufacuters defect in my strut on the left side. i have sctraches on the left side fom the car scrapping the ground when i make a right hand turn. i had to have the cooling system replaced the first week i financed it.my hood won't open and my headlights fail causing me to dirve only with the fog lights. all these issues are the same and constant since i purchased this lemon.*ak