1991 Mitsubishi Mirage

Defect. THE FRONT SAFETY BELT BUCKLE RELEASE BUTTONS CAN BREAK. THESE RED PLASTIC RELEASE BUTTONS ARE MARKED "PRESS." IF A BUTTON BREAKS, PIECES CAN FALL INTO THE BUCKLE ASSEMBLY CAUSING THE BUCKLE TO OPERATE IMPROPERLY.

Risk. THE SAFETY BELTS WOULD NOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE PROTECTION TO AN OCCUPANT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.

Remedy. OWNERS SHOULD PROMPTLY CHECK THE CONDITION AND OPERATION OF BOTH FRONT SAFETY BELT BUCKLES AND CAREFULLY INSPECT THE RED RELEASE BUTTON FOR ANY BREAKS OR CRACKS. THEY SHOULD ENSURE THAT BOTH BUCKLES ARE OPERATING PROPERLY BY INSERTING EACH LATCH PLATE INTO ITS BUCKLE, TUGGING ON THE BELT TO MAKE SURE THE LATCH IS SECURELY LOCKED, AND THEN PRESSING THE RELEASE BUTTON. THE LATCH PLATE SHOULD POP OUT OF THE BUCKLE WHEN THE BUTTON IS PRESSED. IF EITHER RELEASE BUTTON SHOWS A SIGN OF BREAKING OR CRACKING OR IF EITHER BUCKLE FAILS TO OPERATE PROPERLY, OWNERS SHOULD PROMPTLY CONTACT THEIR AUTHORIZED DEALER TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THE BUCKLE REPLACED OR REPAIRED, FREE OF CHARGE. THE MANUFACTURER IS DEVELOPING A REMEDY DESIGNED TO PREVENT FAILURE OF THE BUTTONS THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY BROKEN.

CPSC#X11C0565A. CYLINDER HEAD. 1991 MITSUBISHI MIRAGE. CONSUMER STATED HE PURCHASED THE PART FROM D&S LIGHT TRUCK AND AUTO PARTS, INC. HE STATED THE CYLINDER WAS BAD AND THEY HAVE REFUSED TO REFUND HIS MONEY OR REPLACE THE PART. *LN

CPSC#X11C0561A & XX11C0565A. 1991 MITSUBISHI MIRAGE CONSUMER STATED AFTER INSTALLING CYLINDER HEAD, HE NOTICED THE VEHICLE RAN ROUGH. *LN THE CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THE VALVES NEEDED TO BE ADJUSTED. THE CONSUMER HAS SINCE LEARNED THE CYLINDER HEAD WAS BAD. *JB

I HAD 4 BRANDNEW GOODYEAR TIRES PUT ON MY CAR 1MONTH AGO AND THE TIRES AREN'T A BIT OF GOOD. ONE TIRE ON THE FRONT STARTED SEPARATING ON THE INNER WALL WHICH WE WERE UNAWARE OF UNTIL I WAS ON THE HWY ONE DAY AND LIKED TO GOT KILLED!! I NOTICED THE CAR WAS NOT RIDING AS IT SHOULD IT WAS LIKE DRIVING DOWN A REALLY BUMPY ROAD. MY CAR SWERVED INTO THE OTHER LANE WHERE A 18WHEELER WAS ABOUT 4 SEC OFF FROM HITTING ME. I PULLED OFF TO FIND A BIG HOLE THE SIZE OF MY PINKY WAS VISIBLE THEN IN THE INNER WALL. TOOK THE CAR TO THE SHOP THEY FIXED THE TIRE WITH A REPLACEMENT. THE VERY NEXT DAY I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND REALIZED THE CAR WAS NOT RIDING RIGHT AGAIN AND NOTICED BLACK CHUNKS OF TIRE COMING OUT FROM UNDER THE CAR AND PULLED OVER TO NOTICE CRACKS ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE OTHER FRONT TIRE. I ONLY GOT 1500 MILES ON THESE TIRES!!!!! TIRE BRAND P175/80R13. *TR

WHILE DRIVING, THE CONSUMER SMELLED PLASTIC/RUBBER BURNING AND SUDDENLY VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE UNDER THE HOOD. THE CONSUMER PULLED OVER AND CALLED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. *AK THE CONSUMER NOTICED A LEAKAGE. THE CONSUMERS DAUGHTER WAS USING THE VEHICLE WHEN THE IT CAUGHT FIRE. THE DEALER STATED THAT IT WAS AN ELECTRICAL FIRE. THE BRAKE LIGHT WOULD COME ON INTERMITTENTLY. THE DEALER SUGGESTED THAT THE COMBO SWITCH ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *SC *JB

CONSUMER EXPERIENCED 4 BRAKE FAILURES WHILE DRIVING. AS A RESULT, ON TIME THE VEHICLE WENT INTO A DITCH. BRAKE PAD SEPARATED FROM THE CALIPER AND FELL OFF. THIS WAS DUE TO THE CASTING FOR THE BRAKE PAD HARDLY GOING INTO THE FLAT. ANOTHER TIME THE PROBLEM WAS WORSE WHEN THE PADS WERE NEW.*AK

TIRES HAD 30 THOUSAND MILES ON THEM. TIRE SIZE WAS 155R13. TIRES MOUNTED ON A MITSUBISHI, MIRAGE, 1991. WHILE VEHICLE WAS PARKED FOR OVER THREE HOURS, THE LEFT FRONT TIRE BLEWOUT. ALSO, THERE WERE SOME CRACKS AROUND RIM. TIRES WERE REPLACED.*AK *SLC

I READ WITH INTEREST THE REPORTS OF PROBLEMS WITH MITSUBISHI AUTOMOBILES, AS ONE OF THE PROBLEMS REPORTED - A LOOSE CRANKSHAFT - IS EXACTLY THE PROBLEM WE HAD WITH OUR CAR. I AM REPORTING THIS TO YOU AS THE NEWS ACCOUNTS I'VE READ TALK ONLY ABOUT CARS IMPORTED IN THE LAST TWO YEARS AS POSSIBLY BE SUBJECT OF RECALL. I WONDER IF THE RECALL SHOULDN'T COVER CARS, LIKE OURS, A GOOD DEAL OLDER THAN THAT. OUR SPECIFIC PROBLEM OCCURRED IN 1996 WHEN THE CAR HAS ABOUT 70,000 MILES ON IT. THE CRANKSHAFT PROBLEM WAS REPAIRED BY PHIL LONG MITSUBISHI IN COLORADO SPRINGS. CO.

THE ENGINE STOPS UNPREDICTABLY. I HEAR A CLICK THAT SEEMS TO COME FROM UNDER THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT, THEN THE ENGINE STARTS AND WILL NOT RESTART IMMEDIATELY. USUALLY, AFTER SOME MINUTES, IT WILL RESTART. IT WILL EVEN STOP AT HIGH SPEEDS, AS IT DID WHEN I WAS ON THE INTERSTATE ON A LONG BRIDGE, AND COULD NOT GET OUT OF THE WAY OF ON-COMING SEMI-TRUCKS. AS THE DEALER ADVISED, I REPLACED BOTH THE COMPUTER AND THE RELAYS, YET THE PROBLEM PERSISTS.

VEHICLE HAS STALLED ON 3 OCCASIONS WITHOUT WARNING OR HESITATION ,CAUSING POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD. *AK

CONSUMER HAD TO REPLACE THE COMPUTER IN THE VEHICLE. OWNER STATES THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT EXCEED 35MPH. THE DEALER REPLACED THE COMPUTER A SECOND TIME, AND INFORMED OWNER THAT THE CLUTCH HAD A LEAK, AND THAT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE VEHICLE'S LOW SPEEDS. *AK

INTERMITTENT STALLING DUE TO COMPUTER FAILURE. *AK

COMPUTER MALFUNCTIONED. *AK

WHEN DOOR CLOSES AUTOMATIC FRONT RIGHT SHOULDER BELT MAY NOT SLIDE BACK/FORWARD, LEAVING OCCUPANT UNPROTECTED. INTERMITTENT PROBLEM, NOT CHECKED BY DEALER. *AK

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILED, STICKING IN THIRD GEAR. WHEN VEHICLE IS PUT INTO DRIVE THE ONLY FORWARD GEAR IS THIRD.

WHILE DRIVING COMPUTER SHUT OFF, CAUSING VEHICLE TO LOSE TOTAL POWER. *AK

OWNER RECEIVED RECALL NOTICE (#95V103004); CALLED DEALER OFF AND ON SINCE RECEIVING IT. DEALER HAS NO PARTS SINCE 6/96, AND DOES NOT KNOW WHEN THEY WILL BE IN, BUT WILL CALL OWNER WHEN THEY DO COME IN. AS OF APRIL 16, 1997, DEALER HAS TAKEN CARE OF THE REPAIRS. *AK

DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT BROKE DURING THE IMPACT OF A CRASH. *AK

THE VEHICLE CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP WHEN ATTEMPTING TO SWITCH FROM "DRIVE" TO "PARK" WITHOUT WARNING, A SUDDEN ACCELERATION WAS EXPERIENCED, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO HIT A BARRIER. *AK

POOR AUTOMATIC SHOULDER BELT PERFORMANCE, WHEN THE DOOR CLOSES THE PASSENGER'S SIDE SEAT BELT PERIODICALLY TENDS TO APPLY ITSELF TOO TIGHTLY. *AK

WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE,SMELLED OF FUEL ODOR, STARTED GETTING STRONGER WHILE DRIVING ALONG, PULLED OVER, TURNED OFF IGNITION, CHECKED UNDER HOOD, FIRE BURNING ON TOP OF ENGINE AREA. *AK