mitsubishi pajero dif problem

[snapersam]

hi everyone,
i recently upgraded my boat to a 21 footer, however since then the car dif and the left axle came upart twice and started leaking oil.

i searched on the net and found others had the same problem with the 2004 model. it seems it is a generic problem with this 4 x 4,

does anyone know any thing about it?

[lethal098]

Snapersam,

Yep certainly know all about it, the circlip inside the companion shafts does not hold enough tension to keep it locked in under high load situations, there is now a modified companion shaft available to rectify the problem, let me know where you are located, if in Brisbane i can look after it for you, I manage a Mitsubishi service department. cost retails at $700 but will do it for a fellow AF memeber for $600.


Cheers Lee

[Steeler]

Lee

Don't want to sound like the devils advocate here but if this problem is a reoccurring issue whilst towing within the limits of the vehicles capacity then surely it is a design fault and Mitsu should be rectifying this n/c.

Not having a pick as i own a Mitsu and love it,just my thoughts.

Steeler

[lethal098]

Steeler,

Although it is a known problem warranty period is a warranty period, if this was reported during the wty time it would be replaced. Plenty of things fail after time, if it was a safety related issue then a recall would be raised. I had this same thing happen to my parents Pajero last year, We copped it on the chin and they paid for the repair.

A good reference to this is have a look at manufactuere with a 2.5 litre naturally aspirated engines, they leak headgaskets after 4-5 years, this is a design fault and something that could easily be fixed from the factory, Owners responsibility and $2500 down the drain to fix it, to me the manufacturer should pay for it but they dont.

Like any product a warranty is not mandatory it is a selling point.

This may come across a little harsh but too many people expect everything to be covered under warranty.

cheers Lee

[Steeler]

No worries just took it by your explanation that it was more of a design issue when you said a modified fix is available rather than a reference to wear & tear.

[ozscott]

Steeler,

Although it is a known problem warranty period is a warranty period, if this was reported during the wty time it would be replaced. Plenty of things fail after time, if it was a safety related issue then a recall would be raised. I had this same thing happen to my parents Pajero last year, We copped it on the chin and they paid for the repair.

A good reference to this is have a look at manufactuere with a 2.5 litre naturally aspirated engines, they leak headgaskets after 4-5 years, this is a design fault and something that could easily be fixed from the factory, Owners responsibility and $2500 down the drain to fix it, to me the manufacturer should pay for it but they dont.

Like any product a warranty is not mandatory it is a selling point.

This may come across a little harsh but too many people expect everything to be covered under warranty.

cheers Lee

From a lawyers perspective Lee this is a grey area. I always look at a manufacturer's warranty as a nice thing to have but not essential given the consumer protection provisions of the Trade Practices Act. There have been some movements into going after car makers for breach of the implied warranties under the TPA but I think most get settled. I have used the TPA myself against Land Rover for an alarm issue where Amcal chemists and some others worked on the same frequency and I only worked all that out after the 3 year 100k warranty expired. They came to the party and changed out the receiver, keys and fobs free - that was different from the above example though because this was an issue inside the warranty period and a design issue that did not relate at all to age of the vehicle or k's done.

My point is that 3-6 years for example might well not be a reasonable time for a motor vehicle to fail under normal conditions. Thats not your issue of course as a service manager its an issue for Mitsu management. Having said that LR were always much more obliging with out of warranty claims than many others are.

Cheers

PS. Why isnt it covered by that extended drivetrain warranty they have? Is it outside that?

[lethal098]

depending on the car and the warranty it has, the extra 5 year warranty is only available to the orginal owner of the vehicle, if he is the original owner then yes they would be covered by that warranty, in 2004 was when the 5/10 year warranty was introduced so would depend on the vehicle, if i can get the Vin number then i can look at warranty expiry dates.

At the end of the day we are all open to taking things further through the legal system, we just have to be willing to take the risk that we would win.

Steeler, it does not happen to every NP Pajero out there but have seen a few, by that prob 5 in the last year. If it was a design fault it would have been more prominent across the range. The circlip simply loses tension over time.

cheers Lee

[Steeler]

Lee

Just a quick question. When i see a used vehicle listed Qld as drive away no more to pay on carsales does that mean that includes the transfer fee into the new owners name.I only see them listed that way in Qld & Vic yet here in NSW the buyer toddles off to the RTA and pays the transfer fee on top of the purchase price.

Cheers

Steeler

[lethal098]

Steeler, Yes they pay the stamp duty and transfer into the owners name. However if it was a private sale then they head off to Qld transportand pay the stamp duty transfer,

cheers Lee

[Steeler]

Any idea what that costs a dealer on say a 13000 car,down here it is $3.00 in every $100.00

[wrxhoon]

Any idea what that costs a dealer on say a 13000

car,down here it is $3.00 in every $100.00

In QLD depends on the car .

Hybrid=$260
4 Cyl =$390
6 Cyl =$455
8 Cyl =$520


I think WA at $221 is the lowest , Vic at $325 next up and NSW, SA , ACT and NT all the same at $390.

[White Pointer]

G'day,

This whole issue is getting into the area of "latent defects" which are fundamental design/engineering defects that show up at any time and are demonstrated by a "pattern of recurrent failures of the same type".

Every car on the road has at least one latent defect. That's because engineering is not a perfect science. However, where a latent defect becomes safety issue it is a cause for concern and legislation requires that is addressed, irrespective of age.

If enough people have enough concerns about a pattern of recurrent failures they can get something done about it. Internet forums can be vitals tools in this.

For example, a few years ago my 2002 Land Rover Discovery TD5 developed this wierd problem of shorting out one cylinder at the engine ECU because oil used the injection wiring harness as a pipe to send oil there. The car was well out of warranty on time but still hadn't done 100,000KM. It turned out that there was a service fix (a new and improved wiring harness) and because my car always been serviced at a Land Rover dealership Land Rover supplied the parts and I paid for the 3 hours labour. That saved me quite a bit.

The really interesting thing about this story is that the defective wiring harnesses were made in Japan.

My suggestion is that you should buy from a dealership that has a really good service department and as part of the contract of sale ask for all service bulletins on your model within your VIN series to be emailed to you.

You will find that this will be resisted but if you are not fighting too hard on price it may clinch the deal. You may not find that you receive the bulletins but you will remind them each time you are checking the vehicle in for service. The dealer makes more money out of servicing your car than selling it to you, so be firm and insist of being informed. If they ever lie to you or back information, you have them on toast.

Hope this is useful.

Regards,

White Pointer

[snapersam]

thanks guy's for the info, this help me a bit to undrestand the problem,

So do you think this problem is resolved in the new generation of Pajeros as I am thinking of updating the car,?
Do u think i am better off with different car?

I do not want a big car I only bought this 4 x4 to tow the bought i never been off road yet and don;t think it will happen for a while.

My GVM of the boat and trailer are just ubder 2 tonns,

As for warranties, it dosn't apply to me because I am the 2nd owner, the car done so far 70000kms.

Thanks for the offer Lee, but Iam in NSW, can you direct me to what part should I buy and from where.

I will check with mitsubishi tomorrow too.

what do you recomed?

[ozscott]

Snappersam - apart from the good advice that Lee can offer also consider becoming a member of pajero club victoria online. As for the new gen the NT seems like a very nice reliable tub now that the particulate filter issues of the NS have been resolved. Further the NT is quieter than the NS in diesel form - but still not anywhere near as quiet as say a Discovery TD in the D3 or D4. I wonder when the new Pajero will come out (new form the ground up..) and Lee might know (hint hint.... It might be worth waiting for that, although Mitsu might take a while to bring it out, but run out NT's might be a bargain...they creak a bit inside and to my mind the whole unit is dated, but still great value (I have had an exceed diesel auto and a base model V6 manual for a week not so long ago).

Cheers

[lethal098]

Snapersam, the part numbers for the companion shafts are MI3715A083, can be purchased from any Mitsubishi Dealer. You will need 2 of them. The NP Pajero will be well suited to the towing, My parents have the NP and tow a Van every other weekend, Yes the NT is a much better car but it comes with a much higher price tag. As for a complete new one, no whispers as yet.

Cheers Lee