2002 Mitsubishi Lancer visibility problems

Filed Jun 27, 2022 · Visibility · 221,660 miles · HI

The contact's daughter owns a 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, she felt an air draft inside of the vehicle. The contact's daughter attempted to close the sunroof when she noticed that the sunroof had detached from the vehicle. The dealer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the sunroof part was no longer manufactured and they were unable to get the part to perform the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 221,660.

Filed Mar 29, 2014 · Visibility · GA

The knobs to control the heating and defogging is broken. It has been unusually cold in georgia this winter and the defoggers only emit cold air. I have to drive the car early in the morning around 6:10am and I warm the car before my 7yr. Gets in. Now we have to have blankets for her because the car never warms up! My sister lives here too and has the same problem on her 2003 lancer. There should be a recall for the knobs they are poorly manufactured. Thank god I don't live in chicago or buffalo, we could literally freeze to death in our car, just driving around! I tried to super glue them back together, but I see their is what looks like a mother board behind the knobs and maybe the connection was lost when the two knobs broke. I have had a mechanic check the heating cool and the thermostat and he suggested going online for replacement parts. I did to know avail, mitsubishi does not offer replacement parts for the knobs, so what do I do? I hope mitsubishi does something about this, because this is to no fault of the owner this is a defect in the manufacturing of the knobs they are poor quality and should be addressed. I love the lancer it has served me well over the year and I will continue to drive them. Thank you for attention in this matter.

Filed Apr 10, 2013 · Visibility · 89,000 miles · FL

Variable temperature knob/shaft broke on heater/A/C control module because it was hard to turn. Always was hard to turn since vehicle was purchase 4 years ago. Makes defogging of windows more difficult and has caused visibility problems in certain types of damp conditions. Bad design which mitsubishi should fix.

Filed May 7, 2012 · Visibility · OK

The air conditioner and heater control knob was hard to turn from the moment we bought the vehicle new. It has since broke off. This is something that needs to be recalled because it is a factory defect.

Filed Dec 13, 2011 · Visibility · 65,000 miles · VA

My 2002 lancers temperature control knob broke this morning while I was trying to engage the heat portion of the temperature gage to defrost my windshield. I did a little research on how to fix the problem on the internet and discovered that this a common issue with the lancer. If this is such a common issue, mitsubishi should be held accountable and issue an immediate recall on the system to fix it. Now I have no heat in the winter and the dealer wants $1000+ to fix the system that was never engineered properly.

Filed Oct 20, 2011 · Electrical, Visibility · 110,000 miles · TN

I have a 2002 mitsubishi lancer and the temperature control knob in the vehicle has been difficult to turn since I bought the car. The knob broke off two weeks ago. I contacted my dealer who stated that I can not just change the knob I have to change the whole unit which will cost me around $ 600.00 plus services fees to install it. This should be a recall item, since heating (and cooling) a vehicle allows it to be operable during hot and cold temperatures. It is now beginning to get cold.

Filed Sep 6, 2011 · Electrical, Visibility · CA

This is a complaint I have seen on other websites from thousands of other mitsubishi lancers from 2000- 2005, but mainly in the 2002 model range. The heater/air conditioner controls seize up and either the cable freezes up and the control knob snaps off on the temperature controls. To me this is a safety concern not necessarily for the use of the vehicle, but rather for the health of the driver and those who ride in the vehicle. They could freeze in the winter or get heat stroke in the summer.

Filed Jan 3, 2011 · Visibility · 114,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mitsubishi lancer. The contact stated that he defroster/heater control mechanism fractured at the touch when attempting to activate. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they informed the contact that the air conditioner/heater control module would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.

Filed Dec 23, 2010 · Locks, Visibility · 91,000 miles · IL

The temperature control knob on the climate control module broke. The likely cause was binding of the cable that is controlled by the knob. This could be due to poor routing of the cable or the mechanism that the cable is attached. The cost of repairing this design defect ranges from $500-1000 at the dealer.

Filed Nov 12, 2010 · Visibility · 580,000 miles · TX

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 mitsubishi lancer. The contact stated that the climate control knob had broken. The contact was unable to use the heat or defrost option as a result. The contact had noticed that the knob was difficult to turn shortly after purchasing the vehicle. The dealer stated that the entire climate control unit needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 580,000.