2008 Mitsubishi Lancer: ball joint or control arm failure

Filed Apr 24, 2022 · Suspension · NJ · crash

Our car crashed after getting off the highway in NJ. This appears to be related to Safety Recall Report 20V‑279. The cross member has completely rusted and the driver side control arm came off, crashing the car and severely damaging the car, with loss of control. I have contacted Mitsubishi Motors but have received no response from them. There was no warning sign, and the car was on the highway at highway speeds before an exit ramp was taken when the car crashed.

Filed Mar 3, 2021 · Body, Suspension · OH · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mitsubishi lancer. The contact stated while his wife was driving at 25 MPH, when the cross member snapped and detached from the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The driver was unable to control the vehicle and jumped the curb. The driver sustained a dislocated right thumb and did not seek medication attention. No police report was filed. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to independent mechanic and was informed the cross member, unknown tie rod and ball joint was needing to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 20v279000 (structure, suspension), however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called to unknown dealer where it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. Vin tool confirms parts not available. The failure mileage was unknown. (recall related incident) ts

Filed Feb 6, 2021 · Steering, Suspension · 136,000 miles · AZ

Front lower control arms -tearing bushings, torn boots both outer tie rod ends - torn boots timing cover separate

Filed Oct 1, 2020 · Suspension · 32,393 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mitsubishi lancer. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency recall number: 20v279000 (structure, suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Serra honda (951 interstate pkwy, akron, oh 44312) was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall repair. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, without warning, the contact loss control of the steering wheel as the driver's side of the vehicle lowered independently. The vehicle was towed to the residence and inspected. The contact became aware that the driver's side lower control arm was fractured. The vehicle was towed to jim shorkey mitsubishi (13339 rte 30, irwin, pa 15642) where it was diagnosed and determined that the driver's lower control arm fractured and damaged the crossmember. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided. Vin tool confirms parts not available. The failure mileage was approximate 32,393.

Filed Sep 29, 2020 · Steering · IL

The control arm was corroded and spring rusted through and broke. Had repaired in march of 2019. Should be covered under recall. Sent invoice and receipt to mitsubishi however they are saying it did not meet time frame for repair and are refusing to refund any of my repair costs.

Filed Feb 27, 2020 · Suspension · 162,000 miles · IL

I purchased a used 2008 mitsubishi lancer with 163k miles on it from a third party. I took it to the dealership for two open recalls. The dealer called me the next morning and explained to me that the subframe is corroded and will need to be replaced. In fact the dealer advised the vehicle not be driven and the part be replaced immediately because it is unsafe to drive. Now I have a vehicle I can't drive or sell. The repair itself is more than the car is worth. The subframe is part of the frame and is not a maintenance item and should last the life of the vehicle. This is a manufacturing defeat as shown in the recall for canada on 2008-2013 lancer models. I called the factory and was given the run around. I asked for a meeting between the dealership and a factory rep to find an appropriate solution but nothing has materialized. This is a safety issue and needs to be address by the manufacturer before someone gets injured or killed. There are thousands of lancers on the roads today and I would hate to know how many of these have corroded subframes where the lower front control arms could fall to the ground.

Filed Jun 26, 2019 · Steering, Suspension · 123,000 miles · OH

I was driving my car to work this morning and all of a sudden I felt a drastic pull to the left. I get out of the car and look at all sides of the vehicle and don't notice anything right away. Then I notice my left front wheel is turned slightly while the steering wheel is straight. I look under the vehicle to find the sub frame rotted and rusted away from the control arm. This is a huge safety issue as this car has 123k miles and being a 2008 car, just 1 year later than the recalls currently up to 2007 for the same exact issue. The recall should be extended to the 2008 vehicles as well due to the insane amount of complaints on this specific sub frame rotting issue.

Filed Apr 6, 2018 · Suspension · 32,390 miles · PA

When I was on my way home from work, I stopped at the store to grab a few things. When I was done, I got in my car and started to back out of the parking spot. I then heard a clunk noise, but dismissed it because I wasn't sure what it was. I then pulled out of the parking lot and started to drive roughly 5-10mph, when more clunks happened and the steering wheel went all over and I lost control and was forced to stop in the middle of the road. I get out of see what happened, and I can see that the whole subframe crossmember was completely rotted through, and the lower control arm had broken from all the rot and was loose. This also caused my cv axle/driveshaft to snap as well. There was no indication that anything was wrong up to this point, and I was completely unaware that this could actually happen. Had this happened 10 minutes earlier when I was driving on a highway and I lost control, I might not be here typing this message. It is also only on the front driver side crossmember that has all the rot. The passenger side looks fairly normal, which I don't understand why. Something with the front driver side was clearly ignored if it is only affected on that side. There is also complaints and posts online about the same issue, so it is not just affecting me. There is also a recall for the same exact issue, subframe crossmember rot, for the 2002-2007 lancer, but this should have been extended to 2008 or higher because this is a serious issue and people could lose their lives over this. Also, my car was built in 2007, so it's possible that I may be affected in the recall for the 2002-2007 group, but my car is classified as a 2008. It also only has just over 32,000 miles, this shouldn't have happened.

Filed Oct 25, 2017 · 157,047 miles · CT

Control arm became detached from cross member due to extreme corrosion. Vehicle was in motion when this happened. There were recalls from earlier models due to the same exact thing happening.