- Vehicles
- 5,164
- Built between
- Feb 1993 – Jun 1999
- Models
- 3
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 24 May 2001
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between February 1993 and June 1999. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1995-1999 Mitsubishi Caribbean EclipseBuilt March 1994 to June 1999
- 1996-1999 Mitsubishi Caribbean Eclipse SpyderBuilt December 1995 to June 1999
- 1994-1998 Mitsubishi Caribbean GalantBuilt February 1993 to March 1998
What the defect is
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. If the rubber boots on the lower lateral arm ball joints of the front suspension were damaged during assembly, dirt and water can intrude. Also, mmc has added the potential of leaking moisture, which can cause the ball stud to corrode.
What could happen
This condition could cause the lower lateral arm ball joint to separate, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. This campaign supercedes mmc's previous safety recall campaign, see 99V-066.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE LOWER LATERAL ARM BALL JOINT FOR WEAR. BALL JOINTS THAT EXHIBIT WEAR BEYOND THE ESTABLISHED TOLERANCE WILL BE REPLACED WITH NEWLY DESIGNED LATERAL ARM BALL JOINTS. BALL JOINTS THAT ARE WITHIN THE ESTABLISHED TOLERANCE WILL BE CLEANED AND A SPECIAL SEALANT WILL BE APPLIED TO PREVENT INTRUSION OF MOISTURE.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtFebruary 1993 to June 1999
- Recall reported to NHTSA6 April 2001
- Owners notified24 May 2001
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 6 April 2001.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- MITSUBISHI CARIBBEAN
- Recall initiated by
- ODI
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Owner notification began may 21, 2001.OWNERS who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact mitsubishi caribbean at 1-800-981-0452. Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.