Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WHEELS | |||||
| 220502 | 05/22/2002 | 634697 | Subject regarding wheel investigation. *jg | 10/04/2002 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WHEELS | ||||||
| EA02007 | MITSUBISHI MOTORS NORTH AMERICA, INC. | 05/31/2002 | 05/01/2003 | ALUMINUM ALLOY WHEEL DENTING | ||
| See attached report. | ||||||
| PE01044 | MITSUBISHI MOTORS NORTH AMERICA, INC. | 12/18/2001 | 05/31/2002 | ALLOY WHEEL DENTING AND FRACTURING | ||
| Allege that the aluminum alloy wheels on the mitsubishi dent or fracture easily when subjected to road conditions such as potholes and railroad crossing. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| WHEELS | |||
| 08/17/2004 | 1 | ||
| While driving consumer noticed vibration coming from the rear. consumer drove the vehicle to dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the passenger's side wheel was bent and needed to be replaced. *ak | |||
| 08/03/2003 | 1 | 05/08/2001 | |
| I too have had several problems with rims and tires. i have had to replace 2 tires and 1 rim already. while driving my car now over 65 mph the steering wheel will shake. i am often scared to go over 50 due to that fact that i fear my tires will blow.*ak | |||
| 12/01/2002 | 30100 | 1 | 05/26/2001 |
| While accelerating on an on ramp to get onto interstate 84 in connecticut, i hit a small pothole in the road and it majorly bent the wheel and caused the tire to come off of the wheel. this happened in the night and on a stretch of the highway that had no shoulder. i had to drive approximately a mile on this blown out tire and wheel to the next exit. the failure of this wheel cost me $350 (for the wheel) and another $150 (for the tire) plus labor charges. no mention of the problems with these wheels was mentioned when i took it to the dealer. | |||
| 01/15/2003 | 1 | ||
| The vehicles front passenger side wheel bent. dealer notified. *nlm | |||
| 07/01/2001 | 1 | ||
| Consumer states while he was cleaning his vehicle he noticed that the wheels were bent, after taking them to the dealer he was told that they could not repair them because they were not under warranty. the wheel are still driveable. nlm | |||
| 05/01/2001 | 2 | 03/01/2001 | |
| No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| 06/01/2001 | 1 | 04/01/2000 | |
| Odi action number pe01-044, alloy wheel denting. two wheels are dented.*ak | |||
| 09/01/2001 | 3 | 04/01/2001 | |
| Rims dent and crack when hitting potholes at low speeds. slow air leaks reported also. *ak (tiresize: 205/55/16) | |||
| 09/01/2001 | 3 | 04/01/2001 | |
| Rims dent and crack when hitting potholes at low speeds. slow air leaks reported also. *ak | |||
| 10/19/2001 | 1 | 04/01/2001 | |
| Wheel is dented. sunroof is skipping and chattering.*ak (tiresize: 205/17/55) | |||
| 11/05/2001 | |||
| Frpont passenger front rear 2 pc wheels are dented, vehicle not taken to dealer yet.*ak | |||
| 03/16/2001 | 1 | 10/01/2000 | |
| While trying to avoid a spin out in heavy snow. i turned to into the curb to help stop my car. my wheel is aluminum spoke design. all the spokes fractured completely out of the wheel. the tire still had air. my wheel came off. my rotor hit the ground and busted. my dad who is a mechanic came out before the tow truck took my car off and he said he never seen anything like it. the same comment came from the tow truck driver and the service manager at mitsubishi. my car is low and the only body damage was from when the wheel dropped off added to when the tow truck lifted my front end. i was already in antilock mode and not going very fast in heavy snow conditions. at the most i should only have gotten a flat or bent rim.*ak | |||
| 01/21/2001 | 5 | 07/01/2000 | |
| I've experienced five bent wheels under separate, ordinary street driving conditions. wheels are made of very soft, easily bent metal. no tire damage has been experienced. *ak | |||
| WHEELS - RIM | |||
| 01/15/2007 | 68000 | 1 | 05/01/2001 |
| Tl*- the contact has a 2001 mitsubishi eclipse gt. the contact has a complaint about the alloy wheels on the vehicle. the contact's vehicles tires were balanced on 1/15/07 at that point the contact was notified that one of the allow wheels was slightly bent and may cause air to leak and the tire to be damaged. the contact wants to make a formal complaint to mitsubishi in regards to this issue. there has been no tire failure to date. *jb the consumer stated the rims are soft and they bend easily. updated *jb | |||
| 03/31/2006 | 1 | ||
| My daughter hit a pot hole in her 2001 mitsubishi eclipse and the rim bent severely and the tire went flat. *nm | |||
| 09/07/2005 | 50000 | 0 | 05/28/2004 |
| The rims on my car are peeling. because of the peeling they are now rusting. i am trying to sell the car but now i have to replace all the rims because these ones looks horrible. i have talked to other people with 2001 eclipses that have done the same thing. *nm | |||
| 12/15/2001 | |||
| I have had two rims bend in the past two years from normal driving in northwest indiana. | |||
| 10/01/2001 | 30 | 35 | 09/19/2001 |
| Not only do i have the aggrevation of bent rims and flat tires, and financial hardship on this, my left side of the car doesn't align to the right. water leeks in on the left side. sometimes the heater blows out cool air. the sunroof shakes when opening. i already had a manufacuters defect in my strut on the left side. i have sctraches on the left side fom the car scrapping the ground when i make a right hand turn. i had to have the cooling system replaced the first week i financed it.my hood won't open and my headlights fail causing me to dirve only with the fog lights. all these issues are the same and constant since i purchased this lemon.*ak | |||
| 12/09/2003 | 2 | ||
| I was driving down the road two separate times now when i have hit potholes that resulted in a bend in my rim. the first time all the air was let out due to it breaking the seal on the tire. i was left stranded for several hours before help arrived to help me in the middle of the winter. the second time was about a week ago when i hit a pothole and now the air slowly leaks out everyday and before i can go anywhere i must reair my tire. i bought a replacement rim the first time since they said it was unrepairable. this time i am filing a complaint with my city since it is the same pothole again that they didn't correctly fix the first time. i will have to purchase a new rim again since they say it can't be fixed since they are allunium rims. i have the 6 spoke rim that came standard on the 2001 eclipse. *jb | |||
| 03/11/2005 | 1 | 11/26/2004 | |
| Driving home at approximatly 9:00pm est going 40 mph on route 611 north around warrington, pa in the rain. heard a loud bang from the passenger front side of the car (really loud). i assume that i had hit a pot hole and was not immedialty concerned until i heard a weird flapping noise. i pulled into a safe location to check out the tire and wheel and the wheel was heavily dented. the tire had lost all air, but was not torn up. after putting on the spare i checked the wheel using a flashlight and noticed that the wheel was cracked. i will need to replace the 17 alloy wheel at cost of $350. i have had other alloy wheels that have stood up to pot holes before. i have read all previous complaints, as well as, the report finalization by nhtsa. i am lucky that in the rain i didn't lose control of the vehicle and be part of/cause an accident. i am a little concerned as to the structure and security of these rims for the future. if this happend at a speed of about 40 mph, what would have been the ramifications at 55/60mph on a highway? currently, i still have the cracked wheel in my possession. i am planning to purchase another wheel tomorrow march 12, 2005.*ak | |||
| 12/04/2004 | 1 | 10/20/2001 | |
| Normal road conditions lead to my wheel rim cracking and requiring a new rim. this failure may have caused a severe accident if i was traveling at high speed, luckily i was only traveling at 25 mph when the failure occurred, leaving the car disabled. new rims are very costly with added repair costs ($686). further the spare tire does not fit the front of the car? how is this legal?*ak | |||
| 03/17/2003 | 4 | 08/17/2001 | |
| I leased a 2001 mitsbuishi eclipse. within the first two years of the lease, i have had to replaced all four rims on the car. i contacted family auto mitsubishi here in indianapolis where i leased the car and asked them to replace the rims with ones from a newer model because of the excessive problems i had. i was told that they were not faulty, that they were damaged by excessive road wear. i contacted the bbb they contacted the dealership. all they did was send me a letter stating i should take the car into the dealership and see what they would do for me. they had already stated that they would not replace the rims. | |||
| 09/02/2004 | 2 | 07/01/2001 | |
| On january 2003 while driving at 40 mph, the consumer hit a small pot hole. one half month later, the consumer experienced a flat tire on the passenger front side. the vehicle was taken to goodyear dealership to replace the tire. the dealership indicated the rim was cracked. *ak *jb | |||
| 08/27/2004 | 1 | ||
| My experience, online testimonials and news regarding mitsubishi eclipse alloy wheels' faulty construction convinced me that my suspicions were confirmed. although odi claims all damage is cosmetic, i suspect they've never taken a 2001 eclipse for an extended spin.*ak | |||
| 02/01/2002 | 5000 | 4 | 02/22/2001 |
| Bent rims. each rim on the vehicle has/was bent, possibly due to defect in the rim material. i avoid most potholes, so the bending was not caused by hitting large holes or large objects. the bend on the rim causes the air pressure to go down or a flat tire, which caused the vehicle to vear to the right or left. also the tires are wearing very fast do to loss of pressure. four new rims were purchased at the price of $1100, but the handling of the car has already been affected from the suspension to the brakes.*ak | |||
| 02/15/2004 | 3 | ||
| Ea 02- 007/aluminum alloy wheel denting: consumer was concerned that the original rims were denting prematurely when driving over pot holes. dealer was notified. *ak | |||
| 12/09/2001 | 600 | 2 | 09/15/2001 |
| I have a 2001 mitsubishi eclipse and have lost all the original rims to dents from normal road driving--i had to replace all 4 rims because they we so warped they wouldn't hold a seal on the tire--that's $850.00!!!! on a new car!*ak | |||
| 08/24/2004 | 1 | ||
| While driving 30 mph consumer lost the control of the vehicle. consumer stated that passenger wheel rim was bent. consumer found on the web page many consumers having the same problem. the wheels were made of very soft easily bent metal. *ak *nm | |||
| 05/02/2002 | 1 | ||
| Tires did not feel right for over 6 months, went to 3 different dealerships until someone finally realized that two of the rims were bent one in front and one in back, on two opposite sides of the car. i was told that i must have hit a pot hole, but that would be impossible if the rims bent were on two different sides. after losing the battle i paid over $600 to replace the rims. *ak | |||
| 01/15/2003 | 60000 | 1 | 06/01/2002 |
| While driving 25 mph, the consumer's vehicle hit a pot hole and the passenger's side wheel bent. as result, there was damage to the tires. consumer indicated the wheel rims were made of very soft easily bent metal. *ak the consumer stated the remaining rims bent and had to be replaced. *jb | |||
| 11/01/2002 | 3 | 10/01/2000 | |
| 2001 mitsubishi eclipse 17 rims - the rims are soft and bend easy. i had several incidents where i was left on the side of the road after hitting a pot hole as the rim had bent and created a flat tire. after owning the car for two years, i had to replace the rims as they were a hazard and creating driving problems. i bought off the shelf rims for half the cost of the mitsubishi rims and have not had a single problem since (2 years later). three of my four rims were in really bad shape from hitting the smallest of pot holes. when replacing tires, my mechanic would take the time to try and re-bend the rim to its original shape and mentioned to me that this was a common problem he saw on the mitsubishi eclipse model. *jb | |||
| 10/17/2001 | 100 | 13 | 09/24/2001 |
| No injuries: a blow out within a 2 yr period, front left tire flat 13 times, replaced that rim 3 times. drivers side door, left side of hood, left rear by trunk does not align properly to the right side. already had a manufacturers defect in my left strut scratches by left tire started out small now are 5 inches wide. *ak | |||
| 11/12/2001 | 9230 | 1 | |
| Consumer took the vehicle into the dealership for inspection and was informed by the mechanic that all four rims were bent on the vehicle. the consumer stated that the vehicle had neither been driven off road nor hit any potholes. *la the rims bent during normal driving. the bends also affected the tires ( two tire failures) and the steering. *sc *jb | |||
| 04/23/2004 | 6 | 09/23/2001 | |
| 6 blowouts 4 rims all on the front drivers side there are scratches all along the drivers side by the tire. the drivers side door doesn't align. this has been happening since the 2nd day i financed the car.and i found out that my strut was blown which may of caused all the scratches. dealership said it was my fault but i have a picture to proof those scratches were there the 2nd day i had the car. i just had another blowout this morning about a foot away from entering the highway.incident from 10/2001-to today. *ak | |||
| 12/30/2003 | 1 | ||
| Rim bent easily after hitting pothole. *ak | |||
| 12/22/2003 | 1 | 01/09/2002 | |
| I read the news story on the website for 7 on your side about the defectiveness of the metal alloy rims for the '1997 through 2001 mitsubishi eclipse rims and wanted to go on record with you as having problems with the same rims on my eclipse. not only are they a cause of much headache and financial drain ion thier owners but also they are a safety hazard and this should be rectified.*ak | |||
| 10/24/2003 | 45940 | 1 | |
| The front passenger side alloy rim on my 2001 mitsubishi eclipse gt was bent and cracked from simply hitting a pothole in the road. this caused my tire to rapidly deflate and the rim unable to be used. *la | |||
| 12/01/2002 | 30100 | 1 | 05/26/2001 |
| While accelerating on an on ramp to get onto interstate 84 in connecticut, i hit a small pothole in the road and it majorly bent the wheel and caused the tire to come off of the wheel. this happened in the night and on a stretch of the highway that had no shoulder. i had to drive approximately a mile on this blown out tire and wheel to the next exit. the failure of this wheel cost me $350 (for the wheel) and another $150 (for the tire) plus labor charges. no mention of the problems with these wheels was mentioned when i took it to the dealer. | |||
| 10/09/2001 | 5 | 09/15/2001 | |
| The first week of buying the car i noticed a little scratch by the front drivers side tire. then i started hearing little squeaking noises when i was reversing coming from the same left tire. then i noticed the rim was bent i brought it to the dealer they said i was hitting curbs & road hazard. months later the scratch at the bottom by the fog lights was getting bigger and deep the tire kept losing air and those springing sound noises i still heard. make the long story short it is 2 years later the deep gashes from the left front tire is now all the wayaround the bottom of the fog lights almost reaching the midde.i went thru 2 tires no blow outs thank god 3 rims and one was a replacement the tire keeps leaking air there is nothing wrong with the right side of the car its all the left front. i spoke to the manufactuer of mitshubshi they are aware of this they said its not a safety issue .don't blowouts happen due to bent rims? they noticed its only happening in certain states that certain states road conditions are bad. all states have potholes but when you are driving 15 mph, hit a pothole ,& your rim bends causing your tire to leak air something wrong. these rims are constantly bending but on my car it s only the left side. its unsafe, because when i hit a potlhole it makes a loud banging noise even my brake pedal shakes. if i knew all these complaints i would of never bought this car now i know its not me but the way these cheap soft wheels were made something should be done about this its unsafe and the whole car shakes and steers to the left after hitting a pothole. i dont use my car alot mostly back and forth to work on a highway 15 miles one way. i am tired of purchasing rims at $300.00 i pay enough for this car and for the money i pay i should have decent rims that can stand driving over a 15-30 mile an hour pothole. i had cars before this never had a dented rim .something should be done about this there are even complaints on jdpower's website. | |||
| 10/01/2001 | 09/09/2001 | ||
| The left driver side rim keeps bending, which causes a flat tire. i bought 3 rims already. always with in a week the rim is bent. the car makes a noise from the front end coming from the left tire and there are deep scratch marks on the lower front by the tire. at speeds of 15-20 miles an hour if i hit a pothole the rim bends and the whole thing shakes even when i hit the brake the brake pedal shakes bake and forth. if i knew the rim would be like this and i have to go through all this trouble of tires and rimes costing $300.00 i would of never bought this car.after i hit the pot hole the car start steering to the left. and the scratches on the bottom by the left tire keep getting bigger and bigger and deeper | |||
| 04/16/2003 | 54000 | 3 | 12/01/2000 |
| I own a 2001 mitsubishi eclipse. i have 54000 miles on this car. on april 16, 2003, i had my third flat tire (2 of them have been blow outs). all three (as told by goodyear) were caused by bent rims. two of the bends were very noticeable and each occurred with regular driving. i feel like i am driving on a time bomb. even with minor bends, air releases from the tire. i check my pressure every week, but still to no avail. from other complaints i have read, this is a major problem that mitsubishi appears to be ignoring. *jb | |||
| 01/30/2003 | 1 | ||
| A loud bang was heard as if running over a large object in the road. however inspection revealed the right front wheel rim had a large dent. the tire was not damaged but had been knocked off its bead due to the damage to the rim. *tt *jb | |||
| 02/22/2003 | 1 | ||
| The driver side front rim bent, which caused the tire to lose air.*jb | |||
| 02/23/2003 | 0 | ||
| I was traveling down rt. 135, coincidentally passing a mitsubishi dealership, around 7:15 in the evening. there was pretty heavy rainfall, so i made sure to stay around 25 miles/hr. as i passed the dealership i heard a thunderous boom from the right side of my car. i made it back to my house (which is less than a mile away). when i got out of my car, i found the front of my front right rim bent, and the inside of the rim was missing an 8 inch chunk of metal near the seal. i took it down to the dealership the next day only to hear them tell me that damage was normal in regular road conditions. the only option i was given was to buy a new rim (at about $350). this was even with the extended 100,000 mile warranty on the vehicle. | |||
| 02/20/2003 | 03/03/2001 | ||
| 2001 mitsubishi eclipse gs, rims have either a stress fracture or bent under normal driving conditions. there type of rims are 16 inches, ten spoke and are the aluminimum alloy type. trying to work with mitsubishi as they are refusing to fix problem. | |||
| 01/27/2003 | 27330 | 2 | |
| Two of my mitsubishi eclipse (2001) 17 six-spoke rims bent, one to the point of failure, when i contacted a pot-hole at low speed. | |||
| 01/30/2003 | 38000 | 1 | 09/30/2000 |
| I was driving my 2001 mitsubishi eclipse equipped with 17 inch alloy wheels, going about 30 miles per hour, when i heard a loud bang from the right front area. it was after dark and the car seemed to handle okay so i proceeded on but after a short distance i heard a similar bang. i pulled over and found that the right front wheel rim was greatly deformed and the tire knocked off the bead. i changed the tire and proceeded home without further incident. i inspected the road the following day in another vehicle and drove over the same rough spots and barely noticed them. there were no signifigant pot holes in the road. i believe that a wheel that will fail so easily is a hazard. if i had been traveling at highway speeds and struck a hole in the road i believe the tire would have gone flat immediately and control of the vehicle would have been lost. | |||
| 11/10/2002 | 20000 | 2 | 09/12/2000 |
| I have 17 inch alluminum wheels on a 2001 mitsubishi eclipse gt. under normal driving rims bend and tires loose air resulting in weaken tires and bloww out under norma driving conditions. not safe. must check tire pressure daily. metal used is soft and allows space between ties and rims. tires fail. one tire blew on highway due to sidewall failure potential safety problem to me and public. rims are too soft. | |||
| 7500 | 2 | 10/02/2000 | |
| Consumer stated the alloy rims are made of extremely soft metal that bends easily which occurs during ordinary driving conditions and are a safety hazard. the dealer refused to replace the defective rims. scc *jb | |||
| 11/20/2002 | 16500 | 06/06/2001 | |
| My wheel bent when i hit a small pot hole while traveling at 35mph. the tire will no linger hold air. | |||
| The factory rims that came with the vehicle upon purchase are described by the owner as butter. aluminum is too soft to handle normal road driving conditions. the rims bent and two of the tires had blowouts. please describe details. *mr | |||
| 1 | 10/01/2000 | ||
| I am reporting two separate incidents, both involving the quality of the manufacturer's rims on the 2001 mitsubishi eclipse gt. i have somehow managed to dent both the right front and right rear rim on my new 2001 mitsubishi eclipse gt within the first 6 months of driving (odometer read less than 3600 miles after the second incident). i previously owned a 1997 mitsubishi eclipse gst i purchased new without any rim issues and traded in after 45,000 miles for the new eclipse. the first incident occurred while making a right turn at a stop light driving less than 10 mph. i drove too close to a curb and my front tire hit a pothole. the tire instantly deflated, and there was no damage to the actual tire, however the rim was bent in at least 2-3 inches and had to be replaced. the dealer would not replace under warranty, so my cost for a new rim was around $300, and then the dealer stated that i had to go elsewhere to have tire and rim installed because their tire machine was broken! total cost of the first incident was approximately $320. the second incident occured only a couple of months later, but i am still not sure how or where the incident occured. the damage to the right rear rim is substantially less as i am still driving on this rim today. (the right rear rim is dented less than 1/4 inch and there was no effect on the tire or the steering.) neither my driving skills nor the driving conditions have changed since owning the previous eclipse to merit those reasons as factors for the faulty rims. *ak | |||
| 09/01/2001 | 1 | 04/27/2001 | |
| At 5,000 miles, the manufactured rims began to collapse, causing one of the rims to bend, and causing the tire to blowout. *ak the consumer was driving when she heard a loud bang and the vehicle was pulling to the right. the consumer found that the tire was completely flat and that the rim was deformed. *scc | |||
| At 4,000 miles rims began collapsing, not retaining air, bent easy. these are manufactured rims that came with vehicle upon purchase. please describe details. *ak | |||
| 06/11/2002 | 4 | 01/01/2001 | |
| Rims are bent and crumbling, my tire continuously loses air/ accidents have been caused by this defect. *ak | |||
| 09/01/2002 | |||
| Rims were defective. consumer advised that rims bend very easily and adversely, affecting steering control while driving.*ak | |||
| 07/11/2002 | |||
| While driving all four rims bent without being hit.it was caused by material that rims were made, being so flimsy.common problem. dealer contacted.*ak | |||
| 12/15/2000 | 5 | 07/01/2000 | |
| Bent four original wheels and bought a replacment that also got bent. *ak | |||
| 04/02/2002 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle hit a pothole and front passenger's side rim bent. rims should not bend under normal wear and tear. *akjlg | |||
| 09/01/2002 | |||
| Vehicle was taken in to dealer on a routine oil change and dealer noticed two rims were bent. cause unknown.*ak | |||
| 04/24/2001 | 4 | 04/01/2001 | |
| While driving, if vehicle hits a pothole it will bend the rims. contacted dealer.*ak all four rims bent. the day consumer purchased vehicle one of the rims were bent so bad that it had to be replaced. the dealer offered no solution and couldn't explain why they wouldn't stop recommending rims that have a known problem. *jg | |||
| 02/28/2001 | |||
| All four tires were vibrating as a result of rims being bent.*ak | |||
| 2 | 09/01/2001 | ||
| The wheel (rims) have chipped during normal usage. clear coat looks to be warning off.*ak | |||
| 10/15/2001 | |||
| One front and one rear rim were replaced because they were bent. at this time the second rear rim is bent and has to be replaced.*ak | |||
| 1 | 01/01/2000 | ||
| I noticed a very large dent in my wheel while washing my car. i have never hit anything before & i was wondering why such a large dent in my rim would have occurred with no damage to my tire. however, my rim is dented in such a way that my tire barely holds the air in it. i am very afraid to drive my car on the highway for fear that my tire will explode off of my wheel. i can't understand how a heavy,metal rim could have bent so far & not punctured my tire. what can be done about this problem? this is virtually a brand new car for me & i am the only driver. i see no reason to pay all of this money for something that is not at all safe to drive. *ak | |||
| 05/21/2002 | 1 | ||
| While changing the right rear tire the consumer noticed a crack in the rim, dealer contacted. feel free to provide any further information.*jb | |||
| While driving 20 mph and without warning all four rims have dented. manufacturer has been notified about problem, and customer service representative stated consumer was at fault.*ak | |||
| 01/01/2002 | 1 | 02/05/2001 | |
| Rims are too soft. when mounting a tire, the rims have dents and bends posing a road hazard. dealership is aware of problem.*ak *tt | |||
| 12/15/2001 | 1 | 09/01/2000 | |
| I was driving in a snow covered road when i hit a pothole i could not see. the rim bent and the tire went flat immediately. i've hit much larger potholes in the past in other cars i've owned and never had this happen.*ak | |||
| 08/21/2001 | 2 | 05/01/2000 | |
| These rims are defective and are unsafe. mitsubishi has know about this since it was deployed in 1998.*ak | |||
| 10/12/2000 | 5 | 07/01/2000 | |
| I've experienced five different bent rims in 20,000 miles! not safe!. *ak | |||
| 01/18/2001 | 2 | 12/01/2000 | |
| The alloy rims designed for this car are extremely soft and are damaged very easily. they are also very expensive to replace. many owners are having problems with the wheels being damaged. i do understand that alloy wheels are more easily damaged than steel wheels, but this is ridiculous. also.....dealer did not advise alignment after repair, causing over $500 in tire damages a month later, and a blowout. i know nothing about wheels, it should not have been assumed that i understood the effects of the wheel damage without them being explained to me.*ak | |||
| 08/18/2001 | 1 | 08/01/2001 | |
| While going onto an interstate (i 495 north) from the ramp, my car stepped into a pothole which was not really deep only at around 50 miles. the front left wheel rim was fractured and bent and the rear rim was bent slightly too. the tire deflated immediately but did not burst open. fortunately since there was not much traffic there was no crash, but it could easily have been fatal, especially since the car is a front wheel drive and the wheel was really bent out of shape. dealer said that problem is due to road hazard and not vehicle defect, however i have found 5 other complaints on this website of the exact same nature.*ak | |||
| 05/25/2001 | 1 | 08/01/2000 | |
| Steering wheel shakes at seventy, dealer refused to fix the problem; doors leak and dealer refuses to fix as well; rims easily bend. *ak | |||
| 02/19/2001 | 2 | 05/03/2000 | |
| While driving over a pothole, tire went flat and rim bent, the exact same thing happened that night, manufacturer knows that rims are too soft for the tires, they are bending and causing flat tires, manufacturer would not help consumer. *slc | |||