ClubCJ - The CJ Lancer Club

(This is a bit of a read sorry)
I'm wondering if anyone else has had any troubles with servicing and mitsubishi with Ralliart/Evo. My local Mitsubishi dealer is not a Ralliart/Evo approved dealer, meaning they can't sell them or preform warranty work on them. But when i got the Ralliart they told me servicing was no problem..well that's all changed!

I booked my Ralliart in for its 45,000ks service and they checked the rego and everything (obviously knew it was a ralliart). Dropped it off that morning with no comments....But the afternoon when i picked it up they explained that because it was a ralliart they couldn't do any of the gearbox, diff transfer case or hydraulic oils? They told me (and its written on my invoice) that i will have to go to a ralliart approved dealer for them to perform these tasks. Now, living in a rural city of Mildura, the closest RA dealer is 4.5 hours away in Adelaide. They THEN saw it fit to charge me $501.75 to, from what i can tell replace my oil, oil and air filter and coolant (and check over various things). I expected a $500 bill INCLUDING all the lube replacements. Then to add insult to injury they told me that one of the lines had come off the SST and had been leaking, which they reconnected and secured but they "recommend i take it immediately to a RA dealer to check oil levels as it could be very low but they 'cant' check it".

Being extremely unhappy with this i called the workshop manager who just so happens to own an Evo X (he was the one that made me aware of the fact they can't preform warranty work earlier). He told me that what i was told was incorrect, they don't stock the oils and lubes but they can get them in. When i told him that they had specifically written that they COULD NOT get them on the invoice he just kind of played it off and insisted that he could certainly get them in for me. He also told me that he was looking into a couple of the warranty things i had asked them to just have a quick look at (contrary to them telling me that they couldn't do anything about them because it was a RA). I've tried to call him a couple of times since then and he won't return my calls now. He is a really nice guy, but i fear it might be in the too hard basket...

The problem I'm facing now- I don't trust them! I don't want them working on my car and i don't trust that they will preform the jobs i'm being charged for. I've talked to Mitsubishi Aus and they've said i can take it to another company to work on other than mitsubishi, but I must be able to trust that workshop to only use genuine mitsubishi oils and filter ect and that if they screw up its my warranty on the line.

Has anyone had any situations like this? Surely not everyone has a RA dealer where they live? I've read through the 45,000k service thread and $500 seems extremely expensive seeing as they didn't do half or more of the service...any thoughts? Is it safe to take it to a reputable work shop other than mitsubishi? Im tearing my hair out atm. With my liberty, Subaru were so good to deal with and went above any beyond there duty of care. Cant say i'd recommend the local Mitsubishi to anyone!!!

woodduck wrote:My local Mitsubishi dealer is not a Ralliart/Evo approved dealer, meaning they cant sell them or preform warranty work on them. But when i got the Ralliart they told me servicing was no problem.

So you already knew they can't but believed them when they said they could? Sounds like you put yourself in this mess...

You're probably paying for a RA service despite them not doing the full thing because they want every cent they can get, not surprisingly. I can't really comment on what you should be paying though...

If they told you they could do it, and then went ahead and only did half the job without contacting you, then I'd be demanding my money back. They basically tricked you into taking the car to them and then didn't do what you instructed them to.
Even if there was a genuine communication screw-up, they shouldn't have layed a hand on the car until they contacted you to correct that they can't actually do the full service.

Also, it sounds like the workshop guy absent-mindedly said they could special-order what you need, before realizing they only do that for his car and like you said, put it in the 'too hard' basket for you.

There is nothing stopping you from ordering the required fluids and bringing them to them yourself though. Its not like they're restricted...

you CANNOT order any RA/evo parts through a non ra/evo dealer some places sell the ra's but cannot service them i have the same problem at my local at morafeild dealer i tried to order an evo part and they (the other end) wouldn't give it to them because they wern't an "authorised" dealer.

I would be on the same page as Dire here.

You had prior knowledge that your local dealer cannot service RAs/Evos but you still went for it on a word out of their mouth. So I don't think much can be said.

Here's another thing.
People in rural areas unfortunately pay more for stuff.
Mildura isn't exactly an urban area.
You have to accept when living in such areas that communities are smaller and support for stuff isn't as complete.
As a result costs of parts may be more expensive than normal due to carriage and support costs.

It's nothing new to us about rural services. I think you should read about Seb15's overcharged service here. He lives in Mackay in QLD which is a wee bit OUT OF TOWN.

You're best advised to go into a dealership capable of doing these services. It sucks having to drive 300->800 KM to get your car serviced but you just gotta do it.
Although you might be like some Vic members who claim those distances are simply a cruise. Hardly a hike.

And as for the cost of the fluids, I can help you save on the cost of them buy supplying them to you.
For some idea on how this is done, read here.

You can always ask a dealership mechanic to quote you for all the consumables he will need prior to you sending the car in.
They HAVE TO provide you an itemised listing and how much they will charge you for it.
What you then can do is source for the same fluids and prepare them prior to sending the car in. Don't tell them you will be doing that though
At the same time, you also ask them for their PER HOUR charge for the work, so they cannot suddenly jack up the cost per hour.

What I tend to do is turn up at my service with ALL NECESSARY fluids and consumables in my boot, so I am only charged labour.

You don't have to worry about them instead jacking up the number of hours. If they are an official Mitsubishi dealership, they have a RECOMMENDED TIME NEEDED to do any task. Anything more than an Hour on top of the RECOMMENDED TIME, you can complain to Mitsubishi Australia and action will be taken.

Welcome to my world Carl! But at least i got everything done but the tranny fluid and i payed $756 so far and now i'm waiting for the tranny fluid ( it has been ordered) wich is gonna cost $560 + labour so all up ( with what they done before) will be around $1500-$1600 mark
Not sure why they charge you $500 and they didn't replace any fluids at all :/

Here is a "small" list with what they done with my car and the cost for the parts:
- Air refresher assy: Qty.1, Total cost: $53.59
- Element-Air cleaner, Qty:1, Total cost: $54.97
- Fluid, Brake and clutch-500ml, Qty:1, Total cost:$9.55
- Coolant, pre-mix, 5lt, Qty:1, Total cost:$55.40
- Oil filter assy, Qty: 1, Total cost: $18.29
- Gasket-14mm, Qty:1, Total cost:$1.67
- wiper blade refills thick, Qty:1, Total cost: $5.28
- wiper refill thin type, Qty:1, Total cost: $7.12
- Mercedes-Benz Geniune Oil, Qty: 4.5L, Total cost: $90.00
- Diff oil-LSD 90, Qty: 2, Total cost:$24.84
- Misc, work shop materials, Total cost: $15.00
- MM Sp3 auto Trans-fluid ( ACD Fluid), Qty:1, Total cost:$13.50
- Coolant disposal, Total cost:$7.00
- Hazardous waste disposal, Total cost: $10.00
TOTAL: $366.21 (just for parts)
Labour: $321.25
GST: $68.75
REMEMBER PRICES ARE DIFFRENT FROM DEALER TO DEALER (STATE TO STATE)

Hang on. I don't think you've understood what I'm saying. When i bought the car i had no idea that it couldn't be worked on by the local mitsubishi. It wasn't until i had to take it there that the workshop manager (with the evoX) said they can't preform warranty work on them because they can't sell them. I specifically asked him straight out if they could preform servicing on them and his answer was "Yes. There is no problems at all with us doing services on them". So i hardly 'knew' that they couldn't do the work, when i was told by the workshop manager that there was no problem.

To drive to Melbourne (or even adelaide) every time i needed a service would be silly. It'd add 1500ks to my car every time meaning servicing would be done every roughly 4 months...For a single 22 year old trying to pay off a house and car thats just not an option. It'd be fine if i had friends or relatives to stay with!

Sebastion- Holy crap! So that $500 was obviously just the beginning :/ All they did on mine was oil, oil filter, gasket and coolant. The rest of the stuff was just checked over...nothing more was replaced. So $500 seems very steep.

I've got it booked in to an independant workshop over here (very big, professional, reputable workshop) on tuesday to at least check the gearbox fluid level. Then i will sort out the rest of the stuff. As much as i love the RA more, I'm really starting to regret selling my 3RB:(

A non Ra/Evo dealer can not do any warranty claims to your car.

If your having issues with you car feel free to contact me and ill see if i can help you out in any way or steer you in the right direction.

Note- There is many people out the that claim they know about these cars and the operation of the SST. So i hope that the shop you are taking it to has had experience with the SST.

The SST is a great unit dont regret it, the Ralliart is a fantastic unit.

If it helps woodduck, Bendigo Mitsubishi is also a ralliart dealer. still a bloody long way tho!! I have used them and had no problems with them. I do also have capped price servicing tho... will be interesting to see how they go when that runs out..
Cheers
rallyhaggis

Hi all....I have an email from Misubishi Australia stating that any Mitsubishi dealer can service and warrant my Ralliart. I received it from them when i filled out my customer survey stating my concerns about servicing my Ralliart at a non ralliart dealer. Ken...i have mine serviced at Morayfield...they are a Ralliart dealer. I printed out the email and have it in my log book for referance to dealers that say they cant do the work.

Nick- I completely understand that and although find it strange have come to terms with that. But as for servicing? The place I'm taking it shouldn't really have to touch the SST. Im just getting them to check the fluid level in it and then if all goes well i might get them to replace all the fluids in the diff etc. The SST shouldn't need it as it was replaced under warranty only 5000ks ago roughly. Its just if its leaked out when one of the hoses got loose.

Jason- That is actually good to know. Although Adelaide is still closer. But it gives me another option.

Neo- Did the letter come from Mitsubishi Australia? Do you mind me asking exactly what it said? Feel free to inbox me if you don't want it public.

Woodduck........... This is what i done..... I don't trust Mitsubishi at all.. Like most other dealer service departments they don't give a shit if they look after your vehicle or not..... as it has warranty.

Ok, maybe not all of them , but at least 2 local dealers of Mitsubishi up here are like it.

I rang Mitsubishi Australia and explained my dire concerns about the attroshis service i had received, And that i had lost confidence in their service division.

I also informed them that i would be taking my RA to a high performance mechanic to do all servicing. He would inform me if there was any warranty work to be done, and this would then be taken to an authorised dealer to perform this work that would be inspected by him when i took the vehicle back to him.

They accepted this on the condition that at least once a year Mitsubishi get to service the vehicle. this is to ensure that i am having the services performed at the correct intervals.

It might be worth a try. But make sure the mechanic is reputable and knows high performance Turbocharged vehicles.

Good Luck

Ian- Thats what I'm trying do. Mitsubishi aus told me it was fine to go to an independent workshop as long as i can trust them enough to use only genuine mitsubishi. The workshop that I'm taking it to is a very big one that actually advertise as "Service new cars and you keep your warranty" so if they screw it up i might have some kind of comeback even (doubtful).

The only places around Mildura that do high performance vehicles mainly work on Commdores/HSVs....so they wouldn't know a RA from a WRX haha.

Thats good Carl................ But just remind them that the diffs and tranny do require very specific oils/ One of the members has put a list of them up in a forum titled SST Problems.

So make sure the service center is aware of these oils. Im lucky, the mechanic i use here on the Gold Coast builds evos and skylines and has a good name with them.

Good Luck

woodduck wrote:When i bought the car i had no idea that it couldnt be worked on by the local mitsubishi. It wasnt until I had to take it there that the workshop manager (with the evoX) said they cant preform warranty work on them because they cant sell them

You didn't enquire about servicing when you bought it?
Did you buy it from your local dealer or from Adelaide?

The dealership I bought from and the complex I go to for servicing both had stands with booklets detailing everything about the warranty...

As with any car (within reason, we're not talking about lambos here), you can get it serviced anywhere, you just can't make warranty claims from any old workshop. Whether its a turbo or not is largely irrelevant.

I hardly think its a 'Mitsu sucks' thing. Evo's and ralliarts are somewhat unconventional (with the SST) and rare in the country. I can understand them not wanting mechanics who aren't really sure what they're doing replacing something as expensive as an SST gearbox under warranty if its not the problem.

It'd be hard to train, and just as importantly keep rural Mitsu mechanics practised, on repairing turbo CJ lancers. I'm sure theres some dealerships that don't even have any CJ ralliarts or evos in their town.

How are they going to check the gearbox level? There is no dip stick or level indicator.

P.S. If you're reading between the lines I'd be more worried that they may have partially drained the gearbox before realising they couldn't do it. You have to ask yourself why did they even touch any SST lines when they cannot service this item.

Another thing is "if" any SST lines had come off whilst the car was running the gearbox oil would drain itself dry in a matter of minutes.

Something sounds fishy to me especially as they've told you it could be very low.....