We are aware of the login problems affecting the forums, and appreciate your patience as we work on a fix.
Did you recently purchase a new Tesla, Rivian or Lucid vehicle directly from the manufacturer and willing to share how your experience compared to previous vehicle purchases made through a traditional dealer? A reporter would like to speak with you; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 2/19 for details.
Comments
He told me he has driven 2 different Diamantes since 1997 and both the transmission acted the same. That it is a trate of the 97 Diamante. He described it perfectly; the light pop of the transmission when coming to a stop and he said that his diamantes also hesitated when giving it full throttle from a slow roll.
He said I would get used to it and won't even notice it in a month. He added when accellerating quickly to still give it only 1/4 gas at first then I could floor it.
I have always driven american cars except for a standard transmission honda so my initial feeling was something was wrong.
Of course I would feel more comfortable if some of the owners in this newsgroup also confirmed this.
Transmission feel is somewhat subjective, so my opinion may not be the same as yours. I certainly wouldn't take the word of the sales manager. His job is to make you happy with the car no matter what. The transmission is the same in the 1997-2001 model, so drive a new 2001 model and see if it feels the same to you. If the 2001 is a lot better, then press the service department to check the usual things that can cause the problem. You want to get this problem resolved while the car is under warranty.
09/29/2000 22,528 Auto Auction Sold at auction
12/21/2000 27,528 Pennsylvania Title issued
I bought my car in 2/2001 with 22,700. It appears to be an honest mistake, a typo and I really don't care about a lousy 5000 miles, but I am afraid now that the car is registered to me at 22,700 and the title will come up bad with an odemeter mismatch record.
This would effect me trying to sell the car at a later day.
I called the dealer and the manager is going to get back to me about whats steps can be taken to correct the title.
I can't catch a break! Every time I buy a car I get screwed somehow. It's not like I got a great deal either. I paid a little over used retail for the car! Which I would not have bothered me if it wasn't for the other problems!
I returned the car to the dealer. They put me into a brand new 2001 Diamante LS without the weather package.
Its a 48 month lease from Mitsubishi Motors for $428 a month. The Residual at the end of the lease is $13500 or so. I also paid nothing out of pocket to start the lease because they are refunding my extended warranty ($1370) from the previous car I mentioned in other posts.
I really wanted to just buy it with the 1.9% financing but then it would still have been too much.
Leases scare me but the dealer told me I could purchase the vehicle at any time of the lease. The price would be the current value of the car. Maybe in a year or two I will look into that if I like it.
Anyone else lease a new one? If so what did you pay?
I saw an advertisement for an ES at 42 month and $349. There also was $3000 due at signing. I think I did okay comparing it to that.
Mr. Vivona
I expected more from a 29,000 automobile but I'm sure they can take care of it.
If you continue to have the vibration and your dealer does a normal spin balancing, that will probably not solve the problem. You need to have the tires balanced on a Hunter GSP9700. To find one in your area, go to http://www.gsp9700.com/ and select "Locate a GSP 9700". You can enter bogus name and address information for privacy, but be sure to use your correct city, state and zip code. While at the web site, read all the information about the GSP9700 so you can talk intelligently on the subject with your dealer. Insist that Mitsubishi pay for the balancing under warranty. If the tires cannot be balanced to under 10 pounds of road force variation, get Goodyear to replace the tire under the tire warranty as having "excessive road disturbance".
In all cases, absolutely insist that your wheels be removed and replaced with hand tools only and the lug nuts tightened with a hand torque wrench. NEVER let a mechanic use an air impact wrench on your lug nuts. Mechanics routinely overtighten lug nuts by as much as 200% and that will lead to brake rotor warping. This is not a weakness of the Diamante, it is true of any car.
Mr. Vivona
Any advice? Does that sound like the right price? Whats the proper pounds the lug nuts should be tightened to?
Lug nuts should be tightened to 65-80 ft. lbs. A good target is 75 ft. lbs.
Thanks
Ed
Not a warm and fuzzy feeling inside when you buy a new car that has 4 bad tires.....
Now to see if I can get service to fix a rattle in my dash. The damn passenger air-bag rattles and it goes away if you push down on the cover. Any ideas if Mitsubishi's warranty would fix this on a 250 mile car?
What exactly did good year say were wrong w/all your tires? I have a 2001 and have some slight vibration around 45-55 I think. Have not had the tires re-balanced yet however. I'm wondering if it is a quality control problem at the Aussie Goodyear plant that makes the tires for the D??
Thanks
Ed
1. How well does the film hold up on frameless windows? Does the film tend to peel at the edge?
2. How about film application around the third stoplight on the back shelf between the speakers? Seems like you can only tint AROUND the light, which I think might look bogus from the outside.
Thanks for the inputs.
Ed
Been a while since Ive had anything to say - seems everyone has the same problems I do. By the way - if anyone is looking for good deals on D's - there is a used car dealership in my area (central MO) that seems to get its hands on a lot of Mitsu lease turn ins - anyhow - the prices seem to be incredible, and the dealership is very reputable. For example - the last three 97 Diamante LS's they have sold have all gone for 9800 to 12000 with less than 30K miles - WHICH....leads me to my question. MY Diamante is leased and judging by the rate at which they depreciate, the car will not have anywhere near the market value of what my buyout price is. Has anyone ever attempted to negotiate with the bank on a end of term buy out? Seems like the bank should be flexible - for example if my buy out is 14,900 and the reasonable price at auction would be 8,000 why wouldnt the bank jump at the chance to sell me the car for say 9,500 still making more than if I would have just turned the car in. Just curious if anyone has ever accomplished this.
http://www.geocities.com/diamanteowner/article2.htm
Mr. Vivona
Mr. Vivona
Have you ever tightened the parking brake?
Mine takes over 6 clicks before it grabs the rear wheels, really just one click to the max setting.
Mitsi service wants to charge $45 for the job I say it can't be that hard...can it?!
My 1999 D' now had 16000 miles and I just returned from the Mitsi workshop to replace the a portion of the exhaust that I believe had a hole.
The exhaust portion was right after the header and quite a large piece. Cost $240 but was under warranty so I didn't pay a thing.
Each time I started the motor in the morning it had a high shrill which died down as the engine warmed, then again when I accelerated. I didn't realise that it was sounding that bad till my wife told me that I was waking up the neighborhood each morning. You see I have my stereo up that I don't hear a thing!
Funny thing to happen when it is stainless steel exhaust system.
Now it very quite and I sense better pickup, I must have been missing some backpressure with that exhaust leak.
-C-
The window tinter will remover the rear seat and pop the rear parcel shelf that includes the rear high brake light.
Also just go to a reputable tinting firm with a lifetime warranty and you should do just fine!
-C-
Susan
I have a file so thick on what everyone claims the problem is, including balancing problems, car out of alignment (been aligned 5 times). Even took the car to a different Mitsu. dealership and put in writing they thought the car had been dropped!
Any suggestions on how to get rid of the vibration? I feel I have really tried everything. VERY FRUSTRATED!
Ed
Mr. Vivona
This noise, the parking brake recall, a misaligned front passenger door, the infamous vibration over 45 mph (Yokohama Tires), and a burned out foglamp are the problems I've had.
Thanks for any help.
With the new tires the car doesn't vibrate nearly as bad. There is still a little around 50 - 60 but gets better around 65 again. Hopefully this will go away when the tires wear in.
I'm starting to regret my purchase. Hopefully the car will hold up.
As to the brakes, I would read the full article at http://www.geocities.com/diamanteowner/article2.htm and be sure that the correct procedure for wheel lug tightening is followed regardless of whether you go factory or aftermarket. I have no experience with Stillen's products. By following correct maintenance procedure I have never had to resort to aftermarket parts, and that includes brakes. Because brakes affect the overall stopping characteristic of a car, you have to be sure aftermarket parts will not change the dynamics during braking, causing improper weight distribution or excessive nose down. If you want to give Stillen a try, seal up the factory calipers and rotors in plastic bags and keep them on the shelf in case you ever want to switch back. You don't want the old calipers to corrode internally. Be sure Stillen gives a reasonable warranty. And make sure those lug nuts are not overtightened or your Stillen rotors will warp just like any other rotor.
Hopefully, you can get the problems with your particular Diamante solved so you can enjoy the car they way I enjoy mine. Let me know how the Stillen rotors work out. I did visit their site and when I put a 1997-2000 Diamante in their database search, it said "the database is being updated". Did you actually find a direct replacement for the rotors, or are you using a substitute from a different model? Are you replacing just the rotors, or also the pads and calipers?
Mr. Vivona
Concerning the Rotor/Brake situation. My answer to your questions 1.) I actually found a direct replacement for the rotors. 2.) I am replacing just the rotors & pads - no calipers. Do you think I should replace the calipers? And if so, who sells those items besides the dealer. To find out more about the rotor/brake application call Stillen (714)540-9154 ext.185 KENNY. Thanks
curtishall1
Mike
Mr. Vivona
As to wider tires, I would check the owners manual for recommended sizes. If you want to go wider than that, you'll probably have to go with wider rims, but make sure that what you choose will clear body and suspension parts. The tirerack web site may be of help:
http://www.tirerack.com/mycar/baseframeset.jsp?model=
Diamante+ES&make=Mitsubishi&year=2000
Join the above URL back together in to one long string. Edmunds software doesn't allow real long words.
Have fun with the tire rack web site. You can try on different wheels to see what looks good. Note the rim size and suggested tires. Any rim that is the same size as your stock rims should have a recommended tire that will fit your rims. Call tire rack for answers to fitment questions.
Mr. Vivona
I have on occasion experienced (three times to be exact)the ignition not being able to be turned when I go to start the car without extreme difficulty, sometimes to the point that I think I'll break the key off in the ignition. This hasn't happened often and I'm not certain what I might be doing to make this happen or if it's a problem with the car. Has anyome else experienced this.
One other thing, I noticed a few people wrote about their Diamante's performance with low fuel. I'm glad it's not just my car. When the low fuel light goes on, that means low fuel! My car will hesitate like crazy when the fuel is low especially when starting out after a full stop (like at a traffic signal). So I just don't let the tank get too low and I have no problem.
When it is in park it idles fine around .9 rpm. Once your driving and come to a stop with it in gear it will bounce from .5 - .9 and get a little rough. It is not major but I never drove a new car where the idle bounced up and down.
What is the normal rpm for it to idle at? Is what I'm expierencing normal?
You might try differen't gas to see if this helps.
Ed
It could be that the key is hard to turn when it is in one way, but not when it is turned around 180 degrees. You could mark the key so you could see if it is in the same direction every time it jams.
I would start with a new key from the dealer and see if that solves it. If not, have the dealer service department check it out.
Mr. Vivona
So, why did I trade in the car? I wanted something sportier. The only thing that I found annoying with the Diamante is some of the build quality issues that the dealer never addressed, even after repeated visits:
1) Bad paint finish on the roof (you can see weird streaks that can't be washed off),
2) The right doors (front, and back) don't close correctly--you had to slam them hard to get them to close or open the windows. That was really annoying. For $27600, I expect working doors.
So, how does it compare to the Acura CL? Well, it's comparing apples to oranges...one is a luxury sports coupe, and the other is a luxury sedan. I must say the Acura is a lot rougher on the road, but that is how the suspension was designed. I like feeling the road while driving. I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to miss the nice comfortable ride of the Diamante.
Laters
Over the past six months it has developed a "thud" when down shifting from 2 to 1. The dealer says it needs a new tranny at $2800, but a local transmission shop says it's not a the tranny (honest or stupid?).
Has anyone else had a similar problem. Too bad Mitsu doesn't make the wagon anymore, because I'd buy a new one. What is the closest thing on the market now?
I had a somewhat different problem with the ignition--I would turn the key in Park and NOTHING would happen. That was within my first month of owning the car -- it always started in Neutral. I took it to the dealer who took about 20 minutes to make an adjustment to the shifter and haven't had any problems since.
Hope this helps.
Susan
I'm gonna bring it in this weekend and ask them.