LOW OIL LEVELS IN THE TRANSFER CASE COULD CAUSE BEARING DAMAGE AND RESULT IN DRIVE TRAIN LOCKUP, raises the risk of A CRASH.
Remedy & full details
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE TRANSFER CASE FOR INDICATIONS OF OIL LEAKAGE OR DAMAGE. VEHICLES THAT HAVE OIL LEAKAGE WILL HAVE THE TRANSFER CASE RESEALED AND RE-FILL THE TRANSFER CASE TO THE PROPER LEVEL, OR REPLACED THE TRANSFER CASE IF THERE IS EVIDENCE OF DAMAGE. OWNER NOTIFICATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DECEMBER 9, 2002. 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 AMERICA AT 1-888-648-7820 OR MITSUBMISHI CARIBBEAN AT 1-787-251-8715.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, A CONDITION EXISTS THAT ALLOWS OIL TO LEAK FROM THE ALL-WHEEL DRIVE TRANSFER CASE.
Complaint volume
Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.
What owners reported happened
6Crashes
0Fires
2Injuries
0Deaths
Across 62 complaints. Severity Index 0.32.
Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.
What owners report most
Seat Belts:Front:Retractor — 12 reports
Power Train:Automatic Transmission — 10 reports
Power Train:Manual Transmission — 5 reports
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Components:Disc:Rotor — 4 reports
Air Bags:Frontal — 3 reports
Power Train — 3 reports
Wheels:Rim — 2 reports
Power Train:Automatic Transmission:Cooling Unit And Lines — 2 reports
Power Train:Transfer Case (4-Wheel Drive) — 2 reports
Wheels — 2 reports
What to do
Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.
Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.
Questions
Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?
Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.
Do I pay for recall repairs?
No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.
Why are there complaints but no recalls?
Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.
From the same data desk
Independent sites, same maintainer, same open-data standards.