Mitsubishi F4A51 Automatic Transmission Hazard Problem
I am writing on behalf of the issue concerning the safety and reliability of Mitsubishi and Dodge vehicles and their owners that contain the Mitsubishi F4A51 Automatic Transmission (2000-2005 V6 Eclipse, 2001-2005 V6 Stratus RT, 1997-2003 V6 Galant)
The main issue seems to be a manufacturing defect in the wave/cushion spring located in the transmission. Mitsubishi has designed the wave spring as a fragile two coil piece which has been known to repeatedly break causing catastrophic failure in the transmission. This in turn poses a threat on the driver and passengers. When this wave spring breaks, actual pieces of the wave spring make it through Mitsubishi%u2019s also faulty transmission filter and lodge themselves in the pump gear, causing the gear to actually break. After the pump gear has been broken inside the transmission, all forward and reverse gears immediately stop function and in most instances the vehicle shuts off. This could result in potential harm or even death of the driver and/or passenger as the vehicle loses all moving power which can cause an accident with other vehicles on the road. Mitsubishi has recently created an updated version of the wave spring without issuing a recall, which now is a one piece instead of the coil setup and has a less chance of breaking. To many Mitsubishi/Dodge owners this update was discovered after they have had their vehicle in a transmission shop with a hefty bill to pay even though it was Mitsubishi%u2019s fault for engineering a faulty part in their transmission. All one person would need to find out about this issue is search the internet with the transmission code (F4A51) and this issue is well documented, even researched by Transmission Digest (a specialty magazine). Not only is this a large inconvenience to most, it is also a hazard to ones life. Mitsubishi should recall all vehicles which contain the F4A51 automatic transmission to perform the wave spring and filter update or reimburse those who have already had it done at their cost. This is an issue that needs to be addressed as if you own a vehicle with the F4A51 your vehicle WILL eventually need this repair, if you are still around to do it.
