It opens. After 8 days at the dealer for a busted hood latch, the Evo MR is back in service.
Our dealer treated the situation as if it were routine - - a bad sign for Mitsu owners. Step one involved replacing the cracked release lever inside the cabin. Easy enough.
Then came the destruction. Cut a hole in the grille, reach inside and release the latch manually to pop the hood. We were told that during this stage "the bumper will probably get scratched so we'll send it to the body shop for paint work." And no surprise, they did just that.
In the end the release lever, cable, hood latch and grille were all replaced.
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 5,020 miles
opfreakx says:
05:18 PM, 10/27/08
so thats why you need 3
firstwagon says:
05:31 PM, 10/27/08
Years ago I broke the hood release on my 81 Malibu. I lay down under the front of the car, reached up and released it by hand. Then I crimped a splice on the broken cable and problem solved.
Zero dollars, nothing broken and about 10 minutes of my time.
You would think after all these years of engineering improvements, they would make everything better, not worse.
compliance says:
07:50 PM, 10/27/08
Wow. I would be PISSED if they told me they would have to repaint as part of the repair. That's unacceptable.
sgude says:
04:47 AM, 10/28/08
Nice, opfreakx!
Compliance, why would you be pissed? If it's part of the repair, it has to be done. It is not the fault of the dealer that the manufacturer did a shoddy engineering/build of the car -- as any technician will say: "Hey, I just fix the damn things."
1487 says:
05:58 AM, 10/28/08
it was in the shop 8 days for that repair? That is ridiculous.
karjunkie says:
05:59 AM, 10/28/08
I would hang a wire off that latch. It's bound to break again!
arm51 says:
06:51 AM, 10/28/08
8 days out of service for that...wow, just wow.
brn says:
07:03 AM, 10/28/08
The body work is probably what took most of the time. I don't understand why they couldn't do this without scratching the bumper though.
jerrywimer says:
07:09 AM, 10/28/08
It does sound like what was required just to unlatch the hood was a bit extreme. However, unlike your '81 Malibu, firstwagon, cars nowadays don't leave enough space under the hood to stand in there while working on them. They cram everything into as small a space as possible, for whatever reason (could debate that for a year, all by iteslf).
joefrompa says:
07:18 AM, 10/28/08
Absolutely ridiculous. They have to re-spray the bumper as an acceptable part of fixing the hood latch? C'mon. 8 days? I can see 3 days....1 to scratch up the bumper (and are you telling me there is no way to do this without protecting the bumper sufficiently to not scratch it?), and 2 days to re-paint and allow the bumper to cure.
Joe
m3shmem3 says:
12:45 PM, 10/28/08
At least they repainted it. A BMW dealership in Denver had to break the door panel away from my 4 year old 540i to fix a seized door mechanism. They used some kind of tar to cobble the panel back together and told me that's all that BMW would cover. The vinyl was all ripped at the edges and looked terrible, but a new panel was almost $1K. After that incident, I swore I'd only buy two more of 'em, maybe three. :)
ace47 says:
12:42 AM, 10/29/08
The engine looks sweet. $40k for a car like this is not that much, especially if you live for the turns.
1487 says:
06:10 AM, 10/29/08
I wouldnt pay $40k for a nice looking engine compartment.
firstwagon says:
07:21 AM, 10/29/08
Luckily they throw in supercar performance at no extra charge.
stingray454 says:
08:44 AM, 10/29/08
This is what happens when bean counters are let loose to their own devices. A $20 part ends up costing the company $1,000 per car to fix it when it breaks in service. Win the battle, lose the war.
stingray454 says:
08:52 AM, 10/29/08
"By firstwagon on October 29, 2008 7:21 AM
Luckily they throw in supercar performance at no extra charge."
Supercar? The car is reasonably quick, but it doesn't have supercar performance. These days, supercar performance means 0-60 in under 4 seconds, 1/4 mile in the 11's, braking 60-0 in under 110 feet, top speed over 170 mph, skidpad at or near 1.0g, AND slalom speed better than 70 mph. I know the Evo is a beast in the slalom, and it's got good brakes, but that's about it's only supercar credentials.
ace47 says:
12:03 AM, 10/30/08
Throw the EVO around a track with a supercar and you'll see what they mean about supercar performance. Throw it against a ZO6 with dozens of turns and I'll show you what a supercar means.
Sidenote- the R8 is considered a supercar but it accelerates in 4.6 seconds, the 1/4 mile time is in 12's.
ace47 says:
12:10 AM, 10/30/08
"I wouldnt pay $40k for a nice looking engine compartment."
I hope you were joking. If not read my comment again.
1487 says:
06:56 AM, 10/31/08
"Throw the EVO around a track with a supercar and you'll see what they mean about supercar performance. Throw it against a ZO6 with dozens of turns and I'll show you what a supercar means."
EVO was slower than Cobalt SS on the track. The Cobalt is slower than the Z06 on the track. This is all according to C&D. Easier to drive on a track doesnt mean better performing on a track. The EVO aint no supercar by any stretch.
R8 isnt a supercar either. its an exotic looking car with $50k corvette performance. Looks like a star but performs like a B movie actor.