I went to another dealership for an oil change yesturday instead of my regular dealership, becuase they moved halfway across the state an I need a closer dealer to get my services at.. I got to talking to the service director at the second dealer and he mentioned that We have a timing belt, not a chain. Now, I was like, hold up, the dealership that sold me the car said its a chain. He said, no way, they come with belts. So I go home and check the service manual pdf's, and it clearly shows a chain. Then I check the mitsucars website and it clearly states the 2008 lancer has a chain. I check the youtube link that shows the guy taking apart a 4b11 and you can see its a chain. All the various car-tech websites say its a chain. So, now I'm like.. OK the second dealer either dont know what thier talking about, or they are crooks that are going to charge me for a belt at 60K ,when in reality I have a chain. Now, one more place to check before I go confront the second dealer.. thats Mitsu themselves... And what does Mitsubishi Corporate tell me.... They say we have a BELT ! WTF ??!! So I started arguing with the person on the phone, so they double checked and said that it is definitlly a belt, not a chain. Then I told them about the service manual, the mitsu website, the dealer that sold me the car, all the tech sites and even the youtube video. And they were like "Sorry, we dont know what to tell you, we show here that its a timing belt, not a chain." Now I really blew my lid and told the person that the chain was one of the major deciding factors in buying the car becuase of the lower maintnence costs. I also told them that if they were misrepresenting their products that I would definitlly get a lawyer involved. I started a claim ticket with mitsu corporate to get someone higher up on the phone.. They will not get back to me intill monday. So, WTF.. has anyone actually taken apart their engines to see what we have? Maybe Works or RRM?? Freaking stress :evil:
when did u buy ur car? maybe the very first shipment of lancers had belts instead of chains... u know, like how the first shipment of Lancer DE's had disk on both the front and back, now they have drums in the back... u MIGHT want to look into that btw, have u tried calling ur original dealership?
Lets get some clarification going. I was under the impression the only Chain Belt on our car is where the Cam-Sprockets are. You can clearly see a rubberized belt just by looking at your Alternator. Are you saying the mitsu dealer and corporate office told you our CAM SPROCKET belt is not a chain? That'd be a different story because i also saw a vid that showed a chain for the cam sprockets. Some cars use rubberized belts on the sprockets. So....can you clarify please?
unless i'm mistaken... isn't that the "Serpentine" Belt... OP said it was that his car had a Timing Belt... 2008 Lancers have a Serpentine Belt and a Timing Chain... i have a BIG feeling now that that came up (was thinkin about it) that the idiot at the dealership doesn't know the damn difference between a timing belt and a serpentine belt lol... Serpentine Belt - runs things like the alternator, AC, etc. Timing Belt/Chain - Runs the cam shaft
bryn, I bought my car on Sept. 1st, 2007. So definitly not to long ago. Evole, Yeah, I was talking about the timing chain/belt... the one that is attached to the cams/valves. And yes, Mitsu Corperate told me that our cars have a timing belt.... Which I still think they dont know what they are talking about.. I mean every other resource says its a chain, but Mitsu themselves say otherwise. bryn, The idiot at the dealership was the service department head director, lol.. so Im sure he knows what a timing belt is. What I think is going on here is Mitsu Corperate is telling the dealers that its a belt, when in fact its really a chain. And, the only way the service departments are going to see this error is when they go to do the first belt swap at 60k. Since this is a pretty new car, I doubt many people have reached 60k yet. But whats very "eye opening" is I thought that Mitsu techs would be taught/trained when a new engine comes out. You know, like have detailed files and service books, and maybe have to go to a "refresher seminar" or something.... I guess thats not true though. Another thing thats pretty scary is... Mitsu Corperate doesnt seem to know anything about thier own products, lol There is one sure fire way to check... I could take off my valve cover and the chain should be right there... but I wont do that unless it comes down to it. I mean, I shouldnt have to do that to find out what they sold me.
Wasper, i say call them again and ask them what it is that needs to be changed, if they say "timing" belt... then ask them wat the difference between a timing belt and a serpentine belt is ... if they say they're the same thing... then the person ur talking to thinks that a serpentine belt is the same thing as a timing belt... he's wrong and has made u mad for absolutely no reason :roll:
^ I still say its Mitsu Corperate thats telling the dealers/ service departments that its a belt... I mean, Corperate is the onlt ones that seam to say its a belt. But, instead of calling the service department, I was thinking about calling the parts department and asking for a timing belt for a 2008 lancer, just to see what they say... It cant be a timing belt if theres no part in existence ... right? lol... What a farce, lol. I'll call and write back.
you're right that you shouldnt have to pull shit apart just to see if it's true but if they say you/we have a belt not a chain id like to know that for a fact. That would sorta irk me to know i was mislead. but i just think that with so many different types of mitsu employees it's so easy to get shit wrong. especially with new cars.
OK... Heres the deal. I just called a third Mitsu dealer in this sate. I asked to be connected to the parts department. I got the guy on the phone and he looked up the part for me. He said that all the 2008 lancers have chains. I then proceded to tell him the haasle I've been going thru, and he went into a fit of laughter. He said, "the other dealer dont know what thier talking about, and it shows they dont know squat about the new models" .. then he said Mitsu Corperate are " a bunch of desk jokeys that have thier heads up their butts.". lol. So I guess I got my answer after all... now lets see that dealership service department try to put one over on me... and I'll be like " take the valve cover off and show me the belt" , lol
like i said, it probably wasn't that they were trying to pull a fast one on u, it's probably that the dumbass thought a serpentine belt and a timing belt are the same thing... u said u have 60k miles... that usually is around where u'd replace ur serpentine belt...
lMAO i fuckin knew it! Too many cheifs not enough indians. They all think they know what they're talking about.
^ I never said I had 60k on my car, its just at 60k is when you need a timing belt change (if your car is equipted for one). It was when the guy was going over the reccomended service intrevals is when this whole issue arised. I still beleive that corperate released info to the service departments with wrong information regaurding the timing situation. Theres no way a person can be in charge of a service department and not know the difference. Blame it on Mitsu Corperate... and to think, they are going to call me on monday to give me a definitive answer... I'll laugh if they call me back and say its a belt... hehehe Ill keep ya posted, lol
the smartass in me would go back to the dealer who thought he knew what he was talking about. But then the sympathetic-side would tell me that he probably was mislead by HIS OWN BOSS's and so i should respectfully show him he has no clue what he's talking about.
bring ure lawyer in it or make a written bet with the dealer, be like if it has a belt then i will give you my soul, if it has a chain, u have to dismiss the rest of the payments on my car or give me an evo x
Well, Mitsu Corperate called me back today. The lady said they had to ask thier "engineering department" about my question. With much chagin, the lady said that, yes, we do indeed have a chain. She apologized for the miscommunication. Well, atleast now Mitsu coprp knows what thier selling, lol.... what a joke.
