2022 Mirage G4 rear axle out of alignment

[2017G4guy]

I just purchased my 2022 Mirage G4 SE in march of this year. We also have another 2022 g4 SE bought a week earlier and my Mother also bought one a few weeks back. We purchased my car on a Saturday night right before closing. I noticed on the 60 mile drive home the steering was off with the wheel to the left quite a bit and it pulled to the right. I thought it could be tire pressure related. I checked the tires and they were fine. On Monday we called the sales Lady to tell her about the alignment and also a small dent that was on the side of the car. They cover dent less repair for 5 years. Well with my work schedule I haven't had a chance until today for it to be brought in for service. They looked over the car and said the rear axle is out of alignment and that i have a defective front strut. Then they claimed I must have hit something and damaged the car. I explained that the Alignment has been off since I bought it and I'm super OCD with my cars and have hit nothing. There is no visible damage anywhere. I just hit 5,000 miles today. All highway miles to and from Houston to Dallas and my work 40 miles a day. I told them how would A rim or tire not be damaged if I hit something hard enough to damage the rear axle. Anyway they are denying it is a warranty problem and that No parts are available anyway. I called Customer care and they said the dealership has the final say on any repairs. They also said that there are no parts available due to supply issues. Well then what am I supposed to do? It sucks to drive it as its all over the road with the steering. Seems worse lately. Our 2 other cars drive perfect. Any Suggestions?

[Top_Fuel]

...steering was off...to the left quite a bit and it pulled to the right.
...rear axle is out of alignment and that i have a defective front strut.
...Any Suggestions?

It's possible this dealership service department has never heard of a Mirage with a defective rear axle. A few years ago, this was a moderately common issue (maybe upwards of 10% of 2014-2015 Mirages seemed to have a bad rear axle). The problem seems to be much more unusual with the later model Mirages.

The service manager at this dealership needs to call the Mitsubishi Tech Line to report the problem and open a case. Mitsubishi is well aware of the problem and (hopefully) they can set these guys straight. Check out THIS thread and be sure to read the answer to question #27.

If you have any alignment numbers, post them...or post a picture of your alignment sheet if you have one.

The only fix for a rear axle with an alignment problem is to replace the rear axle assembly. If this part is on some sort of national backorder, maybe this is why they are dragging their feet on the repair?

[2017G4guy]

Thanks Top fuel for the tips. They didn't give me any report from the dealership. They only showed me the results on the handheld device. They said that the axle problem was corrected years ago as they Implied I did something to the car. Even after I explained about it doing it the night I bought it. They sent the information to the service rep who is supposed to be coming this Wednesday to make a final decision on the matter. I'm just really pissed off at the way this is being handled and feel like I dont have any recourse if they say they wont fix it. This will be my 4th G4 SE along with friends and family that also drive new Mitsubishis. Might be my last if this is how I'm treated for needing service. Also they can not give me an ETA for Any of the parts needed to fix my car. They claim Supply Issues and could be a year or longer. Who is going to drive a car that's messed up that long waiting for parts? SMH

[Top_Fuel]

They sent the information to the service rep who is supposed to be coming this Wednesday to make a final decision on the matter.

If this were my car, I'd prepare for that meeting. Go get an alignment reading from an independent shop (even if you have to pay for it), and make sure they can give you a printout with the numbers....something like this...




That way you can have an informed discussion with the Mitsubishi service rep. You can also ask the independent shop what they think about the diagnosis of one of your front struts being bent.

The most common problem with Mirage rear alignment was the toe angle being off on one or both rear tires. Typically it was excesive positive toe...so one (or both) rear tires is pointed inward (see #2 in the image below).



This can cause rapid rear tire wear and can also cause the car to push in one direction...so you always have to keep the steering wheel clocked to one side to compensate for it to keep the car going straight ahead (which is really annoying). If you drive your car on a perfectly flat road that has no crown, your car should not immediately drift off to one side or the other if you let go of the steering wheel.

Here is the rear axle assembly that is replaced to correct rear alignment problems (this is the part # for a 2020...it's probably the same for a 2022):




You might want to call a Mitsubishi parts department (or ask at this link) to find out if the part is on some sort of backorder.

[inuvik]

It shows available from Partsouq.com. I've ordered from this site before multiple times with no issues shipping from the UAE.

https://partsouq.com/en/search/all?q=4120A273

Ships in 2-3 days-$432.47

[Fummins]

There's a lot of people that handle cars between Thailand and the dealership...I don't think you need an engineering or physics degree to transport cars. I wonder if some of these random bent trailing axles are bent during transport? They are made of glorified tin foil after all.
I've see slightly more bent wheels(steel) than I have bent trailing axles causing rapid or odd rear tire wear. I'm sure 90% of our work cars have "out of spec" trailing axles. Driving with different loads will throw off the alignment.
The only vehicles in the fleet that goes through tires insanely pre-maturely are POS Fords with the idiotic twin I-beam front end. They are 95% highway driven, one way loaded down and another way hauling mostly air. They've been aligned countless times at numerous alignments shops in different cities and they continue to chew the insides of the front tires on all 4 vehicles.

[mohammad]

It shows available from Partsouq.com. I've ordered from this site before multiple times with no issues shipping from the UAE.

https://partsouq.com/en/search/all?q=4120A273

Ships in 2-3 days-$432.47

Partsouq shipping prices are sometimes horrible. they want 200usd to ship that to me.

[CROSSBOLT]

I used to buy cars without FIRST driving them but no more. Now I drive for at least 30 minutes on several different surfaces, more the better. Not so much because of the manufacturers but the dealers are getting so crappy about actually supporting these warranties. Part of that is the techs refuse certain jobs because there is no way to make any commission. Regardless, the customer holds the bag if the dealer welches on warranty.

Don't reject the Mitsubishi because of a snot for a dealer. The service rep can be your friend especially if you can hand him an alignment printout from a reputable independent shop. That recommendation is a good one to heed.

[7milesout]

Don't reject the Mitsubishi because of a snot for a dealer.

Good advice. I don't think the O.P. would though, because it seems he has a lot of good experience with other Mirages.

And besides, look at it like this. EVERY SINGLE MAKE'S AMERICAN SERVICE DEPARTMENT SUCKS ASS. Including Toyota and Lexus.

[Fummins]

I have nothing but good things to say about the Nissan dealer we deal with. They're quick, and don't dick us around. Even managed to get a reoccurring problem covered under warranty a year after warranty ran up(and a year after it was last "fixed"). I dropped off a vehicle yesterday afternoon, they said they'd look at it today. Got a call this morning saying it's ready to, found the problem, fixed it, no charge. Was an ac leak, as expected.