NHTSA complaint: 1996 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE — SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM
RECALL IN NOVEMBER ON BALL JOINT, HAD AUTO CO. CHECK, SAID IT WAS NO PROBLEM. SUNDAY WHEN PULLING AWAY FROM CURB, HEARD LOUD POPPING SOUND, GOT OUT AND LOOKED, DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG, WENT TO BACK UP, AND BALL JOINT BROKE, CAR CRASHED ON TO PAVEMENT. LEFT TIRE WENT INTO FENDER. THIS VEHICLE WAS USED ON NORMAL PAVED ROADS ONLY. VEH. IS 4 YEARS OLD, 71,000 MILES. COMPANY IS DENYING FAULT. WHY RECALL IN NOV. ON BALL JOINTS IF THERE ISN'T A PROBLEM. THIS SITUATION, WITH COLLAPSING BALL JOINT, COULD INJURY OR KILL SOMEONE. I AM VERY LUCKY. MITSUBISHI, WHO DESIGNED THESE BALL JOINTS FOR THE ECLIPSE, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR DESIGN. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS. I AM EXTREMELY LUCKY THAT I WASN'T KILLED OR INJURED. THE DAMAGE TO MY VEHICLE IS SEVERE. I CALLED MITSUBISHI, AND EXPLAINED THAT THERE WAS A RECALL, AND THEY SAID SINCE IT WAS CHECKED THEN IT WAS ALRIGHT. BALL JOINTS JUST DON'T BREAK FROM NORMAL DRIVING. THERE WAS 17,000 MILES PUT ON SINCE THEY CHECK IT. TO SAY THAT IT BROKE BECAUSE OF NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR IS RIDICULOUS. BALL JOINTS JUST TO BREAK WITH ONLY 17,000 MILES ON THEM. THERE IS A FLAW, OR BAD DESIGN WITH THEIR BALL JOINT. THIS NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED, AND THEY SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR DESIGN OF THE BALL JOINTS. NUMEROUS OTHER MAKES AND MODELS OF CARS' BALL JOINTS DON'T BREAK IN 4 YEARS AFTER IT WAS MADE. PLEASE ADVISE ME AS TO WHAT I SHOULD DO. THANK YOU.*AK
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation