2002 Mitsubishi Diamante LS from North America - Comments

The infamous heater core problem.

New breaks all around.

Check engine light comes on and sometimes has problems shifting. However, this could be a side effect of the heater core because when they leak they leak on to the computer.

Overall a really nice car. Has great performance and is rather comfortable.

Mitsubishi really needs to address the heater core problem. It is far to common and far to expensive a problem for them to ignore.

Also parts are hard to find due to the limited production of the car.

I have a 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante LS with 33,900 miles on it as of March 14, 2006, four months past the 36-month warranty. This is the second time the heater has had a problem. The first problem was the warning light would come on. A few months later the heater/air-condition control lever would change the airflow from the floor to the defroster and the windows would steam up. The Mitsubishi dealer fixed the warning light without any force. The control lever repair took a little more time to encourage them to fix it. Now that the heater core has a leak they said the repair would cost about $1,400.00 dollars. I told them that Mitsubishi should recall the cars that have this problem and make the repair due to the fact that it is a default rather then wear and tear. They agreed to pay fifty percent of the cost, but I would have to say that I was happy with them doing that or they would not pay anything. I felt that this was like a dictator, “Adolf Hitler” I will not buy anything from Mitsubishi again. They are not responsible.

Melvin Hoke

Laurel, Maryland.

I have a 2002, Diamante LS with the "all weather package," traction control, heated mirrors, seats, etc.

All in all this has been a good car up until last year.

I replaced the heater core and this was not cheap! General maintenance and brakes all way round. But now the motor blew on the antenna. What next? Also, small electrical problems had this car on a flat bed 4x in one week!

As far as the company, they are useless and I would never recommend them to my worst enemy.

I have been experiencing a problem with anti-freeze odor in my 2001 Diamante with 58,000 miles. The dealer claims this is not a common problem. He believes it is related to the o-rings, not the heater core itself. They won't stand behind the product and want me to shell out $400.00 after they diagnose whether or not that is that is the problem.

I own a 2002 mitsubishi diamante and yes I have had to replace the heater core, and the antenna motor, but now with 65,000 miles on the car, I need a rear wheel bearing, and the rack and pinion is steering is shot. I was a mechanic for 17 years and never replaced the rack and pinion on a car with under a 100,000 miles on it. has anyone else had steering problems?

I own a Mitsubishi Diamante VRX 2002, 59,000 miles, I have noticed an antifreeze smell, took it to the dealer and they said it was the the heater bypass tube leaking, repairs cost about 750 dollars.

Then at about the same time the parking brake cable broke, another 600 dollars to repair.

And of course the timing belt that they recommend to be replaced after 60,000 miles at a 500 dollar expense.

Not to mention the power antenna mast that failed after a little more than 3 years about 250 dollars to repair..

What is going to be next?.. almost as bad as a Ford Taurus, but a lot more expensive to buy and repair... never will I buy another Mitsubishi car.

I have a 2002 Diamante LS with 81,000 miles that is having a few issues. The power antenna quit, but it's just the mast, not the motor. The dealer wanted $249 to repair. Did it myself for under $30. New mast kit. Pretty easy.

The gas gauge works intermittently and they want a few hundred to replace the fuel level sending unit. I can live with no gas gauge, thank you. The low fuel indicator light comes on for me.

As for the timing belt, my local dealer wants $650 for it, but the mechanic told me I could hold off until around 100k miles as the same engine if sold in CA has to be warrantied to 100k miles. Other than that, no real complaints with the car.

My fiance owns a 2001 Diamante LS, she just hit the 90,000 mile mark when the transmission went out. The car's engine had power, but it was unable to shift into gear. I took it to the dealership and they estimated $6,000 for a new transmission. I took it to a local transmission specialist and they put in a rebuilt transmission and threw in a 3year warranty for $3,000. I now have to fix the heater core, which has a really bad leak and hopefully it hasn't damaged the ECU. I have to take it back to the dealership since they're the only ones that can fix this.

There should be a recall, I also own a 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante. I just found out today that the anti-freeze smell and the smoke coming thru the vents is because the heater core has gone bad. The quote I received was for $1100.

My antenna just stopped working on me also. It doesn't go down anymore, but the motor still sounds like its working. We are all having too many of the same problems. The company should be liable.

These are great cars if maintained. I own a 1998 and am buying another one 2003. You need to change the timing belts at 60K like the factory recommends. If it snaps you risk damaging the heads as this is an interference motor.

Also you need to grease the mast (check your owners manual, is tells you to do this) If you don't you'll be buying a new one. Also a new one cost like $30.

This car does have some flaws. The heater core has an updated gasket number (this fixes the problem if done correctly) This is what causes the heater core problem, and yet it is like 1200 to 1400 to fix at a dealer.

The 2001's had a rear bushing problem (not sure if the updated bushing fixed it, but my friend says his is working well now).

Also if the heater core goes, you have to take care of it ASAP as it is above the transmission computer (very dumb yes from a design point, but, not as bad as Mercedes, they put the main engine computer under the cupholder on the 2000's, hot coffee on an unprotected $3000 ECM anyone). Any way, this would cause premature failure of the transmission.

The last major problem with these cars is the infamous traction control (this is accompanied with the TCL light and the ABS light. Your dealer will claim it is the PCM (they want $1500); what ends is usually the rear wheel speed sensors (that they change at the same time when they figured out they screwed up and put on the wrong part with the PCM, but hey you're the dumb customer, how will you know they screwed up)

The sensors are not cheap, but they are not near as much as the PCM.

Also there is a feedback resistor that was supposed to be updated on the 2002's, but I think the 2003 already had it done on them.

The last is the windows; these can be a pain to adjust (pay the money and have a dealership do this, as if they are not right they have to stand behind the work; trust me, if you don't know what you are doing, you will do more damage than good).

I think the Diamante was a great car. I wish they would have fixed the problems above, added some more air bags, some flip down rear seats and maybe some more horse power with GPS and kept the brand going.

If you compare with Toyota and the notorious sludge problems with the engine, or Honda with their leaking transmissions (or on the SUV's the transmission failures) This is not that bad of a car. Every car has its weakness, and for the money this cars weaknesses are not as bad as what people say they are. Everything has problem; pick your poison, personally I would much rather swallow a $1000 heater core than a $4000 Honda transmission or a $5000 Toyota engine.

My two cents, broke again.

2001 Mitsubishi LS with 104000 miles. Transmission quit working which tripped the check engine light and the drive selector lights on the dash flashed alternately between park and drive. Not sure how much this is going to be.

100000 miles had the timing belt replaced along with water pump.

92000 miles the power antenna broke and was replaced along with driver side door courtesy light switch. Left front speaker blown and was replaced.

79000 miles the heater core went bad which flooded the passenger side carpeting.

45000 miles both front struts had to be replaced with KYB GR2's. Left rear blown speaker was replaced. Radio head unit bad and replaced.

No problems except for changing brake rotors every 2 years due to warpage when purchased new in 2001 until 2003 with 45000 miles.

I own a 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante ES, bought it new and have 113,000 miles. Only problems so far are; heather core (replaced 10 months ago), radio antenna (still not working), and the transmission just went out (in the shop as of yesterday/computer checked, code says something about solenoid?), also wearing out the tires (cupping/told is the struts). After reading comments on this site, I agree that Mitsubishi should do something about the common problems everyone is having with this vehicle. Other than that and with the mileage I feel it is still a very good car. I hope to keep this vehicle and get many more miles out of it (wish me luck).

I own a 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante with 85,000 miles and have the same heater core problem. Smelled the fluid and the smoke coming out of the vents and the windows all fogged up. I was told by the dealer that it will cost $1,400 to fix. I agree there should be a recall and they should be responsible for fixing this problem. I don't mind paying the wear and tear on things like tires and upkeep of maintenance, but major problems that are an error on the manufacturer is not fair. My antenna also had to be replaced and the trunk does not pop open from the lever inside the car.

I own a 2001 Diamante, 62,000 miles, bought it with 8,000 and have maintained it well. I just got the call from my mechanic informing me of the $1200.00 heater core repair that I need. The past week or so had all my interior windows getting a greasy film and I was low on antifreeze. Sounds like we all know the symptoms. I am shocked at how many forums have 20 or more posts discussing this issue. Is there an organization we could contact to report the repair issue? At what point is this a manufacture defect vs. acceptable wear and tear? Thanks and good luck to all.

I also own a 2002 Diamante LS with 85000 miles. Had to replace the power antenna motor (40,000 miles), Speed sensor (75,000 miles). Now I am getting the same window fogging as described in other posts, and the low antifreeze level. I thought I was just going crazy.

I was fairly happy with this car until reading of the numerous heater core failures. I have owned 6 other cars with all of them over 150,000 miles, and never had a heater core go bad.

I'm in the process of looking for the best deal on replacing the rear wheel sensors for my 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante LS, with the hopes that it will turn off the TCL light and ABS light in the dashboard. Can anyone point me in the right direction?