1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS review from North America

This is the Eclipse Spyder soft top.

Had the car less than a week and the convertible frame rubbed a hole through the top. Dealer had the car in the shop a week to replace the top.

Then came the oil leaks. Dealer replaced the valve cover gasket, oil pump and a plethora of other parts they could begin to list. The oil leak went away.

FM side of the Infinity stereo became intermittent, then quit. Factory 10 CD changer went nuts and died.

Door arm rest switches (controls for power windows, door locks, window locks, etc.) fell inside door. Found the plastic mounting posts were disintegrating. Ordered up a replacement door armrest and installed it. Side view mirror joy stick adjustment mounts, both sides (inside car) cracking.

We are now in the 6th year of ownership. Recently replaced the top and headliner. The side link bars in the soft top frame bent (poor design) and pulled the staples out of the front bar of the soft top. Damaged the headliner, too. $1000 job ($750 to Kee Tops in N.C. and $250 to a local upholstery shop to install)

Wife said front brakes making noise (just replaced 2 years ago). Pulled right front wheel - rotor and pads shot. Same for left side. Could not pull the rotor off using the recommended T bar type puller (rust between the hub and rotor) and ended up using an axle puller - which pulled the hub bearings apart. This could have been prevented with 10 cents worth of Permatex Anti Seize. ($350 for parts - rotors, hub/bearing assembly, pads (years 95-98 are sealed and not repairable).

And one more thing - since it is a soft top, when it rains and you open the drivers side door, the water drips in on the seat. Keep some towels handy.

The car handles well, but you feel every bump in the road. A low rider, like my 'Vette.

We paid just over $25K for the car new, but I would not own another one if they gave it to me. Poor engineering, flawed OEM parts.

Re: The soft top side link bars - poor design. Mitsubishi wants $165 each for the same thing to replace the damaged ones. I found an aftermarket reseller on e-bay selling an improved design - $100 for the pair. 1 hour of work in my driveway to install.