Mitsubishi 2022 Outlander Hood Flutter: Recall Delay Leads to Lawsuit
The Mitsubishi 2022 Outlander has a fluttering hood issue. The SUV manufacturer should have recalled the model. However, the delays or Mitsubishi not recalling the 2022 model has led to a lawsuit filed by one of the customers.
In this post, you will learn about the history of the hood flutter issue in the Mitsubishi 2022 outlander and the reasons behind the lawsuit filed against the company.
The Hood Flutter Issue
The 2022 model of Mitsubishi Outlander received numerous complaints about the bouncing and flapping of the hood. The issue is so bad that the drivers are constantly worried and under the impression that the hood will burst open while driving.
The car manufacturer should have recalled the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander to fix the issue. This is because the company's technical service bulletins or TSBs have not been able to fix the bounding and flapping issue at all.
Drivers who bought the car have complained about the safety hazard as they feel distracted while driving the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander.
Technical Service Bulletins by Mitsubishi
There have been several Technical Service Bulletins by Mitsubishi to resolve the problem of hood flutter in the 2022 Outlander Model.
TSB-21-42A-001
The first Technical Service Bulletin by Mitsubishi on the hood flutter issue in all 2022 Outlanders came out in March 2021.
According to Mitsubishi, the hood's fluttering and bouncing issue is due to the misalignment of the hood latch and bumper height. Therefore, if a customer reported the described problem of hood flutter and bounce, the dealer must diagnose the issue and repair it accordingly. The repair will fall under the normal warranty claim category.
A month later, Mitsubishi issued a document to all its parts and service managers in April 2021. The document's title was “2022 Outlander Hood Flap Tuning Special Customer Satisfaction Campaign.”
According to this document, the service and part managers must follow a specific procedure to resolve the issue with 2022 Outlander SUVs except for its ES models. The procedure involved the installation of countermeasure weather stripping for the hood fluttering to stop. Mitsubishi also asked the dealers to apply this TSB to all vehicles already in the inventory and the new ones arriving at the dealership. This would have minimized the air intake to Outlander’s engine compartment resolving the hood bounce. The lesser the wind intrusion, the lesser the hood bounce. However, the issue persisted.
Revised TSB-21-42A-001REV2
In June 2021, Mitsubishi revised its original TSB-21-42A-001 and released TSB-21-42A-001REV2. This Technical Service Bulletin involved providing clean points for SUV’s hood latch adjustment. The revised TSB was applicable for all 2022 outlanders assembled before March 25, 2021.
Three weeks later, another bulletin, TSB-21-42A-005 with the title "Hood Flapping," came out. This TSB warned dealers that all 2022 Outlanders assembled before May 12, 2021, may also experience the same hood bouncing and shaking issue.
TSB -21-42A-011
This Technical Service Bulletin came out in December 2021 and instructed the dealers to replace the existing hoods with the new reinforced hoods. However, the automotive company also told the dealers that they only have a limited number of new reinforced hoods. However, the dealer must only fix the issue if a customer walks in complaining about it.
This was a foolish thing to do as the plaintiff of the lawsuit uses it as one of the basis that Mitsubishi knew about the issue and the safety hazard it comes with. However, the automaker has deliberately avoided the recall even when its TSBs and proposed solutions failed.
Story of Plaintiff Jesse Rezendes
Jesse Rezendes is from Massachusetts, and the plaintiff had filed a lawsuit against Mitsubishi for not ordering a recall when all TSBs had failed. Jesse bought the brand new model of Mitsubishi 2022 Outlander and right away started noticing the bounces and flutter.
The plaintiff has brought the lawsuit forward to claim that the automaker, i.e., Mitsubishi is well aware of the hood shaking problem with its 2022 Outlander model. However, the car manufacturer is purposely not ordering a recall on the model, which puts the drivers at risk.
According to Jesse Rezendes, he filed a complaint with one of the Mitsubishi dealers back in July 2021. However, all he got was an answer that there was no way to fix the flutter issue.
Jesse then took his Outlander to the dealer again in November, and this was Mitsubishi had released several bulletins to adjust the hood flutter. The technician adjusted the hood as per the TSBs and replaced the 3 of the hood's weather-strip seals. However, according to the plaintiff, any of these steps did not resolve the hood bounce and flutter issue.
The lawsuit mentions that to avoid the recall of the Mitsubishi 2022 Outlander, the SUV manufacturer is allegedly trying to hide the defects from its customers. Jesse Rezendes filed the lawsuit against Mitsubishi in the U.S District court in the state of Massachusetts.
What is Plaintiff’s Demand?
Plaintiff Jesse Rezendes in his lawsuit, has sued Mitsubishi for more than $5 million. According to the plaintiff, the flutter issue distracted Jesse, and the plaintiff felt on the edge and insecure when driving the 2022 Outlander he owned. Every time he got behind the wheels, it felt like the hood would open while Jesse was driving.
Have a Similar Issue Contact Lemon Law Layer
Do you own a Mitsubishi 2022 Outlander or another vehicle with manufacturing default or issue? In that case, we at Lemon Law Lawyer in Orange County can help. Our attorney specializes in laws related to the automobile industry.
Get in touch with Naderi Law Group an experienced Lemon Law Lawyer who will not only give you a free case assessment but also determine whether you have a lemon or not. You can count on us to provide sound legal representation.