There is a major defect in the dashboards of Mitsubishi Eclipse's (years 2000-05). The dashboard will crack as the car hits uneven road such ash pot holes. In the heat and cold although covered and protected fro direct sunlight the dash will expand and retract in size creating small fractures that can crack. Once the cracks become large enough pieces will either fly out towards the driver or fall into the heating and cooling ducts causing damage to the cars blower motor. It is also possible for pieces of the dashboard to shatter around the passenger airbag during a collision causing fatal damage to the passengers or driver. This is not a case by case basis but on every 2000-05 Mitsubishi Eclipse I have come across.

- Yucaipa, CA, USA

I bought a black 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse in 2004. The paint job seemed fine but soon I realized that my paint is dissolving off my car! the clear coat is almost completely gone and I am afraid my car will soon start to rust. I have seen many other black Eclipses with the same problem. I believe that the manufacturer did not apply the black paint or the clear coat correctly on the black 2002 Eclipses. I feel like the manufacturer should be responsible for fixing the problem because they did not make their product to last.

- Monett, MO, USA

I have a black I guess you can call it black and white 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The clear coat it completely off and the black paint is just about gone. I have rust spots coming through now. It first started on the hood about a year ago and now it is everywhere. I also had to replace two of my rims because they were bent. Now I have a shimmy in my steering wheel when I get up to 65mph this started about a year ago also. I have gotten new tires and rims on it hoping that would help the problem but it is just as bad as it was last year.

- Barren Springs, VA, USA

After having my car washed and detailed in late may of 2008, I noticed a white deterioration of paint on the hood. Over the past few months the damage has spread over the hood and the trunk of the vehicle like a fungus. I recently went online to research the problem and discovered hundreds of Mitsubishi owners are experiencing the same problems. Most have stated that Mitsubishi has been notified of the problem and will not take responsibility for the defect as the car is "no longer under the 36 month warranty period". many of the complaints have noted the cost of repair as high as $3,500 - 9,000 to repaint the car. To repair the car could be more than the kelley blue book value for some owners. I have found no information as to whether or not a class action lawsuit has been filed, however, a gentleman in pa is organizing consumers to initiate a case. There are several websites that have been created (ie: Deadeclipse.com; mitsubishisucks.com) as a forum for hundreds of dissatisfied customers to voice their disappointment with the company/product. It seems unusual that with hundreds of complaints circulating about the manufacturer's defect (clear coat paint) on many of its models, the NHTSA has no record of investigation or recalls. Please consider this a formal complaint and initiate a formal investigation. I look forward to hearing from you. Please contact me as soon as possible. Thank you.

- Portland, OR, USA

I have a black, 2002 Mitsubishi, Eclipse GT and the paint is coming off. The roof and the hood paint is almost down to the base metal. I have also seen other Eclipse with the same issue.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

I own a 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT with a paint-peeling problem. The vehicle has a horrible paint-peeling problem all over the top areas of the car. I bought the car with about 48,000 miles, and the paint problem started about two thousand miles later. I have seen many, many vehicles with the same problem as my car. I took my vehicle to a Mitsubishi dealership so that they could take pictures and send them in. I received a response about three weeks later saying that they would not do anything to the car because I was not the original owner and the vehicle was out of warranty. The fact that I wasn't the original owner has nothing to do with the paint being a problem on other people's cars. They refuse to accept that the defect is on their behalf and refuse to fix the problem. My vehicle is beginning to rust and I am not able to afford the repainting of my car. The vehicle will just continue to rust and become a road hazard that is out of my control. I take well-above decent care of my vehicles, but there is nothing I could do about the paint. While it may not be a road hazard or cause in deaths or injuries, it does cause excessive, and unnecessary, rust which would eventually lead to hazardous vehicles, which people cannot afford to fix because they are still paying for the vehicle. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Chad

- Vienna,, VA, USA

The failure is my dashboard. The care is a 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse gs. The dash started cracking all over the top back in September. At least 4 other people I know with the same car have the same issue. Forums that I am a member of also have many third generation Eclipse owners complaining about the same thing. The manufacturer does not recognize this issue as a defect and will do nothing to resolve the issue.

- Gibsonville, NC, USA

Dashboard has cracked in two. This is the second dashboard that has been replaced in this car, Dodge and Mitsubishi will not do anything to rectify this problem.

- Longwood, FL, USA

Vehicle was purchased used with a severly cracked dash. Apparently an occuring problem in the 2000-2006 Mitsubishi Eclipses.

- Chiefland, FL, USA