My 2006 Mitsubishi evolution 9 started to make abnormal engine noises audible within the cab. The car has been serviced regularly and is more than well kept... the noise comes from within the timing belt cover and sounds much like a washing machine. This noise is also well documented among evo 9 owners. Here is a link to the thread. forums.evolutionm.net/evo-engine-turbo-drivetrain/262773-ix-engine-idle-noise-belt-video.html it appears that the timing wheel rubs on the timing belt and causes this noise. The current fix is to replace your timing belt, crankshaft blade(timing wheel), and timing belt tensioner regardless of mileage or timing belt service intervals at the expense of the owner. If the timing belt were to fail from heat generated due to friction (rubbing) the engine would be damaged beyond repair (interference engine) not to mention the vehicle would be stranded... and the failure mode has a very high change of causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. A simple fmea would show this to be a glaring issue. To speak to how often this occurs...the sound is present any time the engine is idling, however belt failure from this issue could happen at any speed during any driving conditions/maneuvers. The local Mitsubishi dealership is anything but helpful, and Mitsubishi has not been forthcoming with solutions or fixes.

- Bellingham, WA, USA

In August I noticed a weird noise coming from the timing belt area of my car. The car was perfectly fine and driven normally. I started the car and the noise appeared out of nowhere. The noise sounds like a washing machine and is only present when the car is started up and is cold. After approximately 15 minutes of driving, the noise disappears. I am worried that there is something terribly wrong in that area. I do not want my engine to break.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Loud noise coming from the timing belt area. Sounds like a faulty pulley or the belt rubbing on something. Took it into the dealer and they replaced the timing belt idler pulley. Before I left the dealership I told them I still hear the same sound just quieter. They told me if it gets louder to come back. That was about a month ago and it has gotten louder since. My concern is catastrophic engine failure. Nobody has been able to properly diagnose the issue. This could cause a serious accident if severe engine failure occurred at speed.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

A couple months ago, I noticed a squeaking sound coming from the passenger side of my engine when my car was idling. After the car warmed up (5-10 min), the sound would go away. The sound appeared to be belt related so I checked the serpentine (accessory) belt and noticed signs of wear and tear on the belt and the idler pulley. I changed the belt out (was close to recommended replacement date anyway) but the sound is still there. I searched the internet and found that this problem is quite common with 2006 evolution owners and there is no definite fix from the dealer. This needs to be addressed by the manufacturer because the wear and tear created by the belt/pulley (or whatever the culprit may be) could easily lead to a failure in one of the accessory systems (alternator, water pump, power steering) and could be dangerous to my car or even worse to me.

- Frostburg, MD, USA

Bad bearing noise coming from timing belt area. This is a problem with the timing belt idler pulley. I have had it replaced by the dealer and the exact same noise came back within 10K miles. This noise appeared with 31K miles on the car.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

I first noticed that my 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer evolution rs started to make a grinding/scrapping noise that seemed to be generating from the timing belt area when my car had approximately 35,000 miles on the odometer. It seemed to be a noise that was present at idle and upon cold start ups and now occasionally I hear it even when the car is fully warmed up. I started to research this on various forums and internet, only to find that it was a common problem with a clear solution. There have been a few dealerships who have seemed to have resolved this issue but each fix seemed to vary within the timing belt area. The timing belt, sensor blade, tensioner, tensioner pulleys, etc. Have been known to cause this issue. This car is my daily driver and about 90% of the times my kids are in this car with me. It would be terrible if my engine breaks down on me while driving around with my kids in the car. This can be a dangerous problem. I urge Mitsubishi to strongly consider a recall for this. With such an amazing car I would hope Mitsubishi would standby it and do the right thing!

- Roselle, IL, USA

I first noticed that my 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer evolution rs started to make a grinding/scrapping noise that seemed to be generating from the timing belt area. The car had approximately 18,000 miles on the odometer. It seemed to be a noise that was present at idle and upon cold start ups. I started to research this on various forums and internet, only to find that it was a common problem with a clear solution. There have been a few dealerships who have seemed to have resolved this issue but each fix seemed to vary within the timing belt area. The timing belt, sensor blade, tensioner, tensioner pulleys, etc. Have been known to cause this issue. I drove my car 3.5 hrs to an outstanding Mitsubishi dealership which could not diagnosis my problem. It appears that the drive made whatever it was go away for the moment. This scares me! this car is my daily driver and about 90% of the times my kids are in this car with me. It would be terrible if my engine breaks down on me while driving around with my kids in the car. This can be a dangerous problem. I urge Mitsubishi to strongly consider a recall for this. With such an amazing car I would hope Mitsubishi would standby it and do the right thing!

- Valdosta, GA, USA

I 1st started hearing a metal scraping noise coming from the drive belt area around 20,000 miles on the odometer of my 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer evolution ix Mr. After researching this online, I found this to be a common/frequent problem reported by many other owners of the same car throughout the web. In fact, I even found a youtube clip of the exact same noise created for the exact same issue. The noise has been determined to be involving the timing belt rubbing against the crankshaft blade. I've only found it to only be audible at idle, so it makes sense that it's some sort of timing belt tension issue. Some dealerships are resolving this issue by replacing the timing belt, crankshaft blade, timing belt tensioner, and sometimes even the idler pulley. My local dealership denied my warranty repair claim to get the metal scraping noise issue fixed, and charged me $140 to spray engine degreaser on undressed accessory belts, claiming that the accessory belts were overdressed and that is what caused the noise. Unfortunately, my car is still making the same noise, which I am certain is being caused by the same timing belt/crankshaft blade issue. My only concern is that the timing belt will at some point in the future fail due to the obvious rubbing/contact that is occurring with the crankshaft blade, so I would like to get this fixed before that happens. Glendale Mitsubishi in glendale, ca is aware of the problem, and acknowledged that it's a common issue, but was not willing to discuss it with my local dealership, stating that my local dealership should contact the Mitsubishi tech line instead. I believe this to be a very common problem with the 2006 Lancer evolutions, and firmly believe that Mitsubishi should be responsible for issuing a service bulletin to get this resolved.

- San Antonio, TX, USA