May 25, 2005
Mitsubishi has issued an "urgent notice of stop sale" on the redesigned 2006 Eclipse. The problem involves the vacuum brake booster, which could cause brake failure.
The company informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday, May 24. A company spokesman says up to 1,185 vehicles could be affected. He says 44 have been sold to consumers, about 400 are at dealerships, and the rest are in transit.
The problem was detected on two vehicles that were being produced at the plant in Normal, Ill. Company technicians have been in the field investigating the vehicles and have not discovered the problem in any other vehicles yet. Mitsubishi technicians will go to consumers' homes to check their vehicles.
The plant has not stopped production of the sports coupe, and he said the problem should be resolved by the end of the week.
Mitsubishi began shipping the sports coupe last Thursday, 10 days ahead of its original schedule. In Japan on Monday, the company said it is boosting production at the Normal, Ill., plant from 760 per week to 1,000 per week. The company cited high demand from U.S. dealers.
