DTI Issues Montero Sport Recall, But Ruling Not Yet Final

The year 2017 is well into the midpoint by now, but it seems some specters of the past can’t seem to go away so soon. In the preceding years the Mitsubishi Montero Sport has had a rash of bad reputation from casual vehicle owners, due to documented incidents of “sudden unintended acceleration” that has resulted in some units abruptly kicking into gear and smashing into parked cars or walls. Testimony from dedicated Montero owners and the eventual dropping off of SUA cases eventually caused the bad image of the best-selling SUV to fade, but now a new problem being brought up with the vehicles has once again caused the Department of Trade and Industry to step in with a heavy hand.

ABS-CBN News reports that the DTI issued a recall order last Wednesday June 7 for all Mitsubishi Montero Sport units with automatic transmission that were released from a period of 2010 to 2015. This is in light of a perceived defect in the SUV’s pedal displacement. This ties in yet again to the old ghost of the machine, the never- definitely proven defect that is sudden unintended acceleration. But rather than SUA itself, the alleged pedal defects are the new culprits pegged for the various accidents that happened before, something that is most prevalent among Montero Sports that had automatic transmission.

To this end the DTI Adjudication Division has commanded Mitsubishi Philippines to cease and desist from marketing of the 2010-15 Montero Sport AT models. In addition, the car manufacturers are being directed to refund customers who have bought the affected vehicles according to appraised value of their units, and to publicize the recall order within 20 days. Special focus was given by the recall order on all 24 Mitsubishi Montero Sport owners who figured in the SUA incidents, including refunds for their units.

Personally, as the proud and thus-far safe owner of two Mitsubishi Montero Sports, one of which being the model in question, I still stand by my personal opinion of the matter that there’s no serious bug in the SUV’s inner working that have triggered, and attribute the 24 cited cases to most likely be human error. I also happen to have a Fortuner, an Innova and a Hyundai Hatchback in my modest fleet, but nothing for me absolutely beats the pleasure I’ve gotten from driving my older and latest Montero Sports.

I suppose it’s some small cause for celebration to state that the DTI recall order is, as of the latest, not yet final and executory in nature, thanks to Mitsubishi Philippines’ foresight in filing a motion for reconsideration. I shudder to think of having to give up my previous-gen Montero Sport to satisfy a borderline paranoid fear for a surely non-existent bug.

Photo courtesy of autodeal.com.ph