Cypress, Calif. — September 23, 2016 — Some improperly placed transmission hose clamps have launched a Mitsubishi recall. The manufacturer’s new action addresses a possible fire hazard, though there have been no confirmed reports of such as of this writing, according to Autoblog.
The recall includes exactly 45,731 potentially affected vehicles, as documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report. All of the concerned units are 2015 Outlander Sports produced between June 24, 2014 and Nov. 25, 2015. The continuously variable transmission fluid hoses in these vehicles may reportedly feature clamps that aren’t securely attached.
This, in turn, could allow the hose to detach and leak transmission fluid, potentially hurting the transmission as well as causing a fire hazard. The report said that each of these vehicles contains 10 susceptible hose clamps. Drivers can look for a warning light on the dashboard as a possible sign of this defect, along with possible shaking.
Because the problem centers around the included clamps, no outside component manufacturer was associated with this issue. According to the Part 573 Safety Recall report, dealers can look at each of the ten clamps and release them if necessary.
The manufacturer decided to conduct this recall on July 14, 2016. The first warranty claim related to this issue dates back to Dec. 16, 2015, when an Outlander Sport suddenly came to a stop after a transmission hose disconnected. Other claims came in March, May and June 2016: Of these, the vehicle with the highest mileage was identified March 3 and had accumulated 18,446 miles.
No recall notification schedule was listed for owners or dealers in the 573 report, though the did say it would update these later.