Source: The following was posted by carcomplaints.com about the conclusion of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s investigation of the brake vacuum pump of the Mitsubishi iMiEV electric vehicle.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mitsubishi i-MiEV brake vacuum pump problems have allegedly been fixed after the automaker issued three recalls since 2013.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into brake vacuum pump recalls ordered in 2013 and 2014 but closed its investigation after a third recall was announced in December 2019.
The investigation included 2010-2017 i-MiEV cars after three customers complained about brake vacuum pump failures in cars that were previously repaired.
In addition to three complaints submitted to NHTSA, Mitsubishi had received nine complaints about the pumps. The automaker said the design allowed water to enter the pumps and corrode the internal components.
Failed brake vacuum pumps caused increased stopping distances, but at first Mitsubishi didn’t know if the problem was caused by software errors or from corrosion due to water mixed with road salt.
Safety regulators believe the December 2019 recall will take care of the vacuum pump failures once dealers have replaced all the pumps with redesigned parts that have improved seals and anti-corrosion properties.
CarComplaints.com has complaints about the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and other Mitsubishi models.