2004 Endeavor automatic transmission problems
 

Does anyone currently have or had automatic transmission problems with their Endeavor?

When I shift to drive, it no longer engages unless I rev it up pretty high, even then the SUV barely moves. At first I noticed there were occasions I had to apply a little more force to shift the car into drive (once in a while), then it would take a few seconds before engaging into drive, reverse felt a bit weak, now it no longer engages. All started right before the 100K mark, about 2 weeks ago. No longer under warranty (5 years, 100,000 miles), 5 years went first.

This is the first and last time I'm buying a Mitsubishi.

Have you checked the fluid and had it changed recently?

2004 Endeavor transmission prob
 

I just bought this vehicle with 101K on the odo. For the first couple of months, it was operating fine. Then, I noticed that when shifting from D to R, there was a hesitation before reverse gear engaged. It would only do this occasionally. It would sometimes demonstrate the same hesitation when shifting from R to D. This does not happen everyday; maybe every 2-3 days.

I've taken it to the dealer and all they did was change the fluid and filter. The fluid looked good and was full before they did the service.

The engine also goes through a quart of oil every 2,000 miles. I change oil every 3,000 miles. The vehicle now has 107,000 miles on it and I've changed the oil and filter twice, and added oil in between changes on two occasions.

Should I get rid of this car now before things get worse???

Yes! Sell the car! Transmission is going bad. I'm fighting with Mitsubishi right now on getting my transmission replaced. The transmission alone is $5,400 and they don't sell used transmissions...I'm guessing because Mitsubishi doesn't sell a lot of Endeavors (in San Diego, CA anyways).

I had the exact same problem before the transmission finally went out. I'm 3,000 miles past the 10 year / 100,000 powertrain warranty but symptoms started before it expired.

Changing the fluid and filter isn't going to help unfortunately. I did that with mine with no success.

Endeavor trans problems
 

Hey Whopper, thanks for the advice. I will sell the car now. Aside from my fear of the transmission going out, it concerns me that the engine is burning a quart of oil every 2K. The odo shows 107,000 miles, but the original engine was replaced under warranty at 55,000 miles. Does that ever happen to a Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, even a Kia or Hyundai??

For Sale: 2004 Mits Endeavor in excellent condition. Spread the word...

the deal with mitsubishi transmissions
 

I just rebuilt my 04 endeavors transmission (I'm a shade-tree mechanic). If you're reading this because of recent trans problems it is probably too late. The F4A51 trans (and it's variants) are put in chrysler, hyundai, and mitsubishi cars. The "wave spring" next to the overdrive/reverse clutch drum is to thin and weak and breaks. Large pieces of this spring fall into the oil pan and are sucked up past the faulty trans filter and lodge in the oil pump. This eventually breaks the large thick gear in the oilpump. Once that happens it's a trans rebuild. The good news is if your trans has been slipping and a little funny it might not be to late. The wave spring and filter can be accessed through the back cover. The replacement wave spring (from the dealer) is 4 times as thick. Replace the filter with a aftermarket filter. You might be lucky enough to not need the rebuild.
There is NO TSB or recall on this.
Look around on the web for pics of the wave spring, and broken oil pump gear.
It cost me $350 in parts (A rebuild kit, clutch pack, oil pump gears and body and a new filter) and 6 days in labor (spread over 2 weeks). The only dealer part I used was the replacement wave spring ($28.71).

Where can I purchase the parts I need to rebuild the transmission?

Yes. Before you spend a bundle!

just stumbled across this thread having the same issue - my tranny blew at 97000 - but I'm far away from a dealership (central america) so no use of the waranty. anyway a mechanic got it apart and same thing happened: the spring broke, went through the whole thing and made sure to break everything on the way....

my question is - since I love the car and someday may get another (newer) one - did they address this problem at some point and made that wave spring stronger by factory or does this problem carry on till the last Endeavor made?

Oh geez. My 2004 endeavor trans is not shifting. I drove is far on low fluid :( bought two filters per parts store but cannot find location of screw on filter? Wish me luck