Montero Sport Sudden Acceleration Accident

[genustsalas]

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Hi, with regards to this sudden acceleration, my advice is to check the car rug. If you buy rugs, find something suitable that doesnt reach the pedals and should be secured in place so that it will not move around. I had a situation like this with my Montero here in DOHA but it's Pajero Sport cause it's bit wide and taller and has a bigger engine V6 3.5L. I stepped of the break then it accelerates, so i shift the gear to N right away and checked it which i found out that the carpet was hitting the gas pedal. As a safety precaution, as you sit inside the vehicle, safety belt first, mirrors, step and check the pedals, gear should be P and hand break should be engaged before starting the engine. Step on break when you start the engine, shift the gear to (D) Drive while stepping on the break, let go the hand break then slowly let go the foot break till it moves gently before you step on the gas pedal. If you're used to doing this routine, that type of situation can be avoided.

[jonovanz]

sus GINOO! may ra sad.. WAKOY MONTERO!hehehe!

[danvincent999]

hahaha!!! sus ginoo mu lang!

[bonsan]

wla mn nka encounter ang tito sa ako gf ani pro nka suway siya na bangga sa luyo ky wla mo gana ang back-up sensor mski nag tunong njd sa haligi sa ilang blay...heheh

[weng-weng]

buy OEM floor mat or modify your floormat by making a hole on the rear-left side of the mat. there is a hook on the floor which is purposely built to secure the mat so it won't get pushed towards the accelerator.

[mitchellalforqueffh909]

I thought this issue was settled already......

[e_mer8]

A warning to consumers | Manila Standard Today

Because we are in the Philippines where consumer rights are not really taken seriously, let this serve as a warning to owners and would-be buyers of the vehicle Montero Sport GLS 4x4.

Under the law, the principle of caveat emptor, a Latin phrase which means “buyers beware,” normally applies only to purchase of second-hand products. This is because brand-new products bought from manufacturers and dealers carry express and implied warranties that they are safe for human use and for the purpose for which they were manufactured. But when manufacturers do not owe up to defects in products they sell to the public, the buying public needs to be warned, at the very least, even if they are buying brand-new commodities. Otherwise, they may be exposed to potential physical injuries, damage to property or even death.

Let me cite the recent accident that befell a couple I personally know. Some three weeks ago, this couple went to Cartimar market to purchase some equipment for their aquarium, riding on a Montero Sport GLS 4x4. After getting the stuff they needed in the market, they headed back to their parked Montero. After strapping their seatbelts, the husband shifted the gear to ‘D’ or drive, without yet stepping on the gas. To their shock, the vehicle suddenly surged forward at a high speed. Their vehicle smashed into a parked vehicle across the street and damaged the steel gate and the water line of a store. The wife had a fractured left finger and suffered bruises on her forehead. The husband had bruises on his arms and forehead while their Montero was in a wreck. The husband is a skilled driver, having been driving for decades. He narrates that when the vehicle surged at full throttle, on its own, he instinctively applied brakes, but because of the speed, the Montero SUV did not stop until it crashed into another vehicle. The couple obtained a police report and wrote to Mitsubishi, the manufacturer of Montero Sport. The owners of the badly-damaged vehicle that was hit by the Montero has been harassing the couple demanding to be paid for the damage on their car. Unfortunately, to this day, the couple still awaits the reply of Mitsubishi to their complaint.

An Internet search on the Montero Sport 4x4 yielded numerous accounts and complaints showing the same pattern where the vehicle suddenly accelerated at high speed, on its own, after being shifted to ‘D’ or drive, from a parked position. The bulk of similar accidents involving the Montero Sport were reported beginning 2010 but a greater number of such accidents happened between the period 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. In most of these accounts, the airbag did not function, either. Mitsubishi claims to have conducted investigations. Frequently, the manufacturer paid 80 percent of the value of the Montero Sport to the owners who complained. Yet, they have never admitted to any defect in the vehicle, blaming the sudden accelerations to human error or to floor mats. The manufacturer has also refused to shoulder the damage sustained by third persons victimized by the Montero’s sudden acceleration.

But how can human error be named the culprit when it seems that only the Montero Sport 4x4 figures in freak accidents of this nature? Could it be that drivers of Montero Sport vehicles happen to be the only negligent ones? And if the manufacturer admits to so much fault as to make it pay the owners of Montero who suffer from accidents of this kind, how can it refuse to answer for all the other consequences of the Montero’s sudden acceleration?

If incidents like this were to happen in more progressive countries, the likelihood that this particular vehicle model would be recalled is very high. Does this say that the lives and the consumer rights of people in less developed countries like the Philippines have less value? Or does it show that businessmen have more gall to ignore the value of human life and consumer rights in a country where the regulators fail to regulate enough?

[kolo]

hmmm wala koy ma istorya ani kay ang ang mga montero sa ako mga barkada wala jud prob.. hehehe

[f3a_champ]

This is happening to way too many Monteros to be a coincidence. Something smells fishy somewhere. Where there is smoke, there must be fire. I don't think Mitsubishi is being totally honest about there being a problem with the Montero. There have been way too many instances of unintended acceleration for all of them to be accidents, driver induced or caused by the floor mats. These were the exact reasons Toyota used in the US when some of their cars were found to have this problem. Because the US has very strong laws protecting the consumer, Toyota was eventually forced to acknowledge that there was a problem and issue a recall.

The Philippines has no such laws to protect the consumer and that may be the reason why Mitsubishi refuses to accept that they have a problem. The Montero is one of the best selling SUVs in the country at the moment with waiting lists of over a month for some variants because it promises great value for money. It mostly delivers on that promise unless you are one of those who get in an accident caused by the unintended acceleration problem. In which case, you will regret ever buying a Montero and probably get traumatized. Then you find out that Mitsubishi refuses to accept that there is a problem with their product instead blaming the floor mats or worse, blaming you for driver error. How would you feel?

For those who think this is not real and are rumors started by competitors, think again. There are too many incidents by too many people of different ages from different places who don't know each other and had got real injuries because of this. Sooner or later this will catch up with them. This is bad business sense.

In my case, I am planning to buy an SUV later this year or early next year. And while I was considering the Pajero rather than the Montero, I believe I will stay away from Mitsubishi for now. It 's not that I think the Pajero has the same problem as the Montero. It's just that I would not want to spend my hard earned money on a product made by a company who will not accept responsibility if their product has a problem. By not accepting that there is a problem, they are putting more people and property in danger.

That is just my personal opinion and I have decided not to buy any Mitsubishi vehicle for me, my family or the companies I run. I do have a couple of friends who have Monteros and have had no problems with them so far but I have instructed my family never to stand in front of or behind these Monteros when they are started prior to running as well as not to ride in them. Better safe than sorry.

Just my 2 cents worth......

[f3a_champ]

I thought this issue was settled already......

How did you think this issue was settled?