2003 MITSUBISHI LANCER User Comment / Complaint

When i first got the lancer in 2003 one of the first things i noticed that the knob for the air and heat was really difficult to turn. i took it to the dealer, and was told that it was just a little sticky , and if i kept turning it would work itself out and be fine. i avoided using it as much as possible because it never got better. a year or so later i had to taken the vehicle to dealer for a factory recall, and during that visit i once again asked about the knob. the technician looked under the panel and said it was just sticking a bit and put some grease on the gears and said to just work it, turn it back and forth, and it would work itself out. it was fine for a couple days but went back to the way it was shortly there after. finally, a few weeks ago, while on my way to the airport to pick up a friend, i went to turn the heat on and the knob just snapped off. this time when i took it in to the dealer they told me since the rod that connected the knob to the gears inside was what snapped it would be about $500-$600 to repair. he even asked why i never had it looked at and fixed before it snapped off. i told him i did numerous times and was blown off each time. but now that it was an actual problem . they were willing to fix it for a fee of course. upon doing some research i realized that other people had this problem with their lancers, and had similar problems trying to get it fixed. this was the cause for complaint. the dealer was not willing to fix it. when i mentioned the problem numerous times while the vehicle was under warranty. now this has turned into a costly problem that i believe is a defect in the vehicles.