My car only has 46,500 miles, so the original warranty was still in place-though not by much! (to Oct '03 or 50,000.) I originally mentioned the problem back in Dec '99 with just a couple thousand miles on the clock, so even if I had been somewhat past the warranty period, I would have had them look on their records that I had complained originally way back in '99.

Even though you are so far past warranty, I would still complain and ask to speak to a zone rep, as this apparently was a known defect-with a bulletin issued over 5 years ago (per M.B. Doc.) What do you have to lose? I'd even ask your dealer for a copy of the text of the bulletin to show them you're serious about the issue.

J.G.