Mishimoto

I'm sorry to hear that you're having an issue with your radiator. I believe our customer service department replied to your PM but please let me know if there's anything else you need.

Thanks,

-Steve

rljk

I am on my fifth go around with the MMRAD-WRA-07. Original purchase in Feb 2016, each (but this last one - 2 months) has lasted about 8 months. 4-7 miles each time mostly daily driver. This time time they are sending a MMRAD-WRA-07V2 Jeep Wrangler JK Performance Aluminum Radiator V2, 2007-2017. We'll see if the version 2 does any better than the version 1.

I will say customer service has been very pleasant to work with. I am hoping this time fixes it for both our sakes.

Rednroll

I just checked the reviews on Amazon again. 49% of the reviews are 1 star complaining about leaks, there are 2, 2star reviews and 1 of those 2 reported a leaking radiator and there are 2, 3star reviews where both of them have reported leaks. So we might as well go ahead and say, 50% of the reviewers on Amazon have experienced a Mishimoto Radiator that has leaked under Warranty. We can therefore do some extrapolation and say, you have a 50% chance of receiving a Mishimoto radiator that won't leak.

The most recent amazon review has been posted January 2018. What an embarrassment. I can't believe they haven't just pulled this product from the shelves.

https://www.amazon.com/Mishimoto-MMRAD-WRA-07-Aluminum-Performance-Radiator/dp/B00GQJCL1A/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

rljk

Here's a link describing the difference between the one with all the leak problems, and the re-engineered version 2 that has just been released: MMRAD-WRA-07V2 - Powered by Kayako fusion Help Desk Software The net difference seems to be: "Where our V1 radiator core utilized standard tubes, the V2 radiator features extruded, internally strutted tubes to help combat flex within the core. These strutted tubes provide the radiator with greater rigidity and durability, reducing the potential for cracks and leaks." I am getting a new one as a warranty replacement, and will report back on the longevity.

Xlr8n

Wow. That failure rate is mind boggling.

Sure seems like this product was simply drawn up on a computer app to fit a specified dimension i.e. JK Wrangler, then sent to an overseas factory for production with no hands-on testing to assure the product actually works on said application. It obviously has a major design or manufacturing flaw.

The fact that they had a CS rep on a JK forum attempting damage control and actually asking for a voluntary test vehicle to try to remedy this problem over a year later before attempting a fix tells me everything I need to know about this product and company. It's actually laughable.

I'm glad I researched before purchasing.

Mishimoto

Hi all,

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. And @rljk, I'm sorry that you've been having so many issues with our V1 radiator. As you've mentioned, we've been offering our V2 radiator as a replacement for the V1 for the past few months. We're confident that the changes made to the V2 radiator will solve the issues we've been seeing with the V1. Like the article posted above states, one of the biggest changes we've made is the addition of strutted tubes throughout the core. The struts within the tubes help support the radiator core and protect it against flex and the effects of thermal expansion and contraction.

I know this update has taken quite a long time, but we wanted to spend the time to gather as much data as possible and bring vehicles in to get first hand experience with what may be causing the failures. This has been a major rework and we didn't want to rush through it, only to make changes with no appreciable effect. As with all our products, we wanted to take the time thoroughly investigate and engineer the V2 radiator, before releasing it our customers. We try to be as open and transparent about our engineering process as possible. So, If you're ever curious about what goes into creating a new product, feel free to check out our Engineering Blog where we share every step of the way.

We recognize the severity of the issues that the V1 radiator has had and the frustration that it has caused. That's why we've created the V2 radiator and will be offering it as a warranty replacement to anybody who has issues with their V1 radiator. However, it's also important to note that the failure rate of the V1 radiators is still in the vast minority percentage of sales. While Amazon reviews may seem overwhelmingly negative, they make up only about 5% or less of customers running this radiator every day. I'm a writer and photographer who's terrible at math, so I won't attempt to extrapolate what percentage of total customers negative Amazon reviews make up.

Nevertheless, it's clear that the V1 radiator has not performed to either ours or our customers' standards. No matter what percentage of sales they represent, our customers are not happy with a product we sold, and we've worked to fix that. As I said, we're confident that the updates made to the V2 radiator will solve these issues and be a much better product for all of our customers.

My job here is not to make us look better with statistics and percentages. My job is to be honest with our customers and help them in any way I can. So, if you are having issues with a V1 radiator, or have questions, please feel free to let me know and I will do everything I can to help.

Thanks,

-Steve

Rednroll

Good to hear a redesign has been completed which sounds like it addresses the original problem. How does someone go about ensuring they are purchasing a V2 instead of a V1?

In light of the V2 being available it seems like a retailer recall should have been issued to elliminate any V1 retail inventory from the shelves. I really hope the plan isn't to keep selling the V1 that's on the shelves until they're gone and send V2 as a warranty replacements.

reese006

Looks like I am going to be due for a new radiator soon, stock one has 180k miles on it and starting to get some leaks. Nothing major and I have not investigated completely to see where the leaks are but initially does look like radiator itself. Anyway just from a "newbie" to this threads perspective and mainly for the Mishmoto representative, it sounds like there was either a lack of testing and/or a lack of understanding the requirement needs for a radiator for a Jeep, and I don't mean any disrespect by that. I only got through the first few pages but I do want to commend you for answering the questions and addressing people's comments. The fact that you are a part of this forum and others shows that you guys want feedback (good or bad) about your products. Now as to my statements, I mean if the radiator was truly tested for typical Jeep use then any issues with cracks due to vehicle flex would have been uncovered. I know the first few pages you kept saying that you guys were not sure if it was due to vehicle flex or not, but one thing I never read was that you guys actually took vehicle flex into account. For most applications I can see where this would be a minimal issue, however if your are designing an aftermarket for a Jeep then it should be designed at a minimum for the "mall crawler" ie a Jeeper who may get to go wheeling a couple of times a year where 4wd is barely needed (by the way I fit in to this category). I would hope that the design and testing requirements for a radiator for say a high performance street car that can go 120mph would be different then say for a Jeep. The 2 vehicles are very different and have very different uses and needs. This is what I mean by understanding the requirement needs. I have seen your products advertised on many of the "car shows", as most everyone on this forum has and was seriously considering getting the one for my Jeep, however due to the issues with the V1 radiator for the Jeep I will probably be looking at doing just an OEM replacement as I don't want to take the chance of having to put multiple ones in my vehicle.

Mishimoto

Hey guys,

Sorry for the delayed response. As for ensuring that you're ordering the V2 radiator, we stopped selling the V1 radiator quite a while ago and most of our distributors have also been out of stock; so any order you make from now on should be the updated radiator. Of course, any warranty radiators will be replaced with the V2 rad as well.

@resse06, while we can't take every development vehicle to Moab or thrash them up dunes, we do tailor our engineering process towards the vehicle's needs and its intended use. Considering our customers is the basis for creating aftermarket parts. In the case of the V1 radiator, we did design it to resist the flex that a Jeep would see during off-roading.

All vehicles have some chassis flex and we've become all too familiar with it when developing our Ford Powerstroke products. So we did account for the radiator to see torsional stress. We kept the rubber isolator bushings at the top and bottom of the radiator and of course added rigidity with fully-welded aluminum. The same materials and processes are used on our race radiators that have literally been wrapped around trees on rally stages and not leaked. Which is why we didn't want to pin the failures that we were seeing solely on chassis flex. The data didn't support that as the only factor. Many of our V1 customers have no problem taking their jeep on trails and up rock faces; and many of the failures we saw were strictly on-road daily drivers. That inconsistency in data, and the fact that similarly made products had been track proven to endure pretty harsh beatings, led us to believe that flex may not be the only cause.

The strutted tubes in the V2 radiator will add strength to the entire core to help resist external and internal forces. That strength will not only mitigate the effects of flex, but also thermal shock and heat on the tubes. There are a lot of forces applied to a vehicle component. Some of them, like flex and expansion, can be accounted for and tested against in the engineering process. But sometimes those factors add up differently in daily use and no testing can plan for that. With the V2, we're confident that we've over-engineered the radiator to handle the perfect storm of issues. If you ever do decide to go with an aluminum rad, I think you'll be happy with our V2, but I understand your hesitance.

Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions, I'm happy to answer them!

Thanks,

-Steve

PS: @reese06, your sig is great I'm pretty sure if you asked my wife about my cars, she'd say one is red and one is silver and I spend way too much money on both

Asinine

Is there any real-world feedback on the Mishimoto v2 radiator? My OEM radiator sprung a leak and an upgrade would be helpful for my supercharged 3.6L.