What breaks most · 1990 to 2012 model years
Mitsubishi Eclipse problems by year
Owners have filed 2,096 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Mitsubishi Eclipse across model years 1990 to 2012. Three years stand out: 1995 for engine and cooling complaints, 2000 for wheels complaints and 2001 for wheels complaints. The quietest years are 2010, 2005 and 2004.
- Years to check closely: 1995, 2000, 2001
- Fewest complaints: 2010, 2005, 2004
- Complaints on file
- 20961990 to 2012, all trims
- Worst year
- 1995307 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 24356 fires · 152 injuries · 11 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 70kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 129Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | 3 | 7 | Powertrain and transmission (25) | |
| 54 | 4 | 4 | Powertrain and transmission (19) | |
| 49 | 3 | 3 | Powertrain and transmission (21) | |
| 36 | 2 | 4 | Powertrain and transmission (13) | |
| 34 | 5 | 4 | Powertrain and transmission (10) | |
| 307 | 44 | 12 | Engine and cooling (59) | |
| 159 | 25 | 11 | Suspension (27) | |
| 136 | 22 | 12 | Engine and cooling (41) | |
| 129 | 22 | 13 | Powertrain and transmission (28) | |
| 120 | 10 | 11 | Powertrain and transmission (25) | |
| 303 | 14 | 10 | Wheels (128) | |
| 207 | 24 | 10 | Wheels (73) | |
| 73 | 5 | 4 | Wheels (29) | |
| 122 | 15 | 5 | Body and structure (31) | |
| 13 | 6 | 5 | Body and structure (5) | |
| 6 | 0 | 4 | Electrical system (2) | |
| 91 | 8 | 4 | Brakes (53) | |
| 96 | 14 | 4 | Brakes (72) | |
| 66 | 8 | 1 | Brakes (50) | |
| 42 | 8 | 1 | Brakes (27) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Brakes (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Air bags (1) | |
| 5 | 1 | 0 | Air bags (2) |
What fails on the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 19% |
59 | 1 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 16% |
48 | 3 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 15% |
47 | 5 | Shop suspension parts for the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 15% |
46 | 1 | Shop electrical system parts for the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 13% |
39 | 8 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse |
| Air bags | 10% |
32 | 22 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 7% |
22 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 4% |
12 | 1 | Shop body and structure parts for the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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Consumer stated that vehicle constantly stalled. It cut off while consumer was driving on the freeway at 50-60 mph. This was dangerous. He almost got into an accident when vehicle stopped in traffic. Dealer put vehicle on the diagnostic machine and did not find anything wrong.*ak
-
Car body paint both clearcoat and paint slowly peeling off car body. This has been happening in the last three plus years. The car needs to be repainted.
-
1. Every time it rains there is a large accumulation of water leaking from front window/front vents every rainfall on front floor boards; 2. Every rainfall, soaks carpet floor boards through to bottom frame of car; 3. Many, many thick towels on front floor boards.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Mitsubishi Eclipse years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1995, 2000, 2001 carry the most filings on the Mitsubishi Eclipse. The 1995 alone has 307 complaints, led by engine and cooling.
What is the most common Mitsubishi Eclipse problem?
On the 1995 model year, the most-reported component is engine and cooling with 59 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Mitsubishi Eclipse problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Mitsubishi Eclipse complaints that include mileage is about 70,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.