What breaks most · 1996 to 2017 model years
Mitsubishi Lancer problems by year
Owners have filed 865 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Mitsubishi Lancer across model years 1996 to 2017. Two years stand out: 2003 for visibility complaints and 2002 for visibility complaints. The quietest years are 1996, 2000 and 2007.
- Years to check closely: 2003, 2002
- Fewest complaints: 1996, 2000, 2007
- Complaints on file
- 8651996 to 2017, all trims
- Worst year
- 2003199 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 9813 fires · 73 injuries · 2 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 64kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 59Across 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Child Seat (1) | |
| 148 | 32 | 4 | Visibility (25) | |
| 199 | 13 | 6 | Visibility (71) | |
| 80 | 7 | 7 | Visibility (21) | |
| 24 | 3 | 6 | Air bags (10) | |
| 37 | 5 | 7 | Air bags (16) | |
| 2 | 0 | 3 | Air bags (1) | |
| 91 | 8 | 5 | Suspension (23) | |
| 98 | 11 | 8 | Engine (22) | |
| 51 | 5 | 6 | Engine (13) | |
| 34 | 1 | 3 | Engine (8) | |
| 19 | 3 | 1 | Powertrain and transmission (6) | |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | Unknown or other (2) | |
| 16 | 3 | 0 | Powertrain and transmission (6) | |
| 23 | 5 | 1 | Electrical system (6) | |
| 30 | 1 | 2 | Powertrain and transmission (21) | |
| 6 | 1 | 0 | Air bags (3) |
What fails on the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 36% |
71 | 0 | Shop visibility parts for the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 26% |
51 | 3 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Unknown or other | 8% |
16 | 1 | — |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 7% |
13 | 0 | Shop body and structure parts for the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer |
| Equipment and infotainment | 7% |
13 | 0 | — |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 6% |
12 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 5% |
10 | 0 | Shop suspension parts for the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer |
| Air bags | 4% |
8 | 7 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
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.
-
The climate control knob was hard to turn and final broke so i can't use my car in the winter because i can't turn it to heat and i have 2 young children. There should be a recall this has appended to thousands and its a safety hazard in multiply ways.
-
The air conditioner and heater control knob was hard to turn from the moment we bought the vehicle new. It has since broke off. This is something that needs to be recalled because it is a factory defect.
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 6, 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 Lancer years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2003, 2002 carry the most filings on the Mitsubishi Lancer. The 2003 alone has 199 complaints, led by visibility.
What is the most common Mitsubishi Lancer problem?
On the 2003 model year, the most-reported component is visibility with 71 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Mitsubishi Lancer problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Mitsubishi Lancer complaints that include mileage is about 64,000 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.