Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl contact owns a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH making a sharp turn, the contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. The contact's air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was engulfed in flames within moments. Lucky, the front passenger was able to free the contact in time. The contact sustained fractures on the left clavicular bone, left ulna bone and bruising on chest and face which required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.
My sons 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse hydroplaned on a standing puddle of water on us 50. He lost control of the car and hit the guard rail twice on the front and rear of the car. The insurance company totaled the car because of the excessive damage to front and back. My concern and complaint is that the air bags did not deploy. The car took such a major impact to the front end that I can see no reason for the air bags not to deploy other then being defective. I have pictures of the vehicle if you need to see the damage. The maryland state police report number is[redacted]. The state farm insurance company can be reached at [phone] ext. 33, claim # [redacted]. VIN number of the car is[redacted]. My position is that other 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse should be checked for faulty air bag systems. Updated 07/17/2012
SRS airbag system fault. SRS light elluminates on dashboard whenever driver or passenger seats are moved, indicating that the side airbag system is deactivating the entire SRS system including the front airbags.
Concerns for passenger's in vehicle, during crash vehicle roll over. While driving a deer jumped in front of the consumer's vehicle. The consumer over-corrected which caused the vehicle to pin counter clockwise. The vehicle then struck a tree splitting it in half. The passenger compartment continued westbound, the passenger became ejected. The passenger compartment continued to roll and came to final rest in a yard. The vehicle's air bags did not deploy and the seat belt did not properly restrain the passenger. The driver sustained minor injuries but the passenger was killed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The contact stated that the SRS and air bag warning light illuminated continuously. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician diagnosed that the air bags system needed to be replaced. The failure recurred and the air bags system was replaced again. However, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure was 7,000.
Consumer was in an accident while driving 55 MPH, and vehicle in front of consumer had spun on snow and then hit consumer in front of vehicle. Air sensors were damaged, but air bags were never deployed.
SRS light is intermittent and it is taken in for service every time. The first couple of times the explanation was a bad ground and connector. Once the whole driver side seat was replaced because of recurrency of the SRS light illuminating. Now a passenger side seat is on order to be replaced. Supposedly it is the same error code, but the code from the computer tells the technician to check the driverside side airbag, while the factory service manual states to check out the passenger side side airbag. At least this is what I have been told by the last technician to work on my vehicle.
SRS light has come on & off several times in the last 6000 miles the service department has replaced seats for the side airbags the light still comes on & off the car has recently been in a collision the front airbags did deploy before I picked up the car the shop manager said they have to change the duram? Because the light was coming on & they had put the wrong one in for only front airbags? I still believe it's the same problem we had before the car was wrecked. The second complaint the wheels (rims) bend at every 2000 miles we even had a blow out at 10 miles an hour in town.
Airbag light came on. Took vehicle to dealer who replaced passenger side airbag. On 26 feb 2001, airbag light came on briefly.took vehicle to dealer again who replaced sensor. Airbag light came on again on 4 June 2001. Vehicle at dealer at this time.
SRS light for side air bags goes on all the time. Never turns off. From what I was told from my dealership at cutter Mitsubishi it's an electrical problem that needs to be replaced or else side air bags won't deploy in the case of an accident.
Related recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain model year 2000-2005 Eclipse vehicles manufactured April 5, 1999, to December 17, 2004, 2001-2005 Eclipse Spyder vehicles manufactured January 19, 2000, to March 18, 2005, 2001-2005 Chrysler Sebring vehicles manufactured April 17, 2000, to February 21, 2005, and…
Remedy: MMNA will notify their owners, and Chrysler will notify the Chrysler and Dodge owners. Dealers will install a tether strap to retain the passenger sun visor, free of charge. The recall began on July 20, 2015.
Airbag complaints in other Eclipse years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse?
NHTSA has 22 complaints about the air bags of the 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse, 11% of the model year's 209 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (8 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 15V-338 (inflator module, Jun 2, 2015). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 28,000 miles, and 20% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 11 crashes, 1 fire and 5 injuries and 2 deaths to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.