Body complaints by model year
| Year | Complaints | Share of year's complaints | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 17% | — |
| 2016 | 2 | 7% | 57,000 miles |
| 2015 | 2 | 9% | 55,000 miles |
| 2014 | 3 | 19% | 40,000 miles |
| 2012 | 1 | 5% | 65,000 miles |
| 2011 | 4 | 12% | 20,000 miles |
| 2010 | 1 | 2% | — |
| 2009 | 6 | 6% | 116,000 miles |
| 2008 | 10 | 11% | 120,000 miles |
| 2006 | 5 | 14% | 116,000 miles |
| 2005 | 2 | 8% | 170,000 miles |
| 2004 | 3 | 4% | 44,000 miles |
| 2003 | 13 | 7% | 35,000 miles |
| 2002 | 7 | 5% | 101,000 miles |
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
The contact owns a 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, there was an abnormally loud thumping sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact pulled over the shoulder of the roadway. Upon inspection, the contact became aware that the front driver's side wheel had caved inward from the top. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local independent mechanic where it was determined that the cross members were rusted. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
I was involved in a accident and the air bag exploded. My concern is I was 47 and pretty good shape yet I had pain in my chest for over12 mo. I concerned people in less shape than me will never survice the imkpact of that airbag because I felt like I barely survived. Maybe this is the way it works I never had one hit me before but to this day I still feel a little pain.
Routine service at 112 Mitsubishi Dealer/Service Center noted that my front crossbar was severely corroded and "coming apart in chunks". They noted that this defect is known and was recalled on later model years of my car, but not my 2011. Considering it was recalled already and is the same issue, I would recommend and hope the 2011 model year can also be included in the recall. It is available for inspection through mid September when I expect to repair it. There were no warnings leading up to this discovery of the defect, as it is structural. I am not an expert, but I would expect this advanced corrosion could fully compromise the car structure in a catastrophic way, resulting in an accident and/or injury.
I got a service needed warning for the electric power steering and I lost all power steering... As it turned out, the rack and pinion was bad because the subframe rotted out where the rack and pinion mounts up and a custom built subframe and rack and pinion had to be installed on the car at a cost of almost $5,000...
The contact owns a 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer. The contact stated while the vehicle was having a routine oil change at the dealer, the mechanic stated that rear crossmember bar was rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the contact was informed that the front crossmember bar needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 116,000. The consumer stated while the mechanic was attempting to change the front cross member started taking the front end apart, he said he had stripped a bolt on the catalytic converter. Also, the dealer charged the consumer for a new catalytic converter without permission. A new appointment was made on 12/14/2022 to fix the damages at their cost.
Was not aware of this new recall in July 2020 a detached front control arm May make you lose control of the car .my 17 year old daughter lost control of her car because the right side tire started to shake and the steering wheel locked up and she was unable to control car and wrecked on 6/26/2020 her air bags on passenger side came out when she went off the road in a ditch. She was driving in clear conditions at 55 MPH and the right front side started to shake. She was given a ticket for failure to maintain control of her car. And has a court date with reckless driving. I can give you the va court id for the details of this.
We had car at a car dealer and the manufacturer declined doing the recall on the car for corrison on the front crossmember, telling us due to car has a total loss record on Carfax. The vehicle total loss record was for a accident that didn't effect that part of the car that's under recall, it was due to vehicle repairs were more then what car was worth. The piece I think they call it crossmember has rust holes through it and is about to come apart at the rusted holes on the part. We buy the car [VIN] in 2022 for our daughter to drive to college. Just finding out when we took it into the car place to perform this recall they won't do the recall because of Mitsubishi. I filled this out for my dad, he bought car for me.
My SRS light just started coming on a few years ago before we were in an accident. When we took it to the dealer to check it, they said it was a costly repair and is only to remove the light...but that the airbags would still deploy if we were in an accident. Since then, we've been in an accident where we were rear-ended (which would not deploy the airbags) but it pushed us into the car in front of us (which should have deployed the airbags). Seeing as this light just came on way before any accidents and could not have been caused by anything we did, I believe it to be faulty from the manufacturer. When googling this issue, I found a lot of people complaining about the same thing happening. Yet, Mitsubishi has never been pushed to make their seat belt pretensioner flaw into a safety recall and expects to just make money off mitubishi owners coming in to pay to have this fixed.
Related recalls (1)
Structure › Frame and members
Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain 2008-2010 Lancer, 2009-2010 Lancer Sportback, 2008-2013 Outlander, and 2011-2016 Outlander Sport vehicles originally sold in, or ever registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland,…
Remedy: MMNA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front cross members. Depending on the level of existing corrosion, either a sealing/anti-corrosion agent will be applied or the front cross member will be replaced…
Frequently asked questions
Which Mitsubishi Lancer years have body problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2003 (13), 2008 (10), 2002 (7), 2009 (6) and 2006 (5) model years. Body complaints make up 7% of all complaints for the 2003.
Is there a recall for Mitsubishi Lancer body problems?
Yes — 1 recall, including 20V-279 (frame and members, May 18, 2020). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Mitsubishi Lancer body problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 85,000 miles; 36% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the body (35 mentions), followed by the frame and members (7).
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.