IllustrationI WAS INVOLVED IN A MAJOR ACCIDENT YESTERDAY 8/26/04 AND NEITHER OF MY FRONTAL AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. WITH THE IMPACT THAT THE CAR TOOK THERE IS NO WAY THAT THE AIR BAGS WOULD NOT DEPLOY! *AK
2002 Mitsubishi Lancer
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Lancer years
Owner complaints for the 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer are substantially higher than the model-year median of 27.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Lancer years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
160–25K
1825–50K
1050–75K
1475–100K
16100–150K
12150K+
86 reports with mileage · 62 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Visibility. Review the 25 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 23 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
32 crash reports1 fire reports17 injury reports
What owners actually said
148 reportsWHILE APPLYING BRAKES VEHICLE ACCELERATED. IN ORDER TO SLOW THE VEHICLE DOWN CONSUMER HAD TO ENGAGE THE VEHICLE INTO NEUTRAL, AND SHUT THE IGNITION OFF. *AK THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TOT HE DEALER AND PUT ON THE DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER. THE TECHNICIAN INDICATED THAT NO CODES WERE DISPLAYED INDICATING A PROBLEM. *NM
MITSUBISHI LANCER ES 2002, VEHICLE HAS BEEN MAKING AN ANNOYING SQUEEKING SOUND COMING FROM THE REAR OT THE CAR. THREE ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE BY THE DEALER TO CORRECT PROBLEM, TO NO AVAIL. IT SEEMS THAT EVERY TIME THE VEHICLE IS WORKED ON THE SOUND DISSAPPEARS FOR SEVERAL MINUTES (30 MNS.) AND THAN IT RETURNS. THEY CLAIM TO BE S…
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MITSUBISHI LANCER ES 2002, VEHICLE HAS BEEN MAKING AN ANNOYING SQUEEKING SOUND COMING FROM THE REAR OT THE CAR. THREE ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE BY THE DEALER TO CORRECT PROBLEM, TO NO AVAIL. IT SEEMS THAT EVERY TIME THE VEHICLE IS WORKED ON THE SOUND DISSAPPEARS FOR SEVERAL MINUTES (30 MNS.) AND THAN IT RETURNS. THEY CLAIM TO BE STEMMING FROM THE REAR SUSPENSION SYSTEM TO POOR BUSHINGS TO LACK OF LUBRICATION. THEY CLAIM THAT ALLL OF THE ABOVE HAVE BEEN REPAIR OR REPLACED BUT NOT SUCCESSFULLY.*AK
WHILE DRIVING AT UNKNOWN SPEED CONSUMER DEPRESSED THE BRAKES AND HEARD A GRINDING NOISE. CONSUME INSPECTED VEHICLE, AND NOTICED BLACK DUST COVERING THE RIMS. VEHICLE WAS SERVICED BY DEALERSHIP SIX TIMES. TECHNICIAN REPLACED ROTOR CAP, PINS,SHIMS, AN DBRAKE PADS.*AK
I WAS DRIVING DOWN A STREET IN MY 2002 MITSUBISHI LANCER AND AS I APPROACHED A GREEN LIGHT I NOTICED THAT THE DRIVER OF AN ACURA WAS NOT STOPPING FOR HIS RED LIGHT. I SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES BUT UNFORTUNATELY I HIT THE PASSENGER SIDE OF HIS CAR. THE ACCEDENT CAUSED MY CAR TO TURN 90 DEGREES TO THE RIGHT. I GOT OUT OF MY VEHICLE…
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I WAS DRIVING DOWN A STREET IN MY 2002 MITSUBISHI LANCER AND AS I APPROACHED A GREEN LIGHT I NOTICED THAT THE DRIVER OF AN ACURA WAS NOT STOPPING FOR HIS RED LIGHT. I SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES BUT UNFORTUNATELY I HIT THE PASSENGER SIDE OF HIS CAR. THE ACCEDENT CAUSED MY CAR TO TURN 90 DEGREES TO THE RIGHT. I GOT OUT OF MY VEHICLE AFTER CHECKING ON MY PASSENGER AND THATS WHEN I REALIZED THAT THE AIRBAGS IN MY VEHICLE DIDN'T DEPLOY. MY PASSENGER AND I WERE BOTH INJURED AND ARE BEING TREATED FOR INJURIES. I AM NOT VERY HAPPY WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF MY VEHICLE IN THAT IT FAILED TO PROVIDE THE PROTECTION THAT THE AIRBAGS WERE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE. IF THE AIRBAGS HAD DEPLOYED MY PASSENGER AND I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THROWN AROUND LIKE RAGDOLLS IN THE VEHICLE. MY CAR WAS TOTALED AS A RESULT OF THE ACCIDENT. *AK
WHILE SITTING AT AN INTERSECTION VEHICLE SUDDENLY SURGED OUT INTO TRAFFIC. MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK
WHILE DRIVING 33 MPH CONSUMER'S VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A HEAD ON COLLISION. UPON IMPACT, DUAL AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. PASSENGER SUSTAINED A BROKEN COLLAR BONE. *AK
PAINT IS CHIPPING ALL OVER THE BODY, ESPECIALLY ON THE HOOD. THE COMPANY REFUSES TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR CHEAP PAINT. THE PAINT WILL CHIP FOR NO REASON OR WHENEVER BIRD DROPPINGS OR TREE SAP COME IN CONTACT, EVEN IF YOU CLEAN IT RIGHT OFF. I HAVE NEVER HAD SUCH BAD PAINTG. *AK
THE FRONT BRAKE PADS WERE REPLACED AT 15000 AND HAD TO BE REPLACED AGAIN AT 32000 MILES. *AK THE DEALER INDICATED THAT THIS WAS NORMAL WEAR. *NM
VEHICLE WAS TOTALED IN A HEAD ON COLLISION, BUT AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. *LA THE DRIVER DIDN'T SUSTAIN ANY INJURIES. CONSUMER QUESTIONED WHY DIDN'T THE AIR BAGS DEPLOY. (FATHER ON BEHALF ON HIS DAUGHTER). *PH
Official recalls
216V458000 · Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Arm
Jun 23, 2016
Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain model year 2002-2007 Lancer, 2004 Lancer Wagon, 2003-2006 Lancer Evolution, 2003-2006 Outlander and 2007-2013 Outlander V-6 vehicles originally sold in, or ever registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. In the affected vehicles, the front lower control arms may detach due to the front cross member corroding from salt water exposure such as from road salt use.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A detached front control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
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 with a new one that has a sealing/anti-corrosion agent applied to it. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began January 2017. Owners may contact MMNA customer service at 1-888-648-7820. MMNA's number for this recall is SR-16-003.
04V428000 · Equipment:other:labels
Sep 1, 2004
CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 208, 'OCCUPANT CRASH PROTECTION.' THE BILINGUAL ENGLISH/SPANISH REMOVABLE AIR BAG WARNING LABELS AFFIXED TO THE DASH AND TO THE SUNVISOR DO NOT MEET THE SIZE REQUIREMENTS OF THE STANDARD.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THIS DOES NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE STANDARD.
Remedy: MITSUBISHI CARIBBEAN WILL MAIL A CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION LETTER CONTAINING A WRITTEN DESCRIPTION AND A GRAPHIC OF THE BI-LINGUAL DASHBOARD AIR BAG WARNING LABEL. IN ADDITION, ALL CURRENT 2000-2004 NATIVA OWNERS WILL ALSO RECEIVE REPLACEMENT AIR BAG ALERT LABELS FOR THE SUN VISORS. THIS RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MARCH OR APRIL 2005. THE NOTIFICATION TO THE NATIVA OWNERS IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING APRIL OR MAY 2005. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT MITSUBISHI CARIBBEAN AT 1-787-251-8715.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.