Vehicle Data Hub

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution problems

NHTSA has received 57 complaints about the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and 46% of them involve drivetrain & axles. After that come stability control (33%) and fuel system (5%).

At a glance

Complaints
57 filed with NHTSA
Most reported
Drivetrain & axles 46% of complaints
Crashes and fires
0 and 0
Injuries and deaths
0 and 0
Typical mileage
45,000 miles 55 complaints with mileage

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

Where the complaints are

Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.

When problems show up

Complaints by mileage, 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 45,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 7 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 11 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 24 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 9 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 2 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 2 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 0 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 0 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 45,000 miles
Based on 55 complaints that include mileage. 76% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles7
20k to 40k miles11
40k to 60k miles24
60k to 80k miles9
80k to 100k miles2
100k to 120k miles2
120k to 140k miles0
140k to 160k miles0
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Among the 55 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 45,000 miles. For drivetrain & axles specifically, the median reported mileage is about 48,000 miles (25 complaints with mileage).

None of these complaints report a crash, fire, injury or death. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 100% of model years in our database.

Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 4 model years of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution with enough data (37 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.

What owners wrote

A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.

Purchase my 2008 mitsubushi evolution x about one month ago with 2,900miles. I don't drive it often since I have a company car. My current miles is 4,400miles. I am beginning to notice alot of small chips toward the back doors bottom corner near quarter panel on both side of the vehicle. Been on many forums and alot of evo x owner are experiencing the same paint problem.the road condition here are in good shape, so I don't see why the paint is chipping away.

Reported at 4,400 miles, October 2009

Mitsubishi motors of america has a AWD ECU software update for vehicles specifically driven in cold conditions. Dealerships and mitsubishi corporate have denied my claim to obtain this software because my car was sold in california and they have said it is not eligible. I take my vehicle every year up in the sierra nevada mountain range where temperature conditions are similar to any of the northern states within the service bulletin.

Reported at 19,000 miles, September 2009

Acd (active center differential) pump has failed and without this pump providing pressure to the all wheel drive system, the vehicle gets stuck on driveways at a stop where the tire and wheel packages are on different elevated surfaces. The reason the pump has failed is due to placement of the pump on the vehicle. Mitsubishi has designed the vehicle to have the pump to be located directly behind the rear passenger wheel.

Reported at 64,000 miles, May 2014

It was a cold winter day, I started driving my evo to a nearby grocery store. Enroute, the AWD system would throw a warning and a dashboard light lit up. I was concerned, stopped the vehicle and found no leaks or no weird noises. The vehicle was unable to shift into snow/tarmac/gravel mode. Fortunately I was not stranded on the road side. Upon further investigation I came to know that the acd pump failed and hence it threw an AWD error. Its costing about 2200 dollars to fix this issue.

Reported at 66,000 miles, January 2014

Other model years of the Lancer Evolution

  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2007
  • 2006
  • 2005
  • 2004
  • 2003

Best and worst years for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution