2003 Mitsubishi Lancer problems
NHTSA has received 242 complaints about the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer, and 32% of them involve wipers, windshield & visibility. After that come drivetrain & axles (12%) and transmission (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 242 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Wipers, windshield & visibility 32% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 17 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 17 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 52,000 miles 159 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
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 49 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 22 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 14 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 26 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 12 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 8 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 5 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 159 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 52,000 miles. For wipers, windshield & visibility specifically, the median reported mileage is about 72,000 miles (51 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 17 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 17 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Mitsubishi Lancer with enough data (148 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
I purchased a 2003 mitsubishi lancer ls, frm the mmsa co. Used parking lot, with only a 100 miles. Car seemed to run fine, and then it started to randomly revv and them stall. It wasnt that bad at first, but 06/04 it became a problem. Id stall about 8-12 x a day (avg.), id taken it to the mitsu dealers who all said: they fixed it, couldnt replicate the problem, or there was nothing wrong. While on the freeway, I started to brake and then realized that I had no power to my car- it had stalled in motion.
Vehicle was involved in a front passenger side collision while driving at 40 MPH. Upon impact, neither driver's side nor passenger's side air bags deployed driver and passenger sustained minor injuries.
During a 30 MPH frontal collision front air bags did not deploy. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. The two occupant suffered from chest, back and shoulder injuries.
2003 mitsubishi lancer oz rally edition , sudden acceleration, car engine revs to 3000-4000 RPM. Does not have ABS so you can stop the car, take your foot off the brake and you will find the car accelerating to 50 MPH without touching the gas pedal. Can be fixed by replacing pn# mr578268 for $465( idle air control valve) , a part that is about $30 to $70 dollars for any other car. Event happens at 3-4 month intervals. Had to google on internet to solve problem.
The heating/cooling knob has been hard to turn since I bought the vehicle. It would have to be forced to switch from warm to cool. Eventually the knob broke off. Mitsubishi was contacted and a complaint was filed but since it was not under warranty they would not fix it. The cable was replaced but the problem was not solved, it was still just as hard to turn. Approx 1 1/2 years later the knob broke off again resulting in not being able to control temperature and engage the defroster.