2003 Mitsubishi Outlander problems
NHTSA has received 149 complaints about the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander, and 19% of them involve suspension. After that come lighting (13%) and steering (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 149 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Suspension 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 12 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 11 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 67,000 miles 105 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 | 23 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 16 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 14 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 13 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 12 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 5 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 105 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 67,000 miles. For suspension specifically, the median reported mileage is about 67,000 miles (19 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 12 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 11 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 21 model years of the Mitsubishi Outlander with enough data (84 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 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.
On the morning of may 2, while it was raining a car that was two cars in front of my wife decided to make a left turn on the highway without any advanced notice; my wife ends up running into the car in front of her and seriously damaging the front of the car. The airbags, however did not deploy. My wife suffered a contusion on her head. My 17 month old daughter was also in the car but was not seriously hurt.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mitsubishi outlander. While driving at an unknown speed, small stones fell off of another vehicle and struck the sunroof of the contact's vehicle. As a result, debris and glass shattered inside of her vehicle. Two passengers were moderately injured. In addition, while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle rolled over without an impact or crash occurring. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but they could not identify the cause of the failure.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mitsubishi outlander. While driving approximately 30 MPH on normal road conditions, the rear brake lights activated without the brake pedal being depressed. The failure occurred spontaneously whenever the vehicle was in operation. In addition, the SRS warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel and remained lit until the engine was turned off.
Single owner/user;retired, garage kept. Undercarriage so eroded wheels began to list. Impractical to repair. Body and engine without problems. Not notified by dealership at recent service there was a problem. An unknown person that drove behind me mentioned that I should get rear wheel looked at. When brought for alignment check, I was notified by the mechanic to look at the underside of the car. Erosion was so bad, I drove the 5 miles to my home and will not take it on the road again. No recalls received.