Mitsubishi Outlander
Reliability, NHTSA Complaints & Recall History
10 model years analyzed (2017–2026). All data sourced directly from the NHTSA public complaints and recall database — the same data used by federal regulators.
Checking a specific Mitsubishi Outlander? Run a VIN check for its exact history.
⭐ NHTSA NCAP Crash Test Ratings
New Car Assessment ProgramNCAP crash tests measure how well a vehicle protects occupants in controlled frontal crash, side crash, and rollover scenarios. Stars are awarded per category (5 = safest). These laboratory results are independent of owner complaints and are performed by NHTSA engineers on new production vehicles.
AI Interpretation
High ConfidenceAverageNHTSA data for the Mitsubishi Outlander (2017–2026) shows complaints concentrated in the STRUCTURE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, and SERVICE BRAKES components. The 2022 model year accounts for the highest number of complaints, while 2021 and 2026 have none. Crash-related complaints total 43 out of 436 overall.
- STRUCTURE has the most complaints at 90.
- ELECTRICAL SYSTEM follows with 76 complaints.
- The 2022 model year has 204 complaints, the highest among years analyzed.
- SERVICE BRAKES account for 53 complaints.
- AIR BAGS have 42 complaints.
- AIR BAGS: 42 complaints reported.
- FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 41 complaints reported.
- SERVICE BRAKES: 53 complaints reported.
The 2022 model year has 204 complaints, the most of any year, with STRUCTURE and ELECTRICAL SYSTEM likely contributing. 2018 and 2017 also show elevated complaints.
The 2021 and 2026 model years have zero complaints, and 2025 has only 12, suggesting these years may have fewer reported issues, though low sales or reporting could be factors.
- Verify all open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
- Request service records for AIR BAGS, SERVICE BRAKES, and ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
- Have a mechanic inspect STRUCTURE and FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE components before purchase.
- Check for any outstanding safety campaigns related to AIR BAGS.
🔔 NHTSA Safety Recalls
30 recalls foundSafety recalls are mandatory repair campaigns ordered by NHTSA when a vehicle defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety. Manufacturers are required to fix recalled vehicles free of charge. Always verify open recalls before buying a used car.
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Safety Recall
Source: NHTSA Recalls Database. Data covers model years 2017–2026. Always run a VIN-specific check below for the most up-to-date open recall status.
🔧 Most-Reported Problem Areas
Based on component keywords extracted from all 436 NHTSA complaints.
📋 NHTSA Complaint Reports
436 totalThese are consumer-submitted safety complaints filed directly with NHTSA. Each complaint describes a real owner's experience. Complaints flagged as crash-related or fire-related are highlighted.
See attached document for complaint. The vehicle was sold without disclosure of an active airbag safety recall involving explosive deployment. Disclosure occurred only after contracts were executed and funds tendered. Had this life-safety information been disclosed prior to sale, the vehicle would not have been purchased. The failure to disclose a known safety defect at the point of sale constitutes material concealment and reckless disregard for consumer safety, particularly given the vehicle’s intended use for routine highway travel.
See attached document for complaint
The drivers seat-back tilts back slowly on its own. Ill move the seat-back upright before I start driving and it'll slowly tilt back on its own while im driving.
I am reporting a safety concern involving complete airbag non-deployment in a frontal collision. On January 9, 2026 I was involved in a frontal collision while driving my Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. The impact caused significant front-end damage, and the vehicle was subsequently deemed a total loss by the other driver’s insurance company. None of the airbags deployed, including the driver and passenger frontal airbags. There were no airbag warning lights or system alerts illuminated prior to the collision. A police report was filed for this incident. I was not injured; however, the other driver sustained injuries. Given the severity of the frontal impact and the resulting damage, I believe the airbags should have deployed. This raises concerns regarding a potential defect or failure in the airbag system, crash sensors, or airbag control module. I have photographs documenting the vehicle damage. I am submitting this report so the incident can be reviewed for potential vehicle safety defects that may affect other vehicles.
The contact owns a 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander. The contact stated that the message "Service Air Bags" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was advised to pay a fee for a diagnostic test. The contact declined, and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
The contact owned a 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off, a fire occurred near the engine compartment. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. A fire report was filed, and a fire report number was provided. The cause of the failure was possibly determined to be electrical or engine-related. A police report was also filed, and a report number was provided to the contact. The vehicle was destroyed. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,193.
There is a glitch in the electrical system. I have been replacing headlights constantly since I have purchased this vehicle in 2019. Last night was the final straw as both headlights went out at the same time. When I am stationary, you can watch the headlights surge when the vehicle is running. I have also had issues with the info center resetting for no reason during these glitches. No headlights at night is DANGEROUS!!!!
While accelerating the gas gage goes up but there is resistance when pressing on gas. The vehicle does not accelerate right away and there is a drag before the vehicle gets up to speed. It takes off really slow.
My parking brake has stopped working/is completely locked up (like what is descrived in the recall, but my vin isn't included in thr recall list), and the airbags were missing at time of sell.
I was approaching my car and used my keyfob to open the trunk. As it was opening, I was thankfully facing away from the trunk when the rod from the right tailgate lift support flew off, hitting me in my shoulder blade. It sounded like a gunshot. While there was no puncture, due to my thick t shirt and the rod hitting the bone of my right shoulder blade, the pain was severe. Before I realized it was the tailgate support strut, i genuinely thought I had been shot, due to the sound and the pain. Had I been facing my car, the rod would've gone through my face. Had it hit my eye, I indubitably would have lost that eye or my eyesight. There was no warning. I have never experienced anything out of the ordinary with my trunk door or the mechanisms to lift it. This easily could've severely injured me or someone else, or damaged property significantly. Upon inspection visually, the non-threaded end of the rod appears to have snapped off. The hydraulics were so strong that the 5mm thick metal snapped in half within milliseconds. I have an appointment at the Mitsubishi dealership where I got the car to get to the root cause. They confirmed over the phone that my car is too new to have tailgate lift support failure.
Front calipers made a ratting noise, every time we drive over small street cracks or bumps, this happen when my car reached about 45000 miles, we replace the calipers now there is no more ratting noise.
The contact owns a 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently accelerated. The contact stated that an unknown software needed to be updated. The contact also stated that the driver’s seat belt failed to retract. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
Transmission not working properly. It said overheating and then stopped driving suddenly whil driving. Very unsafe. Also issue with parking break that just stopped working. This car seems to be a lemon. Not sure why this is happening.
The car turned off completely and then a few seconds later turned back on.
My parking brake locked up by itself. Took 4 trips to the mechanic to find out the module or switch is bad. It's 400 dollars just for the part. My drivers widow stopped going up thr tract stuck and bent it thsts 200 bucks. I have a 2019 outlander theses problem was at 40k miles. Need some recalls.
Hesitation when putting thee vehicle in drive or reverse. While driving RPMs fluctuate 500-1000RPMs continuously. Studdering when accelerating from a complete stop.
Wife t-boned a old style Subaru at 30 mph and the air bags did not deploy at all this was a 2019 mitibishi outlander se
I AM A RIDESHARE DRIVER. ON FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021 PASSENGERS BEGAN TO COMPLAIN THAT THE RIGHT-SIDE SEAT BELT (ON THE 2ND ROW OF SEATS) WOULD NOT FASTEN. AFTER ARRANGING FOR PEOPLE TO MOVE AROUND TO THE OTHER SIDE (LEFT-HAND SEAT) FOR A WHILE, I FINALLY QUIT DRIVING TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUE MYSELF. AFTER NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS TO REPAIR THE BUCKLE, I GAVE UP AND STARTED CALLING AROUND FOR THE PART--BUT COULD NOT FIND IT. FINALLY I NOTICED A RECALL NOTICE ONLINE FOR THIS EXACT SAME ISSUE IN 2014-2019 MITSUBISHI OUTLANDERS. ON MONDAY (APRIL 26) I CALLED SCOTT ELDER MITSUBISHI IN CEDAR PARK, TEXAS TO SCHEDULE THE RECALL REPAIR, BUT WAS TOLD THAT MY VIN NUMBER IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE RECALL. THEY ALSO DID NOT HAVE THE PART AND COULD NOT OBTAIN ONE FOR AT LEAST A WEEK. I THEN CALLED THE MANUFACTURER DIRECTLY TO LEARN WHY MY VEHICLE IS NOT COVERED FOR THE RECALL EVEN THOUGH IT IS A 2019 AND HAS THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM AS DESCRIBED IN THE RECALL NOTICE. THEY COULD NOT GIVE ME A SATISFACTORY ANSWER, NOR ANY ALTERNATIVE RECOURSE TO RESOLVE MY ISSUE. AS STATED ABOVE, I AM A RIDESHARE DRIVER. I CANNOT DO MY JOB WITH AN UNUSABLE SEAT BELT. SWITCHING PASSENGERS TO THE OTHER SEAT WON'T ALWAYS WORK BECAUSE I OFTEN PICK UP 3 OR MORE PASSENGERS. EACH DAY I AM WITHOUT THE USE OF THE VEHICLE FOR WORK IS COSTING ME $250-$300 PER DAY (NOT COUNTING BONUSES).
WHEN USING THE BRAKE AUTO HOLD I STEPPED ON THE GAS WHILE SCRATCHING MY SIDE AT THE SAME TIME TO CROSS THE ROAD. I ACCIDENTALLY UNBUCKLED MY SEAT BELT WHICH THEN CAUSED THE BRAKE AUTO HOLD TO DISENGAGE AND AUTOMATICALLY APPLY THE PARKING BRAKE. THIS CAUSED MY CAR TO STOP DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC. I COULD NOT DISENGAGE THE PARKING BRAKE UNTIL I REBUCKLED MY SEAT BELT.
THE EPB (EMERGENCY PARKING BREAK) WAS SOME HOW ACTIVATED, NOT SURE IF BY ACCIDENT OR WIRING ISSUE AND NOW WILL NOT DISENGAGE. I CANNOT DRIVE MY VEHICLE AND HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET IT INTO THE DEALER FOR 3 WEEKS.
Showing 20 of 436 total NHTSA complaints. Source: NHTSA Complaints Database
Check a Specific Mitsubishi Outlander
This page shows fleet averages across all 10 model years. Enter a VIN to see the exact accident history, odometer records, title brands, and open recall status for a specific car.
📖 Understanding This Data
What is an NHTSA Complaint?
An NHTSA safety complaint is a report filed directly by a vehicle owner or driver describing a safety-related issue. Anyone can submit a complaint at NHTSA.gov. The number of complaints is a signal of how common a problem is — but complaints per model-year matter more than raw totals, since popular vehicles naturally receive more reports. The Mitsubishi Outlander has 436 complaints on record across 10 model years.
What is a Safety Recall?
A safety recall is a mandatory campaign issued by NHTSA when a vehicle component poses an unreasonable risk to safety or does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Unlike complaints (which are owner-reported), recalls are formally investigated and confirmed by regulators. Manufacturers must fix recalled vehicles free of charge. The Mitsubishi Outlander has 30 recall campaigns in the NHTSA database.
What Are Crash Complaints?
Crash complaints are NHTSA filings where the owner indicates a crash occurred as part of the incident. 43 of the Mitsubishi Outlander's 436 complaints involved a crash. This metric is particularly important because it indicates how often defects resulted in actual collisions — a key safety signal beyond general reliability.
How Is the AI Rating Calculated?
The AI reliability rating (Average) is generated by analyzing the vehicle's total complaints, recall history, crash complaint ratio, fire complaint ratio, and top component failures relative to class averages. The rating provides a plain-English summary for buyers who want a quick verdict without parsing raw numbers. It is one input in your buying decision — always verify with a VIN-specific report.
Why Do Newer Years Have Fewer Complaints?
Newer model years appear to have fewer complaints because there has been less time for owners to file them. Complaints accumulate over years of ownership. A 2020 model year vehicle will typically show fewer complaints than a 2015 model year even if it is less reliable — simply because fewer owners have had time to report issues. Focus on complaints per year of market presence when comparing across model years.
Fleet Data vs. Individual VIN
Everything on this page reflects aggregated data across all Mitsubishi Outlander vehicles on the road — not any specific car. Two Mitsubishi Outlander vehicles of the same year can have very different histories: one may have been in three accidents and have an open recall; another may be clean. A VIN check gives you the individual car's history: accidents, title brands, odometer records, service history, and real-time recall status.
What Are NHTSA Investigations?
When NHTSA receives a pattern of related safety complaints, it opens a formal investigation. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first stage — NHTSA determines if a safety defect may exist. If evidence is strong, it escalates to an Engineering Analysis (EA), which can result in a mandatory recall. The Mitsubishi Outlander has 0 investigations on record (0 active). Investigations listed above may have already led to the recalls shown on this page.