2005 Mitsubishi Lancer problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (9) · Suspension (2) · Wheels (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Mitsubishi Lancer model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2018-04-05 · campaign 18V220000 · 17,120 vehicles
Defect: Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain 2004-2006 Mitsubishi Lancer vehicles that previously received a like-for-like passenger side frontal air bag inflator under recall 15V321 as interim remedy. Also recalled are 2004-2006 Lancer vehicles located in Guam or Saipan that previously received or never received a new inflator under 15V321 or 17V569. These passenger side frontal air bag inflators may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the i
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could explode with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: MMNA will notify owners, and dealers will install a final replacement passenger side frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on April 26, 2018. Owners may contact MMNA customer service at 1-888-648-7820. MMNA's number for this recall is SR-18-005.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2017-09-14 · campaign 17V569000 · 66,001 vehicles
Defect: Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (Mitsubishi) is recalling certain 2004-2006 Lancer and Lancer Evolution vehicles and 2004 Lancer Sportback vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Mitsubishi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with a different inflator, free of charge. The recall began on October 12, 2017. Owners may contact Mitsubishi customer service at 1-888-648-7820. Mitsubishi's number for this recall is SR-17-001. Note: This recall supersedes recall 15V-321.
Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Arm 2016-06-23 · campaign 16V458000 · 194,674 vehicles
Defect: 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 Co
Risk: A detached front control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Service bulletins (81)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Air Bags 2025-11-10 · TIN-25-00-013 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this technical information notice informs dealers that with permission from the puerto rico traffic safety commission, notification letters are being sent to vehicle owners with puerto rico addresses to inform them of open takata recalls.
Air Bags 2025-09-08 · TIN-25-00-011 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this technical information notice informs dealers that with permission from the texas department of motor vehicles (dmv), notification letters are being sent to vehicle owners with texas addresses to inform them of open takata recalls.
Air Bags 2025-04-11 · TIN-25-00-005 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this technical information notice informs dealers that with permission from the ohio bureau of motor vehicle, notification letters are being sent to vehicle owners with ohio addresses to inform them of open takata recalls.
Air Bags 2025-04-11 · TIN-25-00-004 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this technical information notice informs dealers that with permission from the louisiana motor vehicle division, notification letters are being sent to vehicle owners with louisiana addresses to inform them of open takata recalls.
Air Bags 2024-12-09 · TIN-24-00-011 · Service Campaign
this is a technical information notice informing dealers that mmna is launching a social media campaign targeting vehicle owners with open takata recalls.
Air Bags 2024-10-21 · TIN-24-00-008 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this technical information notice informs dealers that with permission from the arizona motor vehicle division, notification letters are being sent to vehicle owners with arizona addresses to inform them of open takata recalls.
Showing the 6 most recent of 81 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-11-24 · Steering“the steering column on my 2005 mitsubishi lancer es detached while driving. the entire column dropped down from its mounting brackets, causing loss of control. this is a serious safety hazard. the mount bolts were intact previously, but they came loose or the bracket failed without warning. this could have resulted in a crash and severe injury. i b…”
2020-07-29 · Suspension · 100,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2005 mitsubishi lancer. the contact stated that the cup from the ball joints, the front end, tie rod, unknown wiring harness and the driver's side headlight failed. the vehicle was taken to an unknown mitsubishi dealer however, was not diagnosed nor repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the con…”
2019-05-30 · Electrical System · 90,000 mi“the signal lights stop working also the hazards. the horn remains on. a lot of people say that is a problem of the car inside body that take the connector of the junction block and corrode them. a lot of people have this problems. the problem is in motion and stationary.…”
2019-04-11 · Air Bags“i sold this car last july 2018 through a trade-in. please stop sending me all of these horrifying reminders. it is not appreciated. please remove my name and address from all mailing lists. i did not get it done when i owned the car as the dealership was quite a drive and i could not drop it off. car is sold.…”
2018-11-26 · Suspension · 170,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2005 mitsubishi lancer. the contact stated that the cross member fractured without warning and the front upper and lower control arms detached. the vehicle was unable to be driven due to the failure. the vehicle was towed to bell mitsubishi (1500 us-1, rahway, nj 07065, (732) 709-4333) where it was diagnosed that the cross me…”
2018-02-08 · Air Bags“received notice of a recall on the pass. side airbag. called local dealer, out of business (greenville mitsubishi). next closest dealer is 2 counties away (don herring mitsubishi plano), spoke to benny. said it's a 5-hour repair and they are open on saturday, but will not perform the recall on saturday. due to the distance involved, it's unreasonab…”
2015-09-09 · Structure:body · 94,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2005 mitsubishi lancer. the contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the floor mat was removed on the driver side and it was discovered that the floor board had excessive rust and fractured. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage …”
2015-08-10 · Air Bags · 151,042 mi“i received a safety recall notice by mail from mitsubishi motors sales of caribbean on june, i call to a dealership they told me that i have to wait my turn and to wait the inflator to be available, we are in august and still no notice, i call them today and they told me i have to wait my turn, i called to another dealership and they told me they a…”
2015-07-27 · Air Bags · 63,000 mi“good day, i recently got a safety recall letter from mitsubishi about a possible defect in my car's airbags that when deployed could cause metal fragments to impact my face and body and possibly cause death. the problem i'm having is, on the letter they stated that all the repairs would be at no-cost with no mention of aftermarket parts an extra…”
2015-06-23 · Air Bags“tl* the contact owns a 2005 mitsubishi lancer. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v321000 (air bags); however, the parts needed were not available. the manufacturer expected the contact to schedule a repair at a dealer that was out of state and not a local authorized dealer which was unreasonable. the manufacturer was un…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.