Consumer Safety Complaints

Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.

2,245,377 Total Complaints

140,173 Reported Crashes

56,794 Reported Fires

8,580 Reported Deaths

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.

The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.

How to interpret what you read

A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:

One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.

If you've experienced a defect

File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.

Read more from our blog

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 14,474 complaints for MITSUBISHI

Incident date: Nov 10, 2003

THIRD WATER PUMP GONE ON THIS VEHICLE.*AK

Incident date: Oct 21, 2003

CLUTCH FAILED AT 10K000 MILES. CAR WAS NEVER RACED OR ABUSED. COST OF REPAIR $1600.OT COVERED UNDER NEW CAR WARRENTY EVEN THOUGH IT IS LISTED AS A COVERABLE ITEM IN THE WARRENTY BOOK. DEALER DENIED ANY PROBLEM UPON INITIAL INSPECTION. CAR WAS DRIVEN AN APPROX 300 MILES B4 PROBLEM BECAME UNBEARABLE AND DEALER AGREED THAT THERE WAS AN ACTUAL PROBLEM.*AK

Incident date: Sep 18, 2003

BRAND NEW MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION BLOWS ENGINE AFTER 6,000 MILES. SAID CUSTOMER NEGLECT BUY CANNOT PROVE IT. *LA

Incident date: Sep 15, 2003

I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IN DEC OF 2000 I STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS SINCE 6-22-03 I HAVE HAD 4 SETS OF BREAK PADS 2 SETS OF ROTORS, NEW CALIPERS AND THE HARDWARE REPLACED EACH TIME. I ALSO TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER WHILE IT WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND THEY TOLD ME EVERYTHING WAS FINE WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEM. SHORTLY AFTER I LOST CONTROL OF MY BRAKES WHILE DRIVING WITH MY FAMILY. I HAVE ABOUT 50,... Read more

Incident date: Jul 28, 2003

VEHICLE SUFFERED TIRE TREAD SEPARATION, WHICH RESULTED IN THE TREAD STRIKING ANOTHER VEHICLE.*MR ( 2003 MITSUBISHI TRUCK) *TS

Crash

WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH TWO FRONT TIRES BLEW OUT WITHOUT ANY WARNING. FIRESTONE, AFFINITY, P19565R15. *AK

Incident date: Jun 17, 2003

WHILE DRIVING AT 20 MPH CONSUMER SAW SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER THE DASHBOARD AND UNDER THE HOOD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A REPAIR SHOP, AND MECHANIC INFORMED CONSUMER THAT ALL OF THE ELECTRICAL WIRES MELTED. ON ANOTHER OCCASION WHILE DRIVING AT ABOUT 15 MPH VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE MECHANIC, WHO DISCOVERED THAT THE FLYWHEEL AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS HAD TO BE REPL... Read more

Incident date: Jun 17, 2003

VEHICLE RAN OVER A WOODEN BLOCK RESULTING IN PASSENGER FRONT TIRE RIPPING AND CRACKING RIM.*MR

CONSUMER COMPLAINED ABOUT A RETRACTABLE SHOULDER HARNESS PROBLEM. AUTOMATED SEAT BELTS WORK INTERMITTENTLY.*AK

DRIVER SIDE DOOR LATCH ON A 1998 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE BROKE.*MR *TS *JB

PROBLEMS WITH VEHICLE LOSING POWER AND CUTTING OFF.*MR VEHICLE RUNS ROUGH WHEN DRIVING UPHILL. VEHICLE STALLED. *TS

Incident date: Nov 13, 2003

I OWN A 1999 MITSUBISHI MIRAGE DE, WHICH I PURCHASED 3/8/02; IT HAS A 1.5 LITER ENGINE AND AN AUTOMATIC 4 SPEED TRANSMISSION. WITHIN DAYS, I NOTICED THAT THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTED ABNORMALLY FROM THE 1ST TO THE 2ND GEARS WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD. THIS ABNORMALITY CAN BE DESCRIBED AS A HESITATION OR SLIPPING AT SOME TIMES, OR A POPPING, LIKE GUNFIRE, AT OTHERS. AGAIN, THIS SHIFTING SENSATION IS MOR... Read more

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. *AK

Crash 2 injured

WHILE DRIVING WITH THE WINDOWS ROLLED DOWN AT 40 MPH THE WIND CAUSES DISCOMFORT TO EARS AND HEAD. *MR THE RIGHT REAR WINDOW CREATED A LOUD THUMP AND OR VIBRATING NOISE. *SCC *JB

Incident date: May 31, 2003

MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH IN HER 2003 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE WHEN SHE WAS IN A HEAD ON COLLISION HITTING A CEMENT GUARDRAIL WHEN THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, FRONT OR SIDE. CAR HAD IN EXCESS OF $4,000 DAMAGE TO THE FRONT END, ENGINE, FRAME, ETC. AND HAD TO BE REBUILT. ALL MY EFFORTS TO CONTACT MITSUBISHI FOR SOMEONE TO CHECK OUT THE AIR BAG DEFAULT WERE NOT SUCCESSFUL. I EVEN FIL... Read more

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Oct 22, 2003

WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE STEERING FAILED WHEN ATTEMPTING TO STEER TO THE RIGHT. THE VEHICLE WENT ACROSS A MEDIAN INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND CRASHED INTO A GUARD RAIL. THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE DRIVER WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM FOR INJURIES TO THE BACK, NECK, AND KNEE. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *PH

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Oct 22, 2003

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Nov 6, 2003

WHILE TURNING 5 MPH, THE FRONT BALL JOINT AND AXLE SNAPPED. THE CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT THE GEARS TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. THE CONSUMER MANAGED TO PULL OVER AND HAD VEHICLE TOWED. CAUSE HAS YET TO BE DETERMINED. THE DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *PH

Incident date: Nov 6, 2003

Incident date: Aug 18, 2003

I HAVE A 2003 ECIPSE THAT I HAVE HAD IN THE SHPO TWICE BECAUSE MY CAR IS LEAKING OIL. I HAVE HAD CONTINOUS RUN AROUND AT THE GARAGE WAITING FOR PARTS ETC. I AM VERY DISSATISFIED WITH THE FACT THAT MY GARAGF FLOOR CONTINUES TO HAVE WET OIL ON IT.I ALSO AM WITHOUT A VEHICLE THAT I AM PAYING FOR.MY CAR HAS BEEN RETURNED ON THREE OCCASSIONS TO GURLEY-LEEP, WHERE IT CURRENTLY IS,FOR THE SAAME PROBLEM O... Read more

Incident date: Nov 10, 2003

THE BRAKES SQUEALED WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED. DEALER AND INDEPENDENT SHOP REPLACED THE BRAKES PADS AND ROTORS TWICE, HOWEVER, THE NOISE STILL OCCURS. *AK

Incident date: Nov 10, 2003

THE BRAKES SQUEALED WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED. DEALER AND INDEPENDENT SHOP REPLACED THE BRAKES PADS AND ROTORS TWICE, HOWEVER, THE NOISE STILL OCCURS. *AK

Incident date: Sep 9, 2003

CAR WAS PARKED WITH KEY OUT OF THE IGNITION. CAR ROLLED BACKWARDS AND STRUCK TREE.

Crash

Incident date: Nov 4, 2003

INTERMITTENTLY THE STEERING COLUMN COLLAPSED INTO DRIVER'S LAP WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE. DEALER STATED THIS WAS UNUSUAL, WE NEVER HEARD A CASE LIKE THIS PROBLEM.*AK

Incident date: Oct 23, 2003

POWER TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE CAR STOPPED MOVING THE SPEED WAS LESS THAN 30 MILES PER HOUR. THE CAR WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE IN REVERSE BUT NOT FORWARD. *AK

Incident date: Sep 12, 2003

WHEN DRIVING FOR OVER AN HOUR VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. DRIVER PULLED OFF THE ROAD. HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE DEALER ON FIVE SEPARATE OCCASIONS, BUT PROBLEM STILL RECURRED.*AK

Incident date: Sep 20, 2003

WHEN MY MITSUBISHI EVOLUTION VIII HAD 3,600 MILES ON IT, THE CLUTCH BEGAN SLIPPING -- THIS OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING 45 MILES PER HOUR IN TRAFFIC. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE TO DEALER. THE DEALER SAID THE CLUTCH WAS A "WEAR ITEM," AND REFUSED TO REPLACE IT. *LA

Incident date: Oct 27, 2003

LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE ON HIGHWAY AT ABOUT 60-70 MPH IN THE RAIN, HIT A GUARDRAIL SEVERAL TIMES AND AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. FRONT OF VEHICLE WAS SO DAMAGED THAT CAR COULD NOT BE REPAIRED. *LA

Crash

Incident date: Oct 29, 2003

WHEN DRIVING STEERING WHEEL FELT REAL LOOSE. DEALER STATED LOWER BALL JOINTS FAILED.*AK

Incident date: Oct 27, 2003

REAR WINDOW SHATTERED WHILE PARKED IN COVERED PARKING. UNKNOWN CAUSE AND NO INDENTATION (POINT OF IMPACT). *AK

CRANKSHAFT BOLT IS LOOSENING ON VEHICLE CAUSING LOSS OF POWER STEERING.*MR CONSUMER'S VEHICLE WASN'T RECOGNIZED TO BE WITHIN THE RECALL. CONSUMER EXPERIENCED THE DEFECT AND HAD TO PAY $1355.56 FOR REPAIRS AND $130.00 FOR TOWING. CONSUMER FEELS MITSUBISHI SHOULD COVER COSTS OF REPAIRS AND TOWING DUE TO THE RECALL THAT WAS CREATED TO TAKE CARE OF THIS EXACT PROBLEM. *PH

Incident date: Oct 27, 2003

THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON SO I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER RIGHT AWAY. I WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS AN 89$ CHARGE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. LATER THAT DAY I WAS CALLED TO BE TOLD THAT IT WOULD NOW COST ME 192$ BECAUSE THEY HAD TO DOWNLOAD INFORMATION TO THE COMPUTOR. THIS DEFINATLY SOUNDS LIKE A MANUFACTURING PROBLEM AND THEY ARE CHARGING THERE CUSTOMERS TO FIX IT. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER MITSUBI... Read more

Incident date: Oct 18, 2003

2003/MITSUBISHI/DIAMANTE VR-X ON OCT 18 2003 I GOT MY NEW CAR AND IT HAS BEEN SHAKING AT ALL TIMES IT WAS IN ON MONDAY 20 TUESDAY 21 WEDNESDAY 22 FROM 22 OF OCT TO 27 I AM STILL NOT DRIVING MY CAR I HAV NO SEEN IT AND MY SHAKING IT STILL NOT FIXED.*AK

Incident date: Oct 27, 2003

AFTER TURNING ON THE TURN SIGNAL, IT CAME ON AND OFF ON ITS OWN. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR ANALYSIS. *AK

Incident date: Oct 26, 2003

EASILY BENT RIMS ON THE 2000 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE GT, ALL MY 4 RIMS HAVE SOME SORE OF DAMAGE WITH A NORMAL DRIVING HABITS, MY CAR SHAKES AND FEELS UNSAFE ABOVE 60MPH. *LA

Incident date: Oct 24, 2003

THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE ALLOY RIM ON MY 2001 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE GT WAS BENT AND CRACKED FROM SIMPLY HITTING A POTHOLE IN THE ROAD. THIS CAUSED MY TIRE TO RAPIDLY DEFLATE AND THE RIM UNABLE TO BE USED. *LA

Incident date: Aug 5, 2003

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IS SLIPPING AT FIRST GEAR ON 2003 LANCER ES. THIS CAR IS ONLY A YEAR OLD AND HAS LESS THAN 6,000 MILES ON IT. I SHOULD NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM. *LA

Incident date: Feb 20, 2002

I PURCHASED A 2002 MITSUBISHI GALANT ES FROM DUNPHY MITSUBISHI IN HAVERTOWN, PA FEBRUARY 18, 2002. A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER MY BRAKES STARTED TO SQUEAK, I CALLED DUNPHY MITSUBISHI AND SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT FOR SERVICE. AFTER THE SERVICE CENTER SPRAYED MY BRAKES DAYS LATER THEY BEGAN TO SQUEAK AGAIN, I PLACED ANOTHER CALL AND WAS TOLD BY DUNPHY SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT THEIR WILL BE A REMEDY TO S... Read more

Incident date: Aug 11, 2003

MOLD HAD DEVELOPED AROUND THE DOORS AND WINDOWS OF THE VEHICLE AND CAUSED A HORRENDOUS SMELL. THE MOLD SPORES CAUSED THE CONSUMER TO BECOME SICK FOR FOUR MONTHS. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED. *JB *NM

1 injured

Incident date: May 4, 2003

WHILE DRIVING, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONSUMER PULLED OVER TO CHECK THE OWNER'S MANUAL. THE MANUAL STATED TO PULL OVER AND WAIT UNTIL THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE LIGHT GOES OFF AND TO PROCEED DRIVING. THE CONSUMER STARTED DRIVING AND THE TRANSMISSION ILLUMINATED AGAIN. THE CONSUMER MANAGED TO PULL OVER AGAIN. *JB THE ENGINE STARTED TO SMOKE AND TH... Read more

WHILE TRAVELING AT 65 MPH, THE FRONT PASSENGER FRONT WHEEL CAME COMPLETELY OFF THE RIM. *JB

Incident date: Oct 22, 2003

I WAS TRAVELING RUSH TRAFFIC GOING OVER A HILL WHEN THE CAR STOP AND STARTED TO REVERSE, WHILE IN DRIVE. I BRAKED AND PUT CAR IN PARK STOP THE ENGINE AND RESTART THE VEHICLE AND TRIED MOVING FORWARD BUT THE CAR STILL PRECEDED BACKWARD DOWN THE HILL. I TRIED ALL GEARS INCLUDED REVERSE AND NONE WORKED EXCEPT PARK AND CAR ENGINE WAS KEPT ON RUNNING FINE ALL THAT TIME. *LA

WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS SMOKE CAME FROM THE REAR OF VEHICLE. INITIALLY THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD BY A DEALER THAT THE REAR TRANS AXLE SHOULD BE REPLACED. CONSUMER WENT TO ANOTHER DEALER TO GET A SECOND OPINION. THE DEALER INDICATED THAT VEHICLE WAS COVERED UNDER RECALL 98V168000 CONCERNING TRANSFER CASE. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE BACK TO THE ORIGINAL DEALER, WHO REFUSED TO HONOR THE RECAL... Read more

Incident date: Oct 1, 2003

SELECTING THE SECOND GEAR OF MY CAR OFTEN CAUSES UNDESIRABLE "GRINDING" AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES CAN THAT GEAR BY USED. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE I DO NOT HAVE POWER ON DEMAND AND COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT IF THE GEAR DOES NOT GO IN PROPERLY. *LA

Incident date: Dec 28, 2002

THE PAINT JOB ON MY 2003 MITSUBISHI LANCER ES IS VERY POOR. A VERY LIGHT CONTACT MAKES A SCRATCH ON THE PAINT. I HAVE THIS CAR FOR ABOUT AN YEAR NOW BUT AFTER THE DEALER WASHED MY CAR FOR THE FIRST TIME, I CAN SEE THE SCRATCHES ON THE HOOD. THE DEALER IS NOT ACCEPTING THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS. I WOULD SAY THE CAR OF THIS PRICE SHOULD HAVE MUCH BETTER PAINT AND SHOULDN'T SCRATCH THAT EASILY. *L... Read more

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

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