2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 36 complaints · 7 recalls

Verdict & Safety Summary

Most-reported system: AIR BAGS (11 complaints · 30.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 4
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 2
  • Deaths 0
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution AIR BAGS appears in 11 of 36 owner complaints (30.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. AIR BAGS: 11 complaints, 30.6% of reports AIR BAGS 11 · 30.6% SUSPENSION: 9 complaints, 25.0% of reports SUSPENSION 9 · 25.0% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 3 complaints, 8.3% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 · 8.3% STRUCTURE: 3 complaints, 8.3% of reports STRUCTURE 3 · 8.3% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 2 complaints, 5.6% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 5.6% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 2 complaints, 5.6% of reports VISIBILITY 2 · 5.6% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 2.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 2.8% ENGINE: 1 complaints, 2.8% of reports ENGINE 1 · 2.8% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 1 complaints, 2.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 1 · 2.8% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 6 complaints, 16.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 · 16.7% · 2 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
AIR BAGS 11 30.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 9 25.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 8.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 3 8.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 5.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 2 5.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 2.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 1 2.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 1 2.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 16.7% 2 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2006; the first recall shown was reported in Mar 2006. 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2016-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Mar 2006 Jul 2022 Recall campaign 06E023000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E023000 Recall campaign 06E064000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E064000 Recall campaign 09E025000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E025000 Recall campaign 16V334000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V334000 Recall campaign 16V458000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V458000 Recall campaign 17V569000 ◆ Recall campaign 17V569000 Recall campaign 18V220000 ◆ Recall campaign 18V220000
  • Campaign 16V334000 was reported 595 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 17V569000 was reported 1,074 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 18V220000 was reported 1,277 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 5
2016-Q4 Owner reports 2
2017-Q1 Owner reports 2
2017-Q4 Owner reports 3
2018-Q1 Owner reports 2
2018-Q2 Owner reports 3
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 3
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 2
2022-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 06E023000
Recall campaign 1 06E064000
Recall campaign 1 09E025000
Recall campaign 1 16V334000
Recall campaign 1 16V458000
Recall campaign 1 17V569000
Recall campaign 1 18V220000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (7)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E023000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    ANZO WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE HEADLAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN MAY 9, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT ANZO USA AT 909-468-3688.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E064000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    LACK OF AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS IN THE LAMPS WILL DECREASE LIGHTING VISIBILITY TO OTHER DRIVERS AND MAY POSSIBLY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    TRADESONIC WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING JULY 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TRADESONIC AT 626-934-8884.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E025000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V334000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
    Remedy:
    MMNA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on July 19, 2016. Owners may contact MMNA customer service at 1-888-648-7820. MMNA's number for this recall is SR-16-002.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V458000

    Report date
    Component:
    SUSPENSION
    Consequence:
    A detached front control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  6. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 17V569000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    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.
    Remedy:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  7. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 18V220000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    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.
    Remedy:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
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EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

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Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources