2002 Mitsubishi Mirage Problems and Recalls (5 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 2002 Mitsubishi Mirage is Airbags (20% of 5 owner reports). There are 4 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Airbags — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 5 complaints · 4 recalls

What problems show up on the 2002 Mitsubishi Mirage?

1 of 5 filings named Airbags (20% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Engine (1 reports).

There are 4 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Lights. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.

The 2001 has 29 reports on file; this year has 5. A smaller lifetime total is not a clean bill of health. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.

What to check before you buy a 2002 Mitsubishi Mirage

A useful visit to this page takes five minutes. YearTell does not score years and cannot see the vehicle in front of you.

  1. Look up the VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov. This year has 4 campaigns on file below.
  2. Airbags. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed.
  3. Engine. Have a shop check for oil consumption, coolant leaks, rough idle and unusual engine noise.
  4. Transmission / driveline. Have a shop drive it and check the transmission: hard or delayed shifts, burnt-smelling fluid, and 4WD engagement if equipped.
  5. Skim a few owner reports below for Airbags. Look for the same symptom repeating.
  6. Take that list to a mechanic. Do not turn the complaint total into a score.

What owners reported

System named most often: Airbags 1 complaints · 20.0% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 2
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 1
  • Deaths 0
All Mitsubishi Mirage years →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 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.

Which systems owners named

Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.

Which systems owners named Airbags (AIR BAGS) appears in 1 of 5 owner complaints (20.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. Airbags (AIR BAGS): 1 complaints, 20.0% of reports Airbags (AIR BAGS) 1 crash reports 1 · 20.0% Engine (ENGINE): 1 complaints, 20.0% of reports Engine (ENGINE) 1 · 20.0% Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN): 1 complaints, 20.0% of reports Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 1 · 20.0% Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES): 1 complaints, 20.0% of reports Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 1 crash reports 1 · 20.0% Body / frame (STRUCTURE): 1 complaints, 20.0% of reports Body / frame (STRUCTURE) 1 · 20.0% Unclassified NHTSA leftover: 5 complaints, 100.0% of reports Unclassified NHTSA leftover 2 crash reports 5 · 100.0% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
Airbags (AIR BAGS) 1 20.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
Engine (ENGINE) 1 20.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 1 20.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 1 20.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
Body / frame (STRUCTURE) 1 20.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover 5 100.0% 2 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

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

When reports and recalls showed up

When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.

When reports and recalls showed up Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 2002; the first recall shown was reported in Sep 2004. 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Apr 2002 May 2009 Recall campaign 04V428000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V428000 Recall campaign 06E026000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E026000 Recall campaign 09E012000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E012000 Recall campaign 09E025000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E025000
  • Campaign 04V428000 was reported 867 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 04V428000
Recall campaign 1 06E026000
Recall campaign 1 09E012000
Recall campaign 1 09E025000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-09-06 Open source record

Safety Recalls (4)

Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.

In short, these campaigns were filed about Lights.

  1. Recall campaign 04V428000

    Safety recall 04V428000

    Report date
    Component:
    Unclassified NHTSA leftover
    Consequence:
    THIS DOES NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE STANDARD.
    Remedy:
    MITSUBISHI CARIBBEAN WILL MAIL A CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION LETTER CONTAINING A WRITTEN DESCRIPTION AND A GRAPHIC OF THE BI-LINGUAL DASHBOARD AIR BAG WARNING LABEL. IN ADDITION, ALL CURRENT 2000-2004 NATIVA OWNERS WILL ALSO RECEIVE REPLACEMENT AIR BAG ALERT LABELS FOR THE SUN VISORS. THIS RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MARCH OR APRIL 2005. THE NOTIFICATION TO THE NATIVA OWNERS IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING APRIL OR MAY 2005. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT MITSUBISHI CARIBBEAN AT 1-787-251-8715.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Recall campaign 06E026000

    Safety recall 06E026000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
    Remedy:
    PRO-A MOTORS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PRO-A MOTORS AT 323-838-2988.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Recall campaign 09E012000

    Safety recall 09E012000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Recall campaign 09E025000

    Lights

    Report date
    Component:
    Lights (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 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

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

What owners actually wrote

Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
Safety incident filters
Showing 5 of 5 complaints · page 1 of 1
2006-07-21Body / frame (STRUCTURE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 10163092
CrashFireInjuryDeath
4 YEARS OLD, 24K MILES, NEVER IN AN ACCIDENT. THE DOOR LIGHT CAME ON. DRIVER SIDE DOOR MISALIGNED. THERE WAS HALF AN INCH SPACE BETWEEN THE BOTTOM OF THE DOOR AND THE BODY FRAME. IT GOT MORE DIFFICULT TO OPEN EVERY DAY. THREE WEEKS LATER, THE DOOR COULDN'T OPEN AT ALL. DEALER LUBRICATED AND FREED-UP SIEZED LOWER DOOR HINGE, STRAIGHTENED, REWELDED, REASSEMBLED AND ALIGNED DRIVER'S DOOR.
2005-10-01Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 10138317
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE CLUTCH DISC ON A 2002 MITSUBISHI MIRAGE MANUAL TRANSMISSION WAS EATEN UP DOWN TO THE BARE METAL, STARTING TO EAT AWAY AT THE FLYWHEEL AND CHIP THE DRIVESHAFT BECAUSE I WAS NOT INFORMED IN ANY WAY THAT THE CLUTCH DISC WAS A WEAR ITEM AND WAS DISAPPOINTED WHEN I FOUND OUT. THE CLUTCH DISC WAS FAULTY, IN COMPLETE SHREDS ALL OVER THE INSIDE OF THE TRANSMISSION. I HAD TO CLEAN OUT THE TRANSMISSION AND REPLACE THE PRESSURE PLATE, THROW OUT BEARINGS, PILOT BEARINGS, FLYWHEEL AND CLUTCH DISK. THOSE ARE THE PARTS REQUIRED TO DO THIS JOB. HAD I KNOWN BEFORE HAND THAT MY CLUTCH WAS A WEAR ITEM I WOULD HAVE TAKEN IT TO BE CHECKED OUT. IT WAS UNFAIR TO ME AND MANY OTHER OWNERS OF MITSUBISHI VEHICLES WHO WERE NOT INFORMED EVEN VIA TELEPHONE TO MITSUBISHI MOTORS. I WAS ALSO LEAD TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS COVERED UNDER THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. MAYBE NOT THE WORST COMPLAINT BUT AN INCONVENIENCE AND A NUISANCE NONE THE LESS. *NM
2004-05-08Engine (ENGINE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 10068484
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LIGHT HAS CAME ON FOR THE FOURTH TIME ON 5.7.04 AFTER IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN FIXED AFTER THE THIRD TIME IT WAS TAKEN INTO THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR ON 4.26.04. *AK
2003-12-11Airbags (AIR BAGS)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 10049591
CrashFireInjuryDeath
VEHICLE INVOLVED IN SEVERE CRASH WITH HEAVY FRONT END DAMAGE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY RESULTING IN FACIAL INJURIES AND CRACKED RIBS TO THE DRIVER. *AK
2002-04-18Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 8007992
CrashFireInjuryDeath
CONSUMER STATES WHILE APPYING BRAKE AT 25-30 MPH THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR, AND CAUSES A REAR END COLLISION AND TOTAL THE VEHICLE, DEALER NOTIFIED. NLM

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 2002 Mitsubishi Mirage?

Owners named Airbags most often — 1 of 5 reports (20%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 2002 Mitsubishi Mirage?

NHTSA lists 4 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Lights. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.

What should I inspect before buying a 2002 Mitsubishi Mirage?

Look up the VIN for open recalls. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.

Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?

No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record

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.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

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

Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources