10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
22,154 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2002 Mitsubishi Lancer engine problems

engine problem

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2002 Mitsubishi Lancer Owner Comments

problem #4

Sep 112001

Lancer 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 17 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer. The contact stated that she can fill up her gas tank one day and, before the week is out, the vehicle needs to be refueled. Periodically, the contact smells gasoline in her vehicle. The powertrain was unknown. The current mileage was 40,000 and failure mileage was 17.

- Hollywood, FL, USA

problem #3

Sep 182006

Lancer

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45,000 miles
Vehicle accelerates on it's own. I have informed mitshubishi of the problem however according to mitshubishi they could not reproduce the problem by computer so as far as they were concerned there was no problem. I recently had an accident in the car and of course mitshubishi is trying to wiggle out of it. I guess I have to get killed in their vehicle before anything will be done. All I want is for mitshubishi to take their defective merchandise and give me the money that I have invested in this death trap so that I can purchase another vehicle. I am very sorry that I ever bought this car. It is a serious death trap!!!!!!!

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #2

Feb 012004

Lancer 4WD 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 36,000 miles
2002 Mitsubishi Lancer ES. Have had four (4) accidents with this vehicle from date of purchase to present approximately 13 months in 2/2004 the automobile started stalling, and during the stall it would accelerate, and the brakes would not function during this. Also, the transmission made revving sounds periodically.I made an appointment at the Mitsubishi dealer "bellsouth Mitsubishi? in sayreville njin Feb 04? and explained the problem to the service dept.the put the car on a machine for tests and no errors were found. I then notified the sales person that sold me the car they requested me to leave it for 4 hours to run tests etc? they could not duplicate the problem. 12/17/04 when the vehicle stalled at a stop sign and accelerated into the truck ahead of me causing significant damage to the front, the bumper, and hood of my car. Since then the engine and transmission is making more loud revving sounds since that incident. It seems to be worsening.on 12/30/04 at a stop light the car accelerated while my foot was on the brakethe vehicle was in park?the motor revved up very loudly and the car shook for about 30seconds to a minute then went back to ?normal? I called the bell Mitsubishi in rahwaynj.immediately and they road tested the vehicle and could not duplicate the problem.12/31/04 I took the car back into bellsouthmitsubishi in sayreville, njthey put the car on a machine ?sorry the problem could not be duplicated"the vehicle also has a much extended stopping distance causing 2 separate accidents the car accelerates suddenly, takes long to slow down to a stop in 2/04 during a snow storm I was driving appx 25mph the brakes took to long to apply and I lost control of the car.in the rain the car failed to stop again when brakes where applied and started to skid into the car in front of me. I tried turning the steering wheel away to avoid collision the steering was not responsive therfore resulting in collision. Airbags didn't deploy in any accident.

- West Orange , NJ, USA

problem #1

Feb 152003

Lancer 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 7,599 miles
June 17, 2003 to: Peruzzi Mitsubishi attention: [xxx] 165 Lincoln hwy fairless hills, pa 19030 dear [xxx], we purchased a Mitsubishi Lancer in September 2002 from peruzzi Mitsubishi, located at 165 Lincoln hwy, fairless hills, pa 19030. At the time of purchase the vehicle had 2,074 miles on it. When I asked, the salesman told us that the vehicle was brand new and the miles were from using the car at the dealership as a demonstration car. Since then the vehicle has been back to the dealer three separate times for service. It was driven in on one occasion and towed in twice. The dates of service are as follows 02/25/03, 06/09/03 and 06/17/03. The problem has always been the same, the car stalls out, the service engine light comes on and it will not start again. This vehicle has stalled several times in traffic, causing my fiance to fear driving it. Also, between oil changes (every 3,000 miles) the car looses between one and one half quarts of oil. When I asked the service department to check this problem I was told, all three times, that this is normal oil loss. To the best of my knowledge they have still not checked for oil leaks. On 6/18/2003, after being told by the service department that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle, I decided to check into the vehicle's history. I used carfax.com and found some very disturbing news. My vehicle has had at least three previous owners and is not the brand new car I was lead to believe. It started out in pleasantville NJ, and then it was registered in Arizona, where it was sold at auction with 1,902 miles on it and finally ended up at peruzzi Mitsubishi, where we purchased it. I feel that this vehicle was sold to us under false pretenses, and that peruzzi Mitsubishi is responsible for either replacing the vehicle with a brand new one or giving us our money back. Thank you for your help in resolving this matter as quickly as possible. Sincerely, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Trenton, NJ, USA

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