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2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 199 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer, most often about the visibility and wipers (38% of complaints, typically around 72,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Lancer model year since 2000 and has 2 recalls.
Most common 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer problems
Visibility and wipers
76 complaints · 38%Half of these problems showed up before 72,000 miles. Parts named most often: defroster/defogger/hvac system, windshield.
2003 Mitsubishi Lancer oz rally - heater control knob not properly working. Purchased vehicle used in march 2007, noticed control knob hard to turn. Took into dealership to fix a recall on exhaust manifold & gaskets, had them also check the A/C temp knob because it was hard to turn from heat to cold. Warranty did not…
The heater control knob is broken. I can't rotate the knob from cold to heat. It began getting really difficult to turn about a year ago, until I could no longer rotate it about a month ago. The consequences of this are you can't switch the air from cool to warm in case you're driving somewhere at night and need to…
Transmission
51 complaints · 26%Half of these problems showed up before 11,000 miles. Parts named most often: clutch assembly, automatic transmission, manual transmission, axle assembly.
Upon driving my 2003 Lancer, I've noticed that periodically the transmission will skip and the car will do a jerk. It alarmed me because at that time the car had only about 11,000 miles on it. I am concerned because I haven't even had the car a year, and I thought I was getting a quality vehicle. As I looked on the…
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…
Other or unspecified
16 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 43,500 miles.
After purchasing my vehicle I noticed two things, one that is troublesome and the other a major inconvenience. One day after stepping out of my vehicle while the vehicle was running with the A/C on I heard a loud rattling sound every time the A/C kicked on. I took it into a dealership while I was having them check my…
Heater/AC knob broke off, unable to switch to heat, knob has been very difficult to turn, investigating problem and have found this to be a common event with Mitsubishi vehicles during this release. Wondering if Mitsubishi has issued a recall to correct the defect. Have found its going to be very pricey to fix, living…
Body and structure
13 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 19,500 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members.
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…
Tl contact owns a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer. The contact stated that the top coat of clear paint is peeling off of the driver side fender and hood. The dealer has been notified. The current mileage was 36,000 and failure mileage was 35,000. Updated 03-25-08 updated 03/25/08
Equipment
13 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 63,000 miles. Parts named most often: appliance, mechanical.
Jack was on level surface jacked up the car to replace a flat after I began to put the spare on the jack bent in half causing the whole front of the car to land into the ground.
My 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer heater knob broke off and I am unable to get the defroster to work. This has been an ongoing problem as this is a material defect in hundreds if not thousands of Lancer automobiles. Please help force Mitsubishi to recall and fix this dangerous problem.
Electrical
12 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 130,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, ignition, wiring, horn.
Temperature knob was always difficult to turn, then it broke completely off. Not a problem for the summer (it's stuck on cold) but needs to be fixed for the winter so that the car can defrost the windshield. Technician said it would be between $1500-2000 to repair because you have to remove the dashboard and replace…
Airbag horn doesn't work I changed the clock spring but still doesn't work, suspension is terrible I fell like I am going to crash. The heater also doesn't work and the control knob is not working.
Suspension
10 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 113,000 miles. Parts named most often: rear.
Upper/lower control arms, and front the whole front supension system is making a lot of creaking and sounds like it will break when driving.
Airbag horn doesn't work I changed the clock spring but still doesn't work, suspension is terrible I fell like I am going to crash. The heater also doesn't work and the control knob is not working.
Air bags
8 complaints · 4%Parts named most often: frontal.
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.
Was in a 45 MPH rear end collision. Air bags did not deploy, back seat passenger seat belt and tether clip failed. Sons car seat hit the back of passenger seat, luckily I had already dropped in off at day care.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2003 Mitsubishi Lancer recalls
Suspension: lower arm
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.
Full defect summary
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 columbia. In the affected vehicles, the front lower control arms may detach due to the front cross member corroding from salt water exposure such as from road salt use.
Equipment: labels
Risk: This does not meet the requirements of the standard.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
Certain passenger vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, 'occupant crash protection.' the bilingual english/spanish removable air bag warning labels affixed to the dash and to the sunvisor do not meet the size requirements of the standard.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Questions about the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer
- What are the most common problems with the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: visibility and wipers (76 complaints, typically around 72,000 miles); transmission (51 complaints, typically around 11,000 miles); other or unspecified (16 complaints, typically around 43,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer have?
- 2 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 23, 2016 (suspension). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2003 a bad year for the Mitsubishi Lancer?
- It is the most complained-about Lancer model year since 2000, with 199 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.