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Mitsubishi Outlander 2003–2006
1st generation · CU (Mitsubishi GS platform / 'Project Global')
NHTSA data through 13 August 2026271 complaints, 198 with mileageMethod
- Reports with mileage
- 198
- Median of reported failures
- 70,000 mi
- Most-reported system
- Suspension (23.2%)
- Recalls
- 1
Before-you-buy checklist ↓Check this VIN — NHTSA ↗
On this generation, failures are spread across the mileage range, with the middle half between 24,084 and 113,000 miles.
Figure 1 · Mitsubishi Outlander 2003–2006 · 198 reports with mileage
Mileage at failure
Complaints per 20,000-mile bin, 0 to 200,000 miles, equal bins on a linear scale. Tallest bar = 38 complaints.
- Rest of the range
- Median
- 200,000+ — 6 complaints (3.0%), plotted separately
- 10%
- 1,500
- 25%
- 24,084
- Median
- 70,200
- 75%
- 113,000
- 90%
- 160,000
Show the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0–20,000 | 38 | 19.2% |
| 20,000–40,000 | 26 | 13.1% |
| 40,000–60,000 | 17 | 8.6% |
| 60,000–80,000 | 23 | 11.6% |
| 80,000–100,000 | 24 | 12.1% |
| 100,000–120,000 | 21 | 10.6% |
| 120,000–140,000 | 9 | 4.5% |
| 140,000–160,000 | 19 | 9.6% |
| 160,000–180,000 | 9 | 4.5% |
| 180,000–200,000 | 6 | 3.0% |
| 200,000+ | 6 | 3.0% |
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain. Complaint counts reflect what owners reported and are not a measure of failure rate per vehicle sold.
What this can and cannot tell you: these are complaints owners chose to file, not a failure rate. Popular models accumulate more of them simply by being common. How this is built.
Owners filed 271 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003–2006 Mitsubishi Outlander, and 198 of them record the mileage at which the failure happened. That is enough to show not just what fails, but when.
Failures are spread across the mileage range, with the middle half between 24,084 and 113,000 miles. The median is 70,200 miles.
The most-reported areas are the suspension (23.2% of complaints, typically around 96,000 miles), the exterior lighting (12.2% of complaints, typically around 60,000 miles), the steering (7.4% of complaints, typically around 8,000 miles).
1 recall campaign cover this generation.
If you arrived asking “is it reliable?” — this page answers the version of that question the data can support: which problems owners reported, and at what mileage.
How many miles does a 2003–2006 Mitsubishi Outlander last?
Half of the failure reports on the 2003–2006 Mitsubishi Outlander were filed by 70,000 miles and 90% by 160,000 miles — figures drawn from 198 NHTSA complaints that record an odometer reading, so they time reported failures, not the cars whose owners never filed one.
6 reports (3%) came in past 200,000 miles — each one proof a Outlander reached that mileage, not that it died there.
Before you buy a 2003–2006 Outlander: the 3-minute check
Generated from 198 mileage-tagged complaints, 1 recall campaign. Print this page — the checklist survives print.
- Run the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. 1 campaign cover this generation; an open recall is a free repair you can make the seller's problem.
- Complaint reports are not spread evenly across model years here — see the by-model-year table below before you settle on a year.
- End with a pre-purchase inspection of this car. Aggregate data describes the population; the example in front of you has its own history.
For a buyer, failures on this generation are spread rather than concentrated: the middle half falls between 24,000 and 113,000 miles, with a median of 70,000. There is no single mileage threshold to watch, which means condition and maintenance records are more informative than the odometer.
On inspection, the suspension and the exterior lighting are where this generation's reports concentrate, so those are the areas worth a specific look. The exterior lighting in particular shows a median failure mileage of 60,000, which gives a concrete number to compare against the odometer of any car you are considering.
None of this is a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection on the individual car. Aggregate patterns describe a population; the example in front of you has its own history.
What fails, and when
Figure 2 · Mitsubishi Outlander 2003–2006
When each system fails
Bar spans the middle half of reports; the notch inside each bar is the median. Miles at failure on a proportional scale — equal distances are equal ratios, not equal miles.
- Steering20 reports8,0001,500–100,000Steering: 20 reports, median 8,000 miles, middle half 1,500 to 100,000 miles.
- Engine and its cooling system20 reports53,00024,000–80,000Engine and its cooling system: 20 reports, median 53,000 miles, middle half 24,000 to 80,000 miles.
- Exterior lighting33 reports60,00035,000–82,000Exterior lighting: 33 reports, median 60,000 miles, middle half 35,000 to 82,000 miles.
- Airbag system16 reports60,00039,000–160,000Airbag system: 16 reports, median 60,000 miles, middle half 39,000 to 160,000 miles.
- Electrical system17 reports70,00030,000–102,000Electrical system: 17 reports, median 70,000 miles, middle half 30,000 to 102,000 miles.
- Suspension63 reports96,00030,000–148,000Suspension: 63 reports, median 96,000 miles, middle half 30,000 to 148,000 miles.
- Body structure18 reports104,00080,000–161,000Body structure: 18 reports, median 104,000 miles, middle half 80,000 to 161,000 miles.
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it in “Where your car sits”
Ordered by median mileage, earliest first. The first 12,000 miles are shaded: that is the boundary this site uses between a manufacturing defect and ordinary wear, not a property of the world.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
| System | Complaints | Share | Median | 25–75% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 63 | 23.2% | 96,000 | 30,000–148,000 |
| Exterior lighting | 33 | 12.2% | 60,000 | 35,000–82,000 |
| Steering | 20 | 7.4% | 8,000 | 1,500–100,000 |
| Engine and its cooling system | 20 | 7.4% | 53,000 | 24,000–80,000 |
| Body structure | 18 | 6.6% | 104,000 | 80,000–161,000 |
| Electrical system | 17 | 6.3% | 70,000 | 30,000–102,000 |
| Airbag system | 16 | 5.9% | 60,000 | 39,000–160,000 |
| Transmission and driveline | 12 | 4.4% | 60,000 | 34,000–100,000 |
| Visibility equipment | 9 | 3.3% | — | — |
| Problems owners could not categorise | 8 | 3.0% | — | — |
Where your car sits
Failure reports by the odometer reading they were filed at. Pick the anchor nearest your car — or type the exact mileage: your marker lands on this curve and on the timing chart above.
Figure 3 · Mitsubishi Outlander 2003–2006 · 198 reports with mileage
Share of reports below each mileage
Share of mileage-tagged reports filed at or below each odometer reading. Steps rise only at bin edges, by exact counted shares.
- 60,000 mi — 41% of reports below
- 120,000 mi — 75% of reports below
- Median — the staircase crosses the 50% line here
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it below
The staircase tops out at 97%: the remaining 3.0% of reports (6) came above 200,000 miles.
Nothing is smoothed or interpolated. Linear axis, same as Figure 1.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
At 60,000 miles
41% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
In the reporting window
- Suspension — middle half 30,000–148,000 mi
- Exterior lighting — middle half 35,000–82,000 mi
- Steering — middle half 1,500–100,000 mi
- Engine and its cooling system — middle half 24,000–80,000 mi
- Electrical system — middle half 30,000–102,000 mi
- Airbag system — middle half 39,000–160,000 mi
Mostly reported later
- Body structure — middle half 80,000–161,000 mi
At 90,000 miles
61% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
Reported earlier than this mileage — ask for repair records
- Exterior lighting — median 60,000 mi
- Engine and its cooling system — median 53,000 mi
In the reporting window
- Suspension — middle half 30,000–148,000 mi
- Steering — middle half 1,500–100,000 mi
- Body structure — middle half 80,000–161,000 mi
- Electrical system — middle half 30,000–102,000 mi
- Airbag system — middle half 39,000–160,000 mi
At 120,000 miles
75% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
Reported earlier than this mileage — ask for repair records
- Exterior lighting — median 60,000 mi
- Steering — median 8,000 mi
- Engine and its cooling system — median 53,000 mi
- Electrical system — median 70,000 mi
In the reporting window
- Suspension — middle half 30,000–148,000 mi
- Body structure — middle half 80,000–161,000 mi
- Airbag system — middle half 39,000–160,000 mi
Which systems, and when
Complaints about this generation are not spread evenly across the vehicle, and the systems that generate the most of them do not all fail at the same point in a car's life. The median failure across all systems here is 70,200 miles; the figures below show which parts of the car run ahead of that and which run behind.
The suspension accounts for 23.2% of complaints (63 reports, 43 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 96,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 30,000 and 148,000 miles.
The exterior lighting accounts for 12.2% of complaints (33 reports, 23 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 60,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 35,000 and 82,000 miles.
The steering accounts for 7.4% of complaints (20 reports, 13 of them with a mileage figure), and it fails early — a median of 8,000 miles, well before the vehicle's overall median. Failures clustered this far below the rest of the car usually point to a design or manufacturing problem rather than wear, because wear does not selectively target one system on low-mileage examples. The middle half of these reports falls between 1,500 and 100,000 miles.
The engine and its cooling system accounts for 7.4% of complaints (20 reports, 16 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 53,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 24,000 and 80,000 miles.
Body structure accounts for 6.6% of complaints (18 reports, 13 of them with a mileage figure), and it fails late — a median of 104,000 miles, considerably beyond the vehicle's overall median. That pattern is consistent with normal service life rather than a defect, though it matters for anyone buying an example already near that mileage. The middle half of these reports falls between 80,000 and 161,000 miles.
The electrical system accounts for 6.3% of complaints (17 reports, 13 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 70,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 30,000 and 102,000 miles.
Differences between model years
Within this generation, complaint volume is not constant across model years. The 2003 model year drew the most — 149 complaints — while 2005 drew the fewest at 24. The median year sits at 49.
That makes 2003 an outlier: roughly 3.0 times the median year of this generation. A single year standing that far apart usually reflects either a first-year issue that was later corrected, or a component change introduced for that year. Anyone shopping this generation has a straightforward reason to prefer a different year, all else being equal.
Recalls and what they cover
NHTSA records 1 recall campaign covering vehicles in this generation. A recall means the manufacturer or the regulator concluded there was a safety defect or a standard was not met, and that a free remedy is owed to owners — including second and later owners.
Recall status is specific to the individual vehicle, not the model. Checking a VIN against NHTSA's lookup is free and takes under a minute, and it is the only way to know whether a particular car has had the work done.
Reported severity
What owners reported alongside the failure itself, out of 271 complaints against this generation:
- Crashes
- 32 (11.8%)
- Fires
- 6
- Injury reports
- 16
- Fatality reports
- 0
These flags are self-reported by complainants and unverified by NHTSA; one report can carry several flags, so the counts overlap and do not sum to a total. They are not adjusted for how many of these vehicles are on the road. No chart is drawn here on purpose: overlapping counts spanning very different magnitudes cannot be honestly encoded as lengths.
By model year
| Year | Complaints | With mileage |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 149 | 105 |
| 2004 | 73 | 52 |
| 2005 | 24 | 24 |
| 2006 | 25 | 17 |
Recalls (1) — is your car included?
Sep 2016 · 2003–2006 · SuspensionA detached front control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
The defect. 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 me
What can happen. A detached front control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
The free 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.
What owners reported
Have had a constant squeal and pulling and drifting in Outlander for the last 4 months. Have had it checked out 3 times before. Today it was louder and car did not feel right. Got off the highway and car power was lost. Manuervered car to right hand side. Turned everything off. Turned car back on and it was "fine".…
2003 · 5 miles · Problems owners could not categorise
Since the purchase of our 2003 Outlander, it has veered badly to the right. I notified the dealer of the problem from the date of purchase. I have had it in the dealership to correct the problem 3 times and the problem still exists. If you are traveling at a low speed it is not as obvious, but when traveling at higher…
2003 · 150 miles · Suspension
Since the second year since i've owned this car the temperature control knob has been frozen. The only way you can turn the knob is to have a mechanic manually turn the knob underneath the vehicle. Mitsubishi motors admitted this was a design flaw in 2002 to 2007 Mitsubishi lancers and outlanders. I have called…
2003 · 10,000 miles · Visibility/wiper
Dt*: the contact stated when the vehicle was started, the cooling fan did not engage completely. The vehicle was taken to a private repair shop, where it was determined that the fan was a defective part. The vehicle was then taken to a service dealer, where the dealer informed the contact that because the vehicle was…
2003 · 12,000 miles · Engine and its cooling system
Built from 198 NHTSA complaints with mileage · snapshot 2026-08-18 · open data · reproduce this page