RecallRepo

2002 Mitsubishi Lancer Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 295,106 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 194 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Recall campaigns

SUSPENSION 16V458000 2016-06-23 194,674 affected
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,…

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…

EQUIPMENT 04V428000 2004-09-01 100,432 affected
Defect

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.

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…

Complaints by component

AIR BAGS
12
12crashes9injuries1deaths
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
12
12crashes10injuries
VISIBILITY
10
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM
9
SUSPENSION
8
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
8
1crashes2injuries
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
8
2crashes
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM
6
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
6
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
6
2crashes
Total complaints194

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“The contact's daughter owns a 2002 mitsubishi lancer. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, she felt an air draft inside of the vehicle. The contact's daughter attempted to close the sunroof when she noticed that the sunroof had detached from the vehicle.…”

VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY · reported 2022-06-12

“Smog station inspection report ;; recall onreprogram pcm and replace fan controller”

ENGINE · reported 2021-02-23

“Smog station inspection report ;; recall onreprogram pcm and replace fan controller”

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM · reported 2021-02-23

“There has no been an incident yet. The vehicle rattles in the front end, exactly where the recalled part is at. I took it to the licensed dealership that I was told was qualified to replace the part and they refused to replace it claiming that the vehicle is too rusty and they don't want to lift…”

STEERING · reported 2020-03-24

“There has no been an incident yet. The vehicle rattles in the front end, exactly where the recalled part is at. I took it to the licensed dealership that I was told was qualified to replace the part and they refused to replace it claiming that the vehicle is too rusty and they don't want to lift…”

SUSPENSION · reported 2020-03-24

“This is not the first mitsubishi that has done this. My ex's 2000 mitsubishi eclipse also had this same problem. The speedometer does not register. I need to know how fast I am going.”

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · reported 2018-10-29

“This is not the first mitsubishi that has done this. My ex's 2000 mitsubishi eclipse also had this same problem. The speedometer does not register. I need to know how fast I am going.”

UNKNOWN OR OTHER · reported 2018-10-29

“There's a lot of poping underneath front end and there's a recall al on the control arms”

SUSPENSION · reported 2018-08-20
Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.