"How reliable is the 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse?"

"Based on 185 NHTSA complaints, the 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse has a median complaint mileage of 103000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE."

"What are common problems with the 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 185 total complaints filed."

1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 185 complaints

185

Total Complaints

103,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

78,000 25th Percentile

103,000 Median Mileage

158,065 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

SUSPENSION

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

TIRES

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY GOING 60 MPH THE VEHICLE COMPLETELTY SHUT DOWN. THE RMP'S KEPT GOING FROM 3 TO 0 AND THEN THE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN. VEHICLE STARTED BACK UP AGAIN, THIS HAPPENED THREE MORE TIMES, VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED. DEALER CANNOT FIND PROBLEM. *AK"

"AFTER DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND LEFT IT PARKED, FIRE BROKE OUT IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT DUE TO A TRANSMISSION LEAK. *AK"

"WHILE VEHICLE WAS PARKED THE CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE DUE TO TAIL PIPE OVERHEATING/ MELTING THE BODY AND THE TRUNK OF THE VEHICLE. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28