"How reliable is the 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer?"

"Based on 27 NHTSA complaints, the 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer has a median complaint mileage of 85000 miles. The most common issue is AIR BAGS."

"What are common problems with the 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer is AIR BAGS, accounting for a significant portion of the 27 total complaints filed."

2005 Mitsubishi Lancer: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 27 complaints

Total Complaints

85,000mi

Median Mileage

AIR BAGS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

18,263 25th Percentile

85,000 Median Mileage

100,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS

SUSPENSION

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:PADS

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

VISIBILITY:GLASS, SIDE/REAR

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

WHEELS

POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"NO OUT OF THE ORDINARY EVENTS LEAD UP TO THE FAILURE. MY VEHICLE, WHICH IS A DAILY DRIVER CAR WOULD ONCE IN A WHILE "STUMBLE" THEN THROW A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. AFTER THIS I WOULD GO TO MY DEALER OR AN AUTOSHOP AND HAVE THE "PULL THE CODE" USING A ODB II ERROR SCAN TOOL. EVERYTHING IT WAS THE SAME ..."

"BRAKE FAILURE AT 7032 MI BRAKES COMPLETELY METAL TO METAL LOSS OF MOST BRAKING FUNCTIONS VERY POOR RESPONSE TIME,BRAKE PADS REPLACED,BRAKE FAILURE AGAIN AT 13560 BRAKES AGAIN METAL TO METAL VERY POOR RESPONSE TIME,BRAKE PADS REPLACED AGAIN,BRAKE FAILURE AGAIN AT 18500 AGAIN BRAKES METAL TO METAL LOS..."

"REAR GLASS RATTLING OVER BUMPS. *JB"

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