"How reliable is the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer?"

"Based on 139 NHTSA complaints, the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer has a median complaint mileage of 70000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE."

"What are common problems with the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer is ENGINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 139 total complaints filed."

2009 Mitsubishi Lancer: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 139 complaints

139

Total Complaints

70,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

45,000 25th Percentile

70,000 Median Mileage

106,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

POWER TRAIN

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

SERVICE BRAKES

AIR BAGS

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

SUSPENSION

SEAT BELTS

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"I BOUGHT A 2009 MITSUBISHI LANCER IN MAY OF '08. I TRADED IN MY '04 LANCER AT THAT TIME WITH 145,000KMS. ALL ORIGINAL PARTS EXCEPT FOR BRAKES. I MOVED TO BC IN AUG '08 FROM ALBERTA WHERE I HAD BOUGHT MY CAR. *TR I WAS COMING HOME FROM CHRISTMAS IN AB ON JAN.2/09 WHEN THE HINGE ON MY DRIVERS SID..."

"I WAS TRAVELING SOUTHBOUND ON THE FLORIDA TURNPIKE, I WAS ON THE LEFT HAND LANE WHEN I LOOKED THROUGH THE REARVIEW MIRROR AND NOTICED A VEHICLE BEHIND DOING ABOUT 80-90 MILES PER HOUR. I MERGED TO THE MIDDLE LANE SO THAT THEY COULD CONTINUE ON. THEY WERE RECKLESSLY DRIVING AND THEY SWERVED TO MY LAN..."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ENGINE 22 complaints

25th: 50,000 mi Median: 70,000 mi 75th: 90,000 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19 complaints

25th: 51,250 mi Median: 62,500 mi 75th: 87,471 mi

POWER TRAIN 12 complaints

25th: 61,500 mi Median: 79,885 mi 75th: 105,000 mi

EXTERIOR LIGHTING 12 complaints

25th: 92,500 mi Median: 106,000 mi 75th: 117,296 mi

SERVICE BRAKES 9 complaints

25th: 60,000 mi Median: 81,000 mi 75th: 103,500 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 28 PR: 15 FL: 12 IL: 12 TX: 10 PA: 7 NY: 5 MD: 5 UT: 4 SC: 4

Mitsubishi Lancer — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2002	194	64,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	47
2003	241	52,000	VISIBILITY	17
2004	96	60,000	AIR BAGS	8
2005	27	85,000	AIR BAGS	3
2006	52	99,000	AIR BAGS	10
2008	126	33,000	SUSPENSION	12
2010	66	70,000	ENGINE	7
2011	51	58,250	ENGINE	3
2012	26	55,000	POWER TRAIN	7
2014	23	57,500	POWER TRAIN	7
2015	36	5,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	9
2016	38	60,000	POWER TRAIN	1

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