2016 Mitsubishi Lancer

No clear pattern

0% of complaints about the 2016 Mitsubishi Lancer arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2016 vehicle, but with only 40 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is power train (21 complaints), typically at 6.1 yr or about 69,000 miles.

Complaints: 40
Median age at failure: 6.8 yr
Median mileage: 60,000 n=15
Crash / fire / tow: 10% of reports
Safety recalls: 2

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

17V609000 2017-09-29

Electrical system:starter assembly:relay

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Outlander, 2015-2016 Lancer and Outlander Sport, and 2015 Lancer Evolution vehicles. These vehicles may have defective relays that can result in an engine stall, reduced engine power or the engine overheating.

If the engine stalls, there is an increased the risk of a crash.

16V563000 2016-07-28

Power train:automatic transmission:control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Outlander Sport vehicles and 2016 Outlander and Lancer vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a constant velocity transmission (CVT) that, in certain driving conditions, may cause a delay in the vehicle accelerating.

A hesitation during acceleration can increase the risk of a crash.

In owners’ own words

Power train 69,000 mi 3.6 yr in service

THE LIGHT STATING TO SERVICE MY TRANSMISSION CAME ON. THE MAINTENANCE MILEAGE WAS WITHIN STATED PARAMETERS.SERVICE WAS COMPLETED, TRANSMISSION FLUID CHANGED. DROVE AWAY AND THE LIGHT TURNED ON. MY TRANSMISSION FAILED IN APRIL OF 2019.

Power train 98,000 mi 5.5 yr in service

AUTOMATIC CVT TRANSMISSION BEGAN FAILING AT 60,000 MILES. TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS CHANGED AT 30K MILES, 55K MILES, 80K, AND 98,000 MILES. TRANSMISSION COMPLETELY FAILED AT 98,000 MILES. THIS IS DUE TO A MANUFACTURER DEFECT AND WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS OUT OF POCKET. PLEASE OPEN A RECALL. THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED SEVERAL TIMES ON THIS VIN SERIES. THE VEHICLE HESITATES TO SWITCH GEARS AND CANNOT ENTER 4TH GEAR OR HIGHER. TRANSMISSION SLIPS WITH ACCELERATION. PLEASE RECALL!

Power train mileage not reported 6.1 yr in service

I was driving on the way home, my car started to skip and jerking. Went to Mitsubishi and told me I needed a whole new transmission replacement on a 2016 Lancer with only 81,000 miles on it. It seemed to never catch up to speed smoothly. Which I was terrified I was going to wreck otw home that day.

Other Lancer model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2016 Mitsubishi Lancer

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Lancer model years

How to read this