- Vehicles
- 66,001
- Built between
- Aug 2003 – Sep 2006
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 12 October 2017
- Repaired
- 11%
- Unrepaired
- 22,614
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between August 2003 and September 2006. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2004-2006 Mitsubishi LancerBuilt August 2003 to September 2006
Repair progress
22,614 of 66,001 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2019.
11% repaired — 7,434 of 66,001 reported
- Owners not reachable
- 10,119
- Scrapped or exported
- 25,834
Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.
What the defect is
Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (Mitsubishi) is recalling certain 2004-2006 Lancer and Lancer Evolution vehicles and 2004 Lancer Sportback vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
What could happen
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
What gets fixed
Mitsubishi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with a different inflator, free of charge. The recall began on October 12, 2017.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtAugust 2003 to September 2006
- Recall reported to NHTSA14 September 2017
- Owners notified12 October 2017
- Latest repair reportQ1 2019 — 11% repaired
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 14 September 2017.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners may contact Mitsubishi customer service at 1-888-648-7820. Mitsubishi's number for this recall is SR-17-001. Note: This recall supersedes recall 15V-321.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- SR-17-004
- Recalling manufacturer
- Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.
- Recall initiated by
- ODI
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.