2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Reliability Report

The rear end feels loose and unstable. Over bumps, dirt roads, and bridge joints, owners say the back bounces or kicks sideways as if it could spin out. Onset is often early, around 9K to 19,000 miles. Dealers frequently find nothing at first, but some later find a leaking rear shock, with replacement parts on backorder. Other reports describe control arms that bend or break without any impact, a noisy front strut bearing when turning, clunking, and fast tire and brake wear.

Fuel pump failures cause stalls, including in busy intersections, and some owners report a second pump failure under warranty. Several describe waiting months for fuel pump parts, with dealers repeatedly saying the parts are on back order. A strong raw gasoline smell inside the cabin is another pattern. Four injuries trace to one family reporting dizziness and nausea from the fumes. Dealers can reproduce the smell but struggle to find the cause or get parts. A check engine light after refueling, tied to the capless filler, also blocks remote start.

Rear brakes wear out early while the fronts stay healthy. One owner had rear pads down to 2mm at 25k miles. Replacing rear pads requires putting the electronic parking brake into service mode, and owners say many shops cannot do it, while pads can be hard to find. Phantom emergency braking also appears, with the car slowing sharply at 35 and 70 mph. Other reports cover a recurring brake warning light traced to the front caliper, and parking sensors and automatic braking that fail to alert, linked to one crash.

Two opposite failures appear in these reports, and most involve crashes. In several frontal impacts, including a deer strike at 70 mph, the airbags did not deploy. In other crashes, owners say deployment itself caused injuries to the legs, neck, and back. One report describes side airbags firing after a wheel rode over a curb at about 30 mph with no body impact. A lit airbag warning light also appears. Three of these complaints involve injuries.

The system sometimes fails to warn or brake before a collision. Two reports involve crashes, one with an injury, where no alert or automatic braking occurred. Owners also describe the system shutting off on the highway along with adaptive cruise, sometimes with ABS and 4WD malfunction warnings at the same time. A failed front camera can make the center screen blink and beep nonstop and lock up the controls. Dealers often cannot reproduce the fault and simply reset the system.

Total power loss while driving is the main concern. The engine shuts off and the infotainment reboots, and at highway speed owners lose power steering and brake assist. Dealers often cannot recreate the problem. In one crash with an injury, the car did not go into Park when the button was pressed and rolled after the driver got out. Other reports describe hesitation and jerking on acceleration, and a rear differential coupler clunk with the part out of stock at the dealer.

Adaptive cruise control and collision avoidance shut off on their own while driving. One owner says this started after about 3 months and has become more frequent, with the dealer saying no fix was available. The other report describes a rear-end crash with an injury, where the car gave no warning and did not slow or brake before hitting a truck ahead.