AutoUtility currently tracks 70 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 13 complaints (18.6% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 8 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 7 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 70 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (13 reports • 18.6% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Air Bags & Restraints (12), Brakes & Traction Control (11)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 8 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 7 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
70
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
8
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
1
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
7
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 18.6% of complaints

Electrical System

13 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#2 Problem Area 17.1% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

12 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🩹 6 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 15.7% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

11 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 3 crash reports 🩹 2 injury report entries
#4 Problem Area 14.3% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

10 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#5 Problem Area 12.9% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

9 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report 🩹 1 injury report entry
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Body & Structure NHTSA ODI ID: #11718511
Filed: 02/17/2026

"See attached document for complaint"

Incident Date: 11/28/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: STRUCTURE
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11716927
Filed: 02/10/2026

"1. On hot/warm days when I start my vehicle it will run then die and give me the code for Mass air sensor which I replaced but it keeps doing it; the check engine will stay on for a while then turn off until it does it again. 2. When driving and I go over a speed bump the suspension grinds or does..."

Incident Date: 06/09/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE
Air Bags & Restraints NHTSA ODI ID: #11705401
Filed: 12/16/2025

"The contact owns a 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH over a pothole, the driver's side and passenger side curtain airbags erroneously deployed. The contact stated that no collision had occurred prior to the air bags deployment. The manufacturer..."

Incident Date: 10/05/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: AIR BAGS
Body & Structure NHTSA ODI ID: #11702425
Filed: 12/02/2025

"The contact owns a 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V507000 (Structure); however, the liftgate gas springs had failed and were replaced prior to the recall. The manufacturer was contacted for reimbursement, and the contact mailed the..."

Incident Date: 08/25/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: STRUCTURE
Suspension NHTSA ODI ID: #11696135
Filed: 10/28/2025

"The contact owns a 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander. The contact stated that while the front tires were being replaced, corrosion was found underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving..."

Incident Date: 10/28/2022 • Raw NHTSA Component: SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Mitsubishi Outlander

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Mitsubishi Outlander 234 7 5 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Mitsubishi Outlander 168 9 8 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Mitsubishi Outlander 51 7 6 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Mitsubishi Outlander Current Page 70 8 6 Current
2019 Mitsubishi Outlander 30 5 5 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Mitsubishi Outlander 31 5 3 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Mitsubishi Outlander 0 0 2 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Mitsubishi Outlander 212 14 9 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Mitsubishi Outlander 46 2 2 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Mitsubishi Outlander 26 3 1 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Mitsubishi Outlander 16 4 1 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Mitsubishi Outlander 0 0 0 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 37 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 8 3 0 5 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 1 0 1 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 5 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 4 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 0 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 3 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 2 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 1 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
CARRY HANDLE, SHELL, BASE 1 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 1 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,SERVICE BRAKES, AIR 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (70). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)

1 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
CLOSED Defect Petition (DP) ODI Action #DP22005
Opened: 2023-01-27 • Closed: 2023-08-07

Pedestrian alert sounds

Affected Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight ra...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 22V063000 Official NHTSA File →
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.