2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse problems & reliability
209 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse, alongside 7 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
12 complaints report injuries (13 injured, 2 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse vehicles were involved in 9 fatal crashes with 8 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Wheels | 73 | 35% |
| Air Bags | 22 | 11% |
| Structure | 21 | 10% |
| Electrical System | 19 | 9% |
| Power Train | 19 | 9% |
| Exterior Lighting | 18 | 9% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 14 | 7% |
| Visibility | 14 | 7% |
| Tires | 10 | 5% |
| Unknown OR Other | 10 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 54,000 miles (middle 50% between 29,750 and 82,750 miles), based on 76 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I almost got into a accident because it's late sobits really hard to see because the headlights u cnt see any at all at night I can use a flash light out the window and see better like that but on top of that my car just decides to up and stall on me and not wanna start back and it had melted my crankshaft sensor…”
Power Train · filed Nov 16, 2022
“I have a 2001 mitsubishi eclipse rs 2.4 engine I bought it off my husband's uncle four months ago and ever since I got the car I noticed the light adjusters don't work at all and at night the headlights are so dim that sometimes I can't even see the road at all this is a safety concern that needs to be taken care of”
Exterior Lighting · filed Jul 1, 2020
“Was driving home from work and came to a stop. Tried to shift into 1st and could not do so. Had to turn off my car to shift into gear to avoid grinding. Had a hard time going from 1st to 2nd as well. Once arriving home could not shift into reverse. Seems like the gears were trying to strip and a horrible grinding was…”
Power Train · filed Jan 30, 2019
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- HEADLIGHTS FAILURE
Preliminary Evaluation PE05007 · opened Feb 10, 2005 · closed Jun 8, 2005
- ALUMINUM ALLOY WHEEL DENTING
Engineering Analysis EA02007 · opened May 31, 2002 · closed May 1, 2003
- ALLOY WHEEL DENTING AND FRACTURING
Preliminary Evaluation PE01044 · opened Dec 18, 2001 · closed May 31, 2002
- FRONT SHOULDER BELT WEBBING GUIDE
Preliminary Evaluation PE01006 · opened Mar 1, 2001 · closed Nov 6, 2001
Technical service bulletins
141 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The 10 most recent:
This is a Dealer Letter sent to dealers informing that Mitsubishi Technical Training has launched the 3rd quarterly technician quiz for 2023.
DEALER LETTER · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 21, 2023
This Technical Service Bulletin provides instructions and material safety data sheets for removal of rap-film adhesive residue.
TSB-23-00-004 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 24, 2023
This Technical Service Bulletin reviews the regulations that require a label showing the reduction in load carrying capacity be affixed to vehicles when the total net weight of accessories is more than 1.5 percent of…
TSB-23-00-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 24, 2023
This is a Dealer Letter sent to dealers informing that Mitsubishi Technical Training has launched the 2nd quarterly technician quiz for 2023.
DEALER LETTER · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 21, 2023
This Technical Service Bulletin was sent to dealers to explain the difference between normal dew condensation, which is a natural phenomenon, and water penetration caused by improper sealing or a defective/broken part.
TSB-22-54-003 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 7, 2022
This is a service newsletter (Tech Talk) that was sent out to dealers.
TT253 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 26, 2019
This is a Technical Service Bulletin sent to dealers. This bulletin supersedes TSB-18-00-003, issued April, 2018, to add updated information for Carrying Capacity Reduced Label.
TSB-19-00-008 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 30, 2019
This is a message sent to dealers, to inform them that an update for MEDIC will be available.
MEDICUpdate517 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 27, 2018
This is a service newsletter (Tech Talk) that was sent out to dealers.
TT237 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 26, 2018
This is a service newsletter (Tech Talk) that was sent out to dealers.
TT218 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 28, 2015
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse has 7 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 54,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.