1998 Mitsubishi Mirage problems & reliability
43 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1998 Mitsubishi Mirage, alongside 1 safety recall campaign. 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.
7 complaints report injuries (11 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 9 | 21% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 8 | 19% |
| Power Train | 6 | 14% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 5 | 12% |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 3 | 7% |
| Structure | 3 | 7% |
| Unknown OR Other | 3 | 7% |
| Visibility | 3 | 7% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 2 | 5% |
| Seats | 2 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 15 reported components →Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Driving on highway and defective tire blew out - not sure of cause (tread separation, sidewall cracks, etc.) incident tossed passengers violently about the car - car slight airborne damaged wires under hood of car; car totaled”
Tires · filed Apr 30, 2018
“My mirage has less than 72,000 miles on it. Without symptoms or warning, the car overheated and destroyed two head gaskets and possibly broke the plate. That's catasrophic damage! It's been well maintained and hardly driven. At less than 72,000 miles it will cost more to repair than it's worth. There was no indication…”
Engine · filed Jul 22, 2016
“Passenger side door hinge problem. Door was increasingly difficult to open or close for one month, the door wouldn't close enough to turn off the door ajar indicator. After taking it to a body shop, they determined that the hinge was the problem. *jb”
Structure · filed Nov 29, 2005
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
44 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1998 Mitsubishi Mirage. The 10 most recent:
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 Technical Service Bulletin was sent to dealers informing them a shock absorber oil leak may result in replacement of absorbers unnecessarily when trace amounts of oil are noted to have adhered to the shock absorber.
TSB-21-34-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 3, 2021
Technical Information Notice to dealerships. Due to the increased occurrence of Mirage/Mirage G4 vehicles exhibiting faulty air conditioning systems caused by low/high refrigerant levels; MMNA would like to remind all…
TIN-20-55B-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 22, 2020
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 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
This TSB contains troubleshooting steps for diagnosis of various customer complaints relating to the audio system speakers in Mitsubishi vehicles equipped with original equipment audio components.
TSB-15-54-004 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 29, 2015
This is a service newsletter (Tech Talk) that was sent out to dealers.
TT217 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 22, 2015
This is an index of Tech Talk newsletter articles released in 2012.
TTIndex12 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 5, 2013
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 1998 Mitsubishi Mirage has 1 NHTSA recall campaign — 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 1998 Mitsubishi Mirage?
- · 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.