2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander most often describe brake faults, including parking brake problems, airbag warning lights, and hesitation or stalling while driving. Listed mileage ranges from very low figures to above 170,000 miles, so the complaints are not limited to one stage of ownership. Many complaints in the sample do not list mileage, so the pattern by age is hard to judge.

1. 1
   Brakes

   Brake faults: pedal failure, calipers and parking brake

   • 13 complaints (25%)
   • median 32,000 mi at 2.5 yrs old (9 state mileage, few)
   • 5 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2017–2024

   Owners describe brakes that do not respond as expected, including pedals that failed to slow the vehicle and intermittent faults that were hard to repair. In some complaints a brake pedal connection or a caliper failed, and the vehicle then crashed or hit another car. Several complaints describe the electric parking brake or auto hold sticking, sounding an alarm, or failing to release, and one says the vehicle began rolling forward at a stop light. In one case the dealer reportedly said a new parking brake unit was needed, although the brake still engaged and released and only the alarm stayed on. Brake complaints that list mileage fall between about 8,000 and 60,000 miles, and some describe problems in wet conditions or at a stop light.

   Recall 18V6210001 related service bulletin

   What to check: Ask whether recall 18V621000 and the electric parking brake service bulletin were completed, and check the parking brake release and alarm during a test drive. Also check the brake pedal feel and look for fluid leaks at the calipers.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I have a 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander that has never been in a wreck or anything put the airbag light come on and I have already took it to the dealership and they tired to make me pay for the services it is on all the time when you are driving it and some times the brakes will not work right especially on wet pavement”

   NHTSA complaint #11207399, filed 2019-05, 32,000 miles

   “Emergency brake and auto hold fail. I was at stop light and had the auto hold activated. I had been at the stop behind another vehicle for about 45 seconds before a bunch of warning lights came up and the dash stated emergency brake fault, auto hold unavailable and the vehicle began to roll forward. I was able to stop the vehicle safely. I turned the vehicle off then back on and the faults were gone. No stored codes had come up.”

   NHTSA complaint #11121954, filed 2018-08, 20,000 miles
2. 2
   Air bags

   Airbag warning light or airbags not deploying

   • 8 complaints (16%)
   • median 37,000 mi at 2.4 yrs old (6 state mileage, few)
   • 3 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2018–2026

   Owners describe an airbag warning light that stays on, cycles on and off, or appears while driving, and one owner is concerned the airbags may deploy. In some complaints the airbags did not deploy during a crash, one after a swerve to avoid a deer and one after a brake failure. One complaint says the dealer attributed a constant light to a passenger seat that had gotten wet, but the owner says the seat was never wet. Airbag complaints list mileage from under 1,000 to about 110,000 miles, and the light is described while driving and while parked.

   What to check: Ask for any stored airbag fault codes and past repair records, and confirm the airbag warning light goes out after the vehicle starts. Check the front passenger seat and floor for moisture if the light stays on.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Airbag system service required light comes on and off constantly while driving on any type of road and while parked. Mitsubishi dealership states that the passenger seat got wet and the light will go off when the seat dries. The seat has never been wet and the passenger floor is not wet either. Dealer refuses to fix the issue.”

   NHTSA complaint #11296955, filed 2020-01, 42,000 miles

   “The service airbag soon light is on. When taken to a mechanic it doesn't show anything in the computer. The middle row middle and right side seatbelts are different sizes and passengers get stuck if they put the latch in the wrong one. Running board clips passenger side keep breaking.”

   NHTSA complaint #11307249, filed 2020-02, 110,747 miles
3. 3
   Engine

   Stalling and sudden loss of power while driving

   • 7 complaints (14%)
   • median 34,000 mi at 2.0 yrs old (3 state mileage, few)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2018–2026

   Owners describe the engine stalling or losing power while driving, including a stall when accelerating from a stop sign or red light. One car stalled at 20 mph and could not go above 5 mph, and another lost engine speed on a major highway, with a check engine light and several seconds of weak acceleration. Another describes shuddering at 50 mph and a shut-off with a transmission message shown, and the dealer did not diagnose or repair the vehicle. In some complaints the mechanic could not duplicate the failure or find a fault code. Listed mileage runs from about 15,000 to about 129,000 miles, and one stall happens when accelerating after a stop sign or red light.

   Recall 17V609000

   What to check: Ask whether the starter relay recall 17V609000 was completed, and ask for any stored fault codes from past stalls. A test drive with stop-and-go acceleration can show whether the engine hesitates, stalls or loses power.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Vehicle first presented with the check engine soon light illuminating. This happened simultaneously with the engine losing speed. The car decreased by ten MPH while I was driving on a major highway. With the foot pushing down on the gas pedal no acceleration was about to occur for several seconds. The vehicle then returned control back to me and I was able to regain highway speeds. I have taken to the local Mitsubishi dealer beginning as far back as sept of 2018 this car five times fully under warranty. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11202787, filed 2019-04, 34,000 miles

   “I’ve changed the battery at least once or twice within the first 2 years of purchasing the vehicle from the dealer with zero miles on it. Lately (in the past 2 months) I’ve changed the battery at least four times or more. Some expensive batteries as well. In the past 2 months, it’s been giving me problems including stalling on me, slowing down on the highway, sometimes won’t start at all, sometimes it’ll say electrical system service required. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11493486, filed 2022-11
4. 4
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Hesitation and surging RPM from the CVT

   • 6 complaints (12%)
   • median 77,000 mi at 3.8 yrs old (3 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2017–2025

   Owners describe hesitation when pulling away from a stop, with a slow build of speed that sometimes returns to normal, and one says turning the ignition off and on restored normal driving. One owner reports the engine keeps revving at high RPM after accelerating onto a highway until the throttle is fully released, which started after a fluid service. Another owner was told the hesitation was a normal trait of the CVT, while a different owner says the same CVT is used in recalled earlier models and asks for a recall. Listed mileage runs from about 5,000 to about 124,000 miles, and one owner notes the car was out of warranty at the higher figure.

   What to check: Ask for the transmission fluid service records, including the fluid type and dates, and whether any CVT work was done. On a test drive, check for hesitation when pulling away from a stop and for high-RPM revving when accelerating onto a highway.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The 2017 has the same CVT transmission as the recalled 2015 and 2016 models. I have owned the car for 4 years and its now hesitating on acceleration - a classic sign of CVT failure. Mitsubishi mechanic advises me to pay 8 thousand dollars to replace this as its out of warranty (124k miles) I contend that this should be recalled as the prior years models are.”

   NHTSA complaint #11404540, filed 2021-03, 124,000 miles

   “I bought my wife a new 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander sport es for our anniversary on 1/24/2017. The doesn't even have 5k mls on it. Recently on 9/5/17 the car started to act weird. From a stop to go the car would not drive normal. It has a slow get up to catch speed. It drives like 10mph for a wile and then sometimes goes back to normal. She has to turn the ignition from on to off so the car kind of goes back to driving normally again.”

   NHTSA complaint #11022245, filed 2017-09, 5,201 miles

Buying note. Buyers considering a 2017 Outlander may want records of brake, airbag and transmission work, and confirmation whether recalls 17V609000 and 18V621000 were completed. A pre-purchase inspection that tests the electric parking brake and auto hold, checks for stored airbag codes, and includes a stop-and-go drive can help address the concerns described above.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 42 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.