2021 Mitsubishi Mirage
The 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact hatchback with 4 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Mirage, is EPA-rated at 39 mpg combined. NHTSA lists no recall campaigns for this model year so far (Safety Signal A). Owners have filed 4 complaints, most often about the air bags. NHTSA crash-tested it at 4 stars overall.
Specs & fuel economy
Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mirage | Gas | FWD | 1.2L 3-cyl | 36 | 43 | 39 | $1,700 |
| Mirage G4 | Gas | FWD | 1.2L 3-cyl | 35 | 41 | 37 | $1,800 |
| Mirage | Gas | FWD | 1.2L 3-cyl | 33 | 41 | 36 | $1,850 |
| Mirage G4 | Gas | FWD | 1.2L 3-cyl | 33 | 40 | 35 | $1,900 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 43567, 43569, 43566, 43568.
Emissions & certification
Source: EPA emission certificates| Configuration | Smog rating | Emission standard | Where it can be sold new | SmartWay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mirage, Mirage G4 | 5 / 10 | California LEV-III ULEV70 / Federal Tier 3 Bin 70 | All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards | — |
Certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S.
The smog rating scores tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and is comparable only within a model year. The standard is the federal bin or California tier the configuration was certified to. Both come from the EPA certificate behind the window sticker.
Specifications filed with NHTSA
Source: NHTSA vPICDimensions Exterior
| Body style | Hatchback/Liftback/Notchback |
| Doors | 5 |
| GVWR class | Class 1: 6,000 lb or less (2,722 kg or less) |
Engine Basics
| Cylinders | 3 |
| Displacement | 1.2 L |
| Engine configuration | In-Line |
Engine Output
| Horsepower | 78 hp |
Fuel Economy
| Fuel | Gasoline |
Seating
| Seat rows | 2 |
| Seating capacity | 5 seats |
Transmission
| Drivetrain | FWD/Front-Wheel Drive |
Driver assistance
Standard: Anti-lock brakes, Backup camera, Electronic stability control, Forward collision warning, Pedestrian automatic emergency braking
Filed by the manufacturer with NHTSA under the federal vehicle-identification rule and decoded from the VIN pattern — not a manufacturer press kit, so it describes one configuration rather than every trim (seen: ES/LE/SE). Figures for the trim you are looking at may differ.
Dimensions & weight
Source: Transport Canada| Length | 151.6 in |
| Width (body, without mirrors) | 65.7 in |
| Height | 59.4 in |
| Wheelbase | 96.5 in |
| Track, front | 56.3 in |
| Track, rear | 55.9 in |
| Curb weight | 2,072 lb |
| Weight distribution, front/rear | 60/40 |
Measured by Transport Canada for its Canadian Vehicle Specifications database, which covers the North American versions of each model — here one configuration: 5-door Hatch. Where a range is shown, those versions differ. Width is the body without mirrors, which is why it can read narrower than a brochure figure. Before we used it we checked it against the US manufacturer press kits we hold (27 Sep 2026): wheelbase agreed within 1% on every vehicle we could compare, length on 98%, and the curb weight fell inside the manufacturer's range on 96%. Source dataset. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Licence.
Factory warranty running out?
The 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage is in the years where transmission, electronics and drivetrain repairs land on the owner. What an extended plan does and does not cover is worth reading before a dealer quotes you one.
What to check before you buy →Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.
Recalls (0)
Source: NHTSA recall databaseNo NHTSA recall campaigns are on file for the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage. New campaigns appear here within a week of NHTSA posting them.
These are vehicle campaigns — the ones the automaker filed against this model. NHTSA also records equipment recalls, filed by a parts maker against a component (a tyre, a child seat, an aftermarket part), and those are not listed here or counted above. nhtsa.gov/recalls shows both for a VIN.
Hear about a recall before the letter does
The manufacturer’s letter is the last step of a recall: it has up to 60 days after filing to mail owners, at the address on the registration. We email you the day NHTSA posts a recall on the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage, with what to do next. Nothing else, ever — no newsletter, no marketing, one-click unsubscribe in every message.
Parts & accessories for the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage
Search by fitment on eBay Motors — OEM take-offs, aftermarket, and the trim pieces dealers no longer stock. The listing and the price are the seller's.
Find parts for this Mirage →Owner complaints
Source: NHTSA complaint database1 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 1 injuries · 0 deaths reported
1.9 per 10,000 built · Mitsubishi reported 21,410 Mirage built (its Early Warning production report to NHTSA)
Filed per year: 2023: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2026: 2
Most-cited components
In owners' own words
Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, one per problem area. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed.
My Airbag light stays on its been on 3 years after i got the car we thought it was something with wiring or a fuse but it is not and it will cost alot to even get fixed so if i ever get into a wreck my airbags will not deploy and i think this should be a recall
ADAS, warning lights all on in the drivers console. ADAS is in operable. No cracks in windshield. Windshield clean
I recently purchased a 2021Mitsubishi Mirage G4 Carbonite Edition. Vin : . I noticed (and tried everything i could) that the forward collision mitigation is not operational (FCM). I took it to the only authorized Mitsubishi Dealer in Las Vegas called 'Johnny Legends Mitsubishi'.
I had a very serious accident last week while driving my 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage. The front of my vehicle was significantly impacted, but none of the airbags were deployed. I can't believe that this nearly brand-new car, which had all the inspections and services at the manufacturer's centers, has this problem.
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Reported by Mitsubishi itself: 7 death-or-injury claims on this model year in its quarterly Early Warning reports to NHTSA (49 CFR 579.21): 8 injured, as claimed, not verified — about 33 per 100,000 built. Every Mirage model year, by year and system → Dated and by system, they are exhibit F of the defect dossier.
Crash ratings
Source: NHTSA NCAP| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 HB FWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | 16% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking.
Service bulletins & campaigns
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communicationsMost often about: Equipment, Electrical System, Steering, Structure, Suspension.
- TECH TALK 290 Other2026-02-12 · Visibility/Wiper
- Tech Talk is a service newsletter that was sent out to dealers. It covers various topics and reviews the previous months publications.
- TECH TALK 287 Other2025-07-24 · Steering
- Tech Talk is a service newsletter that was sent out to dealers. It covers various topics and reviews the previous months publications.
- TSB-24-37-003 Service bulletin2024-10-21 · Steering
- Service Manual Revision -This Technical Service Bulletin provides steering lock bolt changes for the steering column shaft disassembly and assembly sections of the applicable service manuals.
- TECH TALK 281 Other2024-08-07 · Lane Departure — Blind Spot Detection
- Tech Talk is a service newsletter that was sent out to dealers. It covers various topics and reviews the previous months publications.
- TIN-24-66-002 Service bulletin2024-07-15 · Exterior Lighting
- This is a Technical Information Notice informing dealers of a step that must be completed for the accessory fog lamps to function properly.
- TECH TALK 279 Service bulletin2024-03-29 · Structure
- Tech Talk is a service newsletter that was sent out to dealers. It covers various topics and reviews the previous months publications.
- TIN21-37-001REV3 Service bulletin2024-01-29 · Steering
- This Revised Technical Information Notice provides dealers with the requirements needed to be entered into the Photo Required Condition & Pre-Approval Center (PRC) for a vehicle pulling/drifting and/or with steering wheel off-center concerns.
- TSB-23-90-002 Service bulletin2023-11-09 · Electrical System
- This Technical Service Bulletin provides service manual corrections to the harness wire diameter and circuit diagram color changes in the Roof Harness, Plug Harness and Control Harness sections of the applicable Service Manual.
A service bulletin is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a known condition. It is not a recall, not a finding that the vehicle is defective, and the work is not automatically free — though a bulletin is often what a dealer works from when you describe a symptom, so quoting the document number can save a diagnosis. The count is every communication filed; the list shows the most recent, one entry per campaign, because a single campaign is usually filed as several documents on the same day. The summaries are NHTSA's; the full documents come from the manufacturer.
At the New York inspection station
Source: New York State DMVIn New York’s inspection lanes over the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026, the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage failed the emissions check on 1.3% of first inspections — lower than the 1.9% for every 2021 model-year vehicle inspected; and the safety inspection on 3.8% (every 2021 vehicle: 1.5%).
failed emissions
476 initial inspections of 467 vehicles.
| Measure | The 2021 Mirage | Every 2021 vehicle | Behind it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failed the emissions check | 1.3% | 1.9% | 474 |
| Failed the safety inspection | 3.8% | 1.5% | 476 |
| Air-bag warning lamp stayed lit | 0% | 0.19% | 476 |
| Miles driven a year | 11,283 | 10,343 | odometer at inspection |
| Average odometer | 59,378 | 54,681 | odometer at inspection |
New York’s emissions test on these model years is an on-board diagnostics check: it fails a car whose check-engine light is on or whose self-tests have not finished. First inspections only, so a car that failed and came back is counted once; private and special plates, not taxis, livery or commercial plates. A rate appears only where at least 200 inspections stand behind it. “Every 2021 vehicle” is every 2021 model-year car, SUV and pickup inspected in the same window, all makes. This is the state’s record of test results, not a reliability score by itself. Source: New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Inspections (data.ny.gov, Open NY terms).
Compare the 2021 Mirage with
Any vehicle, your weights →| Head-to-head | Verdict | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 Nissan Rogue Sport · Compact Hatchback · grade A | Mirage +9.4 |
Mirage by model year
all years, side by side →Common questions about the 2021 Mirage
Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kitsDoes the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage have any recalls?
No NHTSA recall campaigns are on file for the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage. New campaigns appear here within a week of NHTSA posting them, and a clean sheet on a recent model year often just means the vehicle is new.
How safe is the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage?
NHTSA gave the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage 4 stars overall in its New Car Assessment Program tests — 4-star frontal crash, 4-star side crash, 4-star rollover. WhichTrim also grades it A (100/100) on its recall record, which is a different question from crash protection.
What is the fuel economy of the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage?
Across the 4 EPA-rated configurations of the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage, the best EPA combined figure is 39 mpg. Figures are the EPA's own, per configuration, and every one is listed above.
What are the dimensions of the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage?
Transport Canada measured it at 151.6 in long, 65.7 in wide (body, without mirrors), 59.4 in tall, on a 96.5 in wheelbase. Curb weight: 2,072 lb. Those are its measurements of the North American versions; every figure is in the table above.
What do owners complain about on the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage?
Owners have filed 4 complaints with NHTSA about the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage, most often about air bags, forward collision avoidance, electrical system. Of those, 1 involved a crash, 1 reported injuries. Complaints are unverified owner reports, so treat the pattern as a signal and the individual report as an anecdote.
How clean is the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage?
The EPA smog rating for the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage is 5 out of 10. That score covers tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, and it only compares vehicles within the same model year. It is certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S. Its configurations were certified to different standards — California LEV-III ULEV70, Federal Tier 3 Bin 70 — which the table above lists per configuration.
Are there service bulletins for the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage?
The manufacturer has filed 57 service bulletins and related communications with NHTSA for the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage, most often covering equipment, electrical system, steering. The most recent is dated 2026-02-12. A bulletin is not a recall: it is the repair procedure a manufacturer sends its dealers for a condition it knows about, and the work is not automatically paid for. It is still worth knowing — if the symptom matches, quoting the bulletin number at the service desk can save a diagnosis. The document numbers and summaries are listed above.
How does the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage do at state inspection?
In New York’s inspection lanes over the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026, the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage failed the emissions check on 1.3% of first inspections — lower than the 1.9% for every 2021 model-year vehicle inspected; and the safety inspection on 3.8% (every 2021 vehicle: 1.5%). The figures are New York State DMV’s own inspection records, first inspections only, and the table above sets each one against every vehicle of the same model year.
Is the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage better than the 2021 Nissan Rogue Sport?
The Mitsubishi Mirage wins clearly, 93.9 to 84.5, on fuel & range. The Nissan Rogue Sport is ahead on safety. We publish a full side-by-side of the 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage against the 2021 Nissan Rogue Sport — specifications by family, equipment feature by feature, safety record and ownership costs. You can re-weight what matters to you and the verdict recalculates.
What we hold, and what an empty row means
Paid vehicle-history reports will not tell you the difference between “nothing happened to this car” and “we never received that record” — both of the big two say as much in their own help pages. Most of what is on this page comes from complete federal registers, so we can tell you which is which, row by row.
| Data | Held | Source | What it covers — or what empty means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel economy & configurations | 4 configurations | EPA certification records | Every configuration the EPA certified for sale, with its own test figures. |
| Emission certificates | 4 configurations | EPA emission certificates | Smog rating, standard and the sales area that decides where the car can be sold new. |
| Recalls | none | NHTSA recall campaigns | No campaign has been filed. Because the register is complete, an empty row here means there is nothing to find — not that we are missing it. |
| Owner complaints | 4 | NHTSA complaint database | Also complete, but unverified: these are reports owners filed, not findings. Counts scale with how many were sold. |
| Crash ratings | 1 tested | NHTSA NCAP | Only the configurations NHTSA chose to crash-test, which is never all of them. |
| Service bulletins | 57 | NHTSA manufacturer communications | Everything the manufacturer told its dealers about a defect or malfunction, short of a recall. |
| Investigations | none | NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation | No defect investigation has been opened. |
| Driver-assist crash reports | none | NHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01 | No report has been filed. Only entities named in the order report, and only crashes they hear of — so this is also what an unequipped car, or a manufacturer without telematics, looks like. |
| Specifications filed with NHTSA | 11 fields | NHTSA vPIC, decoded from VIN patterns | What the manufacturer filed under the federal VIN rule — a configuration, not the full trim ladder. |
| Measured dimensions | 7 fields | Transport Canada, Canadian Vehicle Specifications | Length, width, height, wheelbase, track and curb weight, measured on the North American versions. |
| Trims, pricing & equipment | none | Manufacturer press kit | We have not transcribed a press kit for this model year yet. This is our gap, not the manufacturer's — the one row here where an empty cell means we are behind. |
Rebuilt nightly; this page was generated 2026-10-26. Every figure above is traceable to the source named beside it, and the JSON for this page carries the same values with their identifiers.
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). The most serious recall counts in full and each further one counts 85% of the one before, because a vehicle sold in millions is recalled more often than a rare one without being more dangerous — and because a flat subtraction bottomed the scale out, scoring a vehicle with 22 recalls within a point of one with six. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Read it as what it counts: recall campaigns on the federal record, weighted by severity. The damping reduces the sales bias by roughly 40% but does not remove it: like our complaint counts, this is not normalized by how many were sold, so a best-seller still scores somewhat worse than an obscure model with the same real risk. NHTSA crash ratings, do-not-drive and park-outside advisories, and the crash, fire, injury and death counts in owner complaints are reported separately on every page and never blended into the letter — a vehicle can hold five stars and a poor letter at once, and where that happens we say so rather than leave you to notice. Because the scale subtracts from a clean sheet, a model year too new to have been recalled, complained about or bulletined scores full marks on an empty record; we label those grades provisional rather than present them as earned.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed nightly.