2018 Mitsubishi Outlander
Plug-in hybrid Gas Compact SUV
The 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander is sold in the U.S. as a plug-in hybrid and gas compact SUV with 9 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Outlander 2WD, is EPA-rated at 27 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 91 complaints, most often about electrical system. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Range | kWh/100mi | Charge (240V) | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlander PHEV | Plug-in hybrid | AWD | 2.0L 4-cyl + 60 kW DCPM | 25 | 26 | 25 (37 MPGe blended) | 22 mi electric | 45 | 3.5 h | $2,500 |
| Outlander 2WD | Gas | FWD | 2.4L 4-cyl | 25 | 30 | 27 | — | — | — | $2,300 |
| Outlander Sport 2WD | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl | 24 | 30 | 27 | — | — | — | $2,300 |
| Outlander 4WD | Gas | 4WD | 2.4L 4-cyl | 24 | 29 | 26 | — | — | — | $2,400 |
| Outlander Sport 4WD | Gas | 4WD | 2.0L 4-cyl | 23 | 29 | 26 | — | — | — | $2,400 |
| Outlander Sport 2WD | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl | 23 | 29 | 25 | — | — | — | $2,500 |
| Outlander Sport 2WD | Gas | FWD | 2.4L 4-cyl | 23 | 29 | 25 | — | — | — | $2,500 |
| Outlander Sport 4WD | Gas | 4WD | 2.4L 4-cyl | 23 | 28 | 25 | — | — | — | $2,500 |
| Outlander 4WD | Gas | 4WD | 3.0L 6-cyl | 20 | 27 | 22 | — | — | — | $3,500 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
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Recalls (6)
Structure
highProblem: Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Outlander PHEV and 2014-2020 Outlander vehicles. The liftgate gas spring cylinders may corrode and lose pressure, which can result in a gas spring cylinder rupture or the liftgate falling unexpectedly.
Risk: A gas spring cylinder rupture or a liftgate falling unexpectedly can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: MMNA will replace the left and right liftgate gas springs, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 17, 2026. Owners may contact MMNA customer service at 1-888-648-7820. MMNA's number for this recall is SR-26-001. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov June 3, 2026. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 25V507.
Structure
highProblem: Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Outlander PHEV and 2014-2020 Outlander vehicles sold and/or currently registered in Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The liftgate gas spring cylinders may corrode and lose pressure, which can result in a gas spring cylinder rupture or the liftgate falling unexpectedly.
Risk: A gas spring cylinder rupture or a liftgate falling unexpectedly can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: MMNA will replace the left and right liftgate gas springs, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 6, 2025. Owners may contact MMNA customer service at 1-888-648-7820. MMNA's number for this recall is SR-25-002
Seat Belts
highProblem: Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain 2014-2019 Outlander and 2018-2019 Outlander PHEV vehicles. The second-row center seat belt buckle may interfere with the right-side seat belt buckle when the seat backs are folded down. The interference may cause the right-side seat belt buckle cover to come off, making the buckle latch inoperable and unable to restrain an occupant.
Risk: An unrestrained occupant has an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: MMNA will notify owners, and dealers will modify the second-row center seat belt buckle cover, install a new warning label to the second-row seat support base, and provide a new warning label insert for the owner's manual, free of charge. The recall began September 1, 2020. Owners may contact MMNA customer service at 1-888-648-7820. Mitsubishi's number for this recall is SR-20-004.
Forward Collision Avoidance
highProblem: Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport vehicles equipped with a Forward Collision Mitigation (FCM) system and 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Eclipse Cross vehicles and 2017-2018 Outlander vehicles equipped with an Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system and/or an Electric Parking Brake (EPB) system. The software for the Hydraulic Unit Electronic Control Unit (ECU) may be incorrect, possibly preventing the intervention of a safety system such as automatic emergency braking, Anti-lock Braking (ABS), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), or the Brake Auto Hold (BAH) function when any of these systems are in use.
Risk: If the safety systems do not function as intended, it can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: MMNA will notify owners, and dealers will update the Hydraulic Unit-ECU software, free of charge. The recall began October 16, 2018. Owners may contact MMNA customer service at 1-888-648-7820. MMNA's number for this recall is SR-18-008.
Electrical System
minorProblem: Mitsubishi Motors North America (MMNA) is recalling certain 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Outlander Sport, 2018-2019 Eclipse Cross, and 2017-2018 Outlander vehicles equipped with a Forward Collision Mitigation (FCM) system that detects pedestrians. Due to incorrect software, the FCM-ECU (Electronic Control Unit) may apply braking for longer than needed, even after a pedestrian is no longer detected.
Risk: If the FCM-ECU software activates the brake for longer than necessary, the driver may react by applying additional braking. The resulting rapid deceleration of the vehicle can increase the risk of a rear-end collision.
Fix: MMNA will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the FCM-ECU software with updated software, free of charge. The recall is began October 16, 2018. Owners may contact MMNA customer service at 1-888-648-7820. MMNA's number for this recall is SR-18-007.
Wheels
highProblem: Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Mitsubishi Outlander vehicles equipped with 18-inch alloy wheels. The Certification Label lists an incorrect rear wheel rim size. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Risk: The incorrect rim size information on the label can cause the operator to replace the rim with an incorrect rim size, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: MMNA will notify owners and send them a corrected certification label, free of charge. Owners can also choose to have the label replaced by a dealer, free of charge. The recall began September 26, 2018. Owners may contact MMNA customer service at 1-888-648-7820. MMNA's number for this recall is SR-18-006.
NHTSA investigations
Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds (closed)
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 rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt
Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005
Owner complaints
91 complaints filed
12 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 11 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2018: 11 · 2019: 18 · 2020: 15 · 2021: 7 · 2022: 5 · 2023: 12 · 2024: 7 · 2025: 12 · 2026: 4
Most-cited components
- Electrical System — 20
- Air Bags — 16
- Unknown Or Other — 13
- Engine — 11
- Power Train — 10
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.
Crash ratings
| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUV AWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 16% |
| SUV AWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 14% |
| SUV AWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 17% |
| SUV FWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 18% |
| SUV FWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 19% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.
Other Outlander model years
2027 Outlander
0 recalls · 0 complaints
A2026 Outlander
1 recalls · 5 complaints
A2025 Outlander
2 recalls · 17 complaints
A2024 Outlander
1 recalls · 27 complaints
A2023 Outlander
2 recalls · 55 complaints
F2022 Outlander
10 recalls · 225 complaints
B2021 Outlander
3 recalls · 17 complaints
C2020 Outlander
4 recalls · 57 complaints
F2019 Outlander
6 recalls · 56 complaints
F2017 Outlander
6 recalls · 78 complaints
F2016 Outlander
11 recalls · 170 complaints
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). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 39830, 39676, 39678, 39687, 39689, 39677, 39679, 39690, 39688). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.