About Mitsubishi Cars
The Mitsubishi company started as a conglomerate, not simply an automaker, and continues to be one today. Beginning with shipping, the company delved into mining, banking, insurance, paper, glass, and in 1921 its engine manufacturing concern began to produce aircraft engines and a few vehicles. Over time the companies within Mitsubishi were organized into banking, general trading, and heavy industries (auto manufacturing among them). During the World War, Mitsubishi used forced labor from Chinese and American prisoners and produced PX33 sedans for military use. The company was forced to officially dissolve at the end of the war, but it was reconstituted within ten years.
The first vehicles designed and built by Mitsubishi were the 500 and the Colt, both mass-produced subcompact sedans. In 1971, Mitsubishi Motors became independent of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Chrysler bought a substantial share in the auto company, rebranding Mitsubishi’s Galant model as a Dodge Colt. By 1985 the partnership with Chrysler led the companies to work together as Diamond Star Motors (DSM) on a new production facility in Illinois that was capable of producing over 240,000 vehicles a year. The partnership lasted until 1992. The company’s next partnership, with Nissan and Renault, began as a result of a fuel economy scandal perpetrated by Mitsubishi, which allowed Nissan to buy a controlling share of the company. In 2015 it closed the Illinois production facility and laid off employees but continues to sell vehicles in the U.S.
Quick Facts
-
Mitsubishi Eclipse
is the most-recalled Mitsubishi vehicle
-
Mitsubishi Precis
is the least expensive car from Mitsubishi starting from
$ 5,395.00
-
Mitsubishi Mirage
has an MPG of
37 miles/gallon / 43 miles/gallon
which is the highest gas mileage in the city and on highways
-
Mitsubishi Eclipse
has the most trims available with 679 variations released
Number of Mitsubishi Sales in the United States
Mitsubishi U.S. Sales Reports - By Month
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 6,493 | 7,533 | 9,764 | 8,216 | 9,575 | 7,963 | 7,868 | 8,289 | 7,556 | 7,426 | 6,772 | 7,887 |
| 2016 | 6,264 | 7,870 | 11,078 | 9,674 | 9,025 | 8,023 | 7,890 | 7,336 | 7,191 | 7,637 | 6,896 | 7,383 |
| 2017 | 6,457 | 10,924 | 11,766 | 8,375 | 9,429 | 7,625 | 8,025 | 8,164 | 8,430 | 7,381 | 8,609 | 8,501 |
| 2018 | 8,480 | 12,973 | 14,319 | 7,990 | 12,416 | 11,149 | 9,950 | 8,416 | 7,705 | 8,002 | 7,688 | 8,986 |
| 2019 | 8,711 | 13,760 | 19,596 | 6,963 | 9,750 | 12,317 |
Mitsubishi Car Sales in The United States from 2015 to 2019
| Year | Car Sales |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 95,342 |
| 2016 | 96,267 |
| 2017 | 103,686 |
| 2018 | 118,074 |
| 2019 | 71,097 |
Average Pricing for Mitsubishi Popular models
| Popular Mitsubishi Models | Average Price |
|---|---|
| Eclipse | $ 19,811.87 |
| Lancer | $ 18,644.12 |
| Montero | $ 31,057.58 |
| Diamante | $ 27,346.72 |
| Mighty Max | $ 7,416.99 |
| Raider | $ 25,117.00 |
| Expo | $ 12,096.70 |
| Lancer Sportback | $ 19,992.29 |
| Eclipse Cross | $ 24,897.87 |
| I-MiEV | $ 30,208.48 |
| Diamante Wagon | $ 25,185.58 |
| Starion | $ 3,817.18 |
| Van | $ 10,063.50 |
| Sigma | $ 16,578.03 |
| Tredia | $ 179.27 |
Interesting Facts About Mitsubishi
Vehicle production for Mitsubishi in the postwar years involved assembling Kaiser sedans called the Henry J and manufacturing Jeep CJ models licensed from Willys.
Mitsubishi produced 22 hand-made automobiles, the Model A, between 1917 and 1922, but abandoned the effort due to costs.
In 2000 and 2004, Mitsubishi was caught in scandals that damaged the manufacturer’s reputation and cost it a lot of money. Serious issues were uncovered about major systems in Mitsubishi vehicles, such as fuel delivery, brakes, and clutches. When the truth was discovered, the company was forced to recall over 160,000 vehicles for repairs, and the company president was arrested.
Fuel consumption data turned scandalous when Nissan discovered in 2016 that Mitsubishi had been supplying faked information from inaccurate test methods on subcompact cars it was making for Nissan. In the end, Mitsubishi admitted the fraud had been going on for 25 years. Nissan was then allowed to buy a larger share of Mitsubishi, giving it a controlling stake.
Automakers routinely make educated guesses about the future direction of the industry and tool their output accordingly. Sometimes they get it right, like the current growth in sales attributable to its line of crossover vehicles. Mitsubishi had guessed accurately on the sale of small 4x4 SUVs in their home country of Japan when Honda stumbled by bringing the wrong models to market in the early 1990s, allowing rumors to spread that Mitsubishi might swallow up Honda.
Mitsubishi reached the 1 million vehicles sold milestone in 2017 with big increases in Chinese sales and steadily increasing sales in the U.S. It’s attributed to the popularity of the Outlander, which sold over 35,000 models.
In 2019, the Nissan-Mitsubishi-Renault Alliance was a top automaker in the world by volume for a period of time, selling over 5 million cars combined in the first six months of the year. But they were soon overtaken by Honda and Toyota, which market watchers blamed on Nissan for changing dealer incentives and not having fresh models to sell. Nissan had a 99 percent drop in profits in the first quarter of the year and planned to cut jobs.
How to Identify and Decode Mitsubishi VINs
World Manufacturer Identifier
The first three digits of a VIN number on a U.S. car will be the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI). This three-digit code represents the company and country of origin, and often includes information about the type of vehicle which the VIN number was assigned. The WMI is assigned by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and is regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Mitsubishi owners can find out if their vehicle is part of a safety recall by visiting the NHTSA VIN Number Recall Lookup. NHTSA reports recalls based on VIN number.
The first character used by Mitsubishi indicates the country of origin. Mitsubishi uses the following codes for position one through three of the WMI:
| JA3 | Mitsubishi |
| JA4 | Mitsubishi |
| JL5 | Mitsubishi Fuso |
| JMB | Mitsubishi Motors |
| JMY | Mitsubishi Motors |
| MA7 | Mitsubishi India (formerly Honda) |
| MMB | Mitsubishi Thailand |
| MMC | Mitsubishi Thailand |
| MMT | Mitsubishi Thailand |
| TYA | Mitsubishi Trucks Portugal |
| TYB | Mitsubishi Trucks Portugal |
| XMC | Mitsubishi (NedCar) |
| 6MM | Mitsubishi Motors Australia |
| 93X | Mitsubishi Motors Brazil |
The characters in positions four through eight identify various vehicle attributes. These codes change from year-to-year depending on the current vehicles being manufactured. Mitsubishi Motors has a detailed breakdown of every available code dating from 2001 to current models.
The ninth character of a U.S. VIN will be the check digit. This will be a value between 0 and 9, or the letter X. The character represents the result of an algorithm that is used to verify the authenticity of a VIN number.
The character in position 10 indicates the model year.
| A | 1980, 2010 |
| B | 1981, 2011 |
| C | 1982, 2012 |
| D | 1983, 2013 |
| E | 1984, 2014 |
| F | 1985, 2015 |
| G | 1986, 2016 |
| H | 1987, 2017 |
| J | 1988, 2018 |
| K | 1989, 2019 |
| L | 1990, 2020 |
| M | 1991, 2021 |
| N | 1992, 2022 |
| P | 1993, 2023 |
| R | 1994, 2024 |
| S | 1995, 2025 |
| T | 1996, 2026 |
| U | 1997, 2027 |
| W | 1998, 2028 |
| X | 1999, 2029 |
| Y | 2000, 2030 |
| 1 | 2001, 2031 |
| 2 | 2002, 2032 |
| 3 | 2003, 2033 |
| 4 | 2004, 2034 |
| 5 | 2005, 2035 |
| 6 | 2006, 2036 |
| 7 | 2007, 2037 |
| 8 | 2008, 2038 |
| 9 | 2009, 2039 |
Position 11 is used to identify the specific factory at which the vehicle was built. Mitsubishi uses the following codes to denote its factories.
| H | Laem Chabang−3 (Thailand) |
| J | Nagoya−3 (Japan) |
| U | Mizushima (Japan) |
| Z | Okazaki (Japan) |
The characters in positions 12 through 17 are the vehicle serial number. This unique number is used by the manufacturing company to identify where in a production line the individual vehicle was made. Serial numbers are not consecutive.
Safety and Recalls for Mitsubishi Cars
Portions of the electrical system need replacement on specific models to prevent malfunction and potentially dangerous situations. The models recalled for this issue include:
- 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport vehicles equipped with a Forward Collision Mitigation (FCM) system,
- 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Eclipse Cross vehicles, or
- 2017-2018 Outlander vehicles equipped with an Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system and/or an Electric Parking Brake (EPB) system.
Parking brakes on 2014-2016 Outlander and 2013-2016 Outlander Sport vehicles have been found to corrode when exposed to a water leak. A recall was issued to correct the issue, which could lead to vehicles rolling when parked.
Issues with airbags have prompted recalls for more than 13,000 vehicles, including the 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback and 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric vehicle.
A brake problem has prompted a recall for specific 2010-2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric vehicles. These autos may experience a decline in the ability to brake when necessary. The cars being recalled were built on September 15, 2009, to March 25, 2014.
Difficulty shifting could result from a part that was replaced on certain 2007 and 2009 Outlander vehicles. A recall seeks to repair the issue, which could drain transmission fluid and affect the transmission.
Corrosion of a windshield wiper part has prompted a recall in 2007-2013 Mitsubishi Outlanders made between September 8, 2006, and March 29, 2013. If the issue is not corrected, the windshield wipers may not operate as desired.
Sunroofs in certain models have been recalled due to the danger of detaching from a vehicle and falling off. These vehicles are affected by the recall:
- 2007-2010 Mitsubishi Outlander,
- 2008-2010 Mitsubishi Lancer,
- 2009-2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and
- 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback.
Belt pulleys within the engine of certain models have been recalled due to excessive wear. Without replacement, the pulleys may break and cause an engine belt to fail. The affected models include:
- 2008-2011 Mitsubishi Lancer, Lancer Evolution, and Outlander;
- 2009-2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback, Lancer Ralliart, and Lancer Sportback Ralliart, and
- 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport.
Mitsubishi Recalls
Mitsubishi had 857 from 1980 to 2025 of which the most recalled model is 2012 Mitsubishi Outlander and the least is 1983 Mitsubishi Cordia. Mitsubishi had the most recalled during 2018.
| Model | Number of Recalls |
|---|---|
| 2012 Mitsubishi Outlander #1 with most recalls | 5 |
| 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer #2 with most recalls | 4 |
| 2008 Mitsubishi Endeavor #3 with most recalls | 3 |
| 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante #4 with most recalls | 3 |
| 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse #5 with most recalls | 12 |
| 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport #6 with most recalls | 11 |
| 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer #7 with most recalls | 1 |
| 1991 Mitsubishi Mirage #8 with most recalls | 1 |
| 1990 Mitsubishi Sigma #9 with most recalls | 1 |
| 1983 Mitsubishi Cordia #10 with most recalls | 1 |
