Common problems

Mitsubishi Lancer common problems

What MOT testers find on the Mitsubishi Lancer: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 37,292 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 14 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=5,815)17.2

All cars at 14 years (n=6,054,526)18.3

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=5,815)33.8

All cars, same age (n=6,054,526)30.4

What stands out

Steering fails show up on 8.6 of every 100 MOTs of a Mitsubishi Lancer at 14 years old (n=5,815), against 3.2 for all cars of that age (n=6,054,526).
Tyres fails are less common: 5.6 per 100 MOTs against 7.5 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 14 years: side/position light not working, on 7.6 per 100 MOTs (all cars 5.4).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 16.6 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 14 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Mitsubishi Lancer at 14 years (n=5,815) against all cars at 14 years (n=6,054,526). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	17.2	18.3	15.4	12.2
Suspension	15.5	16.0	33.8	30.4
Brakes	11.4	9.9	32.8	26.4
Steering	8.6	3.2	7.7	3.9
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	6.0	5.1	5.4	9.7
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.7	6.1	4.9	5.1
Tyres	5.6	7.5	25.1	28.4
Body and structure	4.6	5.9	11.8	9.7
Seat belts and airbags	0.9	1.5	1.3	0.9
Road wheels	0.5	0.6	0.3	1.4
Number plates and VIN	0.4	0.5	2.2	3.8

What testers fail most on the Lancer at 14 years

Fail items on the Mitsubishi Lancer at 14 years (n=5,815), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,054,526).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	7.6	5.4	£10 to £47 per lamp
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	7.1	2.0	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	4.0	3.5	£10 to £47 per lamp
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	3.6	2.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	2.8	1.1	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault	Brakes	2.8	0.7	diagnosis from £59 (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.6	2.3	£15 to £30 per blade
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	2.6	1.4	£182 to £263 per section
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	Lights and electrics	2.5	1.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	2.5	2.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 14 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Mitsubishi Lancer at 14 years (n=5,815), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,054,526).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	16.6	18.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	16.4	6.0	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	10.7	4.5
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	10.6	11.0	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	8.0	7.2	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	8.0	9.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	7.7	5.6
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	6.6	3.7	£182 to £263 per section
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	5.4	8.4	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Track rod end: ball joint has slight play	Steering	5.2	1.7	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 14 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Brakes
11 years	1,544	15.2	12.2	10.2
12 years	3,464	16.5	12.7	11.2
13 years	4,549	17.7	15.1	11.9
14 years	5,815	17.2	15.5	11.4
15 years	5,249	17.2	14.3	11.1
16 years	4,642	18.4	14.9	10.3
17 years	4,578	17.1	15.3	8.6
18 years	3,298	15.2	13.5	8.1
19 years	2,545	12.5	10.8	6.5
20 years	1,608	12.5	9.1	5.0

Mileage

At 14 years, Mitsubishi Lancer cars showing 60,000 to 90,000 miles failed 35.1% of MOTs (n=1,636); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 48.5% (n=1,000). For pass and fail rates by age, see MOT fail rates by model.

What to check on a viewing

On the Mitsubishi Lancer, testers most often record side/position light not working; steering track rod end: ball joint play; brake light not working. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Mitsubishi Lancer?

At 14 years, the age with the most MOT tests (5,815), the fail items testers record most often on the Mitsubishi Lancer are side/position light not working (7.6 per 100 MOTs), steering track rod end: ball joint play (7.1 per 100 MOTs), brake light not working (4.0 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (16.6) and rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (16.4).

Which parts of the Mitsubishi Lancer fail more often than on other cars?

At 14 years: steering (8.6 per 100 MOTs against 3.2 for all cars); brakes (11.4 per 100 MOTs against 9.9 for all cars). Compared with 6,054,526 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Mitsubishi Lancer problems by area

Other Mitsubishi models

All Mitsubishi models · Common problems by make

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Mitsubishi Lancer?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources