Mitsubishi Mirage: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Mitsubishi Mirage: 10 model years scored from 133 NHTSA owner complaints and 8 recall campaigns. Worst year 2014, best year 2015.
Mitsubishi Mirage: which years to avoid
Across 9 scored model years the Mitsubishi Mirage ranges from 52/100 in 2014 to 93/100 in 2019 — a 41-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a Mirage at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Air Bags (15 of them).
Safest years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 — scored 70 or better.
Check carefully: 2014, 2015, 2017.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
How the Mirage changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 2 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2014–2015
Mean score 55/100, about 4 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Service Brakes more than anything else (24 complaints). 5 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2017–2022
Mean score 88/100, about 1 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Air Bags more than anything else (21 complaints). The record improves by 33 points against the years before it. 2 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2015 (score 58). Worst: 2014 (score 52, CAUTION).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 90 | BUY | $2,298 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | DATA PENDING | $2,410 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 93 | BUY | $2,560 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | 93 | BUY | $2,694 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 93 | BUY | $2,833 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | 93 | BUY | $2,983 | 5 | 0 |
| 2018 | 88 | BUY | $3,134 | 10 | 1 |
| 2017 | 69 | CAUTION | $3,308 | 28 | 2 |
| 2015 | 58 | CAUTION | $3,597 | 39 | 2 |
| 2014 | 52 | CAUTION | $3,740 | 44 | 3 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Mirage, through the years →
Mirage sub-models & family
Variants & trims on record
Body, powertrain and trim variants of the Mirage on the federal record. Variants folded into this nameplate are counted in this page's data; the rest have too thin a record for a page of their own yet.
What goes wrong on the Mitsubishi Mirage
Across every Mirage model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Air Bags44 complaints across all Mirage years · typical job: Airbag module, clockspring or sensor replacement$600–$1,700
- Service Brakes26 complaints across all Mirage years · typical job: Pads, rotors and caliper service, both axles$580–$1,140
- Unknown Or Other14 complaints across all Mirage years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Engine13 complaints across all Mirage years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Electrical System12 complaints across all Mirage years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Suspension11 complaints across all Mirage years · typical job: Struts, springs and control-arm bushings, one axle$780–$1,580
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
What are the best Mitsubishi Mirage years to buy?
2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2019 at 93/100, on 5 complaints and 0 recall campaigns.
Which Mitsubishi Mirage years should I avoid?
The 2014 is the weakest year we score, at 52/100 (CAUTION), on 44 complaints and 3 recalls. Check the year-by-year table above before committing to any particular car.
What is the most common Mitsubishi Mirage problem?
44 of the complaints filed against the Mirage across all its model years sit in the Air Bags group — more than any other component.
Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04