Used Mitsubishi Outlander 2013-2021 reliability

The Mitsubishi Outlander is proving to be a very robust car, so your main checks should centre on whether it has been well cared for. Look under the bonnet and boot carpet for signs of repaired crash damage, and in a car that’s as relatively new as this you should insist on a full service history.

If the car has been used for towing, check for any unusual noises from the four-wheel-drive system, and if you’re looking at a PHEV built between July and September 2015 ensure that it should has undergone remedial work to fix a potentially loose fuel pipe as part of a recall.

Another point worth considering is that Mitsubishi increased its standard warranty in 2015 from the original from three years to five years (and eight years on the battery).

The most frequently cited complaint with the Outlander is that the PHEV model falls a long way short of the 148mpg that the older models achieved in official NEDC fuel tests, although in fairness to Mitsubishi it’s never tried to hide that. As with any plug-in hybrid, the Outlander doesn’t make sense if you mainly do long motorway journeys, in which case the diesel model would be a better buy.

Again, while not a reliability issue, it’s worth pointing out that the Outlander makes an unusually large amount of annoying beeps and buzzes from its various warning systems, and the infotainment system on higher-spec models is far from intuitive to use. Some owners have also reported a fault with connecting iPhones to the system via Bluetooth, but upgrading to Apple’s latest iOS software should resolve this.

The large flap covering the charging sockets has also been known to bend, or for clips to fall off meaning it doesn’t close easily.

Door latches

The door latching mechanism can malfunction in hot weather on cars built between 6 May 2015 and 14 March 2016 that could allow doors to open while the vehicle is being driven. Find out if your car is affected by speaking with a Mitsubishi dealer because new latches will need to be installed if it is.

ECU relay

A relay for the ECU might overheat and could cause the engine to stall on examples made between 5 December 2014 and 31 March 2016. Any affected Outlander will need to have the relay replaced to fix the issue.

Parking brake

The parking brake caliper boot could let in water and lead to corrosion and reduced effectiveness of the parking brake on Outlanders made from the start of production until 21 January 2016. Any example affected will need to be inspected by a technician at a dealership.

Electronic stability program

The braking function used as part of the various driving assistance systems, such as the electronic stability program (ESP), could be interrupted on some examples made between 4 August 2016 and 22 January 2018. A software update will need to be performed to solve the problem.

Automatic emergency braking (AEB)

A software problem identified with some examples equipped with AEB and were built between 5 August 2016 and 6 November 2017, but it only requires an update at the dealership to sort it.

Airflow sensor

Corrosion on the airflow sensor could wreak havoc with the running of the engine and it affects early Outlanders. It should have been sorted by now, but speak with your Mitsubishi dealer to check this.

Fuel leak

There may be a problem with a connection in the fuel system that could allow fuel to leak out of examples constructed from 21 July to 12 September 2015. This will need to be inspected by a technician at a Mitsubishi dealer.

Extremely, and that’s whether you go for the trusted chain-cam diesel or the PHEV. With the latter there are instances of drivers who have noticed that their battery capacity has seemingly reduced over time, but Mitsubishi’s answer to such claims is that it is most likely the car “learning” how they drive and adapting the predictive range accordingly.

The Outlander PHEV alas finished in 13th place out of 14 cars in the hybrid cars category in our most recent What Car? Reliability Survey, which is an unusually low result, while Mitsubishi as a brand managed a highly impressive seventh-place result out of 30 manufacturers.