How many miles will a 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander last?
Half of the 80 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander that list mileage came after 67,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 160,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 116 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 80 complaints on the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander that list mileage, the middle half came between 21,000 and 112,000 miles; 26 (33%) came after 100,000 miles, 12 (15%) after 150,000 and 3 (4%) after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2003 Outlander last?
The 80 mileages owners gave run from 1 to 340,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 21,000 miles, half at or under 67,500, three quarters at or under 112,000 and nine in ten at or under 161,000; 26 (33%) came after 100,000 miles, 12 (15%) after 150,000 and 3 (4%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2003 Outlander wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 1 mile |
| 25th percentile | 21,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 67,500 miles |
| 75th percentile | 112,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 161,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 340,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 26 (33%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 12 (15%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 3 (4%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 688 NHTSA owner complaints on the Mitsubishi Outlander that list mileage came after 55,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Mitsubishi Outlander last? →
Common problems with the 2003 Outlander
NHTSA's file holds 116 owner complaints on the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander. Owners named the suspension most often: 28 complaints, and half of the 18 that list a mileage came after 67,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 28 | 18 | 67,384 |
| Exterior Lighting | 19 | 13 | 50,000 |
| Steering | 14 | 9 | 8,000 |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 13 | 10 | 57,000 |
| Electrical System | 9 | 6 | 70,200 |
Of the 116 complaints, 10 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 6 report an injury (8 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2003 Outlander a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2003 is a good or a bad Outlander: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2003 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 116 complaints, the 2003 ranks 4th of the 22 Mitsubishi Outlander model years from 2003 to 2025 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2022 (220). The fewest: the 2025 (18).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 (this page) | 116 | 80 | 67,500 |
| 2004 Outlander | 52 | 38 | 57,500 |
| 2005 Outlander | 19 | 18 | 85,000 |
| 2006 Outlander | 21 | 15 | 100,000 |
| 2007 Outlander | 125 | 79 | 88,789 |
| 2008 Outlander | 58 | 41 | 99,000 |
| 2009 Outlander | 46 | 28 | 85,000 |
| 2010 Outlander | 60 | 35 | 62,000 |
| 2011 Outlander | 58 | 28 | 64,000 |
| 2012 Outlander | 22 | 11 | 86,000 |
| 2013 Outlander | 26 | 20 | 57,800 |
| 2014 Outlander | 45 | 37 | 30,000 |
| 2015 Outlander | 53 | 33 | 35,000 |
| 2016 Outlander | 145 | 82 | 60,000 |
| 2017 Outlander | 51 | 28 | 34,000 |
| 2018 Outlander | 72 | 47 | 14,000 |
| 2019 Outlander | 30 | 14 | 15,000 |
| 2020 Outlander | 32 | 10 | 53,000 |
| 2022 Outlander | 220 | 27 | 10,000 |
| 2023 Outlander | 51 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2024 Outlander | 26 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2025 Outlander | 18 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Outlander year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Mitsubishi Outlander years to avoid →
2003 Mitsubishi Outlander recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 6 recall campaigns that name the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 16V458000 | Jun 23, 2016 | SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER ARM |
| 04V428000 | Sep 1, 2004 | EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS |
| 04V197000 | Apr 26, 2004 | TRAILER HITCHES |
| 04V067000 | Feb 11, 2004 | EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL |
| 03V194000 | May 20, 2003 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:INTERIOR/UNDER DASH |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2003 Outlander lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2003 Outlander.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 36 of the 116 complaints on the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: OUTLANDER and OUTLANDER PHEV. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file names matched: OUTLANDER and OUTLANDER PHEV.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2003 Mitsubishi Outlander questions
How many miles will a 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander last?
Half of the 80 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander that list mileage came after 67,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 160,000 miles. Of the 80 complaints on the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander that list mileage, the middle half came between 21,000 and 112,000 miles; 26 (33%) came after 100,000 miles, 12 (15%) after 150,000 and 3 (4%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2003 Outlander that never had one.
What are the most common 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander problems?
NHTSA's file holds 116 owner complaints on the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander. Owners named the suspension most often: 28 complaints, and half of the 18 that list a mileage came after 67,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 116 complaints, 10 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 6 report an injury (8 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2003 is a good or a bad Outlander: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2003 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 116 complaints, the 2003 ranks 4th of the 22 Mitsubishi Outlander model years from 2003 to 2025 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2022 (220). The fewest: the 2025 (18).
How many recalls does the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 6 recall campaigns that name the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander.