AI DamageMitsubishi Eclipse Spyder: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder across 14 model years: 242 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
What fails most often
- 1 Wheels 21% of all complaints
- 2 Structure 15% of all complaints
- 3 Service brakes 13% of all complaints
- 4 Powertrain 12% of all complaints
- 5 Air bags 8% of all complaints
- 6 Engine and cooling 6% of all complaints
- 7 Visibility 6% of all complaints
- 8 Tires 6% of all complaints
- Wheels: 52 complaints (21% of all), 5 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Structure: 36 complaints (15% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Service brakes: 32 complaints (13% of all), 5 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Powertrain: 28 complaints (12% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Air bags: 19 complaints (8% of all), 14 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 242 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheels | 52 | 5 | 0 |
| Structure | 36 | 2 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 32 | 5 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 28 | 2 | 0 |
| Air bags | 19 | 14 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| Visibility | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| Tires | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Equipment | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Latches, locks, linkages | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 5 | 1 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
Consumer stated that they lost power and control while driving vehicle. The consumer was requesting an investigation of the 2008 mitsubishi eclipse sypder gt, automible manufacturer, distributor, service center, and the crash.
Takata airbag: my incident has already been reported. I am adding the police report. I am still requiring surgery and unable to use my left arm 10 months later.
While the contact's daughter was driving 30 mph, the driver depressed the brake pedal, but the brakes failed. As a result, the driver struck the rear of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver sustained injuries to the head, neck, and spine and lost consciousness.
I had the windows open and the top down. The airbag was blowing in front of my face, blocking my vision. The passenger visor flew off, hitting my left arm, as I was trying to keep the airbag out of my face to get safely off the road.I pulled over to the right, into a parking lot.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mitsubishi eclipse spyder. While driving approximately 15 mph, the passenger side air bag deployed without warning or impact. When the air bag deployed, the visor on the vehicle detached.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mitsubishi eclipse spyder. When the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle failed to respond without warning. As a result, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. A police report was not filed and no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
What to check before buying
- Wheels. Wheel runout, cracks, signs of a wheel strike.
- Structure. Rails, pillars, panel gaps, signs of pulling or welding.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
Other models of this make
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.