AI Damage2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder: common problems
Owners of the 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder filed 27 complaints with NHTSA, most often about structure and air bags. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 27
- involving a crash
- 5
What fails most often
- 1 Structure 26% of all complaints
- 2 Air bags 15% of all complaints
- 3 Tires 15% of all complaints
- 4 Visibility 11% of all complaints
- 5 Electrical system 7% of all complaints
- 6 Fuel system 7% of all complaints
- 7 Engine 4% of all complaints
- 8 Engine and cooling 4% of all complaints
- Structure: 7 complaints (26% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Air bags: 4 complaints (15% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Tires: 4 complaints (15% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Visibility: 3 complaints (11% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Electrical system: 2 complaints (7% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 27 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Air bags | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Tires | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Visibility | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wheels | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Other | 4 | 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.
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.
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.
Goodrich claim's team stated that they were unable to determine why the tire blew out so they refused to honor the warranty. There were no signs of it being my fault but they also didn't find an obvious defect that would cause the blowout so they conveniently denied taking re
While backing out of the driveway, the accelerator pedal became stuck and the brakes did not work. The consumer hopes mitsubishi becomes aware of the problem occurring with their cars.
While driving 25 mph, the front passenger side tire blew out and caused the contact to drive over a curb. The contact inspected the tire and found that the tire tread was separated. The manufacturer was unable to locate the cause of the tire failure. The vin was not available. The failure mileage was 160,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mitsubishi eclipse spyder. While driving at 70 mph, the vehicle shut off without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
To my surprise, I have not been able to find an used dashboard in good condition...every single 2003 eclipse I've found and seen has the same issue and after doing some research, there has not been a recall for this obvious manufacturing defect.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 7,189 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 20% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Eclipse Spyder has 17 complaints (14 years in the data). This year has 27, above average.
What to check before buying
- Structure. Rails, pillars, panel gaps, signs of pulling or welding.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Tires. Tire age by DOT code, bulges, wear pattern.
- Visibility. Wipers, mirrors, defrosters, cracked glass.
Other years of this model
- Eclipse Spyder 19965 sources
- Eclipse Spyder 199720 sources
- Eclipse Spyder 199816 sources
- Eclipse Spyder 199911 sources
- Eclipse Spyder 20003 sources
- Eclipse Spyder 200181 sources
- Eclipse Spyder 200224 sources
- Eclipse Spyder 20046 sources
- Eclipse Spyder 200722 sources
- Eclipse Spyder 200816 sources
- Eclipse Spyder 20097 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: structure, air bags, tires. Total complaints: 27. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: fuel system, fuel smell (11%), smoke, burning smell, fire (11%), windows, sunroof (11%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 2003 models
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.