AI DamageMitsubishi Expo LRV: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the Mitsubishi Expo LRV across 4 model years: 8 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
What fails most often
- 1 Seat belts 50% of all complaints
- 2 Powertrain 38% of all complaints
- 3 Fuel system 25% of all complaints
- 4 Service brakes 13% of all complaints
- 5 Structure 13% of all complaints
- Seat belts: 4 complaints (50% of all).
- Powertrain: 3 complaints (38% of all).
- Fuel system: 2 complaints (25% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Service brakes: 1 complaints (13% of all).
- Structure: 1 complaints (13% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 8 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat belts | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 1 | 0 | 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 was rear ended the exhaust hit the fuel tank caused it to leak out gas . Tt the hanger bracket that was welded to exhaust pipe was in a wrong place. The bracket cut into fuel tank causing a leak.
The seat belt on driver side stopped operating. Mechanism is stuck and does not move the seat belt clip on the rail assembly. Had parked the vehicle, opened my door but the seat belt stopped 1/3 on the way. It kept trying to function properly but it gave out.
Driver's seat belt rail assembly broke. I took it to several mechanics. Glendale, ca dealer said the parts are obsolete. C & c collision in pasadena on 8/23/2012 was able to make it safe by disengaging the cable/motor mechanism. Thank you, nhtsa, for contacting mitsubishi on my behalf, to get it repaired properly.
Transfer case just stopped working and left my wife stranded with two new born babys the car would not move any where and I had to have it towed home now the car wont even go into gear I took it to a dealer and they told me there was no recall on this vehicle and on this web site here is the recall.
From 10/94 thru 3/2000 I owned a mitsubishi expo lrv 3drcyl automatic, I had to replace the transmission at 85,000 in1998 and then multiple times in 1999 & 2000 till I got rid of it. Now I am noticing a lot of mitsubishi expo, eagle summit wagon ect.
Recall 97v963001, consumer's seat belt and the door latch switch were defective. The seat belt could not be utilized. The motor was disconnected by consumer in order to use the seat belt. Consumer's vehicle was not included in the re all due to vin.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
What to check before buying
- Seat belts. Belt pretensioners after airbag deployment, SRS codes.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Fuel system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
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 2026-11-06.