2003 Mitsubishi Outlander consumer reviews

I bought this car used from a dealer who bought it from a Rental Company. It had 32000 miles on it when I bought it in 2004. It's now 2019 and I have 180,000 miles on it. Of course the usual maintenance, and also went through 2 Fans for cooling. This has been the best car I ever had. I will never buy a America Car again. Japan knows how to build a car that last.

I bought my 2003 Outlander on Halloween of 2002. I am still driving it as my every day car as of Feb 2nd 2019. I have 48,000 actual miles on it. I have spent the usual upkeep of brakes and oil changes over the years. This year the salt of South Dakota finally got to her and I had to replace the Gas tank/filler neck/exhaust pipe and muffler due to rust. This car has been very reliable with few and minor recalls at first. The price of the vehicle new was awesome considering I got mine with AWD. It does use oil. I change the oil spring and fall, no exceptions. It will go through a quart in about a year otherwise. I just changed the coolant this year. No cooling issues up to this point though. My heater core did need a backflush after that because I lost heat at idle. Not big deal. Mine did rust in front of the rear tires a few years into ownership. I was disappointing about that but it doesn't effect operation. It is just a cosmetic issue. I see there are some really nice ones in CA with no rust. I might buy one of those and have it shipped to SD. I am tossing that idea around. My next new car is a Nissan Rogue so I didn't go back for seconds with another outlander just because they changed the design to one I didn't like anymore.

Car is very reliable when maintained, seats four comfortably, steering arms seem to require ball joints and other misc steering omponents every two years or so. Engine runs great.

i think it is great just dont like the interior......................................................................

When I purchased this truck/SUV with the help of my cousins, I fell in love immediately!! The color was perfect, the size was perfect, and it would be great for all seasons. I am an animal rescuer so I would have the space for crates and supplies. My only surprise was the amount of fuel that this little 4 cylinder consumes! I had a Ford Focus prior to this and was used to one fill-up a month and now I need about 3 fill-ups for about the same traveling.

Brought the car brand new in 2003 as a second car for the winter seasons. Kept the basic maintenance on schedule. Lacks speedy functionality but a good reliable car for around town errands. My Xls has 111480 miles on it. This car has lasted more then my expectations. Not to bad on long trips. Overall not a bad crossover for the money.

Fast, friendly and easy car buying! Dreaded buying another auto but suprisingly, it was very easy this time! Should have come here 3 years ago!

Nice car, never die or broken. Japanese quality. Gas economy. I love this car, the baddest think is not everyone love it as I am. Texas people doesn't love Mitsubishi.

Bought new in 2003, now at 126,000. Little low on power and MPG. Had a recall for the radiator fan driver and a warranty failure for the fuel pump. Other than normal wear items such as brakes, belts and tires I had to replace the radiator due to a seam leak, throttle position sensor (check engine light) and the power steering hose due to seepage.Everything else is original including A/C, starter, alternator, water pump and transmission. I guess for 13 years not too bad so I am going for 175,000!

Actually, our Outlander 03 had a radiator problem where the radiator sprung a leak which caused our car to overheat several times. We did not know that it was the problem and when we finally found out, it was a year and a half before we had the radiator replaced. Despite that, the Outlander has not really caused us that much problem. It was never in a repair shop except for that one. It is east to maintain and fun to drive. It is a bit sluggish during acceleration and I am pretty sure other SUVs will leave this car in the dust, but we are more about comfort and dependability than fast cars. It has brought us to 5 states with not much of complaint. We had our old reliable for 10 years now and it just kept going, especially after that radiator replacement. I replaced the timing belt, water pump, brakes and changed oil at the proper time and it gave me back great service in return. It does have problems tackling steep inclines and mountain roads, and I hope the next OUtlander designs had solved these problems. I also have a friend who has the AWD ( I have the front wheel drive), and he said he has not encountered a problem with it, all he spends with it are the usual maintenance.