Buyer Research

2014 Mitsubishi Lancer — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $6,000–$11,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 8 Mitsubishi Lancer years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Twenty-three complaints and not one recall campaign on this year's record. Read that carefully: it is an absence of filings, not a clean bill of health — Mitsubishi was selling very few cars by 2014, so the sample is small. What is in there is weighted: 39% is the transmission, and three of the twenty-three complaints involve a fire, which is a high share for any car. The CVT is the thing to test, because it is the thing that fails here — a hesitation from a stop, a 'slow down' message, or a cold car that revs and will not move. Owners also report receiving Takata airbag inflator notices for this car, so run the VIN through NHTSA's free lookup before you commit. A documented CVT service history is worth more than anything else you can ask for on this one.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 23 owner complaints for the 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer, and no recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 39% of them are about one thing — the transmission and drivetrain. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

Looked at and set aside: airbags (5) — Five complaints, and three of them are non-deployment reports filed after a crash — one at 40 mph into a pole in the snow. There is no way for a buyer to inspect for this at the car, and the filings do not describe a mechanism specific to the 2014 Lancer. The fourth is a warning symbol question and the fifth is an owner waiting on Takata inflator parts, which is a VIN lookup rather than a defect we can write up here.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

CVT hesitates from a stop, flashes a 'slow down' message, or will not move when coldHigh — wallet impact

The single biggest cluster on this year, and the complaints line up: a one to two second delay before the car moves off, a 'slow down' warning on the instrument panel followed by a stall, and a cold car revving to 1,500–2,000 rpm before it will creep forward. One owner at 100,000 miles had it stop driving altogether with Drive selected. The CVT is heat-sensitive and fluid-sensitive, and Mitsubishi's powertrain warranty does not transfer to a second owner. Test it stone cold — first start of the day, before the seller has warmed it up for you.

Repair cost (estimate): $200–$450 for a fluid service; $3,200–$5,200 for a replacement CVT — around 61% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (9).

Engine failure while driving, with three fire reports across a small recordHigh — wallet impact

Three of this year's twenty-three complaints mention a fire. One owner describes complete engine failure in motion that turned into a fire; an Evolution owner describes losing power, hearing loud exhaust noise, and finding a small engine fire after pulling over. That is a small number of reports, and it is also a disproportionate share of a small record, so it belongs on the page rather than in a footnote. Before you buy, have a mechanic look for oil weeping onto the exhaust manifold, check for a burnt smell at the front of the engine bay, and pull a compression test on a high-mileage car.

Repair cost (estimate): $3,500–$7,000 for an engine replacement at an independent shop — around 82% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (3).

AWD pump on Ralliart and Evolution cars fails and disables the differentialsMedium

An owner puts the part price at over $1,700 and says the pump sits where road spray reaches it. When the AYC pump quits, the active differentials switch off and the car's handling in the wet changes — it still drives, but not the way it was designed to. Only the all-wheel-drive versions carry this hardware; an ordinary front-drive ES or SE does not have it at all. On an AWD car, check the dash for a four-wheel-drive service message and get underneath to look at the pump housing for corrosion.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,200–$3,000 — about 35% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (9).

Loud thumping from the front end at road speedMedium

A 2024 complaint describes an abnormally loud thumping from underneath at about 45 mph, with the driver pulling over and finding a problem at the front driver's side. On a car of this age and platform the usual candidates are a broken coil spring, a failed strut mount, or corrosion at a suspension mounting point — and the last of those is the one that matters. Put it on a lift, grab each front wheel top and bottom and rock it, and look at the metal around the lower control arm mounts for rust that flakes away in layers.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$900 per corner for springs, struts or mounts

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the body and structure (3).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A pause of a second or more before the car moves off from a stop
✗'Slow down' message on the instrument panel
✗Revving with the car barely creeping on a cold first start
✗Burnt or oily smell at the front of the engine bay
✗Thumping or knocking from the front end over bumps at 40 mph and up

Good Signs

✓CVT fluid changed on schedule with dated invoices naming the correct Mitsubishi fluid
✓Airbag inflator recall confirmed complete on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓A cold first-start drive-off that is immediate and smooth
✓Solid, painted metal at the front suspension mounting points on a lift
✓Compression test results within spec, written down by the shop that did it