Buyer Research

2018 Mitsubishi Mirage — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $7,000–$10,500. There is 1 high-severity known issue you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 9 Mitsubishi Mirage years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Mitsubishi's cheapest car, and the public record for this year runs to ten complaints — small enough that it tells you very little about how the average one holds up, and we will not pretend otherwise. What it does hold is worth your time: a software recall that can switch the airbags off, four airbag filings, and two owners reporting the car stalling in traffic. The 1.2-litre three-cylinder and the CVT are slow and noisy by design, not broken. Run the VIN for the recall, drive it long enough for the engine to come up to temperature, and pay for it as the cheap appliance it is.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 10 owner complaints for the 2018 Mitsubishi Mirage, and 1 recall campaign.

That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under airbags (4), wheels and bearings (2), throttle and cruise control (2). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.

One recall campaign covers this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

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

Known Issues for the 2018 Mitsubishi Mirage

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

Airbag control unit can switch the restraint system off after a rough road (recall 17V686000)High — wallet impact

Recall 17V686000 covers 2014-2018 Mirages: the acceleration sensor inside the SRS control unit can read ordinary vibration — a broken surface, a flat tire — as a sensor fault and disable the restraint system, so the bags do nothing in a crash. The remedy is a free SRS-ECU reprogram at a Mitsubishi dealer. Three of this year's four airbag filings are owners describing bags that stayed shut in a real crash, one of them a rollover. Run the VIN through NHTSA's lookup before you hand over money, and watch the SRS lamp at key-on — it should light briefly and then go out.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (4); 1 NHTSA recall campaign on this model year.

Front tires scrubbing themselves out on a car that will not hold an alignmentMedium

Two wheel filings this year. One owner was on a second set of front tires by 20,000 miles, worn down to a solitary strip of tread in the middle despite rotation and balancing, and still wearing after the selling dealer aligned the car; the other had a rear hubcap leave the wheel at 40 mph. The Mirage is a very light car on skinny budget rubber, so alignment sloppiness shows up in months rather than years. Crouch at each front wheel and run a hand across the tread: shoulders worn away with good rubber in the centre means you are buying an alignment and a pair of tires on day one.

Repair cost (estimate): $350–$700 for a four-wheel alignment and a pair of front tires

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under wheels and bearings (2).

Stalling at road speed, and one report of the car surging from a stopMedium

Both speed-control filings are the kind you want to know about. One owner's car stalled repeatedly between 30 and 60 mph, again mid-left-turn, and again after refuelling; another says the car accelerated on its own while pulling away from a stop and hit a railroad crossing. Two reports in a ten-complaint record is not a pattern and we are not calling it one, but a Mirage that cuts out in traffic is a Mirage you cannot use. Have the car scanned before you buy — a stored crank sensor, cam sensor or fuel-pump code costs ten minutes to read and tells you more than a short test drive will.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$900 depending on whether it is the throttle body, a crank sensor or the fuel pump

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under throttle and cruise control (2).

The CVT is the part that can total this carMedium

Nothing in this year's ten complaints touches the transmission. That means nobody filed, not that the belt box is sound — and on a car this cheap the transmission is the one repair that costs more than the vehicle is worth. Take it to 45 mph under steady throttle and listen for a whine that rises and falls with engine revs, then pull away from three separate stops feeling for a shudder or a flare where the revs climb and the car does not. Ask to see a CVT fluid service on paper; at this price point most owners have never had one done.

Repair cost (estimate): $3,000–$4,500 for a replacement CVT; $150–$250 for a fluid service — around 51% of what this car is typically worth

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗SRS lamp that stays lit after start-up, or never lights at all
✗Front tires worn at the shoulders with tread left in the middle
✗A whine from the transmission that tracks engine revs at a steady 45 mph
✗Any stumble or hesitation when you lift off and get back on the throttle
✗Seller who cannot say whether the airbag software recall was done

Good Signs

✓Recall 17V686000 shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓A CVT fluid service on a receipt with the mileage written on it
✓Four matching tires wearing evenly across the full tread
✓A clean scan printed out with the current mileage on it
✓Smooth, steady pull from a stop to 45 mph on a cold engine