4.3

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
26,200 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 Mitsubishi Lancer drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2016 Mitsubishi Lancer:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2016 Mitsubishi Lancer Owner Comments

problem #15

Jul 152023

Lancer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I purchased this car in 2016 brand new from the dealer. Have kept up with its maintenance but in the past couple of months, the car is not taking off. What I mean by that is that the transmission slips and won't allow the car to gain speed there is a delay in the car accelerating. This is the second time that it has happened this year and its very unsafe to use a car this way and its less than 10 years old.

- Woodland Park, NJ, USA

problem #14

Jul 062023

Lancer

  • miles
CVT transmission will not catch gears as it keeps slipping. Leaves it in limp mode. Unable to accelerate beyond 25MPH. CVT fluid/ filter Service intervals have been correct as well as a fresh J4 CVT fluid/filter service at dealership. This had occurred at 103, XXX miles. Wildly, I was on my way in to my appointment with the dealership to do a CVT Fluid/Filter Replacement when the issue arises. Of course, just after warranty had expired. Awaiting dealership to give a diagnosis.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #13

Dec 192022

Lancer

  • miles
2016 SE 2.4L AWC. Purchased car in February 2022 at 66k miles. In December of 2022 at 78k miles, car lost majority power while traveling at 40 MPH, threw 'Tranmission Servie Required' warning light. Drove 3 blocks home, parked for 2 hours. Turned car on and drove normally without lights. Previous event happened x3 before changing transmission fluid in February 2023. From February to May, roughly 500 miles, no codes occured. However, occasional hesitation when accelerating from a stop. Then, in May 2023, while traveling 80 MPH, RPMs shot to 6000, car began to lose power. Pulled to shoulder, turned car off and on, and was able to travel home without issue, another 15 miles.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #12

Jul 142022

Lancer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I started to experience hesitation in the cars power and shifting -??gears-?? in the cvt, it started to feel very rough and the rpm would jump up and down. The owner of the dealership tried to tell me it was normal. I knew something was wrong. I left the dealership and not even kidding-?? 20 minutes later my cvt gave out and the light came on. I purchased the vehicle with 27,700 miles. I was shocked, they had it replaced but i never received any paperwork on where it was replaced. The car started to feel fine for about 20k miles and then boom it-??s back. I am going to take my car into the dealership once again and I am just not a happy overall owner. I have had over $21,000 in repairs on this vehicle! We-??re talking from wiper motor going out to exhaust pipes needing replaced. The warranty company has luckily saved me with most repairs but i-??m sure they are not happy either. I am now at 95k miles and on my way to take it in to see what-??s wrong this time. The car has terrible acceleration and just doesn-??t want to shift. I shouldn-??t be feeling a huge jerk around 30mph from a cvt. I also told the owner of my dealership and his mechanics that their is a weird odor that smells like radiator fluid coming from the passenger floor. It-??s completely soaked all the time and even has a weird texture to it. The owner and mechanics once again tried to make me feel stupid. This is unrepaired and has been happening since i bought the vehicle. I have been trying to get it fixed but i-??m told -??you spilled something-?? which is documented in the repairs notes. I just want to drive this car without something else giving out. I believe my dealership can-??t give me the help my car needs and i-??m concerned knowing i still owe $11k on the vehicle. Main Concern - 2nd CVT failing (something was missed that-??s causing this) - Passenger Floor Boards Wet (getting no help and being told i spilled something)

- Erie, PA, USA

problem #11

Aug 272017

Lancer 4-cyl

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Mitsubishi Lancer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would hesitate upon depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. The contact then stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle stalled without warning. After multiple failed attempts to restart the vehicle, the contact towed it to his home where it remained. The contact called the manufacturer on multiple occasions and was initially informed that his vehicle was previously included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V563000 (Power Train) however, no further assistance could be offered because of the prior recall repair. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

- Lake Elsinore, CA, USA

Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...

problem #10

Aug 102021

Lancer

  • miles
It I not wanting to go or like ir catch gears

- Marion, NC, USA

problem #9

Nov 122021

Lancer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car has 76,470 miles. Took to dealership due to loss of power and jerking hard during takeoffs and said that it needed new transmission. Dealership looked at it said it had internal failure codes for transmission. When doing research there was a recall in 2016 for this specific car for issues that this car is having and the specific transmission. Spoke with woman on hotline and was told to file a report since some cars could have been overlooked in the recall possibly. Recall was for 2016 Mitsubishi lancers with CVT transmission and was made during the time frame that the recall was going on.

- Hildebran, NC, USA

problem #8

Oct 082021

Lancer

  • miles
I was driving on the way home, my car started to skip and jerking. Went to Mitsubishi and told me I needed a whole new transmission replacement on a 2016 Lancer with only 81,000 miles on it. It seemed to never catch up to speed smoothly. Which I was terrified I was going to wreck otw home that day.

- Cross Hill, SC, USA

problem #7

Oct 252021

Lancer

  • miles
Our 2016 lancer has suddenly started hesitating/ taking seconds to shift from park to reverse/drive. Also while driving vehicle its rpms fluctuate causing a shudder and surge in power or acceleration. This is a very alarming problem as it puts mine and my kids safety as it hesitates to shift and while driving it loses power and then powers up by itself. We have taken to a transmission shop (HIgH TECH Transmission) and now a dealer (Mission Mitsubishi) and both have replicated problem and pulled code but dealer will not honor recall or repair it. There was a safety recall for 2016 lancers with a cvt8 (SR-16-006) that produces a code P084A as well which and that if both were present a replacement transmission should be approved. All information was pulled from Mitsubishi website, and I called them and spoke to Carla did not give a last name and she advised me that our lancer doesn-??t have a recall and I said well is it possible you-??ll missed some vehicles that have the same problem from the recalls you-??ll have already put out? And she got snappy and said to contact safer car.gov; so here I am, presenting facts to you'll that my 2016 lancer may and hopefully is part of a recall which in result to not being identified or checked out caused more damage as stated it would on the manufacturers website. And needs to be fixed due to not being identified in recall so preventive measures could have been taken. Please our vehicle is experiencing the problem as a recall Mitsubishi put out but failed to identify our lancer and now is experiencing hesitation in CVT trans, and shudder/surge in transmission.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #6

Mar 012021

Lancer

  • 98,000 miles
Automatic cvt transmission began failing at 60,000 miles. Transmission fluid was changed at 30K miles, 55K miles, 80K, and 98,000 miles. Transmission completely failed at 98,000 miles. This is due to a manufacturer defect and we should not have to pay for this out of pocket. Please open a recall. This has been reported several times on this VIN series. The vehicle hesitates to switch gears and cannot enter 4th gear or higher. Transmission slips with acceleration. Please recall!

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #5

Mar 072021

Lancer

  • 83,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

As I was driving it it seems to hesitate on accelerating after a few stops the transmission light would come on for a little bit then go off. Same with the check engine light. As I was driving it to work on the highway.. it suddenly started losing power and I was able to pull over and park it at a gas station where it went completely dead.. I had aaa tow it.. it started up but the shifting is not engaging right away. Had the software updated in 2019.. the cvt transmission are full of problems. It seems to have the same symptoms as the recall but my car was not recalled according to the VIN number.. I had a flush done recently and I have also had the oil changed when needed. The acceleration hesitation then loss of power while driving 60 on the freeway is a safety issue... a lot of semi trucks travel that highway and they cant stop when a car loses power in front of them.

- Bellingham, WA, USA

problem #4

Mar 012019

Lancer

  • 98,600 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Mitsubishi Lancer. After coming to a stop, the vehicle would not accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. In addition, the service transmission warning indicator illuminated intermittently. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 16V563000(power train). The contact attempted to notify the manufacturer, but his call was not answered. Bakersfield Mitsubishi (4600 wible rd, bakersfield, ca 93313, (661) 398-9422) was also contacted, but a representative gave him information regarding an unrelated vehicle issue. The contact was provided a quote for the repair cost and was offered no further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 98,600.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #3

Apr 102019

Lancer

  • 69,000 miles
The light stating to service my transmission came on. The maintenance mileage was within stated parameters.service was completed, transmission fluid changed. Drove away and the light turned on. My transmission failed in April of 2019.

- Kathryn, ND, USA

problem #2

Jan 102017

Lancer

  • 2,000 miles
I have noticed an issue with my cars acceleration from a 0 mile per hour starting point to a 30 mph. It is very sudden and random. It has occurred several times from a stop at a traffic light or a stop sign. There is a second to as long as 4 second hesitation in acceleration. Accelerator pedal is pressed and the car takes off for a brief second or 2 before the few second hesitation occurs. It can be dangerous if this occurs when pulling out on a busy highway with traffic coming. For those few seconds there is nothing you can do but press the gas pedal harder when though the car is not doing anything. After those few seconds the car transmission kicks in and you eventually have control in acceleration once again. Took to the dealer today. They said no recalls on the vehicle. Online I see a similar recall on the outlander transmission but service tech says he checked and nothing on the Lancer. They drove my car and of course it don't happen. It's very random. It usually happens once a week. It has prob occurred about 10 times if not more. There is no way to expect it so now I have to take extreme caution when I'm about to pull out on a busy road with traffic coming my way. Has anyone else had this issue with their Lancer?

- Athens, GA, USA

problem #1

Mar 222017

Lancer

  • 2,400 miles
I have been driving this car for a couple of months now and every once in a while very randomly I experienced a loss of acceleration completely. It happens after a long period of driving and when I'm coming up to a stop sign and going to accelerate again after doing research online and taking it to my dealership they will not do anything because they cannot figure out the problem I found a recall on the NHTSA website for my vehicle with my VIN number included in the range of in numbers experiencing this exact problem. I need help getting my dealership to acknowledge this because it is not on their website. I have almost been rear-ended multiple times because of this problem and I am afraid for my safety

- Bellevue, NE, USA

Not what you are looking for?