1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The newest campaign is 04V428000. NHTSA received the report on 1 Sep 2004. The NHTSA record gives the component Equipment / Other / Labels. NHTSA has 129 complaints on file for this model year. 1 NHTSA investigation names this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 04V428000, in the NHTSA record

Mitsubishi caribbean will mail a customer notification letter containing a written description and a graphic of the bi-lingual dashboard air bag warning label. In addition, all current 2000-2004 nativa owners will also receive replacement air bag alert labels for the sun visors. This recall is expected to begin during march or april 2005. The notification to the nativa owners is expected to begin during april or may 2005. Owners should contact mitsubishi caribbean at 1-787-251-8715.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 30 Sep 2026. Recall file through 30 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

4 campaigns, newest first. 713,113 units in total.

04V4280001 Sep 2004Equipment / Other / Labels
00V42100118 Dec 2000Suspension / Front / Control Arm / Lower Ball Joint
98V06900126 Mar 1998Power Train / Automatic Transmission
98V0450013 Mar 1998Vehicle Speed Control

04V428000Received 1 Sep 2004. 100,432 units.
Equipment / Other / Labels
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Certain passenger vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, 'occupant crash protection.' the bilingual english/spanish removable air bag warning labels affixed to the dash and to the sunvisor do not meet the size requirements of the standard.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This does not meet the requirements of the standard.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Mitsubishi caribbean will mail a customer notification letter containing a written description and a graphic of the bi-lingual dashboard air bag warning label. In addition, all current 2000-2004 nativa owners will also receive replacement air bag alert labels for the sun visors. This recall is expected to begin during march or april 2005. The notification to the nativa owners is expected to begin during april or may 2005. Owners should contact mitsubishi caribbean at 1-787-251-8715.
Report filed by MITSUBISHI CARIBBEAN.
00V421001Received 18 Dec 2000. 567,432 units.
Suspension / Front / Control Arm / Lower Ball Joint
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. If the rubber boots on the lower lateral arm ball joints of the front suspension were damaged during assembly, dirt and water can intrude. Also, mmc has added the potential of leaking moisture, which can cause the ball stud to corrode.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This condition could cause the lower lateral arm ball joint to separate, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. This campaign supercedes mmc's previous safety recall campaign, see 99v-066.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will inspect the lower lateral arm ball joint for wear. Ball joints that exhibit wear beyond the established tolerance will be replaced with newly designed lateral arm ball joints. Ball joints that are within the established tolerance will be cleaned and a special sealant will be applied to prevent intrusion of moisture.
Report filed by MITSUBISHI AMERICA. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 2 Apr 2001.
98V069001Received 26 Mar 1998. 24,275 units.
Power Train / Automatic Transmission
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Lockup of the transfer case can occur due to insufficient lubrication.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This condition can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will inspect the vehicles for adequacy of the transfer case oil volume, transfer case oil leakage, and operational degradation of the transfer case mechanism. If oil volume is insufficient, the appropriate amount of oil will be added. If there is transfer case oil leakage, affected components will be replaced. If the transfer case shows operational degradation, the transfer case will be replaced.
Report filed by MITSUBISHI AMERICA. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 20 Apr 1998.
98V045001Received 3 Mar 1998. 20,974 units.
Vehicle Speed Control
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The dash panel pad can shift interferring with the throttle cable control.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
The throttle cable control would not return to idle increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will remove a portion of the dash panel pad so it cannot interfere with the throttle cable control.
Report filed by MITSUBISHI AMERICA. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 8 Apr 1998.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

129 complaints, 174 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse
All 1998 vehicles

1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	1998 Eclipse	All 1998 vehicles	Eclipse, all years	Mentions
Power Train	172.4	90.4	118.9	30
Engine and Engine Cooling	132.2	123.7	94.4	23
Air Bags	103.4	50.6	64.3	18
Suspension	74.7	82.6	58.5	13
Structure	63.2	45.8	77.9	11
Electrical System	57.5	82.5	63.2	10
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	51.7	106.9	70.7	9
Latches/Locks/Linkages	46	12.3	11.8	8
Visibility	40.2	56.1	37.3	7
Vehicle Speed Control	40.2	43.2	19.4	7

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 20.

Complaints that report a crash: 22
Complaints that report a fire: 5
Injuries in the complaints: 13
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 26 Feb 2016

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1999, with 24 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
RQ98007	Recall query	TRANSFER CASE LEAKAGE	Power Train / Automatic Transmission	11 May 1998	28 Aug 1998	98V168001

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 1998 Mitsubishi EclipseThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/mitsubishi/eclipse/1998/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 30 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: MITSUBISHI CARIBBEAN

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse?: 713,113 units in 4 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Mitsubishi Eclipse have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 30 recall campaigns for the Mitsubishi Eclipse, model years 1989 to 2012. 4 of them name the 1998 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse name most often?: Power Train: 30 of 174 component mentions, or 172.4 per 1,000. For all 1998 vehicles the figure is 90.4 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse open?: No. The 1 investigation that names this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.