There are 5 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2008 Mitsubishi Outlanderin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
WHILE BRAKING, THE DRIVER SIDE BRAKE LIGHT IS ONLY WORKING WHEN THE HEADLIGHTS ARE NOT TURNED ON. I READ UP ON MITSUBISHI RECALLING BRAKE LIGHTS ON OUTLANDERS AND WHEN I LOOK UP MY VIN FOR A RECALL THERE IS NOT ONE ON THERE FOR THAT. THIS IS AN EXTREME ISSUE. LAST YEAR WE HAD IT LOOKED AT, THE WHOLE LIGHT ASSEMBLY REPLACED, THE FUSE REPLACED AND YET NOTHING WORKED.
LOW BEAM HEADLAMPS HAVE BEEN GOING COMPLETELY OUT. THIS HAPPENED WHEN IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY . IT IS DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE AND BE SEEN WHEN THIS HAPPENED. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO A MITSUBISHI DEALER FOR REPAIR BUT THE PROBLEM HAS RECURRED 4 TIMES. I HAVE BEEN TOLD A RELAY WAS BURNT OUT THREE TIMES AND HAD BEEN REPLACED. ANOTHER TIME I WAS TOLD THERE WAS AN INTERNAL SHORT. USUALLY THE REPAIR ONLY LASTS 3-4 WEEKS AND THEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT AGAIN. THIS LAST TIME WAS ONLY 2.5 WEEKS SINCE IT WAS LAST REPAIRED. THIS HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING AND NOT TO MENTION DANGEROUS. THIS HAS OCCURRED 8/29/18, 8/10/18, 7/11/18, 6/~13/18.
THA REAR STOP LIGHT DSNT WORK..BEFORE THE LEFT SIDE LIGHT DSNT WORK AND NOW THE RIGHT SIDE DSNT WORK
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V564000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING); HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,000.
THIS VEHICLE WAS RECALLED IN 2009 FOR A FAILURE OF THE SWITCH WHICH ACTIVATES THE BRAKE LAMPS. MITSUBISHI RECORDS INDICATE THAT WE HAD THE SWITCH REPLACED IN MARCH, 2009, ALONG WITH ANOTHER RECALL ITEM. HOWEVER, THROUGHOUT THE FIRST HALF OF 2011, MY WIFE AND I HAD PROBLEMS GETTING THE CAR TO COME OUT OF 'PARK', AND WITH THE TRACTION CONTROL COMPUTER INDICATING MALFUNCTIONS. ON THE WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THOSE ISSUES INVESTIGATED, I FOLLOWED THE VEHICLE, AND NOTICED THAT MOST OF THE TIME, THE BRAKE LIGHTS DID NOT ACTIVATE WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED. THE DEALERSHIP DISCOVERED THAT ALL THREE PROBLEMS WERE CAUSED BY MALFUNCTIONS OF THE BRAKE LAMP SWITCH, AND REPLACED IT. TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, IT HAS WORKED CORRECTLY SINCE THEN. HOWEVER, I AM EXTREMELY CONCERNED ABOUT THE FAILURE OF THE SWITCH. AFTER ALL, THAT'S A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF A MAJOR SAFETY SYSTEM, AND RECALL SERVICE HAD BEEN PERFORMED WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO PREVENT THAT VERY SAME PREMATURE FAILURE. IT IS MY OPINION THAT AN IMPORTANT SAFETY COMPONENT SUCH AS THE BRAKE LAMP SYSTEM SHOULD NOT SUFFER A FAILURE AFTER 3.5 YEARS OF SERVICE AND 60,000 MILES. I'M DOUBLY CONFIDENT THAT FAILURE SHOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED AFTER THE SCRUTINY YOUR ORGANIZATION HAS ALREADY APPLIED TO THIS ISSUE. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026