Mitsubishi’s Recalling Over 140,000 Lancers And Outlanders In The US

Mitsubishi has announced a rather large recall for an array of models due to a problem under the hood.

The campaign covers certain 2009-12 Lancer, 2010-12 Lancer Sportback, 2008-12 Outlander, and 2011-12 Outlander Sport models. That comes to 14 different models by year, amounting to an estimated 141,053 vehicles across the United States.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the problem is with the automatic tensioner flange on the drive belt, which may crack and allow the accessory drive belt to detach. If that happens, the battery could discharge and the engine could stall, which the administration says could increase the risk of a crash.

To fix the problem, Mitsubishi will notify owners of the affected vehicles to bring them into their local dealerships to have the belt tensioner replaced with an improved version. The recall campaign is slated to kick off at the end of March.

Though not as big as some of the recalls we’ve seen come across our desks here at Carscoops, that total of 141,053 vehicles is a pretty big number for Mitsubishi. The Japanese automaker typically sells around 100,000 vehicles in the US each year, for a market share of about half a percent. In 2012 (the last model year of the affected vehicles), Mitsubishi Motors of North America moved less than 58,000 units in the United States – which is significantly less than the number of vehicles being recalled under this campaign.

Now tied in with Renault and Nissan, and under the direction of Carlos Ghosn, Mitsubishi hopes to increase its market share by focusing principally on crossovers.