What are the most common problems with a Mitsubishi Eclipse?

At MOT, wipers is flagged more often than on other cars the same age.

What should I ask the seller before buying a used Mitsubishi Eclipse?

Any recent work on the wipers? (Flagged at MOT 2× as often on the Mitsubishi Eclipse as on other cars the same age.) Can I see the service history and receipts for any big jobs?

Used car guide · 2017–2021

Mitsubishi Eclipse common problems and MOT failures

What goes wrong on a used Mitsubishi Eclipse, year by year: known faults from UK buying guides, the parts flagged at MOT more than on other cars (from 28,347 MOTs done during 2023–2025), and what to check before you buy one.

28,347MOTs done in 2023–2025, all years of this model

11,863on the UK register

2018best year at its MOT

Pick the year

Most years have their own guide. The year is when the car was first registered (it’s on the logbook, or check the reg below).

2021 2020 2019 2018 2017

What usually goes wrong with a Mitsubishi Eclipse?

We haven’t found widely reported faults for the Mitsubishi Eclipse in the UK buying guides we use yet. That doesn’t mean it has none, so check the car carefully and look at the MOT weak spots below.

Common Mitsubishi Eclipse MOT failures to check

Parts flagged at MOT well above the usual rate for cars the same age, in more than one year. From the DVSA’s results for every MOT done in Great Britain during 2023–2025.

Wipers
up to 2× usual

Stands out on cars registered in 2019 and 2020.

Rough price £15–£60 our estimate

At the viewing: Test the wipers and washers on every speed.

Mitsubishi Eclipse MOT pass rate by year

Of the years since 2005 with plenty of MOT tests, the 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse did best (86% passed first time, 3 points above all 2018 cars) and the 2020 did worst (87%, 0 points above all 2020 cars). Older cars fail more, so compare each year with all cars registered the same year.

Year	Pass first time	All cars that year	MOT tests
2020	87%	87% +0	1,053
2019	86%	85% +1	10,629
2018	86%	83% +3	16,348
2017	85%	80% +5	317 (small sample)

Questions to ask the seller before buying a Mitsubishi Eclipse

Ask before you travel to see it. A seller who knows the car will have answers, and receipts.

Any recent work on the wipers? (Flagged at MOT 2× as often on the Mitsubishi Eclipse as on other cars the same age.)
Can I see the service history and receipts for any big jobs?

Looking at a Mitsubishi Eclipse?

Check the actual car: its own MOT history, whether it already shows these weak spots and what to ask the seller. Free, no sign-up.

Where this comes from: MOT figures are the DVSA’s anonymised results for every MOT test done in Great Britain during 2023–2025, grouped by the year each car was first registered. How many are on the road is from the Department for Transport’s vehicle licensing statistics. Known faults are from UK buying guides, in our own words, with links. How we score