‘Defect’ Can Cause 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Hood to ‘Flutter,’ Open While Driving, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action alleges the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander SUV comes equipped with a defective hood that can flutter and bounce while the vehicle is being driven. 

The 37-page case claims Mitsubishi knew of the Outlander hood defect almost immediately after the vehicles went on sale in March 2021 and issued a technical service bulletin in an attempt to correct the problem, which involved adjusting the hood latch and bumper stops and replacing the hood’s weather stripping. The suit says these measures have failed to remedy the hood defect, which poses a significant safety hazard given an Outlander’s hood may become unlatched and open at any moment. 

Per the case, the apparent defect can become more troublesome as a vehicle’s speed increases, or when driving in windy conditions or over speed bumps. 

According to the lawsuit, the automaker “knew of and concealed” the hood defect and its attendant safety issues from drivers at the time of sale and repair and thereafter. Despite possessing ample notice of the problem, Mitsubishi has nevertheless declined to recall the 2022 Outlander or offer customers a suitable repair or non-defective hood replacement, the case alleges.

After issuing the March 2021 technical service bulletin, Mitsubishi issued another the following month titled “2022 Outlander Hood Flutter Adjustment Special Customer Satisfaction Campaign,” the complaint relays. The directive stated, according to the lawsuit, that Mitsubishi dealers were to install “countermeasure weather-strips to resolve a hood flutter centered around air intrusion to the engine compartment.” The suit contends that this bulletin amounts to Mitsubishi’s recognition of air intrusion into the engine compartment as the cause of the hood flutter. 

From there, Mitsubishi released at least two more technical service bulletins, both in June 2021, on the hood flutter problem, the suit says. The countermeasures detailed in those notices indicate Mitsubishi’s apparent inability to permanently fix the Outlander hood fluttering issue, the case argues, stating that one bulletin instructed dealers to perform the repairs “on a customer complaint basis only.” 

In December 2021, Mitsubishi issued yet another technical service bulletin in which it instructed dealers to install a new modified and supposedly reinforced hood on all 2022 Outlander vehicles, the lawsuit continues. In that letter, however, Mitsubishi said that “there is an extremely limited number of new hoods currently available,” the case states.

To date, Mitsubishi has continued selling and leasing the 2022 Outlander without disclosing the hood defect to buyers or lessees, the suit says. 

The lawsuit looks to represent all persons or entities in the United States who bought or leased any 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander vehicle. 

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