The vehicle is currently experiencing severe hesitation during acceleration, slipping gears, high RPM surging, shuddering, jerking at low speeds, and complete loss of motive power. This behavior represents a critical safety hazard, particularly when merging onto highways or turning across oncoming traffic. I have yet to take it to a dealer due to financial hardship and concern for my safety of driving it to one. It has yet to be inspected. Manufacturer was contacted via email about current issues but have had no response yet. There were no warning lamps when I initially was driving away from dealer.
2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport: jerking or lurching
33 of the 186 complaints about the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport describe jerking or lurching.
- owner complaints
- 33
- of this car's complaints
- 18%
- typical mileage
- 22,000
- recalls
- 2
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls and 23 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Jerking or lurching by model year
- 20241
- 20211
- 20172
- 20162
- 201533
- 20142
What owners say
Car jerks like it’s losing power when pulling off, not sure if it’s transmission issue or engine issue
The contact owns a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing rough idling, and the failure mainly occurred while the air conditioning system was activated. Additionally, while driving at various speeds or from a complete stop, the vehicle hesitated, jerked, and responded upon depressing the accelerator pedal. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while reversing. The contact stated that the failure had caused the vehicle to bump into nearby curbs while attempting to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the cause of the failure could not be determined; however, the dealer cleaned the throttle body. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer approximately 4 to 5 times. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
The CVT transmission would lose power when making a turn over last few yrs. My safety was put at risk due to oncoming traffic could have hit the car due to loss of power. The service transmission required light just started coming on after dealing with loss of power. Car only has 106,000 miles on it. The car is available for inspection & is currently at TMT Automotive in Bremen IN. Codes coming up are transmission issues. The loss of power issue started in 2018 when the car was purchased; I did not know this was a sign of transmission issue. There was not a warranty on the car when purchased. There were no lights or warnings until last week when the car started lurching forward & light came on for the first time for transmission service. I scheduled a diagnostic appt with TMT as soon as it happened. I do not have documentation yet due to car is at the TMT Automotive, waiting to hear on 3/25/24 from shop if the transmission is bad.
The contact owns a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. The contact stated while at a stop light and attempting to accelerate the vehicle hesitated and failed to properly accelerate. The contact stated that the vehicle then lunged forward and jerked. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V563000 (Power Train). The contact was advised to contact the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 30,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle was shaking and jerking with the transmission warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the roadway and turned off the vehicle. The contact restarted the vehicle, but the vehicle was not operating normally. The vehicle was towed to the residence and the contact became aware that transmission fluid had leaked from the vehicle. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic who stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The dealer was contacted but no assistance was provided. The contact was referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V548000 (Power Train) but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 77,000.
Transmission catastrophically failed while I was driving on the highway. The transmission fluid pressure sensor error code turned on. The transmission seemed to have a delay when accelerating and caused the vehicle to shake, shudder, and jerk in and out of gear. The car cannot get above 10MPH before the issue is present. A trusted and certified transmission specialist inspected the transmission and determined that it was dead and the initial failure led to other components to fail. Since there was a delay with the acceleration, it caused the car to accelerate a moment after I let off the gas pedal to apply brakes to avoid a potential collision with another vehicle. This seems to be so common of a failure it is harder to find another person who owns or drives this model that haven’t experienced the same exact problem. There is even a pending class action lawsuit in California against the manufacturer for allegedly selling their vehicles with the defective parts while knowing well the safety risk associated with the transmission.
Hard shifting, not catching gears properly. The vehicle did not show any codes that the transmission was bad until after the transmission finally broke completely. The vehicle started jumping miles on the odometer but it did not show any codes as to what could be the issue. Dealership wouldn’t fix transmission without any codes coming off. I was driving the vehicle with my child in it and the RPM’s were shooting over 6,000 to 7,000rpms when it finally jerked into working again. Dealership claiming no faults due to the car not properly showing codes.
The contact owns a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. The contact stated while depressing the accelerator pedal, there was a delay in the vehicle response with the vehicle jerking. The contact also stated that the throttle position sensor was failing. There was an oxygen sensor warning light illuminated. The oxygen sensor was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was diagnosed; however, there were no failure codes retrieved. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. The contact stated while her husband driving 45 MPH, the vehicle started to jerk. The contact stated that the service transmission warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to park on the side of the road and restart the vehicle. The driver took to the vehicle to a nearby independent mechanic and was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The driver took the vehicle to the local dealer the following day, where it was diagnosed with needing the transmission to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 97,558.
The contact owns a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would hesitate and jerk upon the depression of the accelerator pedal as the transmission symbol would illuminate on the instrument panel. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer where they informed him that he had a defective CVT transmission module that needed to be replaced. Upon investigation, the contact linked his failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V563000(POWER TRAIN). The contact was then informed by the dealer that his vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
My car has a major problem with acceleration hesitation in transmisson that has almost caused several accidents. Also whenever I ride down the road and hit the minute bump my steering jerk really bad and it happens on both sides causing me to jerk steering wheel almost run off the road several times.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Service Manual Revision
- Service Manual Revision
- Service Manual Revision
- This Technical Service Bulletin provides service manual corrections to the CVT maintenance procedure.
- This TSB provides the addition of Diagnostic Procedure for CVT Belt Check for vehicles equipped with CVT...
- This Technical Service Bulletin was sent to dealers directing them to diagnose and test drive customer...
- This Technical Service Bulletin supersedes TSB-20-23-001, issued April, 2020, to update the Control Valve...
- Shudder or surge condition possibly caused by poor reaction of the hydraulic pressure circuit
Related recalls
Power train: automatic transmission: control module (TCM/PCM/tecm)
- What is wrong
- Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Outlander Sport vehicles and 2016 Outlander and Lancer vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a constant velocity transmission (CVT) that, in certain driving conditions, may cause a delay in the vehicle accelerating.
- Risk
- A hesitation during acceleration can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- MMNA has notified owners, and dealers will reprogram the CVT control unit with modified software, free of charge. The recall began on August 15, 2016. Owners may contact MMNA customer service at 1‑888‑648‑7820. MMNA's number for this recall is SR-16-006.
Recall number 16V563000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission: cooling unit and lines
- What is wrong
- Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain model year 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport vehicles manufactured June 25, 2014, through November 25, 2015 and equipped with a 2.0L engine and a continuously variable transmission (CVT). During assembly, a clamp for a CVT hose may not have been properly secured, allowing the hose to detach and leak transmission fluid.
- Risk
- If enough transmission fluid leaks out, the transmission may not function properly and the vehicle may become inoperable, increasing the risk of a crash. Additionally, if leaking transmission fluid contacts an a hot surface there is an increased risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Mitsubishi will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the hose clamps, correcting their installation, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on August 15, 2016. Owners may contact Mitsubishi customer service at 1‑888‑648‑7820. Mitsubishi's number for this recall is SR-16-005.
Recall number 16V548000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport jerking
Is jerking or lurching a common problem on the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport?
33 of 186 owner complaints about the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (18%) mention jerking or lurching. The model year with the most reports is 2015.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport?
There are 2 recalls and 23 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
Hesitation 48Stalling 25CVT failure 16Transmission failure 14Check engine light 13Shudder 12Loss of power 8Slipping 7Wipers 6Engine failure 5Won't shift 5
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