Selling an old Mitsubishi Cordia
The Cordia's whole NHTSA file is five complaints long. Four of them are on the 1988, and three name the seat belts. For a car last sold here in 1988, that makes the recall record more useful than the complaint count.
- Model years in EPA data
- 1984-1988
- NHTSA complaints
- 5 (4 on the 1988)
- Recall campaigns
- 1 (front belt buckles, 1986-1988)
- Transmission (Wikipedia)
- 2x4-speed Super Shift manual
- Successor
- Mitsubishi Eclipse
- Production (Wikipedia)
- 1982-1990, Japan
If you have one sitting in a garage or a field, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and there's free pickup anywhere in the US.
The car Mitsubishi replaced with the Eclipse
Wikipedia lists one generation, built from 1982 to 1990 and classed as a compact. It had front-wheel drive and is listed as related to the Tredia sedan. It took over from the Lancer Celeste, and the Eclipse replaced it. The engines listed are a 1,410 cc 4G12, a 1,597 cc 4G32, a turbocharged 4G32T and a 1,755 cc 4G37. The transmission entry stands out: a "2x4-speed Super Shift" manual.
The EPA classed the Cordia as a subcompact and lists it for 1984 through 1988.
What owners told NHTSA
1984-1986: nothing on file
The first three EPA model years have no complaints. The 1986 is still covered by the buckle recall below.
1987-1988: belts, an engine and a suspension
The 1987 has one complaint, about the engine and engine cooling. The 1988 has four: three about seat belts and one about the suspension. None report a crash, fire or injury.
The buckle recall
Campaign 95V103004, reported May 24, 1995, lists 1986-1988 Cordias. The defect: the front-seat buckle's red push button, labeled "PRESS," may break apart, and a loose fragment can lodge in the latch. NHTSA's listed remedy is for owners to examine both front buckles, paying attention to that red button.
The campaign covers 658,000 vehicles in total, shared with the Mighty Max pickup and the Van, so the Cordia's own share is unknown.
Cordia complaints and recalls by year
| Model year | Complaints | Recall campaigns | Components named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-1985 | 0 | 0 | none filed |
| 1986 | 0 | 1 | none filed |
| 1987 | 1 | 1 | Engine and engine cooling |
| 1988 | 4 | 1 | Seat belts (3), suspension (1) |
From NHTSA's complaint file as pulled on October 10, 2026. Later model years usually get less road time to draw reports; with the newest Cordia dating from 1988, that hardly matters here.
Restore it or sell it?
A Cordia with the turbo engine or the Super Shift gearbox may interest an enthusiast. A tired base car usually won't. Price the work in writing, and be honest about how long it has sat. Rubber, fuel lines and brakes go bad on a parked car; sitting for years covers what to expect. If the restoration started and stalled, see old project car.
How to sell your Cordia whole
- Find the title, or see selling with no title if it's gone.
- Get an offer online or call (877) 421-6008.
- Tell us about the storage spot, say a covered garage, a side yard or a field, and whether the tires are flat.
- Leave it together. Don't pull the engine or the gearbox first; missing parts change the offer.
Other models are on the Mitsubishi page.
Questions people ask
- How many NHTSA complaints does the Cordia have?
- The Cordia had five on October 10, 2026, the day we checked. The 1987 has one and the 1988 has four, and three of the five concern seat belts.
- Does the seat belt buckle recall cover the Cordia?
- Yes. Campaign 95V103004 lists 1986-1988 Cordias, for front buckles whose red push buttons may break apart and foul the latch. NHTSA's recall search takes a VIN and shows whether the campaign is still open on a given car.
- Will you buy a Cordia that doesn't run?
- Yes. We buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US. If it lives under a cover in a garage, that's fine; just say so.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.
- EPA fuel economy data download (Cordia, 1984-1988) fueleconomy.gov
- NHTSA datasets: complaints flat file, downloaded October 10, 2026 nhtsa.gov
- NHTSA recall 95V103004: front seat belt buckle release buttons nhtsa.gov
- NHTSA: Check for recalls by VIN nhtsa.gov
- Wikipedia: Mitsubishi Cordia (production, engines, transmission, successor) en.wikipedia.org