MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE vs TOYOTA AVALON

The MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE (1989–2012, 24 model years) carries 2,784 NHTSA consumer complaints and 48 safety recalls, while the TOYOTA AVALON (1995–2022, 28 model years) carries 4,221 complaints and 81 recalls. Severity indicators for the pair split as follows: 328 vs 669 crashes, 83 vs 34 fires, and 13 vs 33 reported fatalities.

Raw complaint counts favor whichever nameplate has fewer vehicles on the road, so the cleaner lens is components: which specific part families concentrate each model's filings? For the MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE, the leading complaint category is service brakes (216 filings), followed by wheels:rim and engine and engine cooling:engine. For the TOYOTA AVALON, it is vehicle speed control (515), ahead of air bags and steering. When the two vehicles cluster around the same component, the problem is likely a shared supplier or a shared federal standard under stress; when they diverge, each nameplate has its own defect signature independent of the other.

NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gives the MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE an average 0/5 crash-test rating versus 4.2/5 for the TOYOTA AVALON, aggregated across all model years with published scores. Use the side-by-side table below as your scorecard, but do not treat it as a verdict. Recall counts tell you how many defects the manufacturer has already been compelled to remedy; complaint counts tell you what owners are still flagging today; and safety ratings tell you how the vehicle performs in standardized barrier tests — three different lenses on the same underlying question. The "also compare" links at the bottom of this page let you triangulate against neighboring nameplates in each model's competitive set.