Mitsubishi Motors North America is conducting a safety campaign that surrounds certain models originally sold or registered in cold weather states.

The number of potentially affected units rises to 174,382 and covers the 2002-2007 Lancer, 2004 Lancer Wagon, 2003-2006 Lancer Evolution, 2003-2006 Outlander and 2007-2013 Outlander V6.

In said vehicles, prolonged exposure to salt used on the roads in wintertime may have led to corrosion to the front lower control arms, which could detach, resulting in loss of control and increasing the risk of a crash.

As usual, the automaker will contact owners to inform them on the situation and advise them to schedule an appointment with a local dealer. After these steps will be completed, a technician will inspect the possible defective parts and, depending on the level of existing corrosion, a sealing/anti-corrosion agent will be applied or the front cross member will be replaced with a new one that already has such an agent applied to it. The fix will be made free of charge.

The US States in which the affected vehicles were sold or registered are: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. An exact notification schedule has yet to be provided.