Owners have filed 1,357 complaints on the Mitsubishi Galant, covering 1986–2012. The system named most often is Service Brakes (215 reports). Worst years by volume: 1999, 1994, 1995; cleanest: 1986, 2011, 1987. 189 reports describe a crash, 53 a fire, 6 a death. On average the car was 4.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Mitsubishi Galant
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,357 Galant complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 215 Read
I have taken my 2004 mitsubishi galant to the dealer over 9 times for my brakes. I contacted a lawyer for the lemon law and was advised that due to my mileage I didn't qualify for a lemon return. He advised me to settle with mitsubishi and move on. In the process of the attorney processing my settlement, my vehicle…
When the brake pedal was applied, they failed to respond which caused the consumer to hit a guardrail. *ak the vehicle was serviced in aug of 2003 and the consumer wa told the rotors were bad. Three months later the rotors went bad again and the dealer machined them and two days later the accident occurred. The…
I purchased my car on august 10. 2005, at approximately 32,000 miles. On november 8, 2005 I was driving on I-285. I went to apply my brakes, but my car failed to stop, and skidded for up to a minute. On november 11, 2005, I had my car serviced at the mitsubishi dealership. It was stated that my back brakes, were not…
Suspension 164 Read
Me and my wife were driving about 45 miles an hour when the rear end of my car started sliding I try to correct the fish tale but the driver rear tire and rim folded under the car which cause the car to flip several times no airbags deployed the car was so crushed I had to dig down into the ditch to free myself from…
The consumer's daughter had difficulty with the steering which ended up on the opposite side of the road crashing into an embankment. 3 years after accident, consumer received a recall notice on lower ball joints that could lead to loss of steering. *la the consumer's daughter was injured and feels that the dealer…
Lower lateral arm ball joint broke caused my car to crash into a parked vehicle as I was driving at a low rate of speed
Power Train 161 Read
Did not go into or stay in park
Vehicle experienced fire in the engine compartment, claim 09-5041-237
The insured stated that possibly, the cooler line caused fire.*jb(claim#43-r857-994)
Air Bags 143 Read
Had an accident the drivers airbag did not deploy causing injury. Tt
There was a police chase, the car that was been chased hit another car the both cars hit my car, my car was is total. Non of the 8 air bag deployed even though the impact hard both from the front & side
The contact owns a 2010 mitsubishi galant. The contact was driving 35 mph and crashed into the side of another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy nor did the seat belt restrain properly. The contact was thrown forward abruptly and sustained injuries to the neck. The vehicle was destroyed. A police report was not…
Engine And Engine Cooling 111 Read
Air bags didn't come out when accident occurred, there is smoke coming from exhaust not something is eating the gas up there is leakage coming from engine, oil, and radiator (unknown areas)
While driving, vehicle began sputtering, consumer pulled over to see flames and smoke, there was a recall, c0104c, regarding sparking in the engine which could cause a fire, also, transmission cooler line was found defective, the fires cause is unknown. Ohio traffic crash report
Vehicle experienced fire in the engine compartment, possibly caused by a faulty transmission cooler line, claim 43-r857-994
Electrical System 103 Read
My passenger side door started smoking and it melted the window wiring and door lock clicker and the motor in the window and melted the door a little bit. It should have blown the fuse for the window but it didn't it started smoking
I started my car in the afternoon, then I turned on my radio 3 minutes later. Then, I smelled like something burnt, that's when I saw smoke came out of the front right passenger seat door. I stopped in a random tire shop to see what was going on. A few minutes later, I saw fire coming out of the loudspeaker on the…
Dt: on 7-11-05 the vehicle caught on fire. Driver and passenger drove on and off all day. The front passenger door burst into flames. The doors automatically locked, and the windows rolled up and down on their own. Doors would not open. The driver was able to kick the door open. Both passengers exited through the…
Structure 94 Read
Dt: while driving on the four lane highway, the car dropped on the passenger side causing the car to spin out of control. Went to the other side of the highway and stopped in the medium. Also the engine lights stayed on. Did take to the dealer and they said it was fix but the lights still are on. Called manufacturer…
(1) minor front bumper impact was to be repaired under an insurance claim (2) in teardown process found spot welds that were rusted out and improperly sealed. This was determined to be a manufacturer defect - nature of accident would not have caused damage to apron area. As this is a major safety issue, repair could…
Master control switch malfunctioned and started a small fire that melted the buttons on the door-mitsubishi refused any liability, I paid 575.00 for the faulty products mitsubishi manufactures-I spoke to mitsubishi's corpoate headquartes-they refused to assist me in any way. Any advice? Thanks
Visibility 69 Read
The contact owns 2003 mitsubishi galant. Immediately, after starting the engine the power window control mechanism was activated in the downward position on the front passenger side. There was a strong burning smell and a crackling noise. Smoke and small flames expelled from the front passenger door panel. The contact…
As I was driving, my car filled up with a rubber scent of burning rubber. The conrol switch box on the drivers side door began smoking out of the window locks crack. Pooring raining, pulled over and immediately shut off car. After 5 min. Smoke went away. Smell remains. Disconnected battery. Window still open a crack.…
We are having problems with our 2007 mitsubishi galant, the driver window has bust twice while driving and the passenger window has bust once while driving
Galant years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags,electronic Stability Control (esc),service Brakes | 2 | — | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2008 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 5 | — | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 13 | 4 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 12 | 6 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 29 | 9 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 13 | 13 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 25 | 9 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 21 | 3 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 22 | 3 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 21 | 3 | |
| 1993 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1992 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 1991 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1990 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | 1 | |
| 1989 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | — | |
| 1988 | Seat Belts | — | — | |
| 1987 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 1986 | Seat Belts | 1 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 544 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.5 |
| Worst single series | 18 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.4 years |
A model average of 2.5 hides a worst series at 18. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Galant?
By complaint volume, 1999, 1994, 1995 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Galant years are the cleanest?
1986, 2011, 1987 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Mitsubishi Galant have?
1,357 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1986–2012. Of those, 189 describe a crash and 53 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.