Owners have filed 586 complaints on the Mitsubishi Montero, covering 1986–2006. The system named most often is Service Brakes (185 reports). Worst years by volume: 2001, 2002, 1995; cleanest: 1987, 1988, 2005. 54 reports describe a crash, 11 a fire, 4 a death. On average the car was 6.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Mitsubishi Montero
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 586 Montero complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 185 Read
In 2007 I had the brakes to my 2003 mitsubushi montero limited replaced because I felt they my truck would not stop as desired. After having the brakes replaced it appears that the problem became worse. I took my vehicle back to the dealer and they assured me that there was nothing wrong with the brakes. In dec 2007 I…
Brakes system failed to stop the vehicle
The consumer experienced the same problem as stated in recall 01V254001. The brake pedal went completely to the floor upon trying to stop. *ak ultimately, the consumer had an accident as a result of the brake failure. The consumer stated he received a recall notice in the mail, however the manufacturer stated the…
Engine And Engine Cooling 94 Read
In february, 2000, I had pulled up underneath my home. The car was in park when the motor excelled. I thought something must be wrong with the timing. I turned off the car. I didn't think any more about it until 9-20-2000 when the engine did it again. I was picking my child up from football practice I pulled into a…
1999 mitsubishi montero blew up on me for no reason mitsh refuses to release any recall/spec/safety records to me the vehicle was a total right off did cause second degree burns to myself..fire dept said magnesium somewhere in the vehicle contributed to the high rate of lost and burn factor
1999 montero blew up and caught fire causing 2nd degree burns mitsh refuses to relaease recall or specificatins to me wont call me back or respond to letters it has been 4 months since 1st contact they did open a case file but then refuses to contact me
Suspension 44 Read
Right side of car suddenly dropped when making a left turn from a stop light. Driver lost control of car running into right side curb no injuries. After collision the wheel was at an angle and joint at the right upper control arm was loose at the hub. Also, the right rear wheel rim was broken and the rear tire had…
I was in an accident six weeks after I purchased my montero. Stuart lincoln-mercury, who is an authorized dealer, repaired my montero. My front end was supposed to be aligned. At 6400 miles, I had my tires rotated, and I saw that the tires on the passanger side were wearing as if they were out of alignment. I took my…
Due to non -tightening/missing of the lower ball joint nut by the manufacturer. While driving the vehicle the right wheel almost came off, causing loss of vehicle control, resulting in the consumer hitting a guardrail. Consumer has contacted the dealer. Please provide any further details
Steering 40 Read
Our accident occured while towing a pop up trailer. We are experienced driver's and have been towing a trailer for more than 12 years. While traveling at approximately 55 mph, suddenly and without warning I was unable to control the car. We were traveling on a straight section of highway in the right lane. The road…
Having viewed rollover risk on consumer reports tests on montero, I feel this should be investigated
It appears a pressure leak of the rubberized hose caused fluid to spray onto the hot manifold causing a fire of the vehicle above. This loss was investigated by superior investigations of florida inc. And can be reached at 727-848-3923. Dt
Electrical System 35 Read
2000 mitsubishi montero rear passenger side window button caught fire
While sitting in traffic, passenger (wife) moved her window visor, a flame shot out towards her face coming from upper right corner of window visor, where wire for vanity mirror had chaffed over time, due to a plastic covering edge to hide wire.*ak flame was 4-5 inches long, 1 inch thick and flamed for 6-8 seconds,…
On 5/31/14, my 1997 mitsubishi montero was parked in my driveway. When I went to get into the vehicle, I noticed a large burn in the back of the driver's side seat. After calling mitsubishi, the fire department came since it was still smoldering and disconnected the battery. They believed it to be an electrical short.…
Air Bags 34 Read
I was operating a 2003 mitsubishi montero when I rear ended a mercury mountaineer and projected it into 2 other vehicles...... Heavy damage to the front end of my montero, however, my driver side air bag did not go off. I was projected into the steering column and then my head went through the windshield
The contact stated while driving 55mph a deer was struck with the front end of the vehicle. While applying brake pressure the vehicle began to gain speed, spun around, veered off the road and rolled over four times in a ditch. The air bags did not deploy in the accident. The air bag warning light was not illuminated…
Vehicle involved in accident when second party ran red light. Vehicles air bags did not deploy causiong injury to consumer and his daughter
Power Train 31 Read
Problem with front and rear differential reported to dealership. They did nothing to fix, just reset check engine light. 3 weeks later car was in a rollover accident. Driver steered slightly to avoid collision with another vehicle that was making an illegal lane change and montero went out of control. Neither steering…
The contact owns a 2003 mitsubishi montero. The contact heard a loud piercing sound when the ignition was started. All of the warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 230,000
Loud humming noise from the drivers side rear end. Excessive wear on rear drivers side tire. Got louder the higher the mph went. Had mechanic inspect and found the arm from the wheel to the differential was separated and about to come apart. Mistubishi dealer repaired and charged 2100.00 to fix
Structure 18 Read
In a frontal head on collision vehicle impacteed on a tree, and it pushed radiator into engine, and frame bent because vehicle had no bumper. Not sure if it came from maufacturer without it or it was removed
The contact owns a 2003 mitsubishi montero. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle started to veer to the left independently. The contact stopped on the shoulder to check the tire pressure. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic. The technician put the vehicle on the lift…
The contact owns a 2002 mitsubishi montero sport. The contact stated while inspecting the vehicle, he noticed that the frame was corroded. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included…
Montero 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2005 | Steering | — | — | |
| 2004 | Service Brakes | — | — | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 9 | 1 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 12 | 2 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 5 | 1 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 2 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 8 | — | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 3 | 3 | |
| 1996 | Electrical System,unknown Or Other | — | — | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 6 | — | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 1990 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 2 | 1 | |
| 1989 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1988 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1987 | Seat Belts | — | — | |
| 1986 | Engine And Engine Cooling,fuel System, Gasoline,structure | — | — |
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 | 289 |
| Average complaints per series | 2 |
| Worst single series | 11 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.2 years |
A model average of 2 hides a worst series at 11. 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 Montero?
By complaint volume, 2001, 2002, 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 Montero years are the cleanest?
1987, 1988, 2005 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Mitsubishi Montero have?
586 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1986–2006. Of those, 54 describe a crash and 11 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.