1997 Mitsubishi Galant problems
NHTSA has received 110 complaints about the 1997 Mitsubishi Galant, and 18% of them involve suspension. After that come brakes (16%) and engine (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 110 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Suspension 18% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 12 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 79,000 miles 22 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 8 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 3 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 22 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 78,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 12 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 7 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 17 model years of the Mitsubishi Galant with enough data (51 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Vehicle's air bags deployed without warning. As the consumer's daughter entered the garage, the air bag deployed without warning, and both the driver and passenger were injured. There was no impact when the air bag deployed, but afterwards the vehicle hit the wall. *scc
While driving at approximately 45 MPH another vehicle backed out into consumer's driving path, resulting in a crash. Both frontal air bags in consumers vehicle failed to deploy during this impact. Consumer sustained back injuries. *note: consumer stated that vehicle had been in a front end collision prior to his ownership of vehicle. *slc
Consumer was involved in a 30 MPH front end collision in which front driver's and passenger's airbags failed to deploy. Consumer sustained injuries because of airbag failure. Dealer has yet to be contacted. Please provide further details.
I was slowly backing out of a parking spot at a local shopping center when my steering wheel airbag suddenly and unexpectedly deployed. The force was enough to break my arm. There was no indication of any problem with the airbag prior to this incident, as no warning light or message appeared at any time. Moreover, I had never been involved in any automobile accident with this car prior to this occasion.
The brakes and steering wheel shake when the brakes are applied. The brakes seem to make a popping noise when making a left or right hand turn. I have to apply brakes at a far distance to prevent from running into other vehicles. The problem has existed for awhile and noted to service dealership on numerous occasions. In addition, noise can be heard from the gas tank when braking. You can hear the gas shaking from in the tank. This is a concern when transporting passengers in the rear compartment.