2002 Mitsubishi Galant problems
NHTSA has received 175 complaints about the 2002 Mitsubishi Galant, and 18% of them involve brakes. After that come electrical system (15%) and wipers, windshield & visibility (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 175 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 18% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 25 and 11
- Injuries and deaths
- 21 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 102 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 | 13 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 23 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 22 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 16 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 13 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 7 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 102 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 65,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 24,000 miles (17 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 25 complaints mention a crash; 11 complaints mention a fire; 21 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 90% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 17 model years of the Mitsubishi Galant with enough data (132 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
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.
FOIA request copy of info re complaints of defects & crash testing...nar 07/14/2003 info request. The law office of david itkoff on behalf of consumer azekel paul who was killed as a direct result of a defective rear seat seat back
I crashed my 2002 mitsubishi galant... I wanted to know if the same recall that was done on the 2003 mitsubishi galant could also be for the 2002 because my car caught on fire.
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 driver's side. After exiting the vehicle the passenger got a gallon of water to put the fire out.
My daughter had a front end collision with our 2002 mitsubishi galant. A gentleman ran a stop sign and my daughter collided with his vehicle. The front of the galant hit the side of his driver's do, the galant received heavy damage and the insurance has claimed it a total loss. The airbags did not deploy. My daughter pulled all the muscles in her back, and she has a bad case of whiplash which she tore all the muscles in her neck requiring physical therapy twice a week.
I have 2 complaints. I have a 2002 black mitsubishi galant es and like many others I see on the road and have read about on the internet. Oxydization has occurred all over my car, it started about 2 years ago and buffing and waxing does not help. Also, another problem that started about 2 years ago: when turning from air to heat or vice versa, there is a loud clicking noise and then it will turn over when it feels like. I think recently it has just given out and completely broke.