2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sport problems
The 2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sport has 63 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (17%) concerns air bags. After that come brakes (17%) and electrical system (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 63 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 18% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 14 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 14 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 89,000 miles 39 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 | 6 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 5 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 39 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 89,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 14 complaints mention a crash; 14 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 96% 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 3rd most-complained-about out of 7 model years of the Mitsubishi Montero Sport with enough data (35 complaints in that window).
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.
My husband and I were in a SUV rollover accident in may 4, 2006. Our vehicle was rear-ended by another SUV and ultimately involved four (4) vehicles total. The airbags in our vehicle did not deploy and my husband died later from complications induced by internal bleeding.
The front brake lines failed upon frontal impact. I am a police officer/accident investigator and I investigated an accident involving a 2002 mitsubishi montero sport. The driver of the montero impacted the rear of a vehicle ahead of her. The impact damaged the left front of the montero enough to deploy the air bags, but not enough to prevent the wheel from rolling. The impact also caused the left front brake line to break.
My family and I were involved in a four-car pile up. We rear-ended a 4runner at 45 MPH and the front air bags never deployed. Husband has severe back trouble and I suffer neck and shoulder pain.
Dealership said there is sludge in engine due to "lack of proper maintenance". We've had the oil changed according to the manual but believe that the oil pan is positioned wrong as the dealerships told us that about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch is always left in the bottom of the oil pan when you change the oil, therefore creating sludge. The oil pump has also gone bad on this 2002 mitsubishi montero sport, with 62,000 miles. No one will pick up the bill, even though we paid for an extended warranty.
2002 mitsubishi montero sport; the car horn/alarm goes off usually when a drop of temperature occurs in the middle of the night. To fix ... Has something to do with a short in the electrical of the air bag and the steering wheel column. Very expensive for a mechanic, over $1200. I have to unhook my battery every night and on colder days. Researching online.....a lot of people are disabling the horn/alarm system and driving without horns. Or they are tampering with the air bag to try and fix.