1997 Mitsubishi Montero problems
Owners have filed 85 complaints with NHTSA about the 1997 Mitsubishi Montero. Brakes is the most reported problem area, at 21% of complaints. After that come engine (19%) and electrical system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 85 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 7 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 12 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 111,000 miles 17 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 | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 17 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 110,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 7 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 12 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 82% 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 1997 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the Mitsubishi Montero with enough data (45 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.
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 nor braking could stop or affect what was happening.
The vehicle was parked and idling. I was in the driver's seat when a fire broke out and the flames caused me severe burns to my body. I was nearly asphyxiated. The car was a total loss.
1 - this just started happening, no accident or misuse. 2 - vehicle will not start at times and must keep turning ignition, eventually it stats. (changed battery, terminals, wires, etc, with no affect) alarm goes off sporadically or sets on it's own. Door locks unlock, then immediately lock back. Windows are not going up correctly and are tilting slightly causing a small air leak on both front windows. All problems are annoying but I can still get from point a to point b. This happens every day.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 mitsubishi montero. When the vehicle was started, the crankshaft pulley detached from the vehicle. The dealer stated that the contact would be responsible for the repair. The vehicle has not been driven since. The failure mileage was 190,000.