IllustrationCAR STARTED STALLING AT LOW SPEEDS, HAD TRANSMISSION FILTER CHANGED, FOUND A LOT OF METAL IN FLUID. DROVE CAR 500 MORE MILES BEFORE LOSING REVERSE AND OVERDRIVE. TRANSMISSION UNABLE TO RUN AT 71,000 MILES. *LA
1998 Mitsubishi Galant
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1998 Mitsubishi Galant do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 26.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Galant years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 12 of 53 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Power Train. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
3 crash reports0 fire reports3 injury reports
What owners actually said
53 reportsTHE BEDDING ON THE DASH IS COMING OFF, INCLUDING THE BEDDING ON THE AIR BAG. I HAVE CALLED MITSUBISHI, THEY SAY A SERVICE PERSON WILL CALL ME BACK IN 72 HOURS AND THEY NEVER DO. MITSUBISHI MOTORS 1998 GALLANT.*AK
MITSUBISHI GALANT 1998 - PADDED COVER OVER CONSOLE AND AIR BAG IS COMMING LOOSE, PROBABLY DUE TO POOR GLUE.IT MAY NOT BE SAFE, BUT I CANNOT GET MITSUBISHI TO FIX IT OR EVEN TO DISCUSS THE PROBLEM. I DON'T THINK THEY WANT TO HEAR CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS.*AK
CONSUMER STATES THAT THE STRUT MOUNTS POPPED OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD. MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT WELDED PROPERLY BECAUSE THE FRAME SHOULD NOT BE TEARING EASILY.*AK
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP WITH NO PRIOR WARNING. WITH UNDER 20000 MILES ON THE CAR TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT SHIFT. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY MADE AN ADJUSTMENT AND IT WAS FINE. THEN, AT 76000 MILES THE TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP IN TRAFFIC. *JB
NAR 05/21/2003 *MR THE CONSUMER SEAT BELTS WOULD NOT RETRACT PROPERLY. DEALER WAS NOTIFIED. *CB
IN JUNE OF 2002, AUTO TRANSMISSION SOLENOID PACK FAILED AT 74,000 MILES. WAS REPLACED BY AUTHORIZED REPAIR SHOP (NOT UNDER WARRANTY). SHOP FLUSHED TRANSMISSION AND FOUND METAL SHAVINGS IN THE FLUID. LESS THAN ONE MONTH LATER (AUGUST 15, 2002) TRANSMISSION FAILED COMPLETELY AT 78,000 MILES. TRANSMISSION REPLACED COMPLETELY AT…
Read full complaint
IN JUNE OF 2002, AUTO TRANSMISSION SOLENOID PACK FAILED AT 74,000 MILES. WAS REPLACED BY AUTHORIZED REPAIR SHOP (NOT UNDER WARRANTY). SHOP FLUSHED TRANSMISSION AND FOUND METAL SHAVINGS IN THE FLUID. LESS THAN ONE MONTH LATER (AUGUST 15, 2002) TRANSMISSION FAILED COMPLETELY AT 78,000 MILES. TRANSMISSION REPLACED COMPLETELY AT 78,000 MILES. DT
WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE THE FIRST DAY OF PURCHASE I NOTICED THE TRANSMISSION WAS NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY. I ASKED THE SALESMAN WHAT THAT WAS HE TOLD ME THAT'S JUST THE WAY THE CAR RUNS. A FEW MONTHS LATER I WAS STILL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM I CALLED THE DEALER AND MADE A BIG STINK ABOUT IT AND THEY TOLD ME TO BRING IT IN. I DID,…
Read full complaint
WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE THE FIRST DAY OF PURCHASE I NOTICED THE TRANSMISSION WAS NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY. I ASKED THE SALESMAN WHAT THAT WAS HE TOLD ME THAT'S JUST THE WAY THE CAR RUNS. A FEW MONTHS LATER I WAS STILL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM I CALLED THE DEALER AND MADE A BIG STINK ABOUT IT AND THEY TOLD ME TO BRING IT IN. I DID, THEY TOLD ME THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY TRANSMISSION. I WAS STILL HAVING PROBLEMS AND TOOK IT TO A INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. WHO DROPPED THE PAN AND FOUND METAL SHAVINGS, NOT A LOT. THE PROBLEM PERSISTED, SO I TOOK IT BACK TO MY MECHANIC TO HAVE IT SERVICED AGAIN AND THIS TIME WHEN HE DROPPED THE PAN THERE WERE LARGE CHUNKS OF METAL. ONE LOOKED LIKE A GEAR HEAD. I THEN CALLED MY DEALER TO SEE WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT. THEY THEN TOLD ME THAT THEY HAD NO INFORMATION PROVING THAT I HAD A WARRANTY AND ALL THE TIME I DID. THEY TOLD ME TO CONTACT MITSUBISHI MOTORS TO GET MY WARRANTY INFORMATION, THE LADY THERE TOLD ME I DID HAVE A WARRANTY AND THAT THE CAR HAD BEEN DISPOSED OF AS A DEFECTIVE AUTOMOBILE. I AM NOW PERSUING LEGAL ACTION.*AK
I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THIS PART WAS NOT COVERED BECAUSE THE WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED. I FOUND OUT TODAY THAT THIS WAS COVERED AT THE TIME THE DEALER TOLD ME IT COULDN'T BE REPAIRED UNDER THE WARRANTY.*AK
WHILE HAVING VEHICLE SERVICED MECHANIC NOTICED THEAT ENGINE WAS MALFUNCTIONING DUE TO DEFECTIVE COMPONENTS IN ENGINE. THIS CAUSED TRANSMISSION TO FAIL.*AK
Official recalls
100V421001 · Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Ball Joint
Dec 18, 2000
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. IF THE RUBBER BOOTS ON THE LOWER LATERAL ARM BALL JOINTS OF THE FRONT SUSPENSION WERE DAMAGED DURING ASSEMBLY, DIRT AND WATER CAN INTRUDE. ALSO, MMC HAS ADDED THE POTENTIAL OF LEAKING MOISTURE, WHICH CAN CAUSE THE BALL STUD TO CORRODE.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE THE LOWER LATERAL ARM BALL JOINT TO SEPARATE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH. THIS CAMPAIGN SUPERCEDES MMC'S PREVIOUS SAFETY RECALL CAMPAIGN, SEE 99V-066.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE LOWER LATERAL ARM BALL JOINT FOR WEAR. BALL JOINTS THAT EXHIBIT WEAR BEYOND THE ESTABLISHED TOLERANCE WILL BE REPLACED WITH NEWLY DESIGNED LATERAL ARM BALL JOINTS. BALL JOINTS THAT ARE WITHIN THE ESTABLISHED TOLERANCE WILL BE CLEANED AND A SPECIAL SEALANT WILL BE APPLIED TO PREVENT INTRUSION OF MOISTURE.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.