2003 MITSUBISHI GALANT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 124 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: VISIBILITY (43 complaints · 34.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 15
  • Fires 4
  • Injuries 13
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2002 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution VISIBILITY appears in 43 of 124 owner complaints (34.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. VISIBILITY: 43 complaints, 34.7% of reports VISIBILITY 43 · 34.7% · 1 fire reports STRUCTURE: 19 complaints, 15.3% of reports STRUCTURE 19 · 15.3% ENGINE: 14 complaints, 11.3% of reports ENGINE 14 · 11.3% AIR BAGS: 11 complaints, 8.9% of reports AIR BAGS 11 · 8.9% · 10 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 10 complaints, 8.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 10 · 8.1% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 6 complaints, 4.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 · 4.8% · 1 crash reports 2 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 3 complaints, 2.4% of reports POWER TRAIN 3 · 2.4% SUSPENSION: 3 complaints, 2.4% of reports SUSPENSION 3 · 2.4% FUEL SYSTEM: 2 complaints, 1.6% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 2 · 1.6% · 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 86 complaints, 69.3% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 86 · 69.3% · 10 crash reports 3 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
VISIBILITY 43 34.7% 0 crashes · 1 fires
STRUCTURE 19 15.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 14 11.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 11 8.9% 10 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 10 8.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 4.8% 1 crashes · 2 fires
POWER TRAIN 3 2.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 3 2.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 2 1.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 86 69.3% 10 crashes · 3 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2003; the first recall shown was reported in Nov 2003. 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2007-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2007-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2008-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2008-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2008-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2009-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2009-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2003 Jan 2022 Recall campaign 03V442000 ◆ Recall campaign 03V442000 Recall campaign 04V428000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V428000 Recall campaign 09E025000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E025000 Investigation PE08014 ● Investigation PE08014 Investigation EA08011 ● Investigation EA08011
  • Campaign 04V428000 was reported 573 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 4
2003-Q4 Owner reports 3
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 2
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 3
2005-Q3 Owner reports 2
2005-Q4 Owner reports 3
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q2 Owner reports 4
2006-Q3 Owner reports 6
2006-Q4 Owner reports 4
2007-Q1 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 6
2007-Q3 Owner reports 8
2007-Q4 Owner reports 12
2008-Q1 Owner reports 6
2008-Q2 Owner reports 4
2008-Q3 Owner reports 3
2008-Q4 Owner reports 2
2009-Q1 Owner reports 3
2009-Q2 Owner reports 6
2009-Q3 Owner reports 8
2009-Q4 Owner reports 4
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 2
2010-Q4 Owner reports 3
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 2
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q3 Owner reports 3
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 03V442000
Recall campaign 1 04V428000
Recall campaign 1 09E025000
Defect investigation 1 PE08014
Defect investigation 1 EA08011
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 03V442000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE FUEL PUMP PRESSURE. THOSE VEHICLES EXHIBITING HIGHER THAN NORMAL FUEL PUMP PRESSURE WILL RECEIVE FUEL PUMP MODIFICATIONS. THE RECALL BEGAN DECEMBER 3, 2003. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT MITSUBISHI AT 1-800-222-0037 OR MITSUBISHI CARIBBEAN AT 1-800-981-0452.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 04V428000

    Report date
    Component:
    EQUIPMENT
    Consequence:
    THIS DOES NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE STANDARD.
    Remedy:
    MITSUBISHI CARIBBEAN WILL MAIL A CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION LETTER CONTAINING A WRITTEN DESCRIPTION AND A GRAPHIC OF THE BI-LINGUAL DASHBOARD AIR BAG WARNING LABEL. IN ADDITION, ALL CURRENT 2000-2004 NATIVA OWNERS WILL ALSO RECEIVE REPLACEMENT AIR BAG ALERT LABELS FOR THE SUN VISORS. THIS RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MARCH OR APRIL 2005. THE NOTIFICATION TO THE NATIVA OWNERS IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING APRIL OR MAY 2005. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT MITSUBISHI CARIBBEAN AT 1-787-251-8715.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E025000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 124 complaints · page 1 of 5

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources