1989 MITSUBISHI MONTERO — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 9 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: SEAT BELTS (2 complaints · 22.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 2
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 0
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1988 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints 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.

Component Problem Distribution

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

Component Problem Distribution SEAT BELTS appears in 2 of 9 owner complaints (22.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. SEAT BELTS: 2 complaints, 22.2% of reports SEAT BELTS 2 · 22.2% STEERING: 2 complaints, 22.2% of reports STEERING 2 · 22.2% · 1 crash reports AIR BAGS: 1 complaints, 11.1% of reports AIR BAGS 1 · 11.1% ENGINE: 1 complaints, 11.1% of reports ENGINE 1 · 11.1% SUSPENSION: 1 complaints, 11.1% of reports SUSPENSION 1 · 11.1% · 1 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 1 complaints, 11.1% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 · 11.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 5 complaints, 55.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 · 55.6% · 1 crash 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)
SEAT BELTS 2 22.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 2 22.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 1 11.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 1 11.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 1 11.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 11.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 55.6% 1 crashes · 0 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 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Mar 1989. 1995-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1995-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Mar 1989 Oct 2004 Recall campaign 89V030000 ◆ Recall campaign 89V030000 Recall campaign 95V103004 ◆ Recall campaign 95V103004 Investigation PE89131 ● Investigation PE89131 Investigation EA95004 ● Investigation EA95004
  • Campaign 95V103004 was reported 92 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 2
1995-Q3 Owner reports 2
1996-Q1 Owner reports 1
1997-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 89V030000
Recall campaign 1 95V103004
Defect investigation 1 PE89131
Defect investigation 1 EA95004
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 89V030000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS MAY CAUSE THE THROTTLE VALVE TO STICK AND NOT ALLOWTHE ENGINE RPM TO RETURN TO IDLE WHICH COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL A HEATED ADAPTER PLATE.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 95V103004

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    THE SAFETY BELTS WOULD NOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE PROTECTION TO AN OCCUPANT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    OWNERS SHOULD PROMPTLY CHECK THE CONDITION AND OPERATION OF BOTH FRONT SAFETY BELT BUCKLES AND CAREFULLY INSPECT THE RED RELEASE BUTTON FOR ANY BREAKS OR CRACKS. THEY SHOULD ENSURE THAT BOTH BUCKLES ARE OPERATING PROPERLY BY INSERTING EACH LATCH PLATE INTO ITS BUCKLE, TUGGING ON THE BELT TO MAKE SURE THE LATCH IS SECURELY LOCKED, AND THEN PRESSING THE RELEASE BUTTON. THE LATCH PLATE SHOULD POP OUT OF THE BUCKLE WHEN THE BUTTON IS PRESSED. IF EITHER RELEASE BUTTON SHOWS A SIGN OF BREAKING OR CRACKING OR IF EITHER BUCKLE FAILS TO OPERATE PROPERLY, OWNERS SHOULD PROMPTLY CONTACT THEIR AUTHORIZED DEALER TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THE BUCKLE REPLACED OR REPAIRED, FREE OF CHARGE. THE MANUFACTURER IS DEVELOPING A REMEDY DESIGNED TO PREVENT FAILURE OF THE BUTTONS THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY BROKEN.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints 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.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-22
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 9 complaints · page 1 of 1

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 2026-08-22 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.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-22.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources