1998 Mitsubishi Galant problems & reliability
53 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1998 Mitsubishi Galant, alongside 1 safety recall campaign. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
3 complaints report injuries (3 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Power Train → | 12 | 23% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic → | 12 | 23% |
| Suspension | 8 | 15% |
| Electrical System | 6 | 11% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 4 | 8% |
| Structure | 3 | 6% |
| Air Bags | 2 | 4% |
| Seat Belts | 2 | 4% |
| Steering | 2 | 4% |
| Unknown OR Other | 2 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“On jan. 9, 2013, while I was backing up my mitsubishi galant 1998 (vin # [xxx]) in my driveway, I noticed that the car started moving on its own and I had to keep my foot on the brake. After backing up, when I drove forward, my car seemed to be quite jumpy and wanted to lurch forwards. At a traffic light about half a…”
Vehicle Speed Control · filed Jan 22, 2013
“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 mitsubishi galant. The contact stated that the front passenger side lower ball joint failed. The contact stated that the nut that held the lower ball joint became loose and detached, causing the lower ball joint failure. The vehicle had been repaired three times prior for the same exact…”
Suspension · filed Sep 26, 2011
“Lower lateral arm ball joint broke caused my car to crash into a parked vehicle as I was driving at a low rate of speed. *tr”
Suspension · filed May 26, 2008
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
34 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1998 Mitsubishi Galant. The 10 most recent:
This Technical Service Bulletin was sent to dealers to explain the difference between normal dew condensation, which is a natural phenomenon, and water penetration caused by improper sealing or a defective/broken part.
TSB-22-54-003 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 7, 2022
This is a service newsletter (Tech Talk) that was sent out to dealers.
TT253 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 26, 2019
This is a Technical Service Bulletin sent to dealers. This bulletin supersedes TSB-18-00-003, issued April, 2018, to add updated information for Carrying Capacity Reduced Label.
TSB-19-00-008 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 30, 2019
This is a service newsletter (Tech Talk) that was sent out to dealers.
TT237 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 26, 2018
This is a service newsletter (Tech Talk) that was sent out to dealers.
TT218 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 28, 2015
This TSB contains troubleshooting steps for diagnosis of various customer complaints relating to the audio system speakers in Mitsubishi vehicles equipped with original equipment audio components.
TSB-15-54-004 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 29, 2015
This is a service newsletter (Tech Talk) that was sent out to dealers.
TT217 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 22, 2015
This is an index of Tech Talk newsletter articles released in 2012.
TTIndex12 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 5, 2013
This is a service newsletter (Tech Talk) that was sent out to dealers.
TT195 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 5, 2013
This is a service newsletter (Tech Talk) that was sent out to dealers.
TT194 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 6, 2013
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 1998 Mitsubishi Galant has 1 NHTSA recall campaign — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1998 Mitsubishi Galant?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.