1999 Mitsubishi Galant problems & reliability
215 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1999 Mitsubishi Galant, alongside 3 safety recall campaigns. 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.
13 complaints report injuries (17 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1999 Mitsubishi Galant vehicles were involved in 2 fatal crashes with 2 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 89 | 41% |
| Suspension | 26 | 12% |
| Electrical System | 21 | 10% |
| Power Train | 16 | 7% |
| Structure | 16 | 7% |
| Steering | 15 | 7% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 13 | 6% |
| Air Bags | 12 | 6% |
| Unknown OR Other | 10 | 5% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 9 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 80,000 miles (middle 50% between 49,780 and 120,500 miles), based on 27 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“While traveling down a dirt road going about 5 mph the lower control arm broke not any of the rubber boots the control arm itself rusted and broke.”
Steering · filed May 28, 2019
“Cars slips all the time when the abs light is on. Today it was raining and it almost caused a crash. The car would not stop at a speed of 25 mph in traffic. Very scary. *tr”
Service Brakes · filed Nov 30, 2014
“Tl* the contact owns a 1999 mitsubishi galant. The contact stated the turn signal and hazard lights failed. The dealer stated the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign id number: 99v333001, electrical system: battery: cables recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 105,000. The current…”
Electrical System · filed Jul 25, 2011
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
109 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1999 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 1999 Mitsubishi Galant has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns — 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 1999 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.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 80,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.