1999 Mitsubishi Montero Sport problems & reliability
33 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1999 Mitsubishi Montero Sport, alongside 2 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.
3 complaints report injuries (4 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1999 Mitsubishi Montero Sport 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 6 | 18% |
| Equipment | 5 | 15% |
| Power Train | 5 | 15% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 5 | 15% |
| Suspension | 5 | 15% |
| Steering | 3 | 9% |
| Structure | 3 | 9% |
| Tires | 3 | 9% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 2 | 6% |
| Air Bags | 1 | 3% |
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.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“My car has broken down 3 times this year with the same problem. I had it repaired twice, then found out it had an open recall from 2000. I took it to the dealer yesterday, felt they dismissed my situation as I told them the car was doing exactly what the recall described and I was concerned it would happen again. I…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Oct 7, 2016
“Tires purchase new, maintained well with approx 25k miles of wear. With no notice, had a tread separation on front right tire. Took to dealer and it was replaced with only a partial credit for warranty. Other tires were inspected and told it was a fluke. Approximately one month later, was pulling off freeway at about…”
Tires · filed Nov 8, 2013
“On sat. 2/6/2010 while driving, I experienced loss of steering which scared me for a moment. After pulling over, I investigated what caused the problem, and found that my harmonic balancer had come loose. I got my vehicle back to the house, and parked it. *tr”
Engine and Engine Cooling · filed Feb 9, 2010
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
77 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1999 Mitsubishi Montero Sport. 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 Montero Sport has 2 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 Montero Sport?
- · 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.