1997 Mitsubishi Montero problems & reliability
63 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1997 Mitsubishi Montero. 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.
4 complaints report injuries (9 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1997 Mitsubishi Montero vehicles were involved in 2 fatal crashes with 1 occupant death. 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 → | 17 | 27% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic → | 14 | 22% |
| Electrical System | 8 | 13% |
| Suspension | 6 | 10% |
| Air Bags | 5 | 8% |
| Equipment | 5 | 8% |
| Power Train | 4 | 6% |
| Structure | 4 | 6% |
| Steering | 3 | 5% |
| Visibility | 3 | 5% |
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
“On 5/31/14, my 1997 mitsubishi montero was parked in my driveway. When I went to get into the vehicle, I noticed a large burn in the back of the driver's side seat. After calling mitsubishi, the fire department came since it was still smoldering and disconnected the battery. They believed it to be an electrical short…”
Electrical System · filed Jun 9, 2014
“1997 mitsubish montero 3.5 liter automatic- crank shaft bolt has come out on 5 separate occasions and has cost over $3000 to have it replaced. The inside of the crankshaft where the bolt goes is completely stripped to the point I now have to replace the engine. This is not an isolated issue as this appears to be an…”
Engine and Engine Cooling · filed Apr 16, 2011
“Crankshaft pulley pin/bolt gets sheared off. Dash lights come on and vehicle power steering stops working as the pump is not turning because the problem affect the entire pulley system. It also affects the timing gear/belt/harmonic balancer. This is the 3rd time in as many years this has happened. This is the 2nd…”
Engine and Engine Cooling · filed Feb 26, 2011
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
59 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1997 Mitsubishi Montero. 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
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 1997 Mitsubishi Montero in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
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 1997 Mitsubishi Montero?
- · 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.