1998 Mitsubishi Montero problems & reliability
74 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1998 Mitsubishi Montero, 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.
4 complaints report injuries (12 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1998 Mitsubishi Montero vehicles were involved in 1 fatal crash 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Suspension → | 18 | 24% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 9 | 12% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 9 | 12% |
| Air Bags | 6 | 8% |
| Structure | 5 | 7% |
| Unknown OR Other | 5 | 7% |
| Steering | 4 | 5% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 4 | 5% |
| Visibility | 4 | 5% |
| Exterior Lighting | 3 | 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.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“At the moment the only situation that I have had with the mitsubishi airbag recall is that when I call the customer relations department they say they do not have the parts, that supposedly the mitsubishi company has not yet sent the replacement parts.....I have to call within 2 months to see if the parts have arrived…”
Unknown OR Other · filed May 6, 2021
“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 mitsubishi montero. The contact discovered that the vin was included in nhtsa campaign number: 20v035000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the…”
Air Bags · filed Oct 5, 2020
“The vehicle was taken to southside mitsubishi in orlando and because a mechanic named bob who's been there for over 20 years says it's the original but it's not the original bolt they don't want to honor the recall I argued with them multiple times.. The original bolt is me203072, and the montero has the same bolt as…”
Engine · filed Aug 22, 2020
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- REAR FOLDING SEAT DISENGAGEMENT
Preliminary Evaluation PE98042 · opened Jul 31, 1998 · closed Sep 3, 1998 · led to recall 98V205000
Technical service bulletins
42 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1998 Mitsubishi Montero. The 10 most recent:
This is a revised Safety Recall bulletin sent to dealers informing them of new Takata inflator return procedures.
SR-20-001REV3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 23, 2023
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
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 Montero 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 1998 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.