2002 Mitsubishi Galant

Problems owners report

Complaints filed with NHTSA about the 2002 Mitsubishi Galant, by the system named in each complaint. One complaint can name several.

• Service brakes, hydraulic27
• Electrical system26
• Visibility21
• Structure19
• Air bags17
• Engine and engine cooling13
• Unknown or other7
• Exterior lighting6
• Steering5
• Equipment5

NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026 · 19 injuries and 1 deaths reported

Compared with other years

NHTSA ODI complaints by model year

Fatal crashes in the US

From 2020 to 2023, 5 2002 Galant vehicles were involved in crashes on US public roads in which someone died; 5 people died inside them. This is a count, not a crash rate: it grows with the number of cars on the road.

NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), crash years 2020–2023 (public domain)

New York safety inspections

At its first New York inspection the 2002 Mitsubishi Galant failed the safety check 2.84% of the time — 42% more often than the average 2002 passenger car (2.00%). Median odometer at inspection: 124,131 miles.

NY DMV Vehicle Inspections (vezn-fmmk), initial inspections since Aug 2021 · how we count

In the Netherlands

45 first registered in 2002 are on Dutch roads; 18% arrived later as imports.

Most common APK defects

• Stuur- of fuseekogel met slijtage kleiner of gelijk 1,0 mm19
• Overmatige vloeistoflekkage overige vloeistoffen18
• Band onvoldoende profiel16
• Stadslicht werkt niet (goed)11
• Kentekenplaatverlichting werkt niet (goed) / ontbreekt10
• Stofhoes aandrijfas beschadigd en dicht niet af8
• Fusee(kogel) te veel speling8
• Schijf-, trommelrem loopt niet vrij8

Colours

RDW Open Data: registered vehicles and APK defects (CC0) · defect descriptions in the RDW's Dutch wording

In the United Kingdom

30 cars built in 2002 were licensed for the road at the end of 2025, and 80 more were declared off the road (SORN).

Department for Transport and DVLA, vehicle licensing statistics (table VEH0124, year of manufacture) · Open Government Licence v3.0

In Finland

12 of these cars first registered in 2002 were in use in Finland on 30 Jun 2026, with an average of 270,000 km on the odometer at their last inspection.

Traficom (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency), open data on vehicles in use · CC BY 4.0

In New Zealand

199 2002 cars are on the New Zealand register; 9% arrived as used imports, 90% were sold new in New Zealand.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Motor Vehicle Register (March 2026) · CC BY 4.0

Recalls

Whether a recall was fixed on a particular car is known only to the manufacturer: check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

NHTSA recalls · summaries in NHTSA's own words

Service bulletins

What Mitsubishi told its dealers about the 2002 Mitsubishi Galant: known faults, fixes and updates.

NHTSA manufacturer communications (public domain)

NHTSA investigations

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation