AI Damage2001 Mitsubishi Galant: common problems
Owners of the 2001 Mitsubishi Galant filed 151 complaints with NHTSA, most often about service brakes and air bags. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 151
- involving a crash
- 40
What fails most often
- 1 Service brakes 22% of all complaints
- 2 Air bags 21% of all complaints
- 3 Engine and cooling 14% of all complaints
- 4 Powertrain 13% of all complaints
- 5 Structure 11% of all complaints
- 6 Electrical system 9% of all complaints
- 7 Fuel system 7% of all complaints
- 8 Suspension 7% of all complaints
- Service brakes: 33 complaints (22% of all), 10 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Air bags: 31 complaints (21% of all), 24 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Engine and cooling: 21 complaints (14% of all).
- Powertrain: 20 complaints (13% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Structure: 16 complaints (11% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 2.4 L · petrol · 4 cyl
- 3 L · petrol · 6 cyl
- automatic, 4-speed
Drive: FWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 151 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service brakes | 33 | 10 | 0 |
| Air bags | 31 | 24 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| Structure | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 8 | 5 | 0 |
| Engine | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Equipment | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Seats | 3 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
This car has had a problem with the o2 sensors, fuel line, oil leaks, fuse and electrical shorts from the start. We have tried to fix the problems, but the repairs never lasted long. The brake line recently started leaking. Today we were in a wreck because the brakes went out.
The air bags failed to deploy however, there were no injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 176,000.
I was driving 35-40 mph and a car stopped short in front of me and I slammed on my brakes and collided into the rear of their car. The hood and front end of the car was completely smashed in. The airbags failed to deploy.
Customer states was involved in accident on 3/2 when car rolled back into front bumper. The consumer was not able to warn the driver by blowing the horn because the horn short circuited and would not work. Consumer also states horn was previously replace twice on vehicle. Update 04/17/07.
She had an accident, she was not sure what happened with the vehicle, but she said check engine light kept coming on, and she had a tire and oil change. She lost all control of vehicle. She tried hitting the brakes and she didn't have any brakes. Finally the car landed.
Car was in an accident 3 times hit from the front and airbags never deployed. Engine has stalled on several occasions. Problem with horn fuse. High beams stopped working. When accelerating, sounds like engine is having problems getting gas. Doesn't accelerated to well at all sometimes.
Continuous vibration of brake pedal and in steering wheel while braking. At times, entire car feels like it is shaking (passengers notice the vibrations through their feet on the floorboard).
While trying to get out of a convenient store parking lot, I experienced one of the most unusual and dramatic situations of my life!!! As I started my car and put the automatic gear on reverse with my foot on the brake, the car just took off on a very high speed making tire marks on the parking lot and the car stopped…
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 2,627 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 7% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Galant has 64 complaints (28 years in the data). This year has 151, above average.
What to check before buying
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
Other years of this model
- Galant 19864 sources
- Galant 19879 sources
- Galant 19887 sources
- Galant 198919 sources
- Galant 199021 sources
- Galant 199163 sources
- Galant 199239 sources
- Galant 19939 sources
- Galant 1994198 sources
- Galant 1995209 sources
- Galant 1996136 sources
- Galant 199780 sources
- Galant 199853 sources
- Galant 1999215 sources
- Galant 2000136 sources
- Galant 2002135 sources
- Galant 2003126 sources
- Galant 200461 sources
- Galant 200526 sources
- Galant 200624 sources
- Galant 200724 sources
- Galant 20086 sources
- Galant 200916 sources
- Galant 20109 sources
- Galant 20113 sources
- Galant 20129 sources
- Galant 99994 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2001 Mitsubishi Galant?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: service brakes, air bags, engine and cooling. Total complaints: 151. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: vibration (11%), airbags did not deploy (8%), stalls while driving (8%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2001 Mitsubishi Galant?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 2001 Mitsubishi Galant from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 2001 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.