Engine complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
Pin in the harmonic balancer broke causing vehicle to sling A/C belt and drive belt causing harmonic balancer to seize up. Pin was replaced. Months later the check engine light began to come on showing a code of misfire. As well as harmonic balancer coming loose...**5/5/15**..... Belts come off on high way doing about 70 MPH. Harmonic balancer loose again. Crank bolt stuck and un removable.belts came off and got caught in fan...updated 07/30/15 updated 9/29/2015
I was pulling in a sheets station and going into a parking space when my accelerator pedal stuck to the floor and when I left go the brake pedal vehicle kept moving and crashed into a red post which stopped the vehicle then I noticed the gas pedal coming back up and was able to ,put in reverse and cruise back in same parking space did damage to motor and radiator and front body my wife claims this has done it to her as well. I was scared.
I have a 2002 Mitsibishi Montero Sport.I was driving home from work, and all the sudden i couldn't steer. I had no steering, Lost power to vehicle and battery light came on. Wasnt sure what happened, looked under the hood and noticed belts were off. Went and got new ones and noticed when trying to put the mew belts on the bolt on the crankshaft pulley was loose and the pin was broken making that pulley loose.I was lucky that I decided to take a street with less traffic otherwise I could of gotten into an accident.This should definitely be a RECALL.
Hard knocking noise and oil lamp on immediately after oil has been changed. Checked oil, dip stick showed no oil in engine. Took back to mechanic who performed an oil pump pressure test, diagnosed with no oil pressure recommended take to dealership. Dealership claims problem due to lack of oil changes, have documents proving scheduled maintenance performed as recommended. Vehicle is at the dealership with $4000 worth of work needed to repair sludge in engine that is the result of something other than faulty maintenance. Only solution from dealership is to get a new vehicle (from them of course).
I purchased a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport used in March 2004, one month after purchase I brought it to the dealership with a complaint of a knocking noise in the engine. The dealership said nothing was wrong. I have properly maintained my vehicle since day one and learned to live with the knocking noise. On oct 23, 2005 the while driving down the highway the knocking noise became excessive so I pulled over, turned the engine off, waited a minute and restarted. As I started to accelerate there was a loud knock and smoke was coming from under the hood. Mitsubishi is claiming the vehicle threw a rod due to sludge in the engine. The are saying this was due to neglect of the vehicle due to the owner, although they have never once asked me for records of maintenance, which I have. They then say it was from neglect of the previous owner. …
I have a mistusbishi Montero Sport xls 2001 3.0. Now I have only had the car for 2yrs I kept up with the oil changes and all of the other requirements for the vehicle. Now the motor had a tap to it. Ask the head of the shop in the florence sc area and was told that all used monteros tap. Shouldn't be a problem. Now after continuing to drive the car the tap got louder and the oil changes still remain as recommended. Without any reason or warning the motor started to knock louder, the oil light came on. Took the car back to the dealer and found out the knock was caused from the oil not getting to the top of the motor. Now at the dealership they told me that my car wasn't nor is the only one with the same issue. From 20 to 30 a month with the same issue. I had another mechanic check the car also and found the oil pump to be faulty. …
My wife was driving are 00 mits Montero Sport, on the fwy she try to slow down to get out of the fwy. She was pressing on the brake but the car was not slowing down so she put the transmission to lower gears to make the SUV to slow down it help but not to get the SUV to stop. So she hit the car in-front. So after the car came to a stop after hitting the car the RPM were rubbing high so she put the car in park and turn the car off. So police came over because car was on the blocking the off-Ram. When the tow truck driver show up and look under the hood he toll my wife that the throttle it was stock in the open position that what cause her not to be able to stop .... The officer toll my wife she was luck.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport. The contact stated when driving at speeds of 55 MPH, the engine would vibrate excessively. The dealer made unknown repairs to the vehicle but did not address the contacts concerns with the engine vibration. The failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where adjustments were made to the rotors. Following repairs, the vehicle would not operate. The failure mileage was 6,196 updated 06/08/10. With only a 157,000 miles on the vehicle, the consumer was informed the engine needed to be replaced after it finally broke down on the highway. Updated evoq 08/18/10......updated 12/05/12 the consumer requested that all claims against this vehicle be canceled. Updated 12/7/2012
Related recalls (1)
Engine and engine cooling › Engine
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles: mirage model vehicles equipped with 1.5l engines; montero sport models equipped with 3.0l engines; and montero models equipped with 3.0l engines. The bolt securing the crankshaft pulley can become loose and the pulley could fall off the vehicle.
Remedy: On the mirage vehicles, the dealers will install a new, improved crankshaft pulley bolt on the older engines. On new engines which already have the improved bolt, the dealer will tighten the crankshaft pulley bolt to…
Frequently asked questions
Which Mitsubishi Montero Sport years have engine problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 1997 (16), 1998 (14), 2000 (10), 2003 (9) and 1999 (7) model years. Engine complaints make up 55% of all complaints for the 1997.
Is there a recall for Mitsubishi Montero Sport engine problems?
Yes — 1 recall, including 00V311001 (engine, Oct 2, 2000). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Mitsubishi Montero Sport engine problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 137,000 miles; 15% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the engine (24 mentions), followed by the engine › gasoline (7).
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.