2002 Mitsubishi Galant Reviews from North America

An unknown clunking noise from the front end when braking or accelerating; possibly the ball joints. Mechanics checked the car, and could not point out the problem. Absolutely no effect on ride or handling of the car though. Seems to be typical on these Galants.

Original tires lasted me 62k miles.

Brakes about 70k miles.

The second set of tires was a bit better than the original Goodyears, and they are still under the car.

O2 sensor went out at 142k miles, when I took it to get my smog certificate (yeaaah, boomer).

Watch for the blower motor. Do not change the temperature or select vents when the fan is running on speed 3 or 4, or the heater unit will start being noisy or let you down. It has not done it to me, but maybe it will sooner or later.

OK, there is a question which asks will you buy a car like this again? The answer is yes, I did buy another one, and recommended it to another friend of mine, and he got one too.

The first car I bought, is a 2002, and I got it in 2004 when it had 27k miles on it, and I was stupid enough to pay $2000 on extended warranty for 5 years or 100,000 miles. On other words, I kinda flushed $2000 of my money into a toilet.

Anyhow, in 2008, when it had 98k miles, I found another 2003 model with 89k miles. Gave up mine to my father and bought the other one. As I am writing this, both of them have about 144k miles on them.

Were I to go back in time, yes I would purchase them any day of the week.

I travel a lot, and the car has been very dependable, and I helped it a bit, so I don't have to maintain it as often. I use Mobil 1 extended performance oil, which is good for 15k miles (I keep it for 11k-12k miles, and it's cheaper than regular oils.), and use long lasting Bosch Fusion for the sparks, and have this million mile guaranteed air intake. So literally I only put gas in it, and drive it everywhere anytime.

The car has a soft ride, and a very good weight balance. So it is comfortable, and it does handle more than adequate. There is a little road noise on highway, which is not very loud. The car also is somewhat light, and on highway you can feel the crosswinds, and yes it sometimes pulls the steering a little more than let's say a Jetta.

Nothing!

I bought this car when I was 17, I am now 23, and it still works quite well.

The only money I have had to put into the car is general maintenance such as new tires, oil and such.

The only negative is the look of the inside, and not having a larger middle console.

Great car mechanically, however I can guarantee that the following will go wrong with this model year and most of the later models.

1. Your paint will fade if you own a black Mitsubishi of any model. The clear coat and paint are not compatible. If your Mitsubishi is out of warranty when it fades, Mitsubishi will do nothing for you.

2. Your heater/AC fan control will go out. This starts with a clicking sound and ultimately progresses to complete failure.

3. If you own a sunroof model, the inside sunscreen shade will become loose and slide to the rear when you accelerate.

Other than these three things which seem to be common to all Mitsubishi owners after 3-4 years, it is a great car and has had no repairs whatsoever.