1995 Mitsubishi Galant ES from North America - Comments

Front and rear seal leaks, air-conditioning clutch failure, transmission failure at 70,000 miles, front brake performance is poor - requires pad and rotor work every 8 months, CV joint failure, door and window seal leaks, misc. fit and finish problems.

We bought this car as an economical alternative to our Cadillac. In the Galant's favor, it does get exceedingly good gas economy - as high as 41 freeway that we've recorded. The ergonomics, handling and engine performance are all very good. The controls are well laid out and logical (something Ford and GM have yet to figure out...) The paint and upholstery quality is good, although the fit and finish of the interior parts has degraded over time - mostly loose fittings and small cracks appearing in plastic trim.

Our first big disappointment was with the front brakes which have need constant attention. They wear very quickly and the rotors warp pre-maturely, sometimes as soon as within 3-months after a brake job.

Another big disappointment is the automatic transmission which failed at only 70,000 miles. Compared with the 727 Chrysler automatics I've been used to - all providing over 160,000 miles of service, this was a real bummer - especially to the tune of $1800!

Lately, the front and rear seals have started to leak profusely. The engine compression is still good, but we typically must add 2-4 quarts a week which gets dispersed along the L.A. freeways... Getting to these seals requires that the engine be pulled from the car, which we'd rather avoid unless replacing it.

Other nit-picks, the suspension has not aged well. It feels generally noisy on the road, loose and rattly.

As for next time??? Probably another solid American car, preferrably rear-wheel drive. A little more minor maintenance, but better that than major failure...

If I didn't know better, I'd say I wrote this review myself. I agree with everything the writer said. I would never buy a Mitsubishi again, period, as my 1995 Galant has been an unsafe money-pit. I suspected bad things from this vehicle as right away I felt the car was noisy and rattling too much. The list of recalls on it is longer than Bonnie & Clyde's rap-sheet.

It burns oil, no matter what the grade, it pings unless I use premium gas, and when it rains, it pours. Fortunately I'm in San Diego and we don't get a lot of rain, but it would pour through all the seals and it was a mess when it did rain.

Previous to this vehicle I owned Chevys and Fords and LOVED them. This vehicle made me think I would NEVER buy another Japanese car. Now I have a "lesser" model of a Honda and the quality and engineering can't be compared to the Galant. Sorry Mitsubishi. You fail. Your commercials are cute, but you should stick to making televisions.

Please note that Mitsubishi and Chrysler are essentially part of the same group (DaimlerChrysler) and have access to the same parts bin, so a statement to the tune of "I 've never had probs with Chrysler transmissions, but this Mitsubishi is rubbish" is a bit daft in my opinion.

I, myself have to agree with all of it. I have owned my 95 Galant for 4 years exactly and have experienced all of those issues. Now I have one payment left on the car and the transmission goes at 120k miles. I am torn as to purchase another transmission or just forget about the car. As far as the appearance of the car, well my hugest di sappointment yet, as a month after I bought the car the paint started to come off, and I mean quickly. All the dealership could say to me is "You must have buffed it too much, sorry". That made me laugh considering I had only had it one month at that point. Now the car is down to primer and looks horrible. The brakes have been replaced and checked over and over again. The constant feeling of my breaks wearing and grinding gets tiring and expensive after a while.

And then the recalls, well that's another great story. About a year ago I was on my way to work on a major highway here in NY and all of a sudden my wheel fell off and there I was driving head on toward a truck on the opposite side of the road and could not control my car. That was very scary and could have been very serious. Well in my search that night for prices on ball-joints and axles and all that I was informed that the CV-joint was a recall my company failed to notify me about. I was without my car for almost a month and then I picked it up only to realize that on my way home that very day the radiator was not attached. The mitsubishi garage never reattached it. There comment to me was "well maam, maybe something happened after you left our garage or you have an enemy that might have unhooked it". OK now I am a female, but not a stupid one. I argued with the manufacturer over and over again and even called the attorney general and got no where.

So there you see my car has been one fun trip after another and now it sits in the driveway with no paint no less, not moving as I figure out what expense I want to endure, a new tranny or another car. Next time I'll stick to an American car.

I have owned my 1995 mitsubishi galant for 2 and a half years. all the comments on here about the problems with this car are as true as can be. The brakes have gone out repeatedly, the transmission failed a little after 2 years. Stay away from these cars. I've paid more money on fixing my car than what I actually paid for the cost of the vehicle. I advise everyone to stay away from Mitsubishi, especially this model.

Ever notice that people who hate this car all seem to flock together as a group to have their views supported by each other. For example, one person made some not quite positive remarks, now all these people jumped on it to add their negativity. I believe that when this happens there is a LOT of exaggeration.

I have 3 Galants. One as a daily driver, and one I race. The 3rd was my daily driver for 5 years. The only problems that occured were just normal upkeep issues that happen every so many thousand miles with all cars. Finally at 226,000 miles I broke a connecting rod. However, I was also going 130mph shifting from 4th to 5th when it happened. Still none of the valves bent! My other 2, 1 I've had for the past year, the other I just bought 2 weeks ago. It has leather interior, a sunroof, and from the factory, has a very rare block and head combination. So I had to get it and put the other up for sale.

Anyways... These are great cars. Like ALL makes/models there will be some lemons. You will find people with your opinions and experiences on Galants as their opinions and experiences on any and every car out there. Just because a car dealer screwed you over doesn't mean that all Galants are going to have problems. Hate the car dealer, not the car.

-Dwayne.

I do drive a 1995 Mitsubishi Galant ES now with over 156,000 mile on it. I bought it 5 years ago with 107,000 miles, changed transmission & radiator fluid, control arm (recall), engine mount bushing and that is all I have done. I get very good mileage on gas

I do have the same problem others have with car not starting easily, A/C clutch locked up, headliner a mess (none existence).

The car has never failed to start in 5 years so if it not broken, I'll probably drive it to junkyard (final resting place).

I'll say Galant ES is a good car from experience.

I have nothing, but good things to say about my 2001 mitsubishi galant. I have had the car 6 years with no problems, All I have done is brakes, batteries, tires, oil changes, etc. the car rides smooth and has great power and gas mileage. I recently got a 2002 eclipse when my pontiac sunfire was wrecked (piece of junk). So far I have only owned the eclipse a year and it is used 100,000 miles plus, but I have not had any issues with it either. For me its mitsubishi all the way.

I still drive my 1995 Mitsubishi Galant LS and it runs like a champ. I haven't had any of the problems that the other postings have spoken of except my air conditioning quit last year. I haven't checked out the reason yet, so I don't know why the A/C recently broke but I've been driving this car for 13 years! In fact this winter will be the 14th western New York winter that this car has gotten me through! (I live near Buffalo)

I have taken it in for the recalls I was informed of, so maybe that's why I haven't had problems.

After I went car shopping today, I decided to check out a new paint job for it instead of buying a new car. All of the dealers that commented on my car said if I don't get 250K miles out of it, I was doing something wrong. I keep up with the oil changes and have 140K on it right now. So I might get another 100K out of it or at least another 5 years!

I had a 1995 Galant S. My stepmother had purchased it new and I sold it this past March with 180k on the clock.

I had some pretty scary moments in that car due to the suspension and tires that would wear down very quickly.

My car also had bad seals and pistons, and I was adding a quart of oil every 500-1000 miles.

Gas mileage was good, and my interior has actually held up quite well for a 13 year old car. But the components such as brakes would always go quickly, and weren't very cheap to fix.

I also had very unusual problems when changing a tire, or at least trying to; the wheels would stick to the hubs (with the lug nuts off), and we would have to beat them around and kick them to get them off. Once I had a guy smear some oil and use a blowtorch to get my wheels off.

The car is usually cheaper than an Accord or a Camry, but I worry now about safety, especially after driving that Galant in harsh Colorado weather.