11th Jun 2008, 01:41

I have a 2002 Montero Sport XLS with 146000 miles on it. I was a mechanic for Mitsubishi 6 months after I bought it new. All I did was keep up with the services and did not do the timing belt till 110000 miles and did the plugs at 80000. Only complaints are fading headlamps and warped rotors.

9th Jul 2008, 01:57

I have an 03 Montero and it's awesome. My first car ever as a teen. I've had for about 1 year and 9 months, and it's a hell of a car. I love it, it has 85k+ miles on it, but I love it.. brakes are good.. All I put on it was new tires. I love my car!!

25th Feb 2009, 18:48

I have a 2000 Montero Sport with 135,000 miles on it.

For the past year or so I have been getting this weird kick from the transmission. It happens maybe once a month, if that. It usually happens when I'm exiting off the freeway and about to come to a complete stop, and then I get a big jerk like the tranny is not down shifting properly.

If anyone out there is having the same problem, please email me at raueel@ATT.NET THANK YOU.

12th Mar 2009, 21:59

I have a 1998 Montero Sport 4WD 3.0 that has 90,000 on it. It has had a very annoying oil leak for the last couple of years which I am told by the dealer will cost over $2500.00 to fix. I cannot afford that on a car worth $3,000.00. It leaks on the exhaust manifold and smells of burning oil.

Anyone know what this is and if I can fix it myself?

Otherwise, its been a reasonably decent SUV. Not sure I'd get another one though.

Thanks.

12th Nov 2009, 19:18

I have a Montero Sport XLS, and it is awesome. The ride is great and there are a good amount of modifications I was able to put on it. But the check engine light has been on for awhile now, and Mitsubishi said they don't even know what's wrong. Anyone else have that problem?

12th Jan 2010, 18:32

I just test drove a 02 Montero. Can anyone tell me what king of MPG you can expect with one of these?

Thanks Gary at gjwolf49@hotmail.com

21st May 2010, 22:10

Hi, We got a 2002 Montero XLS six months ago with 73000 miles on it. Money pit, driveshaft, rear heater line, exhaust manifold cracked, still looking for one, air con. out, thumping in rear end, light goes out every 30 days. Going back to Chevy USA.

21st Jul 2010, 23:12

I have 2002 Montero Sports XLS. It is a good car. I only had two problems. The O2 sensors need to be replaced. In addition, I have fading forehead lights and the rear brake lights don't work well. One flaw is the small gas tank, which takes only 19 gallons. Otherwise, it is great car!!!

29th Jul 2010, 00:13

For the guy who was asking to get rid of the oil leak. If it's on the driver side it's the O-ring. If on the passenger side it might be the O-ring too, but most probably you just need to replace your timing belt and waterpump together with the seals with it. Tighten your clamp for the where you put the oil in, and also the bolts of the valve.

These are the problems I've encountered with my 2000 Montero Sport:

The oil leak on driver side because of the O-ring.

The bolt in the driver's side brake cradle got broken and stuck inside.

There was an oil leak on the passenger side that made my alternator go off 4 times, but I don't have it any more since my water pump and timing belt were replaced.

Warped rotors were replaced with cross drilled ones, and it's much better now.

The corroded battery and terminals were fixed.

The cracked exhaust manifold was fixed with hi-temp patch cement for only 10 bucks.

I just need to replace the transmission oil pan now because I'm having transmission overheat whenever I'm going for a long drive, because they installed a small one on this truck and they should make a recall for this.

Lastly I need to replace my spark plug which is hard to do and I wish I can do it myself. I can't use the alarm of this car and I have to push the power lock to lock all the doors or else it will alarm for no reason.

Despite all of this it's a decent SUV. I only owned this for a year.

17th Oct 2010, 14:48

Exhaust crack ------ I recommend from a dealer, I replaced my passenger side exhaust manifold myself; it cost $300 and it took me roughly two hours.

Spark plug -------- it can be done if you have time, instructions and tools. Did it myself on my 2002 Montero XLS.

4th Nov 2010, 20:22

I have a 2000 Montero XLS, bought it new. Has about 110K miles. Have had virtually no problems with car, but I take care of my cars. Only problem of note is the power antenna does not work well. Other than that, has been a great vehicle.

12th Jan 2011, 01:39

Is it hard to replace the exhaust manifold for this truck? Can you give me a step by step instructions for it? I am trying to replace mine. It got this crack for 6 months now. I don't think it's urgent to replace since I am putting a high temperature cement on it.

15th Jul 2011, 15:54

I have a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport, and had the exact same problem. I actually found an incredible mechanic who suggested I simply have the transmission flushed. I had no idea that was even something offered, let alone you're supposed to do it LOL. I bought it off the showroom floor and never had that done. Worked like magic; had it done a little off a year ago, and haven't had any trouble since. Good luck.

9th Nov 2011, 20:51

I hope you have fixed this. It is bad o-rings on the cam shaft seal in the rear of the engine. There are two, one on each side with 2x 12mm bolts. Passenger's side, you can get to from the top. Drivers side, I'm told you must get to from below.

3rd Jun 2012, 03:54

Open oil pan, clean trans filter in gasoline, and replace the 3 solenoids with new ones, or disconnect the battery for 5 minutes, and see if that resets the computer.

This is Jaime in Tijuana BC.

30th Jun 2014, 21:34

I have a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport LCD, & I also have been having that problem. I took it in and had a transmission shop hook it up to see what was wrong with the tranny, but it came up with nothing. I kept driving it, & just the other day I was coming to a stop when it just lunged forward & I had to slam down on the brakes. Now my front end has damage. I have found on an automotive site where people can put in complaints against car dealers, that there are several people with the same issue. I am waiting for them to call me back to see what can be done.

27th Dec 2014, 19:31

My 2001 Montero Sport trans surges slightly at highway speed over 60 mph when the weather temperature is above around 75 degrees F. The trans cooling is not sufficient, there is a known Mitsubishi service advisory to help fix this problem by increasing the trans oil in size to provide more cooling. The fix allows me to get up to only about 65mph in hot weather.

21st Oct 2015, 04:37

I have a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero XLS. I rebuilt the engine, but I don't know how to reset the miles on the cluster.

17th Apr 2017, 01:19

Mitsubishi had a recall for the trans oil pan on failure only. I bought my 2000 Montero in 2001; when I went to CA. it would overheat, took it to a dealer and they replaced it for free.

14th Mar 2022, 03:01

Avg 15/19 for 3.5.

Avg 17/21 for 3.0.