RoadVitals

2003 Mitsubishi Galant Body & structure Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the body or structure system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Body & structure reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
21
Latest Aug 12, 2013
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
17%
of 126 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
1
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
1

What this page shows

Reports naming the vehicle structure, frame, body panels, doors, hood and trim. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2003 Mitsubishi Galant submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 21 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming body or structure

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

AirbagsBody & structure
Filed Aug 12, 2013
Crash reported1 injury reported

I WAS DRIVING AT 33 MPH ON A MAIN STREET WHEN CAR ON MY RIGHT GOES THROUGH STOP SIGN AND DRIVES INTO MY CAR. HE HIT THE FRONT OF MY CAR NEAR, BUT NOT INCLUDING, THE PASSENGER DOOR. AFTER IMPACT (HE NEVER BRAKE) HE CONTINUED TO MOVE MY CAR WITH HIS THEREBY FOLDING THE FRONT OF MY CAR IN HALF, TAKING OFF FRONT WHEELS, FENDERS AND BUMPER, GAS TANK (SMOKING BUT NOT ON FIRE), AND MOVING MY CAR TWO LANES TO THE LEFT VIA IMPACT AND PUSH. NO AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. DRIVER'S DOOR, MINE, WOULD NOT OPEN. SEAT BELT PULLED IN VERY TIGHT. IMPACT SLAMMED MY CHEST, KNEE AND ANKLE. FRACTURED STERNUM, CUTS AND BRUISES ON LEG AND FOOT. BACK PAIN AT SITE OF CRASH. COULD NOT WALK UP AMBULANCE STEPS. HOSPITAL STAY 2 DAYS WITH MULTIPLE TESTS. DRS. VISITS REQUIRED THIS WEEK, ONE DAY AFTER RELEASE. CAR TOTALED. PHYSICAL THERAPY AND PAIN MANAGEMENT PUT INTO PLACE UPON HOSPITAL DISCHARGE. *TR

NHTSA ID
10534802
Incident
Aug 9, 2013
Mileage
22,500 mi
Body & structure
Filed Jun 22, 2012

ABOUT A YEAR AFTER PURCHASING THIS VEHICLE IN 2007, THE PAINT BEGAN TO WEAR OFF. IT STARTED CHALKING AND CHIPPING AND I'VE NOTICED PRETTY MUCH EVERY MITSUBISHI I SEE ON THE ROAD HAS THE SAME ISSUE. THIS IS RIDICULOUS THAT THEY ARE ALLOWED TO PUT OUT SUCH CARS AND BE NEGLEGENT ON THE PAINT JOB. WE ALL PAY GOOD MONEY FOR THESE AND MITSUBISHI ONLY RECALLED THE "BLACK PAINT" THEY NEED TO RECALL THEM ALL BECAUSE ALL OF THEM ARE IN HORRIBLE SHAPE. MITSUBISHI NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.!!!!!!! I SHOULDNT HAVE TO PAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO GET MY CAR PAINTED...IT SHOULDNT EVEN NEED PAINTED YET. I'LL NEVER PURCHASE ANOTHER. *TT

NHTSA ID
10462746
Incident
May 7, 2008
Mileage
57,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Jul 9, 2010

I HAVE A 2003 BLACK MITUSBISHI GALANT ES. THE PROBLEM WITH IT IS THE PAINT...THE TOP OF MY HOOD IS DISGUSTINGLY WHITE AND FADED, ALSO THE ROOF OF THE CAR, AND THE TOP OF THE TRUNK. THE FADE IS SPREADING AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. MY CAR IS NOT THE ONLY ONE..I SEARCHED FOR THIS PROBLEM ONLINE AND FOUND THAT THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT MITSUBISHI PAINT. THERE HAS TO BE A RECALL FOR THIS. IT'S EMBARRASSING DRIVING AROUND WITH THE PAINT THAT HIDEOUS. *TR

NHTSA ID
10342181
Incident
Apr 6, 2010
Mileage
80,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Oct 13, 2009

IM COMPLAINING ABOUT MY BLACK PAINT ON MY GALANT. I BOUGHT IT IN 05 AND BYT THE BEGINNING OF 06 MY PAINT WAS OXIDIZED AND FLAKING. THE ROOF HAS RUSTED THROUGH THE PAINT. IT LOOKS TERRIBLE AND ITS GOING COST OVER 2000 JUST TO GET IT PAINTED WHEN THE PAINT THAT WAS USED TO PAINT IT WAS OF POOR QUALITY?! GALANTS THAT ARE OLDER AND ARE BLACK LOOK BETTER THAN MINES AND EVEN THE GALANTS WITH DENTS AND SCRATCHES LOOK BETTER THAN MINES BECAUSE THEIR PAINT IS STILL GLOSSY. PLEASE FIX THIS THANK YOU *TR

NHTSA ID
10287299
Incident
Apr 16, 2006
Body & structure
Filed Oct 5, 2009

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MITSUBISHI GALANT. WHILE THE CONTACT WAS EXAMINING HIS VEHICLE HE NOTICED THAT THE BLACK PAINT ON THE VEHICLE BEGAN FALLING OFF. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 113000 AND THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 95000.

NHTSA ID
10286324
Incident
Nov 7, 2007
Mileage
95,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Sep 26, 2009

I AM AN OWNER OF A 2003 BLACK MITSUBISHI GALANT,I'M HAVING PAINT ISSUES WITH MY CAR THE PAINT HAS BEEN FADING ALL OVER MY CAR,I THINK THIS IS A FACTORY PROBLEM, I SAW ALOT ANOTHER BLACK MITSUBISHI CARS WITH THE SEEM PAINT PROBLEM! *TR

NHTSA ID
10285341
Incident
Jun 6, 2009
Body & structure
Filed Sep 17, 2009

I HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THE PAINT ON MY MITSUBISHI GALANT IT IS AN BLACK 2003 GALANT DE. THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR I HAVE HAD IT UNCOVERED AND NOW FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS GRAYISH WHITE MARKS ARE APPEARING ALL OVER THE TRUCK, TOP, AND HOOD OF MY CAR. *TR

NHTSA ID
10284414
Incident
May 1, 2007
Body & structure
Filed Sep 14, 2009

I AM WRITING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE PAINT ON THE EXTERIOR OF MY 2003 MITSUBISHI GALANT. IT IS BLACK AND HAS BEGUN TO TURN WHITE AND PEEL. I HAVE NOTICED THERE ARE COUNTLESS OTHER INSTANCES OF THIS HAPPENING. I BELIEVE THIS MAY BE A MANUFACTURER DEFECT. *TR

NHTSA ID
10283871
Incident
Sep 1, 2009
Body & structure
Filed Sep 12, 2009

BLACK 2003 MITSUBISHI GALANT ES PAINT IS FADING AND CRACKING ON THE ROOF AND TRUNK OF THE CAR. I'VE NOTICED THROUGH MY TRAVELS THAT THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH GALANTS. *TR

NHTSA ID
10283748
Incident
Aug 10, 2008
Mileage
60,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Jul 28, 2009

2003 BLACK MITSUBISHI GALANT - THE PAINT BEGAN OXIDIZING ON THE ROOF AND SPREAD TO THE TRUNK LID AND HOOD OF THE CAR. THE DEALER AND MITSUBISHI REFUSE TO HELP DESPITE HAVING SOLD CARS WITH A LATENT DEFECT. THE CAR IS GREATLY DEVALUED AND THIS IS APPARENTLY A WIDE SPREAD PROBLEM. PLEASE HELP. *TR

NHTSA ID
10278524
Incident
Jun 1, 2007
Body & structure
Filed Jul 27, 2009

MY BLACK IS FADING ON MY MITSUBISHI GALANT. *TR

NHTSA ID
10278389
Incident
May 1, 2009
Body & structure
Filed Jul 17, 2009

BLACK PAINT FADING, PEELING, FALLING OFF.... *TR

NHTSA ID
10277175
Incident
Jan 1, 2004
Body & structure
Filed Jul 1, 2009

I OWN A 2003 MITZUBISHI GALANT. THE EXTERIOR PAINT STARTED FADING APPROXIMATELY ONE YEAR AFTER I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE AND NOW THE ENTIRE HOOD, ROOF, AND TRUNK AREA HAVE OXIDIZED AND FADED TO THE METAL. THE CAR ONLY HAS 40,000 MILES ON IT! THERE WAS CLEARLY NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF THE MANUFACTURER IN COMPLETING THE PAINT PROCESS. I HAVE CHECKED WITH OTHER OWNERS OF THIS YEAR AND MAKE VEHICLE AND HAVE FOUND THAT THEY HAVE THE SAME COMPLAINT. IT WOULD BE NICE IF THE MANUFACTURER WOULD AT LEAST PAY HALF IF NOT ALL THE COST OF REPAINTING THIS VEHICLE. *TR

NHTSA ID
10275502
Incident
Jun 28, 2009
Mileage
47,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Jun 25, 2009

I AM AN OWNER OF A 2003 MITSUBISHI GALANT (BLACK). MY PAINT STARTED FADING/OXIDIZING ABOUT A YEAR AGO. I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP, THEY TOOK PICTURES AND HAD ME SUBMIT MY MAINTENANCE RECORDS AND JUMP THROUGH A BUNCH OF HOOPS JUST TO TELL ME MY VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THEY WEREN'T GOING TO DO ANYTHING TO HELP ME! *TR

NHTSA ID
10274939
Incident
Jun 7, 2008
Mileage
36,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed May 5, 2009

I AM AN OWNER OF A 2003 MITSUBISHI BLACK GALANT. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE VEHICLE AND IT IS GARAGE-KEPT. ABOUT A YEAR AGO, I STARTED NOTICING THE PAINT ON MY VEHICLE STARTED TO FADE/OXIDIZE. I REPORTED THIS TO MITSUBISHI AND THEY DID NOTHING. I DID MY RESEARCH AND THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF OTHER GALANT OWNERS THAT ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM. I BELIEVE A RECALL NEEDS TO BE DONE. IT WASN'T EVEN A MONTH AFTER MY VEHICLE WAS PAID OFF THAT THE PAINT STARTED TO FAINT. FIRST ON THE ROOF, THEN ON THE HOOD, NOW IT'S SPREADING LIKE A RASH. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE AND MITSUBISHI WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY CLAIM THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY. *TR

NHTSA ID
10267749
Incident
May 1, 2008
Mileage
61,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Apr 5, 2009

FADED PAINT NOTICED ON LEFT SIDE OF HOOD ABOUT A MONTH AND HALF AGO, LOOKED LIKE OXIDATION, A COUPLE WEEKS LATER ANOTHER SPOT ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HOOD APPEARED, BOTH SPOTS APPEAR TO BE GETTING LARGER (ABOUT THE SIZE OF A DESSERT PLATE) AND MORE PRONOUNCED. DEALERSHIP SAYS NO DEFECT AND NOT UNDER WARRANTY, ACCORDING TO MANY WEBSITE THERE IS A HUGE ISSUE WITH THE BLACK MITSUBISHI CARS AND THE CLEARCOAT FAILING, CAUSING CHIPPING, PAINT WEAR, AND OXIDATION TO SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CAR. *TR

NHTSA ID
10264161
Incident
Feb 20, 2009
Mileage
87,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Oct 22, 2008

THE PAINT ON MY CAR IS FADING AWAY. THE CAR IS 6 YEARS OLD AND THIS HAS BEEN GOING OWN FOR ABOUT 3 YEARS. I FEEL IT SHOULD BE COVERED BY THE CAR COMPANY TO GET THIS FIXED. I'VE SEEN OTHER CARS IN TOWN WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AS MINE. SO ITS GOT TO BE THE PAINT FROM THE COMPANY THAT MADE THE CAR. *TR

NHTSA ID
10246306
Incident
Jul 9, 2006
Body & structureEngine
Filed Aug 11, 2008

WATER LEAKS INTO THE INTERIOR CAB ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF CAR FROM THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT LOCATED UNDER THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT. WHEN MAKING A LEFT TURN, THE WATER POURS INSIDE CAB CAUSING WATER TO POOL UNDER THE CARPET. ALSO WETS THE WIRES AND HAS CAUSED THE RADIO TO SHORT OUT SO FAR. *TR

NHTSA ID
10237733
Incident
May 13, 2008
Mileage
75,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Jun 3, 2008

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MITSUBISHI GALANT. ON THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE ROOF AND HOOD, THE PAINT IS FADING FROM DARK BLACK TO LIGHT GRAY. THE FADING WORSENS AFTER THE VEHICLE IS WASHED. SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN AUTO BODY SHOP AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE CLEAR COATING ON TOP OF THE BLACK PAINT WAS CAUSING THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 55,000.

NHTSA ID
10229714
Incident
Feb 20, 2008
Mileage
55,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Oct 19, 2007

I HAVE AN 03 BLACK MIT. GALANT AND THE PAINT HAS FADED ON THE TRUNK AND TOP CLOSE TO THE SUNROOF. I KEEP MY CAR UNDER A CARPORT. THE CAR IS NOT PAID FOR AND IT ALREADY LOOKS VERY OLD. I HAVE ALSO NOTICED OTHER CARS THIS SAME MODEL AND COLOR AND THE PAINT IS FADING TOO. IT SEEMS THE COMPANY WOULD REPAINT THESE CARS SINCE IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THE PAINT WASN'T OF ANY QUALITY.

NHTSA ID
10206321
Incident
Oct 19, 2007
Body & structure
Filed Aug 4, 2007

MY PAINT ON MY CAR STARTED TO FADE A YEAR AGO. ITS A SHAME THAT MY CAR IS ONLY 3 YRS OLD AND LOOKS 10YRS OLD. I BOUGHT MY CAR BRAND NEW AND I'M MAKING PAYMENTS NOW I HATE TO MAKE MY PAYMENTS BECAUSE MY CAR LOOKS SO BAD. *TR

NHTSA ID
10198516
Incident
Sep 12, 2005

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

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Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .