2002 Mitsubishi Galant Brakes Problems

SINCE PURCHASE OF 2002 MITSUBISHI GALANT HAVE HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH SQUEAKING BRAKES, ROTORS REPLACED TWICE SINCE PURCHASED 7/05. WAS TOLD BY DEALER THAT SQUEAKING WAS FROM DRIVING HABITS; NOTHING WRONG WITH BRAKES. HAD TO TAKE VEHICLE TO PRIVATE MECHANIC. ALSO, PROBLEMS WITH AIR CONDITIONING. HOT AIR BLOWS OUT BOTTOM VENTS BY FLOOR. AIR DOESN'T GET COLD EITHER. HAVE HAD VEHICLE AIR CONDITIONER CHARGED BOTH LAST SPRING AND ALSO THIS SPRING. WITHIN 2 WEEKS AIR ONLY GETS SEMI-COOL AND FLOOR VENTS BLOW REALLY HOT AIR AT ALL TIMES. THIS VEHICLE IS A DISGRACE. MORE TROUBLE THAN ENJOYMENT. ONLY GOOD THING IS APPEARANCE AND STYLE. MITSUBISHI HAS HAD NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT BOTH THE BRAKES AND AIR CONDITIONING ON THEIR 2002 GALANTES. POOR QUALITY AUTOMOBILE. *TR

I HAVE A 2002 GALANT, IT WAS THE FIRST BRAND NEW CAR I BOUGHT FOR MYSELF, THE BRAKES SQUEAKED THE FIRST DAY I'VE HAD TO GET THE BREAKS DONE TWICE ALREADY AND IT ONLY HAS 64,000 MILES I'VE ALSO GONE THROUGH 2 SETS OF TIRES I'M ABOUT TO BUY NEW TIRES THIS WEEK. IN THE LAST 2 MONTHS I'VE NOTICED IT DRIVES A LOT HARDER NOW, THERE'S ODD NOISES COMING OUT OF THE ENGINE AND IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING IS RUBBING ON THE FRONT TIRES WHEN I DRIVE. IT PULLS TO THE LEFT REALLY BAD WHEN I BRAKE. IF IT'S IDLING IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S STRUGGLING FOR AIR AND SHAKES A LITTLE. I'M NOT EVEN DONE PAYING FOR THIS CAR YET. *NM

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A USED 2002 GALANT. 2 DAYS AFTER PURCHASE THE BRAKES STARTED SQUEALING. BRAKE PADS WERE REPLACED AND 3 WEEKS LATER THEY STARTED SQUEALING AGAIN. *NM

I CONTINUE TO BATTLE PREMATURE FAILURE OF THE FRONT BRAKE ROTORS. THE CAR IS TYPICALLY USED WITH ONE OCCUPANT AND NO OR VERY LITTLE (20LBS OR LESS) CARGO. IN THE APPROXIMATELY 20,000 MILES I HAVE OWNED THE CAR, THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN REPAIRED 3 TIMES AND HAS NOW FAILED THE 4TH TIME. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN REPAIRED MORE TIMES IF I COULD AFFORD IT. MORE THAN 10,000 OF THESE 20,000 MILES HAVE BEEN DRIVEN WITH THE BRAKES SQUEALING OR CHATTERING. EVENTUALLY THE BRAKING POWER FADES AND THE STEERING WHEEL SHAKES TOO MUCH TO HOLD ONTO. WHILE THE CAR WAS UNDER WARRANTY, THE DEALER REFUSED TO DO ANY REPAIR COVERED BY THE WARRANTY. THE DEALER WOULD NOT INSPECT OR REPAIR THE CALIPERS IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT THE TYPE OF SQUEALING INDICATED POOR CONTACT OF THE PADS WITH THE ROTORS DUE TO STICKING CALIPERS AND THE FACT THAT HEAT WARPAGE OF THE ROTORS INDICATES STICKING CALIPERS. CALIPERS WERE COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY. INSTEAD, THE DEALER CLAIMED THAT I NEEDED TO BRING THE CAR IN FOR REAR BRAKE ADJUSTMENT AT THE SAME INTERVAL AS AN OIL CHANGE; HOWEVER, RESEARCH TELLS ME THAT THIS CAR HAS AUTO ADJUSTING REAR BRAKES! THIS TIME I TOOK IT ON MYSELF TO SERVICE THE FRONT BRAKES AS I COULDN'T AFFORD TO HAVE THEM SERVICED, MY WIFE AND I WERE AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR BECAUSE THE SHAKING DURING BRAKING WAS SO BAD, AND SEARS TOLD US THAT ROTORS HAD WORN TOO THIN TO RESURFACE. AT THE TIME I DID THIS SERVICE, I FOUND THE SLIDE PINS OF THE CALIPERS TO BE BADLY WORN. THIS TYPE OF FAILURE WILL CAUSE CALIPERS TO STICK, PREMATURELY WEAR BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS, OVERHEAT ROTORS AND PADS CAUSING WARPAGE OF THE ROTORS AND REDUCED BRAKING POWER, AND REDUCE BRAKING POWER BY CAUSING THE CALIPER TO CATCH RATHER THAN SLIDE ON THE SLIDE PIN AND THEREBY PREVENT PROPER PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE PADS. THIS IS A FAILURE OF THE CALIPER, WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN EASY TO DETECT AND COVERED UNDER WARRANTY, WHICH SPECIFICALLY COVERS CALIPERS. *JB

MITSUBISHI GALLANT: I BOUGHT THIS CAR PRE-OWNED, WITH 40K MILES. I HAVE ALREADY SERVICE MY BRAKES ABOUT 4 TIMES. I USED HAVE A DEALER WARRANTY, BUT IT WAS USELESS. A MECHANIC THAT I TRUST TOLD ME THAT MY ROTORS HAD TO BE REPLACED. HOWEVER, HE DIDN'T ADVICE ME TO REPLACE THEM BECAUSE IT WAS AN EXPENSIVE JOB AND THERE WAS NOT WARRANTY THAT THE CAR WILL NOT CONTINUE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM DUE TO FACTORY DEFECTS. HE TOLD ME TO LOOK ON THIS PAGE FOR MANY ISSUES ON THIS CAR. I WILL GET RID OF THIS CAR AS SOON AS I CAN. I WILL NEVER BUY THIS BRAND OF CAR AGAIN, I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED. *NM

I PURCHASED MY 2002 MITSUBISHI GALANT ON FEBRUARY 2002. I HAVE HAD BRAKE PROBLEMS FROM THE 1ST WEEK I PURCHASED IT. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP A TOTAL OF 4 TIMES AND ALSO CALLED NUMEROUS TIMES THAT YEAR. EVERY YEAR FROM THEN, I HAVE HAD BRAKE PADS PUT ON MAYBE 3 TIMES PER YEAR. EVERY OTHER MONTH, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH SOMETHING IS GOING WRONG WITH MY BRAKES. JUST LAST YEAR, I HAD BRAKE PADS PUT ON AND ALSO HAD TO REPLACE THE ROTORS. JUST TODAY, I HEARD MY BRAKES SCRUBBING AND WHISTLING WHEN I'M DRIVING. SOMETHING IS DEFINETLY WRONG WITH THIS VEHICLE.

RECURRING AND SEVERE FRONT BRAKE CHATTER. DESPITE REPEATED REPAIR, THE FRONT BRAKES CHATTER ON BRAKING SO MUCH THAT THE STEERING WHEEL SHAKES. THE BRAKING STRENGTH IS SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED AND BRAKING DISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED. THE DEALER CLAIMS THIS IS DUE TO THE REAR BRAKES BEING OUT OF ADJUSTMENT CAUSING THE FRONT BRAKES TO WORK "TOO HARD" RESULTING IN WARPED ROTORS. THEY WILL NOT COVER THESE REPAIRS UNDER WARRANTY. THE REPAIR ONLY LASTS ABOUT 3000 MILES AT BEST. *JB

OUR GALANT HAS SQUEAKING AND GRINDING WHEN BRAKES ARE APPLIED. CURRENTLY AT 46,000 MILES, AND THE 4TH SET OF BRAKES AND 2ND ROTORS WILL BE INSTALLED. DEALER SAYS IT IS DRIVING HABITS AND WILL NOT FIX EVEN THOUGH I PURCHASED EXTENDED 75,000 WARRANTY.*AK

BRAKE ROTORS JERK VEHICLE.

REAR BRAKES MAKE A SQUEALING/GRINDING NOISE WHEN BRAKING. THE DEALERSHIP INSPECTED TWICE. THE FIRST TIME THEY SAID IT WAS BUILT UP BRAKE DUST, THE SOUND CONTINUED AFTER I PICKED IT UP FROM THE DEALERSHIP. TOOK IT BACK AND SAID THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO, AND THEY SEEMED TO BE WORKING PROPERLY, AND THE ONLY WAY TO REMEDY IT WAS TO REPLACE THE PADS, WHICH IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY.*AK

CAR BROUGHT IN FOR SERVICE. BRAKE PULSATION,SECOND TIME,LEFT FRONT WHEEL. CAR IS UNDER 3 YEAR 36,000 WARRANTY. CAR HAS 23,472 MILES,WARRANTY GOOD TILL FEB 27TH,2005. DEALER SAYS I NEED BRAKE PADS,INSIDE PADS ARE WORN PAPER THIN,OUTSIDE PAD IS HALF LIFE. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I BROUGHT THIS VEHICLE IN FOR SAME COMPLAINT. DEALER WILL NOT COVER THE BRAKE PADS. BEING THAT THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED TWICE,AND FROM SAME SIDE..I WOULD BELIEVE THAT A MALFUNCTION OF THE BRAKE CALIPER,OR OTHER DEFECT HAS CAUSED THE ABNORMAL WEAR ON PADS. DEALER REPLACED BOTH FRONT ROTORS,WOULD NOT COVER COST OF BRAKE PADS! ALSO REQUESTED FRONT WHEELS TO BE BALANCED,DEALER CHARGED ME FOR RE-BALANCE,BUT WHEELS WERE NOT RE-BALANCED,HENCE..STILL HAVE VIBRATION. *JB

BRAKES VIBRATE, GRIND, SQUEAL AND FADE. MITSUBISHI SAYS NOTHING WRONG AND KEEPS RESURFACING ROTORS AND REPLACING PADS. FIRST BRAKE JOB WAS AT APPROX. 850 MILES, THEY SAID FAULTY CALIPER SUPPORTS WERE THE CAUSE. THEY SQUEAL FROM THE MOMENT I PICK UP THE CAR FROM SERVICE AND START TO GRIND AND PULSATE RELIGIOUSLY EVERY 5000 MILES AFTER BRAKE SERVICE. THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FOR THE SAME PROBLEM ABOUT SEVEN TIMES AND THEY TELL ME THAT THE BRAKES ARE OVER HEATING DUE TO DRIVING HABITS AND LOCAL TRAFFIC. NONE OF MY OTHER VEHICLES EVER HAD ISSUES LIKE THIS DRIVING IN THE SAME TRAFFIC. *JB

BRAKES FAILED TO STOP VEHICLE, HIT ANOTHER VEHICLLE THEN A CONCRETE BARRIER. SPEED APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, BOTH FRONTAL AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY.*AK

MY MITSUBISHI G IS A 2002. I BOUGHT IT 2/2004 FROM CARMAX! NOT EVEN 3 MONTHS INTO DRIVING MY CAR, I'VE HAD BRAKE PROBLEMS WHICH BEGAN SQUEAKING, THEN GRINDING. CARMAX CHANGED THE PADS AND I STILL HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AT LEAST 3 MONTHS LATER! I BOUGHT 4 NEW TIRES FROM SEARS! THIS IS NOT MY 1ST CAR AND I KNOW BRAKES SHOULD NOT BE CHANGED THAT OFTEN. I WENT BACK TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES SINCE I BOUGHT MY CAR. THEY ARE GOOD FOR SAYING THE COMPLAINTS ARE NOT LISTED ON THE WARRANTY. OH AND EVERYTIME IT RAINS, MY ENTIRE LEFT SIDE IS DRENCHED ONLY ON THE FLOOR! THE DEALER I PURCHASED SAYS THEY CAN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG. NOW MY INSIDE FLOORS ARE GETTING WORSE. EVERY TIME IT RAINS HEAVY! THE MITSUBISHI HUB CAPS NEVER STAY ON THE TIRES! THE HEATING SYSTEM MAKES NOISE WHEN YOU TURN TEMPERATURE FROM HOT TO COLD???? I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT THIS MAKE CAR WERE A SATISFYING COMPANY. BLUE BOOK CAR VALUE SHOULD REALLY INVESTIGATE THE CARS MADE BY MITSUBISHI DURING THE ENTIRE 2000 YEARS! NOT TO MENTION PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF ARE MAKING CAR PAYMENTS. *JB

BRAKES. *LA

I HAVE HAD REPEATED PROBLEMS WITH MY BRAKES. I PURCHASED MY 2002 GALANT ES BRAND NEW IN FEB 2002 FROM GARCIA MITSUBISHI. I STARTED EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH MY BRAKES WHEN THE CAR HAD AROUND 21000 MILES. THE BRAKES STARTED SQUEALING LIKE A BUS, SO I TOOK THE VEHICLE INTO GARCIA MITSUBISHI IN ALBUQUERQUE, NM. I WAS TOLD BY THE SERVICE MANAGER MY ROTORS WERE GETTING TOO HOT WHICH CAUSED THE BRAKE PADS TO CRYSTALLIZE OR GLAZE OVER. I WAS TOLD TO HAVE THE BRAKE PADS CHANGED AND THE ROTORS TURNED. I HAD THE BRAKE PADS REPLACED (WITH NON-FACTORY PADS) AND THE ROTORS TURNED AROUND 24,000 MILES. MY PROBLEM RECURRED, LEADING ME TO BELIEVE THE PROBLEM DID NOT LIE WITH THE PADS. I TOOK MY GALANT BACK TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND WAS AGAIN TOLD THERE WAS NOT A PROBLEM, MY NON-FACTORY PADS WERE THE PROBLEM. I KNOW THIS IS NOT TRUE BECAUSE THE PROBLEM ORIGINATED WITH FACTORY PADS. I TOOK MY CAR TO TWO MECHANICS WHO BOTH SAID THE ROTORS ARE NO GOOD AND THERE IS A HIGH POSSIBILITY OF THE CALIPER STICKING. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND THERE ARE OTHERS WHO OWN THE SAME MODEL AND YEAR AS MY GALANT WHO ARE HAVING SIMILAR PROBLEMS. EACH TIME I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP I AM TOLD THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. THIS PROBLEM IS DEFINITELY NOT WEAR AND TEAR. GARCIA MITSUBISHI RESPONDED TO A LETTER I WROTE AND TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD NOT HONOR MY WARRANTY BECAUSE I DID NOT MAINTAIN MY CAR AT THE DEALERSHIP (OIL CHANGES, ETC...). I HAVE REPLACED THE ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE SHAKES WHEN THE BRAKE IS PRESSED. I CAN ALSO SMELL A STRONG SCENT OF BURNING RUBBER. IT HAS BEEN A SHORT 4 MONTHS AND THEY NEED TO BE REPLACED AGAIN. I HAVE CALLED 800-MITSU2002 AND THEY ACCUSED ME OF BEING A BAD DRIVER. I HAVE OWNED 5 OTHER VEHICLES IN THE PAST AND NEVER HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE. I AM AFRAID OF DRIVING THE VEHICLE BECAUSE IF I EVER HAVE TO BRAKE SUDDENLY, I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO. *AK

ROTORS- I HAVE HAD MY CAR NOW FOR A YEAR AND 2 MONTHS. IT WAS PURCHASED BRAND NEW AND THE ROTORS HAVE BEEN CHANGES TWICE ALREADY AND PROBABLY A THRID TIME BY NEXT MONTH. *AK

SUMMARY - VEHICLE STEERING AND BRAKES VIBRATE UPON BRAKING, POOR BRAKE PERFORMANCE - BRAKING DISTANCE IS TOO LONG. SHODDY ROTOR/CALIPER QUALITY. DEALERSHIPS AND MITSUBISHI REFUSE TO FIX THE PROBLEM. *AK THE CAR HAS BEEN RETURNED TO THE DEALERSHIP REPEATEDLY (5 TIMES) TO REMEDY THE BRAKING PROBLEM - EVERY FEW MONTHS (WITH LESS THAN 2500 MILES SINCE THE LAST TIME THE ROTORS WERE REPLACED). THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE WEST BROAD MITSUBISHI DEALERSHIP IN RICHMOND, VA WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS BEING CAUSED BY WARPED ROTORS. THE DEALER RESURFACED THE ROTORS TO FIX THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM RE-OCCURED AFTER 7000 MILES. WEST BROAD MITSUBISHI THEN CLAIMED THAT THEY REPLACED THE ROTORS. 5000 MILES LATER, THE BRAKES BEGAN SQUEELING AND THE VIBRATION STARTED AGAIN. I TOOK THE CAR BACK IN TO THE WEST BROAD DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE ROTORS A SECOND TIME TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM. BARELY 2300 MILES LATER, THE CAR HAD TO BE TAKEN BACK TO ANOTHER MITSUBISHI DEALER (STOHLMAN) IN VIENNA, VA. THE DEALER TOLD ME THE (NEW) ROTORS HAVE WARPED AND THEYVE HAD TO BE RESURFACED. 2 WEEKS LATER (ABOUT 500 MILES), THE PROBLEM SHOWED UP AGAIN. AT THIS POINT, I WROTE A COMPLAINT LETTER TO MITSUBISHI. AFTER 4 WEEKS, A MITSUBISHI REP CAME TO THE DEALERSHIP TO CHECK THE PROBLEM - ONLY TO CLAIM THERE WAS NOTHING WORNG WITH THE CAR DESPITE OBVIOUS VIBRATION AND BRAKE SQUEELING. SUBSEQUENTLY, A QUICK CHECK BY A THIRD-PARTY MECHANIC REVEALED PROBLEMS WITH THE ROTORS AND CALIPERS.

I BOUGHT MY GALANT IN OCTOBER OF 2002, THE FIRST YEAR I HAD THE CAR I HAD TO TAKE IT IN FOR THE BRAKES SQUEAKING AND GRINDING FOUR TIMES. EACH TIME THE DEALER SAID THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG, AND SENT ME BACK HOME. I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS MY FAULT THAT MY BRAKES WERE BAD BECAUSE OF HOW I DRIVE. I ONLY HAD THE CAR FOR A COUPLE WEEKS WHEN MY BRAKES STARTED SQUEEKING AND GRINDING THE FIRST TIME. I CONTACTED MITSUBISHI, AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY VEHICLE, AND THAT THEY WERE NOT GOING TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I FEEL LIKE THIS IS AN UNSAFE CAR FOR MY CHILD TO RIDE IN BECAUSE I DO NOT KNOW WHEN MY BRAKES MIGHT FAIL OR REALLY WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM. MY ENGINE ALSO HAS A BURNING SMELL TO IT ALMOST ALL THE TIME, AND I WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG BY MITSUBISHI. I ALSO HAVE NUMEROUS FRIENDS THAT HAVE GALANTS AND HAVE THE SAME BREAK PROBLEMS.*AK

FRONT BRAKE ROTORS WARPED AFTER 15000 MILES, AND THE PROBLEM RESURFACED AGAIN AT 29000 MILES ALONG WITH EXCESSIVE BRAKE NOISE.*JB