Selling a junk Mitsubishi Montero
Any Montero sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
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What owners report about the Mitsubishi Montero
NHTSA has 849 owner complaints on file for the Mitsubishi Montero, model years 1995 to 2006, the 306th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are brakes (220, 26%), engine and cooling (116, 14%), suspension (66, 8%). 73 complaints involved a crash, 14 a fire, and 5 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 96,621 miles. The 2001 model year has the most complaints (213). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is brakes, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to deciding whether to repair or junk: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Mitsubishi Montero by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 106 | Engine and cooling | 8 | 0 | 2 | 143,000 |
| 1996 | 40 | Engine and cooling | 0 | 0 | 2 | — |
| 1997 | 85 | Brakes | 7 | 6 | 2 | — |
| 1998 | 91 | Suspension | 13 | 0 | 4 | — |
| 1999 | 47 | Suspension | 4 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 2000 | 68 | Brakes | 8 | 1 | 2 | — |
| 2001 | 213 | Brakes | 16 | 2 | 4 | 103,530 |
| 2002 | 132 | Brakes | 11 | 1 | 3 | 84,500 |
| 2003 | 53 | Brakes | 6 | 1 | 2 | 67,000 |
| 2004 | 7 | Brakes | 0 | 0 | 3 | — |
| 2005 | 1 | Steering | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | 6 | Brakes | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Mitsubishi Montero recalls
NHTSA lists 10 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for equipment (3), brakes (2), engine and cooling (1). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 1998 model year, air bags (campaign 20V035000, Jan 2020): Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain 1998-2000 Montero vehicles. These vehicles were equipped with Non-Azide Driver air bag Inflators (NADI) and do not contain phase stabilized ammonium nitra…
- 1998 model year, equipment (campaign 04V428000, Sep 2004): CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 208, 'OCCUPANT CRASH PROTECTION.' THE BILINGUAL ENGLISH/SPANISH REMOVABLE AIR BAG WARNING LABELS AFFIXED TO THE …
- 2002 model year, fuel system (campaign 04V319000, Jul 2004): ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, WHEN THE FUEL TANK IS FULL AND THE VEHICLE IS PARKED FACING FORWARD ON AN UPWARD SLOPE, THE FUEL TANK LEVELING VALVE MAY NOT MAINTAIN PROPER SEALING IN THE EVENT THE FUEL EXPANDS FROM A…
- 2004 model year, equipment (campaign 04V095000, Feb 2004): ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, THE VEHICLE CAPACITY WEIGHTS AS STATED ON THE TIRE AND LOADING INFORMATION LABEL ARE IN ERROR.
- 2001 model year, equipment (campaign 04V067000, Feb 2004): CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY AND PASSENGER VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 225, "CHILD RESTRAINT ANCHORAGE SYSTEMS." THE OWNER'S MANUAL DOES NOT CONTAIN A STEP-BY-STEP DESCRIPTION FOR HEAD…
What a Mitsubishi Montero is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk Montero on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
Should you junk or repair your car? 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
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Questions people ask
- What is a junk Mitsubishi Montero worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Montero gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Mitsubishi Montero that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Mitsubishi Montero?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Mitsubishi Montero numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.