1998 Mitsubishi Diamante

No clear pattern

0% of complaints about the 1998 Mitsubishi Diamante arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 1998 vehicle, but with only 33 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is visibility (17 complaints), typically at 7.1 yr or about 58,000 miles.

Complaints: 33
Median age at failure: 6.7 yr
Median mileage: 58,000 n=16
Crash / fire / tow: 6.1% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

04V428000 2004-09-01

Equipment:other:labels

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 DASH AND TO THE SUNVISOR DO NOT MEET THE SIZE REQUIREMENTS OF THE STANDARD.

THIS DOES NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE STANDARD.

In owners’ own words

Visibility mileage not reported 1.5 yr in service

WINDSHIELD WIPER BLADES DON'T CONTACT THE WINDSHIELD IN COLD WEATHER DUE TO A STIFF HINGE NEAR THE BASE OF THE WIPER ARM. CAN BE TEMPORARILY CORRECTED BY USING A LIGHT, PENETRATING LUBRICANT, BUT PROBLEM RETURNS AFTER CAR WASH.

Visibility mileage not reported 3.3 yr in service crash / fire / tow

HEATER CORE FAILED TO WORK FOR SIX WEEKS, FUMES WENT THROUGH THE VENTS AND ANTI FREEZE LEAKED INTO THE PASSENGER'S SIDE CARPET AND PADDING, VEHICLE TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP ON 12/12/00, VEHICLE RETURNED TO DEALERSHIP ON 1/3/01 FOR THE SAME PROBLEM, ON 1/10/00 OWNER WENT INTO RESPIRATORY ARREST, ON 2/3/00 OWNER FOUND HEATER CORE DUCK TAPED, HEATER CORE BOX CRACKED, PUNGENT ODOR STILL EXISTS WHICH HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH. CJ

Visibility mileage not reported 3.3 yr in service

THE HEATER CORE FAILED CAUSING ANTIFREEZE TO LEAK INSIDE THE VEHICLE ALONG WITH AN ODOR COMING OUT OF THE VENTS, THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIR WHERE THEY SAID THEY REPLACED THE HEATER CORE AND ADDED COOLANT, A FEW MONTHS LATER THE CONSUMER NOTICED THAT THE STEREO WAS NOT WORKING AND WHEN SHE REMOVED IT SHE FOUND THAT THE HEATER CORE BOX WAS CRACKED, HAD DUCT TAPE AROUND IT AND ANTIFREEZE WAS LEAKING AGAIN. NLM

Other Diamante model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

1998 Mitsubishi Diamante

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Diamante model years

How to read this