"How reliable is the 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante?"

"Based on 162 NHTSA complaints, the 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante has a median complaint mileage of 63000 miles. The most common issue is Heater Core."

"What are common problems with the 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante is Heater Core, accounting for a significant portion of the 162 total complaints filed."

2002 Mitsubishi Diamante: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 162 complaints

162

Total Complaints

63,000mi

Median Mileage

Heater Core

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

44,925 25th Percentile

63,000 Median Mileage

80,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Heater Core

Engine And Engine Cooling

Cooling System

Electrical System

Defroster/Defogger/Hvac System

Automatic Transmission

Power Train

Visibility

Tires

Wheels

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"MAKING A RIGHT TURN INTO A PARKING STALL. PUT ON BRAKE, TO STOP, CAR ACCELERATED OVER CURB INTO BUILDING. MR"

"WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY THE VEHICLES WHEEL CAME OFF. THE BRAKE DRUM AND SOME OF THE AXLE WAS STILL ATTACHED TO THE WHEEL. THIS INCIDENT CAUSED THE DRIVER TO RUN INTO A WALL. THE DRIVER SUSTAINED AN INJURED BACK, NECK AND SIDE . THIS WAS REPORTED TO MITSUBISHI. *NLM."

"GOODYEAR EAGLE TIRES, MAKE WINDING NOISE WHEN VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. DEALER CLAIMED THAT THIS WAS CAUSED BY LACK OF TIRE ROTATION, I HAVE ROTATED THIS TIRES EVERY 6,000 MILES, SINCE THE DAY I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW. THE PROBLEM STARTED AFTER THE CAR HAD ABOUT 2,000 MILES, CAR HAS BEEN TO THE DEALER TWO..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Heater Core 62 complaints

25th: 42,000 mi Median: 58,000 mi 75th: 70,000 mi

Engine And Engine Cooling 18 complaints

25th: 52,500 mi Median: 67,800 mi 75th: 76,000 mi

Cooling System 16 complaints

25th: 58,750 mi Median: 73,000 mi 75th: 78,250 mi

Electrical System 8 complaints

25th: 5,284 mi Median: 43,182 mi 75th: 86,822 mi

Defroster/Defogger/Hvac System 5 complaints

25th: 61,625 mi Median: 73,750 mi 75th: 82,750 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

NJ: 14 NY: 14 TX: 12 FL: 12 CA: 10 PA: 10 MA: 8 SC: 8 MN: 7 WA: 7

Who Files Complaints?

29.6%

Original Owners

70.4%

Second+ Owners

Mitsubishi Diamante — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1992	60	-	Gasoline	2
1993	43	-	Frontal	10
1994	33	-	Frontal	6
1997	51	-	Automatic Transmission	3
1998	35	58,000	Heater Core	1
1999	26	88,450	Heater Core	0
2000	63	60,342	Heater Core	3
2001	93	60,000	Heater Core	0
2003	75	60,000	Heater Core	1

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28