The 1996 Mitsubishi 3000gt has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 15,000 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 26 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the seat belts. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
POWER TRAIN02V1430012002-05-1415,000 affected
Defect
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, A CONDITION EXISTS THAT ALLOWS OIL TO LEAK FROM THE ALL-WHEEL DRIVE TRANSFER CASE.
Consequence
LOW OIL LEVELS IN THE TRANSFER CASE COULD CAUSE BEARING DAMAGE AND RESULT IN DRIVE TRAIN LOCKUP, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE TRANSFER CASE FOR INDICATIONS OF OIL LEAKAGE OR DAMAGE. VEHICLES THAT HAVE OIL LEAKAGE WILL HAVE THE TRANSFER CASE RESEALED AND RE-FILL THE TRANSFER CASE TO THE PROPER LEVEL, OR REPLACED THE TRANSFER CASE IF THERE IS EVIDENCE OF DAMAGE. OWNER NOTIFICATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DECEMBER 9,…
Complaints by component
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
8
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
6
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:COLUMN SHIFT
2
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
2
POWER TRAIN:TRANSFER CASE (4-WHEEL DRIVE)
2
SEAT BELTS
2
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
2
1crashes
STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS
1
WHEELS:RIM
1
1injuries
Total complaints26
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Seatbelt does not function properly, leaving slack in the belt so it does not hold driver in case of crash. *tr”
“Normal everyday usage of seat belts. The front seat belts do not work any more they pull out but do not retract back. Mitsubishi says to wipe the belt down with a damp cloth then dry off to remove dirt. This does not work now my front seatbelts do not work at all they stay fully extended and will…”
“Seat belt doesn't retract properly to perform safely. It is slack when it's supposed to be tight against my chest. *tr”
“I have a 96 mitsubishi 3000gt and my front seat belts do not retract after being put on or taken off. If I were to get into an accident they would do very little to protect me. I tried to see if mitsubishi would fix the problem but they said they are not covered under warranty. Just figured I…”
“I own a 1996 mitsubishi 3000gt that has had both front seatbelts fail to operate correctly. I have replaced these belt twice now and the problem seems to come back after a few months. I feel this is a defect in the product that needs to be addressed by the manufacturer as a recall. This is a…”
“The driver side seat belt on my 1996 mitsubishi 3000gt vr-4 has problems retracting. If I lean forward, it won't automatically retract to pick up the slack. This has been happening ever since I purchased the car in may 2003. Since the belt won't automatically retract, I have to physically pull it…”
“The driver and passenger seat belts do not retract fully and do not lock in place. I feel this is very unsafe if an accident were to occur. The seat belt is only functional as a waist harness, because this renders the shoulder harness useless. *nm”
“Seat belts do not retract properly. *jb”
Defect investigations
InvestigationPE02013 Opened 2002-01-31 · closed 2002-06-03
TRANSFER CASE LOCKUP
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationPE02013 Opened 2002-01-31 · closed 2002-06-03
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1996 Mitsubishi 3000gt as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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