CarComplaints.com Notes: The 1998 Honda Accord suffers from widespread transmission failure, peeling paint, & subframe rust. We recommend avoiding this model year like the plague.
The transmission begins slipping & eventually has to be replaced, typically soon after 100,000 miles & with a repair cost of over $2,000.
Peeling paint has also been a huge issue for these Accords. Most of the complaints are with darker paint colors -- especially green & blue.
Subframe rust near the front passenger side wheel has become a problem recently, due to the poorly positioned A/C drain hose directly above that area. Repair cost to the subframe is over $2,000.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
20,000 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
This is my mothers car (1998 Honda Accord ex-vl) which was totaled in an accident due to a sudden unintended acceleration.my wife was the first owner of the vehicle and my mother has had the car for about 2 years. She had stopped, put the car into park, got out to open a parking lot gate, got back in, stepped on the brake, and shifted the car into gear. It immediately went into a high rev and accelerated uncontrollably resulting in the car smashing into a wall about 60' away. Luckily the air bags worked and neither her or my step father were seriously hurt. Her foot was definitely on the brake pedal as there is a lockout mechanism that prevents the car from being taken out of park if the brake pedal is not pushed. This may or may not be related, but she was having difficulty getting the handle to move. The problem with it not moving had occurred previously, usually on a slight incline, but the Honda dealer looked at it and told her nothing was wrong. My mother is a retired bus driver with a perfect driving record, no accidents, and only uses one foot to control the vehicle.
I purchased a 98 Honda Accord in October of 2001. It has been in the shop approximately eight times since it was purchased for numerous problems. The brakes had to be replaced about four months after buying the car. The paint has faded on the roof and is now fading on the trunk lid. The key has gotten stuck in the ignition twice and would not come out until the next day. The gas pedal has gotten stuck after cranking the car and pedal had to be "punched" to get it to accelerate. The cd player has been replaced. The doors would not lock using keyless entry or manually and the door accuator was replaced. The keyless entry has also been replaced. These are some of the things that are going on. Currently, the back window is vibrating and it is unclear whether it is loose or not. I do feel this is a lemon.
Upon slowing down with brakes on, engine starts to buck and wants to quit, also happens when starting from a stop position. Does not happen all the time but has caused a few situations whereby a collison almost occurred. Dealer advised, checked out by dealer, stated nothing found would not go any further. Note-above dates approx., have dealer invoice if needed.
The engine completely blew out one day. I was on the way to work and there was an explosion under my hood. Honda put in a re-built engine and I have had nothing but problems since then. A few months later...the paint gradually started to fade away on the roof. It has only gotten worse and will get much worse. It is a 1998 Honda!! this stuff shouldn't be happening!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Hudson, WI, USA