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:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
56,303 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.
The contact owns a 1998 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle stalled and the front suspension collapsed. As a result, the vehicle crashed into the ground. A police report was not filed, but the contact suffered injuries from the crash. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop where the body damage and lower ball joints were repaired. The failure was not diagnosed. The failure mileage was 250,876.
Right front ball joint collapsed -separated from suspension, luckily while entering a driveway, at slow speed - car became immobile. This recall exists as campaign #99V069000 for this year and model, but according to Honda, not for this car's VIN number. Leads me to think that this is more prevalent than at first thought.
During the first month of purchase, a strong rattling sound coming from the front end everytime the car goes over a little bump on the road. Years later the noise got louder, the front end, front stabilizer arm, ball joints, bushes got worsen. The car is very unsafe to drive.
The contact owns a 1998 Honda Accord. The front end of the vehicle made a rattling noise while driving various speeds. The dealer could find no failures with the vehicle. The VIN was unknown. The current mileage was 89,000 and failure mileage was 3,000. Updated 11/19/08. Updated 11/19/08
- Floral, NY, USA
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While turning left from a stop sign, across two lanes of eastbound traffic, the driver-side front suspension collapsed. Car could barely be directed to the side of the road out of the way of on-coming traffic. Assessment at repair shop was that both upper and lower ball joints had separated resulting in collapse of suspension. This also caused in a broken driver-side axle. Repair shop replaced upper and lower driver-side ball joints with after-market parts. The vehicle also had the passenger-side, upper ball joint replaced (February 2008) with Honda parts. This vehicle has had consistent suspension problems, both front and rear including looseness and clunking that Honda dealers and independent shops have not been able to diagnose effectively. There is a recall on 1998 Honda Accord lower ball joints, but allegedly this VIN number was not affected. Vehicle had 117,000 miles on it at the time of the incident.
There is no adjustment for the right rear camber. The car therefore has never been in proper alignment. The result is that I have had premature wear on my tires. I went to have my front end aligned when the dealer informed me of the problem. I feel Honda should be responsible for replacing the parts that would put the car in proper alignment. The car has never been in an accident and shows no signs of impact.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Norfolk, VA, USA