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:
7 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
51,660 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.
While driving transmission shifted into another gear unexpectedly. This caused a banging noise under the hood. Consumer took the vehicle to the dealer for analysis, and mechanic could not duplicate the problem.
My 1998 Honda Accord (automatic transmission) has a mileage of only about 50,000 miles. Over the last couple of months I noticed that the engine check light had come on and I was having a problem with delayed and hard shifting of gears especially at lower speeds. The engine check came up with a diagnosis code of P740. The service advisor also detected leaking transmission fluid and he recommended that I fix the seals and drive it around for some time. Even after the seals were replaced I still found that the vehicle was lunging forward whenever it came to a stop and it would have a trouble changing gears (especially the second gear). Though the vehicle is in drivable condition it seems like a big safety hazard and a disaster waiting to happen. I took the vehicle to a Honda dealer who recommended that I replace the entire transmission at a cost of about $4000. Given the low mileage and otherwise good condition of my vehicle I can only attribute this problem to a manufacturing defect. When I did some research I found out that there are a number of 98 Accord owners who have been facing similar problems with their transmission. I have sent a fax to Honda of America with a detailed description of this problem about a month ago but have not heard any response. I am expecting Honda to take a greater responsibility in understanding and rectifying customer complaints with such serious safety implications. However that has not happened so far. I am currently not using this vehicle much given the obvious safety issues.
My 98 Honda Accord transmission slips after 76,000 miles, it will jerk when I try to go from low gear to high gear, it also leak transmission oil, I took it to Honda dealership and told I need a new transmission. I open a case with Honda american and made a deal with them to repire my trany.
After exiting my 1998 Honda Accord after parking it on my flat driveway, my car then rolled down my backyard hill and 100ft into the woods on my property. The key had come out normally when I exited the vehicle, however the car was in the "drive " position. No one was injured but the car had $6500 damage. I am complaining because I thought a safety feature of most ignitions is that the keys do not come out unless the car is in park. 2 months after this event Honda has come out with a statement regarding '98 Accord having a problem with the key coming out when the car was not in "park."
98 Accord 4cyln ex. Only 47,000 miles on it. Transmission slipping from 1st to 2nd and slightly from 2nd to 3rd. Car lundges foward when coming to a stop when the gears change from 2nd to 1st. Premature transmission failure.
While vehicle was shut off the key was taken out of the ignition without the vehicle being in the park position. As a result, the vehicle rolled back into a truck.
Car lunges forward at stops while brake is depressed. Transmission is delayed when shifting from park to R or D, slipping when accelerator is pressed and finally shifting with a jerk. Slips when accelerating from a stop, engaging with a hard jerk and slips again when shifting from first to second gear. On hard acceleration, transmission downshifts hard and engine revs, car feels out of control. Notified dealer of problems at 65,000 miles and was advised transmission is bad and needs replacing at a cost of $5,000. Honda does not allow dealer to rebuild. Dealer is required to return entire assembly to Honda. Honda customer service was contacted. I am still waiting for a reply. Honda's reputation was built on reliability. They should stand behind their product.
Transmission failed. Started by making clicking noises when going from park to drive. Transmission eventually would not engaged. Gears slipped severely all the while transmission fluid leaking. I had to keep putting fluid in until I had to replace the whole transmission. I replaced it with a salvage 98 transmission only to start having problems again. Honda would not help me saying that it was my fault because I had not got the suggested service on it at 30, 60K miles.
My 1998 Honda Accord LX model had atf leak at around 70,000 miles. I got the axial seal replaced and power flush the atf. Now my transmission started slipping and the car is vibrated when I shift from P to N or R or D4,3,2,1. I was told by Honda that I need to replace a new transmission. I personally think Honda should take this matter seriously. I do trust Honda for the reputation and I am trying to be patient before I am loosing my trust. I found out on the web more than 1000 complaints about Honda's transmission. I bought my 98 Honda because my 92 Honda which has 150K and it is still running find.
While driving, the consumer heard a noise and there was vibration from the front end of the vehicle. The noise increased at 40 mph and higher. The consumer had the tires replaced, but the problem worsened. The problem was caused by a defective automatic transmission carrier needed replacement.
The main reason to buy a Honda is because of its reliability, and if these cars can't even reach a 100,000 miles, whats the use of doing all the services on time" all the fluids and everything was taken care of on time and still the transmission went out. What's the whole concept" one thousand of its qualified technicians have enginered a machine that can't even last 100,000 miles. I've heard a lot of people who have experienced its transmission problem of their coupe. I think it's time to have a recall.
The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer for a transmission problems. The dealer changed the transmission fluids. Two weeks later transmissions was not working.
When the vehicle was parked without the emergency brake engaged and the engine was turned off, the vehicle rolled backwards. The dealership serviced the vehicle several times for this problem, but the cause of the failure is undetermined. The consumer learned of a recall of 650,000 related to the failure the vehicle experienced. The information indicated that the emergency brake should be used whenever the vehicle was parked. The consumer now uses the emergency brake. The dealer was unable to find and problem since the failure didn't occur at the shop.
I have a 1998 Accord ex, only 75000 miles. At first I heard noices under the vehicle at low speed. Later I notice my transmission fluid leaks and then the noice got louder. The gear seems to slip and not shifting properly when accellerating and decelerating, this occurred more especially at cold start. I then brought the car to my family mechanic and was told that the my transmission need to be rebuilt, that I have a broken bearing which caused the fluid to leak and making all the noices. Later he told me that one of the solenoid shift valve was bad in which caused the transmission to shift out of the ordinary and would not shift up and down at low gear per engine rotational speed (RPM). He told me that if I had driven this vehicle longer it would cost me a fortune to replaced the transmission. If this is the problem with Honda, why it's not resolving this issue with a recall. I am so skeptical of buying another Honda vehicle. My last 1993 Toyota 4runner did not have any problem at 189,000 miles. If yall out there know any info, please let me know. Thanks.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Southbury, CT, USA