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.
Vehicle would skip gears, and when consumer tried to put vehicle in gear, vehicle would not move. Consumer contacted dealer, and dealer tuned vehicle up. However, problem has reoccurred.
Final gear in automatic transmission has failed which resulted in failure of transmission to go from drive to park. Dealership has examined vehicle, and determined that transmission needed to be rebuilt.
Was driving and transmission failed to shift properly. This caused vehicle to move very slowly. Can hear a buzzing noise like its trying sto shift into proper gear after gas passes through. Have taken vehicle to dealer a few times, but mechanic could not find cause of problem. Problem was getting worse.
First failure transmission shifting erratic @71,927mi. Problem diagnosed as solenoid shift valve, second failure diagnosed as internal problem worn parts.
Driving around normally, automatic transmission will clunk and jerk going into and out of 2nd gear. Drive it a little harder, it yanks and bucks the car. During normal operation, when you came to a stop (when the transmission is trying to go back to 1st when decelerating), the transmission will fight the brakes and jerk the car forward. Not only is this an immediate danger, but it is a degenerating problem that will eventually cause a catastrophic transmission failure, creating a safety hazard at any vehicle speed. Other 1998 Honda Accord V6-coupe owners and even dealers have recognized this as a widespread problem with this specific component. Honda-Acura.net/forum/forum12/html/008731.html
- Mechanicsburg, PA, USA
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Bearing going into tranmission cracked. Front end made odd noise. Dealer was unable to diagnose. Eventually transmission fuild leaked out, requiring transmission to be replaced.
The car's transmission surges. We had the car in for servicing the week before and then our son lost control and crashed into a tree. He was only going 35 mph at the time and was braking at the time. We had been experiencing problems with the transmission shifting and surging. The dealer said there was a broken seal and the transmission fluid was leaking out. This accident happened 3 days after we picked the car back up from the dealer after supposed repairs. After reading other consumer complaints, maybe this is the fuel throttle linkages control and not the transmission. We don't know. After the car is repaired from the accident we are taking back to the Honda dealership for more work on transmission/fuel throttle problem.
Transmission is slipping and does not hold when vehicle is on an incline. Transmission has burned completly out. Deaelr is going to replace transmission.
I called american Honda and was asked where I got the info from. And I told them the internet and was then asked if it was a Honda site to which I said no. I was then told there was no such recall. No safety defect mentioned.
The automatic transmission for my 1998 Honda Accord failed 2500 miles after the warranty ended. It is my understanding that transmissions do not fail this early on in the life of the vehicle. I have taken the car to many mechanics who all stated that there must be a defect in the transmission and to take it back to the dealer because they do not go out this fast. Everyone but Honda states that there must be a defect. The Honda corporation accepts no responsibility for this and contends that there is no defect or recall. Through research I have found many complaints of transmission problems for the 1998 Accord especially on the NHTSA consumer complaints site. I feel that Honda is ignoring/hiding customer complaints to avoid a recall on the 1998 Honda Accord. This is not right that the transmission went out so early on in the car's life and something needs to be done about this issue. I know that this must be going on on a larger scale probably all over the country and being ignored by the dealers.
There is a whining noise coming from the transmission. On a hot day, at highway speeds, when the trans. Fluid gets hot and thins out the noise becomes increasingly louder. I have contacted the dealership and Honda customer relations. They claim it is a harmless noise, due to transmission design. They offered to install a sound dampening kit which I consider a patch and not a repair. I declined to have this done. Honda assured me that it does not affect reliability. However, the whining is slowly getting noisier. Looking at your database, I noticed a similar complaint. ODI id 700587. Honda dealership said this is common on the V-6 models and no permanent repair bulletins have been issued from Honda. This whining noise is not normal and should be addressed by Honda, and a permanent repair should be initiated.
Transmission lock up converter failed, supposedly replaced with new trans. After 2 weeks new trans. Loudly slips while in reverse. Took car to dealer and find out they put in a re-manufactured trans. (oh, by the way...) dealer doesn't know how to fix this problem however bob springer service manager said "other Honda are having this problem too". reason for not putting in a new trans. Honda doesn't have any new trans. Available, yet our service advisor brett was going to charge us $3800 for a new trans. When the first transmission failed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pittsburg, CA, USA