Well like any person out there we want the most reliable vehicle, so after hearing all this rave about Honda i figured hey why not? oh man little did i know about Honda's dirty little best kept secrets, so the car was awesome till around 90,000 everything started going sensors, shocks, ball joints, transmission everything and im like WTF? i baby this car and the old lady that owned it before me did to so whats the issue here? went to Honda told them about the transmission jerking slipping and leaking, i knew something wasn't right my other vehicles don't have problems till at least 150,000, the jerk off at the Honda Dealer said your lucky you got what you did out of it im like are you kidding? Nope he was serious and it gets better nothing they can do about it Honda could care less about its customers and its own rep, $2,500 to fix this defective trans OK HONDA Cough it up!!!

So the lesson learned is DONT BUY HONDA scrap!!!!

OH also the ignition switch went bad around 80,000 and i seriously almost died on the high-way the car violently jerks and stops it just shuts down and locks up its crazy and dangerous

When I first got it back in 2008 it jerked my but nothing like what it does now. It was whipping me back and forth the other day when I got stuck in traffic on the highway. It just got to bad to drive my car and since I've had my baby this past year I can't take any chances so I haven't driven with her in the car at all. Is it even worth getting the transmission fixed if this problem seems to happen on this model alot??? I can't afford to get a new car but am scared to shell out that type of money for a transmission that may be as bad as mine is now in just a few years.

I had no problems with gear shifting on my Honda Accord 1998 up until recently. It started having gear shift problems especially between 1st and 2nd, 2nd and 3rd. One time i couldn't get it switched to 3rd and was driving on highway like 30-40 miles/hour. when tried to accelerate, the rpm would go up to 4-5 rpm. It throws car back when switching between gears like if you had hit by a car from the rear end. One time there was a really dangerous situation when i was making a left turn on the intersection and my car would just not switch to the second gear and almost froze while incoming car was approaching the intersection. After my mechanic changed the transmission fluid and gear shift solenoid, the car was ok for about 5 days and now I am back to the same problem. Have to add that this problems are inconsistent and it seems to be better after the car sits for an hour or two. I may need to rebuild the transmission, but it's a big of investment for such an old car. Unfortunately, i cannot afford to by a new car at this moment.

If Honda knew about defective transmission on this model and had settlements done for the owners of the other Honda models that have the same transmission, they have to admit that Honda Accord 1998 owners are entitled for the same compensation.

I HAVE A 1998 HONDA ACCORD EX THAT IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION VEHICLE. HOWEVER AT TIMES IT SHIFTS FROM FIRST GEAR TO TO SECOND GEAR ROUGHLY WHEN THE ENGINE HAS BEEN RUNNING FOR A WHILE. WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD IT SHIFTS FINE. HOWEVER, ON OCCASION IT ALSO SHIFTS ROUGH EVEN WHEN SHIFTING FROM SECOND TO THIRD GEAR. THE CAR ALSO AT TIMES WHEN IT SHIFTS, IT ALMOST HANGS UP WHEN SHIFTING. TO BE MORE SPECIFIC, IT IS ALMOST AS THOUGH MY CAR IS SHIFTING FROM FIRST GEAR TO NEUTRAL, WHEN CAR IS IN OPERATION. MY ENGINE LIGHT IS STEADY ON. MY CODE READER INDICATES THAT THIS IS A SHIFT SOLENOID TORQUE CONVERTER PROBLEM. I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHOM EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM,, BUT DUE TO SEVERAL RESEARCHES THAT I HAVE MADE ONLINE, I HAVE FOUND OUT THAT SEVERAL OTHER HONDA OWNERS OF THE ACCORD RANGING AS EARLY AS 1990-2002 HAVE HAD THESE EXACT IDENTICAL PROBLEMS AND THESE HONDA OWNERS HAVE ALSO FILED COMPLAINTS OF THE ISSUE. THIS TELLS ME THAT HONDA HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM FOR QUITE SOMETIME, AND HAS DONE NOTHING TO TAKE CARE OF THE ISSUE. I HAVE FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE NHTSA ABOUT THIS ISSUE ONLINE. I FEEL THIS SHOULD BE A MANDATORY SAFETY RECALL, BECAUSE IF THE CAR DOES NOT SHIFT FROM FIRST GEAR TO SECOND GEAR SMOOTHLY OR HANGS AS THOUGH THE CAR IS IN NEUTRAL, THIS COULD CAUSE A CAR ACCIDENT THAT COULD RESULT IN INJURY, OR SUDDEN SEVERE DEATH ESPECIALLY IN METRO CITY AREAS.(HOUSTON,TX DALLAS,TX ETC.) EVEN IF NHTSA DOES NOT MAKE IT MANDATORY, JUST THESE COMPLAINTS ALONE, SHOULD BE ENOUGH FOR HONDA TO DO A COURTESY RECALL OF THEIR OWN WITHOUT BEING TOLD TO.

Honda's late 1990s and early 2000s transmissions were notoriously awful and will cost you a few thousand dollars to get rebuilt. Unfortunately, I did not know this when I bought a used 1998 Honda Accord for my daughter. We drove it with an increasingly failing transmission for a year or so, then when it was no longer drivable we had it rebuilt for $2000. This is shamefully poor car engineering and lousy build quality from Honda which used to be the premier brand of Japanese car. It makes me very reluctant to buy another Honda and I've owned two of them. Driving a car with a failing transmission is very dangerous as you cannot really control the car, and when it goes out of gear you lose power. On the freeway, that is very dangerous. Honda should have a transmission rebuild program for every one of these failed transmissions over the entire six or seven years they made them. It might be thousands a year, though, so they wouldn't do that. Shame.

In August 2011, the "Check Engine" light of our 1998 Honda Accord LX came on. When the service codes were scanned code P0740, 'Torque Convertor Clutch Circuit Malfunction', was identified. Shortly thereafter the vehicle developed an irregular jerky response upon acceleration. A second diagnosis rendered the same code, and the mechanics' recommendation was that the transmission had to be rebuilt or replaced at the cost of $3,000 +/-. After further researching this problem , I discovered that Honda, North America had issued a recall of some 600,000 vehicles (2002-2004 Honda Odyssey, 2003-2004 Pilot, 2001-2002 Acura MDX, 2003-2004 Accord V-6) for similar problems. In 2006 Honda also settled a class-action lawsuit, claiming that Honda had misled consumers by selling them vehicles with defective transmissions in the 2000-2001 Accord, 1999-2001 Odyssey, 2000-2001 Prelude, 1999-2002 Acura 3.2 TL, and 2001-2002 Acura 3.2CL. Honda settled the case without ever admitting a defect and denied the charges. (http://www.hondaproblems.com/problems/tranmission-failure.shtml) Unfortunately, although the 1998, 1999, and 2002 Accord models use the same automatic transmissions, these models were not included in the settlement (???).

A letter to Mr. Tetsuo Iwamura, President & Director of Honda North America, Inc., outlining the problems with my vehicle and the thousands of others in the recall and class action suit, was answered by a call from one of their customer service representative 'robots' who was of no service whatsoever and denied any responsibility for transmission failure on a vehicle that was "so old". What crap!

Honda is fully aware that they had manufacturing defects in these vehicles, but is unwilling to support customers whose vehicles have developed the same problems, with the same transmission, different only in model year or time of onset of the problem. This is egregious irresponsibility, and I am calling on all 1998- 2002 Honda Accord and other owners who have been affected by this problem to deluge NHSTA, demanding a recall be issued, to hold Honda North America accountable for their defective transmissions.

Thanks to a poor move to go from on-off solenoids for shifting to Linear solenoids for shifting, my 98 Accord DX has the classic late 90's/early 2000's 2nd gear slip. Why can't Honda not only replace the transmissions but also reflash the ROM in the TCM with some better Linear solenoid control algorithms? As a Honda/Acura (Mainly Acura) guru I have found the problem myself and I am by far a "Highly trained Technician"! I'm just a 31 yr old with a High School education and backyard automotive experience.

First noticed car had problem with acceleration from stop. Then rattling sound when only idling the car. Then check engine light came on. Knew to take it to dealership. Told dealership problem. They said I needed new motor mounts for the transmission and an egr valve replacement. Cost me a bundle, so I had it fixed. Still had acceleration problem so I had an early 150,000 mile checkup/tune-up. Dealership said I needed a new CV boot, so I had it fixed. Still had acceleration problem. Took it in for a oil change that included a a minor checklist for the car if there were any problems. They found none. Accerelation problem/symptoms getting worse. I used Lucas fuel system cleaner after the dealership told me I had carbon deposits which necessitated the egr valve replacement in the mean time interim. I thought I had clogged fuel injectors from trying to self diagnose from the Honda repair manual I bought at Kragen/O-reily. The problem was starting to drive me crazy. Acceleration problem got worse and so bad that when trying to merge into traffic my car would stall and then pick up speed. I had to maintain a big space cushion just to drive safely. This was becoming ridiculous and also becoming a safety hazard. I could only compensate so much when driving in traffic.

Talked to a friend about my car problems and he said his father had an accord with the same symptoms that was a transmission problem. A light bulb went off in my head. Took car back to the dealership and told them to check the transmission. Guess what? They found the problem on the fourth visit to the dealership, but I had to tell them what was wrong. They said that it would cost over 3700 dollars to fix it! I am no mechanic yet the dealership can't even diagnose the main problem with my car after three tries. I am so upset. I can understand the frustration of all the Honda owners of this forum. The Honda transmission on Accords are not up to par.

I used to be a loyal Honda fan. My first car was a used manual 1979 Prelude. My second car was a manual 1993 Civic. They don't build Hondas like they used to any more. Too many reliability issues with the transmissions. Too bad the recall doesn't extend to 1998 Accords. People with Honda transmissions, drive at your own risk!

You were warned.

Okay so it hasn't been a full 5 yrs/ almost 70,000miles since I had to buy a new transmission and even got it installed at a Honda dealership only to have the same thing start happening again. I mean Seriously Honda, I thought u all built the best cars.I should have just went with my first pick and brought a Toyota or Nissan made vehicle. I am so pissed right now. I can truly say if anyone asks my opinion on purchasing a Honda, please go somewhere else with your money. Even Kia nowadays lives up to standards of parts lasting more than 5 years. Make it so bad i called American Honda to report the problem and see if something could be done about it and the lady said well sir i understand but there is nothing we can do the only solution is to buy a re-cased transmission. I mean WTF the time i served my country we stood up behind people to ensure they could feel safe to sleep at night that's why U S was put before the branches of services if they can't stand behind people who spend their hard earn money on there product just change your name at least than people wouldn't be so mislead. When i had a problem out of the American Chevy, I have they stood behind their product and at least came off the few hundred dollars to correct the problem and the car is a 1986. I cant believe they are so selfish they think correcting something that's a safety hazard cause by their fatal designs in a vehicle is worth nothing to a consumer of their products. I think that all of us that bought these 98-2002 accords with trans problem should get a suit together and make them pay for their mistake maybe than they will listen and try to correct things at the small level.

Had to go home on emergency leave drove over 12 hrs had the car checked out before i left at a Honda dealership which i had to drive an hour out of town to get to because it was slightly slipping and they charged me over $100 for adding trans fluid than got offended when i ask why i was charge so much and they said they put in 2 1/2 quarts so i asked for the rest of the 1/2 bottle....Well anyway got home after the long drive just in enough time to see my grand mother in the hospital for the last time. I placed the car in park and it slam so hard the security guard ran out because he thought i hit something the car was stuck in park and won't move next i had to get it towed to Townsend Honda for them to tell me it couldn't be repaired, an replacement was the only option and it would take 2 days which turn into me having to request a emergency leave extension because those 2 days turned into 4 1/2 days and them charging me for a new void key they lost while replacing a recall part on the ignition system which was $150. this really pissed me off due to the fact i only bought a Honda in the first place because i thought it would last forever like the ones my other family members had when i was growing up and i had to pay almost half of the amount i purchase the car for to replace this less than a year after i purchased it and it was a certified honda vehicle at the time of purchase does the sticker in the window mean certified by honda that whatever problems you have it's not on us

The transmission was very jerky from the moment I purchased the pre-owned Honda in 2004. Did not think anything of it, but I should have done my research? Turned out that the transmissions on the 1998 Honda Accord with a V6 had an abnormally high failure rate? The car also went through Honda dealer brake rotors and pads every six months until I smartened up and purchased quality Monroe brake parts and had my mechanic install them? The transmission finally failed on December 2009 after a trip to Montreal. I thought about towing it to the wreckers, but decided to pay the $2600 to have it rebuilt so that I could sell it after driving it for a year? WRONG! Before the year was up, it needed to be rebuilt again. The transmission was making a whining noise and the mechanic felt that it needed to be rebuilt again under warranty? I was without a car for 2 weeks while it was getting repaired. Before I could decide on which vehicle to buy, the transmission started slipping between first and second gear. By that time, the warranty on the rebuild had expired? I never expected that to happen? Should have traded it in when I had the chance, but I am now forced to drive it until it dies and will not spend another penny on the car, nor will I ever purchase another overpriced used Honda product ever again. I do not understand why used Honda vehicles maintain their value because I feel that they are no better than most North American vehicles? I have had owned many North American vehicles in the past and never had transmission problems with any of them? It is surprising that both rebuilds did not even last one year? I know many people that had their transmissions rebuilt and they had all lasted over 5 years. It would make more sense to me to buy comparable North American vehicle for less money because you would never spend more than the price difference to repair most North American vehicles? Six Honda models made the top 20 list for worst vehicles on this site? Makes you kinda wonder?

I purchased my 1998 accord about 6 months ago. I noticed the tranny slipping then but it wasn't bad and I didn't think it was a problem. I thought since it was a honda it would hold up better than it has. this is my fourth honda and the only one I've had problems with. after talking with transmissions shop mech. and checking the internet, I have learned that honda has had problems with transmissions from 1998 to 2002.

I contacted Honda (America) and gave them my vin and I was told that my vehicle wasn't on the call back list and that it was over the years and mileage (100,000).

If I had known that they (Honda) had defective transmissions I would have purchased a Nissan instead for a few hundred less. I only want honda to do what's right.