1997 Honda Prelude problems
Owners have filed 88 complaints with NHTSA about the 1997 Honda Prelude. Transmission is the most reported problem area, at 44% of complaints. Next are suspension (9%) and electrical system (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 88 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 44% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 18 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 97,000 miles 36 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 12 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 36 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 97,000 miles. For transmission specifically, the median reported mileage is about 91,000 miles (21 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 18 complaints mention a crash; 2 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the Honda Prelude with enough data (44 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
While driving vehicle between 40 and 50 MPH the owner's daughter was driving vehicle on a wet road. When she tried to stop she couldn't, losing control and having an accident, hitting front where the air bags (driver and passenger) did not deploy, causing injuries to both driver and passenger. They were taken to hospital.
As the result of broken ball joint, the vehicle spun out of control causing damages to wheels,frame,alignment and the body. Yh
Problems with ball joints, brakes, air conditioner, radio, windshield and seats. In addition, the engine burned oil, the vehicle had a hard time going backwards. Consumer had numerous incidents with the vehicle going out control. The vehicle was repaired multiple times, but the problems continued to exist.
1997 honda prelude sport shift transmission failure. Car has only 60,000 miles and the transmission is failing. Car is beginning to jerk forward when slowing down to a complete stop in traffic or at a stop light.
1997 honda prelude the clutch spring retainer broke rendering the clutch inoperable placing stress on the transmission and damaging the internals from the spring being loose in the system