1997 Honda Prelude: jerking or lurching

8 of the 66 complaints about the 1997 Honda Prelude describe jerking or lurching.

owner complaints: 8
of this car's complaints: 12%
typical mileage: 90,000
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 13 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Jerking or lurching by model year

2001
5
1999
1
1998
2
1997
8
1995
1

What owners say

Filed Mar 31, 2010 · Transmission · 90,000 miles · 00

I've driving my prelude for 4 years. Very soon after I got it I noticd the shifting was jerky. Soon after it became jumpy and now when I drivie my car from cold its bolting into gear with a tremendous jerk. I feel its on its way out.

Filed Jan 30, 2008 · Transmission · 169,841 miles · CA

I recently bought my honda prelude back in november 18, 2007 from a used dealership. The car came with 167k miles and now I'm at 169k. The main reason why I am filing a complaint, is the automatic transmission is going out. I take my car to work, school, drive my mom to work, and even my younger brother to school. This is the only car we have. The transmission slips and jerks at low rpms from 1k-3k in 1st-2nd gear. I've done research on 97-01 honda preludes and the automatic transmission has the most fails. If my automatic transmission goes out I wouldn't have the funds to replace it while I'm still paying for insurance and monthly payments. I believe that honda should replace the transmission without cost even with cars without the extended warranty. Also I hear that the 99-01 automatic transmissions were stronger than the 97-98 years and were also given an extended warranty for the 99-01 years with under 100k miles.

Filed Apr 5, 2004 · Transmission · 99,793 miles · NC

The transmission slips when shifting gears. When shifting from 1st to 2nd, the car will rev up like it's in neutral then suddenly jerk into 2nd. The same thing happens for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears. On several occasions, when I came to a complete stop the car would shudder violently then the engine would cut out. This happen several times while I was trying to cross an intersection, and the car could not be stopped while in drive because the engine kept cutting out. I had to stay in neutral then shift to drive real quick and hope the engine didn't stall in order to cross the road. This has proven to be very dangerous, and potentially life threatening. The honda dealership says it's $3600 for a new transmission, and I don't have a guarantee that the new won't fail either. Honda should pay to fix this obvious defect.

Filed Jul 29, 2003 · Transmission · 66,000 miles · VA

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.

Filed Mar 5, 2003 · Transmission · 80,000 miles · PA

My car suddenly started shifting oddly and got more violent as time passed. This was dangerous because after reversing out of my driveway, the car would jerk and basically have a big clang. The car also died out when I was driving. After I replaced the transmission at 80000 miles, it is now starting to shift hard again.

Filed Dec 24, 2002 · Transmission · 80,000 miles · WA

While driving, the transmission slipped, causing the vehicle to surge forward. Ts the transmission stalled, didn't shift gears properly, and would jerk, all while in motion and/or speeding up. Scc

Filed Oct 18, 2002 · Transmission · GA

Consumer states that when changing from 2nd to 3rd gear vehicle will skip,and motor will revv up to high RPM. When it finally shift vehicle will jerk forward, jerk is so severe that it may cause lost of control of vehicle.dealer contacted, cannot fix problem. Mr

Filed Oct 15, 2001 · Brakes · CA

Whenever brakes are applied to stop vehicle gradually slows down. Then, would jerk forward 2-3 feet. Needs to keep a good distance behind another vehicle when about to stop, not hit other vehicle. Abs light remains on after vehicle has been started.