Hi, I have a 2000 honda prelude. It is the automatic version with the sport shifter. Recently my transmission has been acting more than usual. From when I bought my car in november of 2009 and until june 18th 2011, my transmission shifted into each gear fine, but did have some abnormal shifts on some days. From june 18th 2011 in the afternoon and until june 25th 2011, my car's transmission started to slip and shifted really harsh in every gear. The worst gear is 3rd. Third gear slips really bad and has a late delay when shifting to 4th.
Honda Prelude slipping problems
15 of the 271 owner complaints about the Honda Prelude describe transmission slipping, most of them for the 1997 model year.
- owner complaints
- 15
- worst model year
- 1997
- typical mileage
- 97,000
By model year
Often reported together
Trouble codes mentioned
P0133 1
What owners say
The transmission in my 1997 honda prelude automatic ss crapped out on me after kicking and slipping for a few months so I had it rebuilt...and now a few months later it's already slipping and kicking again. It cost 1500 to have it rebuilt the first time, honda already addressed the 00-01 prelude auto transmissions in a recall, why haven't the addressed the issues in the prior years? It's the same car as the 00-01, no changes were made to the body, engine, transmission, and yet they refuse to address this widespread issue among prelude owners. I for one am tired of it, honda owes it to their loyal consumers that they confront this issue head on.
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.
My transmission started slipping on me then it started shifting down to second then back to fourth then back to second. I pulled over and now it seems to be stuck in second gear. When the vehicle cooled down then it was fine for a short while then it started shifting sporadically. It slips in reverse also.
The automatic transmissions in 1997 honda preludes are weak and fail easy. The reason is cheap parts and metals in the transmissions themselves. The 97 preludes were recalled in turkey, and replaced with a new m6ha unit. Mine is constantly slipping and tearing up. I'm looking at a constant problem that costs a lot of money. I bought this car for its quality and prestige in the honda world, but due to the lack of quality and workmanship in the automatic transmissions, my opinion of preludes has drastically dropped. I would not care if I had an automatic or a manual, I just want a car that works like the honda company lacked to make it. Thank you.
It has been known that honda prelude 1997-1999 transmissions are faulty. Mine failed yesterday during a normal trip on a free way. Gears slipped and a strong smell was noticeable inside the car. To avoid any emergency situation I had to park my car on the shoulder immediately and wait for a tow truck.
1997 honda prelude transmission failure. Honda refuses to assist consumers with faulty transmission problems inherent in the vehicles. Trans will slip out of gear, or not engage when entering freeway, causing a dangerous and life threatening condition. When someone gets killed because of these transmissions, american honda will then be forced to recall these horrible cars.
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.
Technical service bulletins summary make: honda model: prelude year: 1998 service bulletin number: 010400 the federal safety agency item number: 618985 summary description: subject regarding a leaking torque converter. *tt technical service bulletins summary make: honda model: prelude year: 1998 service bulletin number: 00090 the federal safety agency item number: 615735 summary description: subject regarding rear suspension clunks. *tt make: model: year: service bulletin number: the federal safety agency item number: summary description: subject regarding automatic transmission shift problems - slippage, flare, hard upshift. *tt summary description: subject regarding malfunction indicator lamp comes on with diagnostic trouble code p0133.
While driving, my car will over rev, and jerk into gear. If I let off of the gas it will slip into gear less harshly. I brought my car to honda of covington in covington, la, and they informed me that the transmission was failing due to the installation of aftermarket parts, such as a cold-air intake, header, and exhaust muffler. My local mechanic sais this is ludicrous, and that a simple additon of 10-15 hp would not cause a transmission failure. I have not modified or altered in any way the internal components of the car. Each modification was a simple bolt-on and at the time of purcahse was in accordance with honda. I called honda techinical service many times and asked if I put a certain aftermarket part on my car would it void my warranty. Each time honda told me that asd long as the internal components of my car remained intact, I would not be in trouble. They alos informed me of buying an axle-back exhaust instead of a full cat-back, to better insure the safety of my warranty. Now I am informed that my tranny would ned to be replced or overhualed at a cost of more than $5000, and now honda has gone back on their word, and decided to null my warranty based on the addition of aftermarket components. I have since contacted a lawyer and plan to sue honda.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Honda Prelude slipping
Which Honda Prelude years have transmission slipping problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1997 (9 complaints), 1998 (5 complaints) and 2000 (1 complaints).
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used Honda Prelude?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history