This is the first time I had to replace the transmission at 65867 miles on it, Well I was driving down to the street one day and then it's started to Slip In. and out of a gear And the next day I tried to pull out Of. my driveway The transmission is bad and Honda knows this, the second time it is now 186573 miles on the second transmission.
Honda Prelude transmission failure problems
30 of the 271 owner complaints about the Honda Prelude describe complete transmission failure, most of them for the 1997 model year.
- owner complaints
- 30
- worst model year
- 1997
- typical repair cost reported
- $4,000
- typical mileage
- 86,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
My 1997 honda prelude automatic transmission died out. When I looked on the forums, honda is very well aware of the failure by design of their honda preludes.
Transmission failure, replaced once already. Now starting to slip.
The transmission seemed to stop working in d(drive) mode. I had to use the manual/ autostick to get the car to drive. There was no improvement in the shifting. I had to pay to have a 5 speed swap done at a performance shop. This is my 3rd honda that has had transmission failure.
The automatic sport shift transmission is starting to fail. The transmission is shifting hard (jolts) throughout all the gears. I was told by a mechanic that I need a new transmission. My car only has 65,000 miles on it and this is a premature malfunction of the transmission. This car is meticulously cared for, regularly maintained, oil changed regularly; transmission oil changed every third oil change to avoid transmission problems. The car is never raced or redlined. I also don't feel comfortable replacing a transmission that will fail once again as with many prelude owners. The honda prelude costs about $25,000 and thus a $4,000 transmission job is 20% of the car. Just plain unreasonable!!! This has become a financially burdensome situation. Furthermore, honda has recalled all 1997 preludes in turkey and has replaced the transmissions with updated mh6a units. This is not an isolated case!!! Please, your help in this matter is greatly needed. Thanks
I have a 1997 prelude that has had 1 transmission failure in nov. Of 2005 & it was rebuilt. It current is failing the same way the first transmission failed. It is making noise & starting to slip when it is cold. $1700 to fix the 1st transmission by a trans shop. I am joining a class action law suit if it is not taken care of from honda. This car only has 65,000 miles on it!
1998 honda prelude w/ sequential shift automatic. The vehicle has 135,000 miles on it when purchased. After some online research, I found many people reporting transmission failures in this vehicle with this transmission. I even found that honda has recalled the prelude's in turkey for this same issue, but has not in the us. The repairs cost approximately $2,800. Why was this recall facilitated on the same vehicle in another country, but not in the us?
My 1997 honda prelude sports shift auto transmission failed and now it needs to be towed.
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.
The automatic sport shift transmission failed in august of 05, and it was replaced with the same transmission, which is starting to fail again, I do not have the financial support to replace this transmission again if it fails. This car has been very well taken care of and never red-lined, always oil changed at 3000 miles, etc. I feel this transmission is a safety hazard and that honda should replace this transmission with one that is safe and reliable, not the current one, which I feel is a danger to all prelude owners.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Honda Prelude transmission failure
Which Honda Prelude years have complete transmission failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1997 (16 complaints), 1998 (10 complaints) and 2000 (2 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix complete transmission failure on the Honda Prelude?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $4,000 (median of 8 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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