Problems with 1998 Honda Accord POWER TRAIN

Nar 1/31/2003. the vehicle lurched forward while at a stop light with the brake applied and then hesitated when the consumer attempted to accelerate. the consumer was told a new transmission was needed. *jb

Ignition key sometimes won't come out of ignition when transmission is in park. (nar) *la dealer was notified. *cb

Faulty transmission - have serviced 4 times in 1 1/2 years. honda is aware of the problem with the transmission and is only offering to cover 1/2 of parts to replace transmission on 1998 honda accord. it shifts incorrectly and revs very high, then slams into next gear. problems started around 74k miles after i owned for 7 months. said they won't cover whole replacement because i didn't have regular service done at honda dealerships. i was able to prove i had service done at reputable dealers but not honda. it is estimated the replacement transmission will cost me around $1500.00. honda of america should pay for the whole thing in my mind. there are plenty of complaints regarding these transmissions. when is someone going to do something about it?*ak

When car is turned off and parking brake is engaged. consumers key will not release from the ignition. the consumers transmission had to be replaced in which he incurred the labor charge of $572.40. the consumer stated the problem with the ignition happened after the vehicle was returned to him. the consumer has a honda cr-v that had a transmission problem as well. *jb

The transmission failed at a low mileage, also the front brake pads was replaced and the rotors were resurfaced.*jb

Consumer states original transmission failed with only 54,168 miles on vehicle. mechanic advised that the pump assembly failed causing the torque converter and secondary shaft to overhear and wear out. consumer had 52,500 mile service performed on vehicle by dealer who did not discover any transmission problems at that time. ts

The transmission failed in my 1998 honda accord at about 54,000 miles in november, 2002. i previously reported this to your agency. honda has only paid for approximately half of the cost of the new transmission which was installed by aamco. my question is whether the nhtsa is going to issue a safety recall on the 1998 honda accord transmission. my review of your database today indicates over 100 instances of transmission failures on this model honda accord. isn't that sufficient to generate an investigation by your agency and a safety recall? please advise as to your intended action in this matter. thank you tarynn yokomizo [email protected]

The vehicles transmission failed which caused it to jerk excessively while shifting gears. *ts *nlm

Consumer stated that while driving at any speed and without the transmission failed causing the vehicle not to accelerate. dealer notified. mr

I have now had the transmission replaced on this car twice. after doing some research via the internet. i have found that i am not the only one with this problem. were the consumers had to replace the transmission prematurely.*ak

Consumer stated there was transmission fluid leaking through the bearings when driving. the manufacturer had not extended the warranty on the year make and model. mr the leak was discovered while the vehicle was in for it's routine maintenance. the manufacturer informed consumer that this fault was not a defect problem for the model and year of the vehicle. *jg *jb

Mr

While traveling on the highway without prior warning there is a loud knocking noise coming from underneath the vehicle. please provide additional information dealer is aware of the problem. ts

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 honda accord. while driving approximately 20 mph, the contact noticed an excessive vibration in the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics where the technician stated that the transmission would have to be replaced. after the repair the failure continued. the transmission was replaced seven times to no avail. the approximate failure mileage was 149,000. updated 11/22/11*lj updated 06/13/2012 *js

While driving the transmission slips the gear automatically down shift from drive to 2nd gear. ts

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 honda accord. while driving 15 mph, the contact heard a faint knocking sound and experienced difficulty switching from first to second gear. the mechanic diagnosed the cause of failure as the transmission. the contact can drive the vehicle, but with difficulty. the failure only occurs when the engine is cold. the failure has been ongoing ever since it was purchased on september 11, 2002. the current mileage is 152,000 and failure mileage was 128,000.

My wife parked the vehicle in the k-mart parking lot. she took key out of ignition, locked the vehicle and we went inside to shop. after shopping for 5 - 10 minutes, k-mart intercom asked honda owner to come forward. the vehicle had rolled backward across parking lot, striking concrete base of light pole, completely destroying rear bumper. vehicle was found locked, key out of ignition, in drive instead of park.*ak

Consumer states that when starting the vehicle with a remote starter the vehicle surged forward into a bush. the vehicle was in park. contacted dealer and the dealer is taking a look at the vehicle. *mr

Consumer had put vehicle in park. took key out and went inside. vehicle rolled down into street. they were able to take key out of ignition, vehicle will still be in drive gear.contacted dealer.*ak

Transmission failure - had to replace transmission last year. *ak

Transmission is not working properly. transmission will shift into gear while consumer is driving. contacted dealer, and dealer is not willing to do anything.*ak

This complaint is similar to investigation number pe 03-014. my wife's 1998 honda accord (4 cylinder with automatic transmission) rolled away from the spot where she had parked it. apparently she had left the vehicle in drive, but was able to remove the key from the ignition. when she returned from her errand, the car was no longer in the parking spot where she had left it. the car had rolled about 75 feet away, somehow managing to miss several other cars in the parking lot. thankfully, she and our baby weren't halfway out the car door when the car rolled away. i verified that the key can be removed with the shifter in drive. i took the car to the honda dealer here in colorado springs, and they indicated that there may be a mechanical problem in the ignition switch, but that it isn't covered by a warranty or recall. they also said it would be pretty expensive to fix since the electrical part of the ignition switch would need to be replaced as well as the mechanical part and the electrical part of the switch has an anti-theft feature that reads a computer chip in the key and that the system would have to be reprogrammed (including the remote controls for the doors...). the car had about 60,000 miles on it when we first noticed the problem. we don't recall the exact date of when it happened, but it was during the summer of 2002 when we first noticed the problem. thank you for your attention to this issue. michael brady (719) 668-4068. *ak

Clutch failed to engage while driving 25 mph. vehicle at the dealer. feel free to provide any futher information.*ak

The engine completely blew out one day. i was on the way to work and there was an explosion under my hood. honda put in a re-built engine and i have had nothing but problems since then. a few months later...the paint gradually started to fade away on the roof. it has only gotten worse and will get much worse. it is a 1998 honda!! this stuff shouldn't be happening!

While standing on a hill car drifts back a car length. has aautomatic transmission.*ak

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 honda accord. after four years and 49,278 miles, a new transmission was installed in july of 2002. the dealer stated that the new transmissions were malfunctioning; therefore, they only charged the contact $1,000 for labor. in march of 2008, the vehicle needs another new transmission. the failure mileage was 49,278 and current mileage was 102,658.

In 2002, we began having problems with the axle seals leaking on our 1998 honda accord. we have always followed honda's recommended maintenance schedule, and thus took the car to the local dealership. they have seen the car for this problem 3 times, replacing the seals at least once. they now advise us that by diagnosing the symptoms (they cannot dissemble the transmission) they feel the leaking is due to worn differential bearings and the only solution is a new transmission. we have reported to honda north american who advises they can do nothing as this is a maintenance problem. if so, why wasn't this caught during one of the many visits to the dealership? when the problems began, this car only had 75,000 miles on it. with the leak, there has also been clunking and slopping shifting, almost since the first day we owned the car. *jb

While stopping at traffic light clutch will engage without warning, causing vehicle to "jump" into intersection and stall. this occurred 1-2 times a day. vehicle has been checked by dealer. *ak this only happens when vehicle is in 1st gear and reverse. the clutch engages and will not shift out of gear until the vehicle has died. the brakes must be applied firmly because of the vehicle moving irradically. the pressure plate master cylinder and slave cylinder have been replaced. *jg

I have a 1998 accord v6 with 78k miles and slipping transmission like many many others. honda has extended the warranty only on 2000-2002 models as they would be under warranty anyway. but this is design/quality control issue and the transmisions from 98-02 are all the same. so 1998 & 1999 cars should also be included in this recall as they all have the same problems. you can go to complaintstation. come for some people's post on these transmission failures, and many other internet sites as great many people are affected by this. this is greatly a safety issue as well, because you can never rely on your car to accelerate when you need to, and transmission downshifts on its' own in highway from d4 to d2 causing an immediate engine braking. dt

I purchase a 1998 honda accord with the intentions of keeping it for a lifetime at 30,000 unfortunately at 50,000 the transmission began to jerk when you began to brake. it seems the car didnt know what gear it was in. after hundreds of dollars attempting to find the problem honda corp. assured me they have never seen such a problem in any of their cars and had not had any complaints on any of their 1998 accords. they then charged me 1,500 dollar for the repair not counting the hundreds of dollars i paid them to simply find the problem. now just 6 months later my transmission feels as if it's slipping when i park on a hill. again they don't want to admitt to any knowledge of any past problems. now i'm sure they are aware of past problems because it was explained to me the transmission i received 6 months ago was a repaired transmission from another accord. what can i do to help myself????? anyone please help!

When not shifting to park after shutting off engine consumer is able to take key out of ignition, and vehicle will roll.*ak shifter position sensor failed. *tt

As transmission shifts from first to second gear vehicle lunges forward and rpm's go up. vehicle has not been examined by dealer. please add further information.*aki

The consumer removed keys from the ignition while the vehicle was in drive and the vehicle rolled forward and crashed. the interlock system fails to prevent from removing the keys when the vehicle was not in park. *yh

Recall 98v018000;while vehicle was parked and turned off it started to roll back and picking up speed. finally stopped by running into someone's yard. contacted dealer, and dealer noted that vin number does not match. *ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

The vehicle's transmission locked on three separate occasions. *mr *nm

At 17,000 miles first reported a "rumbling, rotational noise" to dealer. dealer was unable to locate. at 52,729 problem with rotational noise again reported -- this time louder. dealer again unable to locate. at 57,000 again reported. mechanic unable to hear during test drive. at 70,000 miles, the problem turned into a severe grinding which makes owner believe failure is imminent. cost for and wait fo rebuilt transmissions extremely long; only other option used with 34,000 miles (from accident) -- unacceptable. owner decided to trade in vehicle at a considerable financial loss rather than experience catastrophic failure. *ak

With clutch pressed down while car in gear the transmission would start to engage. problem was occasional at the beginning, then worsened to the point vehicle was undrivable. (1 year period) took to local dealership twice but they were clueless to any cause. vehicle would often stall in stop and go traffic and at any lights. if clutch was pressed down for more than 5 seconds while in gear the hydrolics would fail and kill the engine. slave cylinder, clutch hydrolics eventually failed. dealership replaced slave cylinder and line for over $500, clutch now operates fine. dealership had to replace with modified honda parts since original slave and line replacement parts were defective. contacted american honda for relief do to faulty design/parts but refused due to ultimate failure occurring outside warranty period. *ak

Transmission started to slip at 18000 miles gradually got worse ,honda and dealer refused to fix. *tr

Transmission came apart internally.*ak

Transmission totally failed at 41,000 miles. honda informed me that a new transmission would cost $4,100. care driven and maintained carefully. *ak

The subject vehicle was parked in my driveway, i put the vehicle in park or so i thought and removed the keys from the ignition to go inside my home. about a half hour later i was contacted by my neighbor who told me that my vehicle had rolled down my driveway and across the street. he stated that the vehicle narrowly missed him before striking his brick mailbox structure and destroying it. i told him i couldn't understand how the vehicle could have rolled backwards as i had put it in park and removed my keys. upon further investigation i came to realize that the vehicle was actually in neutral. i contacted the honda regarding my concern about being able to remove the key from the ignition when the vehicle was in neutral not park. the dealership informed me that i should not have been able to remove the keys unless the car was in park. they indicated that the vehicle was out of warranty and that they would be more than happy to look into the problem at my expense. i told them that i didn't believe that safety features should ever be out of warranty. i am reporting this to you because i am concerned that possibly there are other vehicles out there with the same problem. this could certainly end up getting someone hurt or killed.*ak

At 60000 miles transmission started leaking bad took it to dealer they put new seals in it and it continued to leak took it back at 65000 miles and they said it needs a new transmission. honda has many transmission failures but refuses to stand behind thier product. *ak

Dealer states that a shaft in transmission has come apart, causing the transmission to fail.*ak

Transmission unexpectedly shifts into a lower gear at high speed causing loss of vehicle control. d4 light commences flashing indicating transmission malfunction. vehicle changes gears at random speeds up or down without warning. honda dealerships are unable to fix the problem. manufacturer issued problem report no12002-08-2800-1311 and assigned case officer, ron robbins. inspite of multiple phone calls since august 2002 they are not responding. nlm

Transmission unexpectedly shifts into a lower gear at high speed, causing loss of vehicle control. d4 light commences flashing, indicating transmission malfunction. vehicle changes gears at random speeds up or down without warning*ak

When applying clutch it went to the floor and vehicle jumped light. clutch stuck to floor ,and vehicle was stuck in first gear. technician told consumer about clutch being faulty. contacted honda, and honda was suppose to call back, but has not responded. *ak

Subject: 1. infrequent stalling when coming to a slow stop, and starts up again and i continue driving. 2. twice, it has stalled when making a slow left turn. however, starts up again when i turn the key and i continue driving. *ak

Without any warning, my clutch went out my gear shift locked up and the car died in the middle of a very busy thoroughfare in dallas. after the service center received the car they said that the master and slave cylinder were defective.*ak

The car hesitates upon acceleration primarily as it shifts from 1st to 2nd gear. this hesitation can and does occasionally cause the vehicle to lose speed in traffic.*ak