1988 Acura Legend Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 8about this part
- Share
- 24%of 33 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 210,000miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 8 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 1988 Acura Legend, 24% of the 33 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 210,000 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“The contact owns a 1988 Acura Legend. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse out of a parking space, the transmission was not able to be engaged in reverse. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 210,000. The VIN was not available.”
NHTSA complaint #10448096, filed 2012-02, 210,000 miles“While driving the vehicle in town, heard a loud bang like hitting a pot hole, stopped vehicle at traffic light, would not start again, had to push out of traffic, had vehicle towed to dealer, mechanic checked, transmission had a hole in it.”
NHTSA complaint #802243, filed 1996-09“While the vehicle was in park it jumped out of gear into reverse at very high speed, hit someone and stuck two houses before stopping. Cause unknown. Please give any further details.”
NHTSA complaint #833944, filed 1999-01“Coolant was leaking out of the engine. Also, transmission oil was leaking/fuel injectors were leaking gasoline, and engine head gasket was leaking oil.”
NHTSA complaint #837036, filed 1999-04Transmission and drivetrain: other model years
Other parts of the 1988 Acura Legend
12 complaintsBrakes
6 complaintsFuel system
3 complaintsEngine cooling
2 complaintsEquipment
2 complaintsTires
2 complaintsElectrical system
1 complaintsExterior lighting
1 complaintsSeat belts
1 complaintsBody and structure
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 1988 Acura Legend
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology