Honda Prelude Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 357 consumer complaints across the 16 model years of the Honda Prelude (1984–2001) that have at least 5 complaints. 1998 has the most, with 69. Across all years, the part named most often is transmission and drivetrain (104 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
Best and worst Prelude years →
All Prelude model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 21 | 85,480 | 1 | 9 | — | Stable |
| 2000 | 13 | 73,571 | 1 | 7 | — | Not enough data |
| 1999 | 31 | 67,064 | 2 | 4 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 1998 | 69 | 93,790 | 3 | 4 | Not compared (before 2008) | Rising |
| 1997 | 66 | 93,000 | 3 | 4 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1995 | 6 | 87,500 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1994 | 9 | 128,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1993 | 11 | 124,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1992 | 22 | 173,375 | 0 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 1991 | 15 | 129,000 | 1 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 1989 | 21 | — | 1 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 1988 | 35 | 192,638 | 6 | 0 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1987 | 14 | 133,133 | 2 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1986 | 12 | — | 2 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1985 | 7 | — | 1 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1984 | 5 | — | 1 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Transmission and drivetrain104 32%
- Electrical system45 14%
- Engine cooling43 13%
- Steering32 9.8%
- Seat belts32 9.8%
- Air bags25 7.7%
- Fuel system24 7.4%
- Suspension21 6.4%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2001: “Takata recall any time I put my car in d4 (automatic) it gets to about 2500 RPM to 3000 RPM in 1st then I have to message the throttle so it will shift and once it shifts to 2nd it starts shifting very quickly no matter the rpms to 3rd then 4th. Also when it's shifting it jerks pretty violently.”
NHTSA complaint #11185471, filed 2019-03, 142,000 miles1998: “My 1998 v-tec Honda Prelude recently hit 157000 miles and shortly after has been experiencing loss of power, stalling, and loss of steering. Within 5 weeks I have experienced it stall and instantly restart while going through an intersection, lose all power and steering while turning through an intersection, and lose power and steering while going 55 MPH down the highway. …”
NHTSA complaint #11005225, filed 2017-07, 157,000 miles1995: “New tires purchased in 2018 do not have standard DOT code for date of manufacture. The code is printed on the ire as cch7..k1710u-1. The tires are yokohama s drive. 205/55-r15. No one seems able to tell me the manufacture date. The tires are visually ok and have 4500 miles on them, but I am concerned as to how old they may be, and should the retailer be aware of the DOT code? Can you de-code the manufacture date?”
NHTSA complaint #11231093, filed 2019-07, 4,500 milesOther Honda models
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About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology