CarComplaints.com Notes: The 1998 Honda Accord suffers from widespread transmission failure, peeling paint, & subframe rust. We recommend avoiding this model year like the plague.
The transmission begins slipping & eventually has to be replaced, typically soon after 100,000 miles & with a repair cost of over $2,000.
Peeling paint has also been a huge issue for these Accords. Most of the complaints are with darker paint colors -- especially green & blue.
Subframe rust near the front passenger side wheel has become a problem recently, due to the poorly positioned A/C drain hose directly above that area. Repair cost to the subframe is over $2,000.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
71,000 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
1998 Honda Accord w/ 8 way power seat. Have had two weld failures of front torque tube to lift levers. First failure was left hand corner two years ago. Repaired this break myself with tig weld, the dealer would not warrant this repair because the vehicle was beyond Honda's 36mo/36K warranty. Second failure occurred on center lift lever this past November, 2004. My seat freely and loosely rocks back and forth the normal front seat tilt travel. I asked my local Honda dealer about the replacement mentioned by Honda in defect summary NHTSA action number PE02072. I was told my Accord had too many miles (140,000). My replacement cost for this over $300 or disassemble the frame and redo all the "cold" welds. The welds on this seat frame are defective. None of them appear to have proper penetration. This is a safety defect, similar to a defective safety belt. I have not seen any cooperation from my Honda dealer contrary to Honda's statement, they are not providing "...no-cost reinforcement for the seat...".
I have a 1998 Honda Accord 4-door. Sometimes the seat belt on the driver's side does not recoil when I remove it. I gets hung up in the switch that moves the seat back. On the date below, I had my son in a forward facing car seat in the middle rear sear. I parked and unclipped my seat belt and opened the trunk. I got out of the car and shut the door but didn't realize that the seat belt was pushing against the seat back switch and lowered the seat back all the way down. It caught my son's foot between his car seat and the seat back. He was not seriously hurt, but this could have been much worse. It only took the time from me to get out of the car and go to the trunk to retrieve his stroller for this to happen.
- Hauppauge, NY, USA
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