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:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
117,816 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 electrical problems

electrical problem

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1998 Honda Accord Owner Comments (Page 4 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #37

Jul 202010

Accord

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

1998 Honda Accord(four-cylinder sedan) horn works intermittently. Sometimes the horn works at the slightest touch and at other times it does not work at all. Also, ignition switch of the said vehicle was replaced for the second time. The engine of the said vehicle would die and cause the car to stall while driving.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #36

Jul 012010

Accord

  • 119,000 miles
1998 Honda Accord stalls randomly while driving. Dash light flashes for a brief instant at same time engine stalls. At first dealer told me to try different keys as it may be a bad key triggering the engine immobilizer, but problem occurs with other keys. This car has had a previous recall for defective ignition switch which would cause the car to stall suddenly and randomly while driving. This appears to be the same issue. My car shows that the recall repair was done a few years ago, but now it appears the same situation is coming back as the replacement switches may be failing. This appears to be a real safety concern as it can cause the engine to stall at any time while driving, including "freeway driving" and cause the potential for serious accidents to occur.

- Yorba Linda, CA, USA

problem #35

Jun 282010

Accord

  • 123,000 miles
I was driving my 98 Honda Accord at 65mph and suddenly the engine stalled without warning. It was difficult to steer as the power steering stopped working. Luckily the highway was not busy and I escaped any crash. The car restarted after jiggling the key. I took it to the mechanic to find that the ignition switch was faulty. A Honda dealer told me that the ignition switch was replaced in a recall.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #34

Jun 072010

Accord

  • 77,260 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

1998 Honda Accord vehicle just shuts off while driving does not want to restart and run. You have to let it sit then restart. Found similar complaints on line checked with Honda for ignition recalls. None on this vehicle but they said it sounds like the ignition switch. Have had it replaced at my expense and hope it solved the problem.

- Jackson, PA, USA

problem #33

Jun 022010

Accord

  • 100,000 miles
Engine dies when driving at high speeds.

- East Haven, CT, USA

problem #32

May 052010

Accord

  • 165,000 miles
My Honda Accord 1998 engine has stopped. When I was trying to start it was working but only till I loose switch in "on" position. So I couldn't to drive, because it not safe. In my understanding it is electrical switch (part of ignition switch) problem.

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #31

Nov 202009

Accord

  • 217,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Engine cuts off at 60 mph. Sometimes hard starting. Honda said it was the ignition and replaced it. Works fine now. 220K miles and still rolling.

- Lawrenceville, GA, USA

problem #30

May 202009

Accord

  • 98,000 miles
My 1998 Honda Accord LX while driving would turn itself off. This occured repeatedly in city driving conditions and also on freeway driving conditions at 60 miles and above. When the engine would turn off, all dash lights including the green "key" security light would come on. The car would start up again if you turned the ignition key on, but at 60 miles an hour, or crossing a busy street and losing power that would not be the first thing one would do and the problem could have led into very serious accidents. Given there was no code in the computer, the remedy was a hit and miss, my mechanic after he extensively test drove my car for a week found that on occasions when he was behind a red light when he touched the ingnition key, the car turned itself off. He then connected with a Honda mechanic and he informed him that the ignition harness had a short. When he went to purchase a new harness, the supplier (accroding to what he told me) had shared with him that, "oh yes, we always keep a supply of these harnesses, they go out a lot!" given the danger this poses to this vehicle (it seems the model was produced for several years), there should be some warning to owners of this dangerous situation so that they can have a competent technician test their ignition harness and make sure there are no shorts.

- Seattle, WA, USA

problem #29

Mar 212010

Accord

  • 152,547 miles
1999 Honda Accord purchased as a used car in 2006. No problems up until recently when the car stalled several times. Car would start up after stalling. Took car into mechanic and was told that there maybe be a recall on the ignition switch which he thought was the problem. Took car to Honda dealer. They said that VIN of car did not fall into recall for the ignition switch. They did find that the electrical portion of the ignition switch was bad and replaced it for $250. I explained that there was 2002 recall on this exact part and that the car should be considered under the recall but the technician said if the exact VIN doesn't show up under the recall, they cannot fix the problem for free.

- Temple City, CA, USA

problem #28

Mar 182010

Accord

  • 160,580 miles
Honda Accord LX 1998.

- Milpitas, CA, USA

problem #27

Oct 012009

Accord

  • 128,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

1. I was driving normally at steady speed on an interstate highway. 2. the engine shut down and restarted then a short while later shut down. 3. the dealership is going to replace the ignition. I still have the old part. The same part has already been replaced once due to a recall by Honda.

- Delaware, OH, USA

problem #26

Jun 112009

Accord

  • 188,000 miles
1998 Honda Accord does not always start and stalls while driving. I called american Honda and they claimed, based on my VIN number, that the recall issued for this problem does not apply to my particular car. It makes no sense that I have this problem if, as Honda claims, this defect does not exist in my car.

- West Bloomfield, MI, USA

problem #25

May 182009

Accord 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 124,000 miles
The contact owns a 1998 Honda Accord. While driving at any speed, the vehicle suddenly shuts off. The vehicle is able to immediately restart after the failure occurs. The dealer could not duplicate the failure. The current and failure mileages were 124,000. Updated 10/20/09 updated 10/22/09.

- Parker, CO, USA

problem #24

Jun 132009

Accord

  • 126,500 miles
Had the ignition switch replaced on our 1998 Honda Accord dx in 2002 via the NHTSA# 02V120000 recall at Honda dealer. Recently car stalled a few times and I discovered it was the ignition switch they replaced in 2002. I have since moved but called nearest Honda dealer 60 miles away and asked if they would replace it and they refused, stating I did not have the extended warranty on vehicle. I feel since the part was on safety recall and it failed again; I should be reimbursed for the $150 I had to spend locally to repair problem so the vehicle could be driven safely. I also have the defective part that was replaced. Thank you.

- Landaff, NH, USA

problem #23

Jun 122009

Accord

  • 111,120 miles
A week ago the lights on my dash flashed on and off several times as I was driving at 60 mpg. I did not lose power, and the car ran fine for a week. Tonight, the car lost power as I was driving, thankfully only at 35 mph. I restarted it and I got home safely. I was told it may be the ignition system, and as I was investigating on the internet, my situation was very similar to others mentioned in the articles.

- Louisville, CO, USA

problem #22

May 182002

Accord

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 1998 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired according to NHTSA campaign id number 02V120000 (electrical system:ignition:switch); however, the vehicle continues to stall without warning. The dealer stated that nothing could be done to repair the vehicle a second time. The failure mileage was 40,000 and current mileage was 80,000.

- Morgan View, NJ, USA

problem #21

Sep 132008

Accord

  • 170,000 miles
I drive a 98 Honda Accord sedan. The engine and the whole electrical system died on me while I was driving on I-75. There was sudden loss of power, no hydraulic brakes, no power steering, no head lights, it was so scary. It was very difficult to stop the car and get the car to shoulder. This happened to me twice.

- Findlay, OH, USA

problem #20

Mar 212009

Accord

  • 201,000 miles
1998 Honda Accord quit running in an intersection, on interstate, and other dangerous situations. Would start back up seconds after it quit running. Faulty ignition switch found to be cause. Started occurring over the last year very infrequently then more frequently.

- Front Royal, VA, USA

problem #19

Nov 292008

Accord

  • 135,000 miles
My 1998 Honda Accord had the ignition switch recall performed with the recall came out. In November 2008, I started to notice starting issues. The dash light would flicker. After trying a couple of times the car would start. The car ran fine until around January 2009 when the car engine shut down without warning while stopping at a traffic light while driving home from work. The car was able to start back up immediately. One day while driving on the interstate in Feb. 2009, the engine RPM started dropping and I could not accelerate to get more speed. I pulled into the emergency lane and stopped the car while the car was still on and in drive position. Once I stopped, I could accelerate again. Another time the dash lights flicker when I tried to start the car. The car did not start until after a couple of tries. Each time, these problems occurred, I check if it was related to a certain condition (weather, temperature, etc). The problems happened randomly. After reading various complaints on this site and other sites, I started to try to reproduce the dash board flickering just by turning the car on but not starting the engine. I was able to reproduce the flickering by slowly turning the key toward the off position. I talked to Honda headquarters and they told me the recall was already accomplished and the my car was out of warranty and they can not do anything about it. My car now 142250 miles. I talked with the dealership that I had the recall done and they said they could not do anything about it. I talked with another dealership where I get my maintenance done now. They said that it would be $100 to run a diagnostic on the car. I told them what would guarantee me that the problem would be found if the car was running fine at the time. I will be replacing the ignition switch on I figure out how to get to the wiring since Honda will help with this issues. This switch is putting me in unsafe situations when driving.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #18

Jan 132009

Accord

  • 148,000 miles
The contact owns a 1998 Honda Accord. While driving 10 mph in local traffic, the vehicle shut off several times. The contact took the vehicle to a repair shop and they stated that the ignition switch was failing. A report was filed with the manufacturer and they stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id numbers 02V120000 or 03V423000 (electrical system: Ignition: Switch). The contact stated that he will purchase the switch and replace it himself. The current and failure mileages were 148,000.

- Fresh Meadows, NY, USA

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