darthtony360

Im currently looking to buy a used honda accord. I have read information about both 5th and 6th gen and Im aware of the transmission problems with the 6th gen. Im looking to buy an accord with manual transmission , but I was wondering if there were any transmission problems with the 5th gen.

Which is is more reliable , the 5th gen or 6th gen??

What is the best year of the 5th gen??

What is the best year of the 6th gen??

What kind of common problems does the accord 94-97 have??

What other problems does the accord 98-02 have?

hls90

I have a 5th gen accord, a 97. One of the best vehicles ive ever owned. Hit a deer with it and still managed to drive home. vtec engine still runs great at 205k.


If you buy one, find out about front brakes being done recently.. They have captive rotors, which means the rotor is behind the wheel hub. Which means you either must knock the hub out of the bearing and off the axle(good luck).. Or do what I did and take the whole knuckle off and use a press to get your hub out of the bearing. I bought the hub assembly, wheel bearing, brake rotors and pads all at the same time. Also replaced a worn cv axle while I had it all apart.

I have the automatic, its a pile. Go for manual. If I had the time/money, I would swap a manual. My automatic tends to "gear hunt" and shift to a lower gear when it's not really necessary, not a very smooth shifting transmission by any means either.

The egr on mine is clogged and someone told me it happens to these cars a lot. But otherwise ive never had any real issues with the car. Hope this helps. Happy hunting.

hometheaterman

I prefer the 5th generations mostly because I like how they look a lot better. The 6th generations also feel more like a boat when driving them imo. The 5th generations also don't have the automatic transmission issues of the 6th gen, but the V6 in the 5th generations isn't nearly as powerful either. Since you want a manual, this really is a non issue and either car should serve you well.

IMO the way to go is a 4 cylinder (preferably the EX with VTEC although they are all very slow) if you get the 5th generation. They don't really have any big issue and tend to run well forever as long as they are taken care of. The biggest issue is the rotors as mentioned above. They are a huge pain in the butt to change and they tend to warp often. One my first 5th gen I dealt with this horrible design. On my second one I got the parts from a junkyard to do a rotor over hub conversion. I have about $250 into this swap with the junkyard hubs, new brake rotors/pads, and new Timken wheel bearings. It was well worth it and takes care of the only real issue with these cars.

The only other issue I've had has been with aftermarket axles. They don't seem to last long in these cars at all. After I got tired of replacing them every 20k miles I went back to the OEM axles from Honda and realized that they hold up very well. I don't think I've ever had a set last less than 125k miles even with abuse.

Everything else is pretty simple on these cars. They are very reliable, very easy to work on, and most junk yards are full of these cars. This is nice as it is easy to get replacement parts for cheap. While I have a much newer TL, I daily drive my 5th gen beater to keep from putting miles/dents/dings on the TL. It's one of my favorite cars.

darthtony360

I also checked the 4th gen accord , but only the 1993 model. I have heard good reviews about that year , but Im not sure if I can get a good 1993 honda accord car.

Are the 4th honda accords more reliable than the 5th and 6th gen?

hls90

I also had a 91?.. I think.. Maybe a 92.. accord. F22a1 engine.
That one was 5 speed. Slow and bulky feeling. Rusty as hell. I bought it for 400 with about 280k..
Exhaust had been cut off after the cat.. Had a very clicky cv on the passenger side and I had to replace the alternator as it died. When it died I still managed to drive to the part store and drive to my friends garage to change it.
drove it 12 hrs straight to denver and it was fine. I stayed in denver for three months and it never gave me any problems even climbing steep hills. On the 12hr drive back, right as I got back I believe the oil pump went out and it ended up throwing a rod thru the block.
That little engine would still start up and try to go.. Just didn't want to die. I ended up scrapping it for $300 at the time.
I prefer my fifth gen by a long shot but the fourth gen wasn't a bad little car. Both are very reliable and easy to maintain. And as mentioned above, junkyards are very reasonable for these cars. Just picked up a hood, headlight assembly(with bulbs), and power steering pump for $70.

hometheaterman

The 4th generations don't seem to be anymore reliable than the 5th generation, but there aren't any real problems with them. They are all very good cars. Just know going int hat they will all have some age/wear on them.

One thing I forgot to mention in the last post is that 94/95 Accords are prior are OBD I. 96 and later are OBD II. Some people prefer OBD II (myself included), but it depends on what you are doing. If you're planning to do a swap you may be better off with OBD I. Just something to think about.