Anything I should know about these cars? She wants an auto..

Any known problems?

Thanks for any help that I do receive!!

 

the auto trannys blow up alot

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NXLude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the auto trannys blow up alot</TD></TR></TABLE>

Only when you start modding the car.

 

if you get an auto, look for a 00-01 lude. Those years come with a 100k mile warranty on the transmission.

 

916LuDeR speaks the truth. They have a 100k mile warranty/7 years from the purchase date. The 97-98 had the same problem with the auto transmissions but Honda didn't opt to cover those years. Besides the sportshift transmissions they are very reliable cars. If you plan to do heavy modding skip the SH model and get a 5spd base because the ATTS system on the SH model becomes an issue after you start putting down some serious power.

 

Well, i doubt his wife is going to be fixing it up. So i i say get the SH model since it only comes in manual so u don't have to worry about the auto transmission problem and it handles better than the base model.

 

Dont get the auto, I've seen tons of auto prelude for sale ads and they have in it.......tranny replaced with new one......

to me if all of these cars are getting new auto trannies then that should give you a hint already. Oh and these cars were not modded and driven by middle age people that hasn't seen F&F yet.

 

Make her learn how to drive stick.

 

when i bought my 00 lude at the dealership this girl also bought a automatic at the same time...couple months later i go to get a checkup and that girls lude is parked there. ask my guy wutsup wit the car, he goes thats her 3rd time here since she bought it. tranny's shot

5spd lude
auto lude

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dougs96SI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Only when you start modding the car.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not true of just modified cars. There are several issues with them from '97 to '99, in more than just the Prelude platform. '00 and '01 were crippled with a lower stall torque converter and revised TCM.

 

Avoid the auto most definetly. And unless she needs the extra handling abilities I would say just stick with an Base 5spd. Very reliable cars.

 

As with all cars, the Prelude is not perfect. Therefore it is true to say that there are more instances of problems with the auto transmission than Honda would probably like, but at the same time, you'll find a lot of people on here regurtitating information that they've read or heard from someone else, rather than from 1st hand experience. The reason I say this is that I have a 1999 prelude with over 100,000 miles w/the original transmission. I redline my car probably more than I should and I haven't had any problems yet (knock on wood!). So, the point is, look the car over well, and if everything checks out ok, I'm sure you'll have a car that your wife will enjoy for many years.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fubar &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">As with all cars, the Prelude is not perfect. Therefore it is true to say that there are more instances of problems with the auto transmission than Honda would probably like, but at the same time, you'll find a lot of people on here regurtitating information that they've read or heard from someone else, rather than from 1st hand experience. The reason I say this is that I have a 1999 prelude with over 100,000 miles w/the original transmission. I redline my car probably more than I should and I haven't had any problems yet (knock on wood!). So, the point is, look the car over well, and if everything checks out ok, I'm sure you'll have a car that your wife will enjoy for many years. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes a lot of negative response is from what people have read or heard and then they post it up without much data. Then you have to look at it this way, if you hear this much problems with it, especially from people who actually has auto tranny, then why would you even risk the chance of buying something that may or may not give you issues. Seeing all these cars up for sale with new tranny isn't a fluke, there is a problem. You might be the few that has an auto tranny that held up.

 

True, but some of us do have first-hand experience. I did alot of research when my girlfriend's '99 SS was on it's way out at 51,000. By 57,000 it would no longer shift. This was in 2002, and Honda would not have anything to do with it, even though many others were taken care of through the goodwill program.

I didn't feel it was worth my time to put another auto in it, so in went a five speed. It's been a great car ever since.

 

also with the 5th gen preludes watch out for the Auto Tensioner they tend to come loose so you will have ot fix that and the balancer belt. But if the timing belt has been changed on the car most likely the tensioner and balancer belt has been done too but still check it out.

 

The manual transmissions suck just as bad.

 

SH or BASE is all good as long as they're STICK

 

Hey. I'll marry you if you buy me a 5th gen.

 

Well my suggestion did come from first hand experiance. Hence the reason Im $2,000 deeper in debt as of last month. Auto worked fine up to about 100k, I loved it no doubt, but I love my stick soooo much more.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MNsnowdaboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Yes a lot of negative response is from what people have read or heard and then they post it up without much data. Then you have to look at it this way, if you hear this much problems with it, especially from people who actually has auto tranny, then why would you even risk the chance of buying something that may or may not give you issues. Seeing all these cars up for sale with new tranny isn't a fluke, there is a problem. You might be the few that has an auto tranny that held up.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That is certainly true. And obviously there is a higher rate of problems with the auto tranny if Honda extends a warranty specifically to cover the transmission. There are always potential problems with all cars. Sometimes when you read this board it seems like all transmissions in the Prelude are faulty. But again, my point is that it seems that a lot of people on here will post second hand information on the auto tranny, so I just wanted to give my input, an owner of a Prelude with the SS tranny.

 

I agree that the only people talking about the quality of the SS auto preludes are the ones with bad experiences. It's human nature to keep quiet if everything is fine.

That said, I have 89k on my '01 SS with Crower stage 2 cams for the last 30k, and no problems. I do, however, change the ATF with each oil change. I heard of the problems just after purchasing my car, and since there is no serviceable filter on the transmission I figured this was the least I could do to keep everything clean inside. So far, so good.