HONDA HONDA · model year

1998 HONDA HONDA

16 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 1998HONDAHONDA carries 16 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 0 fires, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1998 HONDA is electrical system:ignition:module with 2 filings, followed by electrical system:ignition:switch (2) and air bags (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.

NHTSA currently has 38 investigation files overlapping the 1998 HONDA, and 2 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

16
Complaints
1
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

16 filings

Crashes Reported

1 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:MODULE2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH2
AIR BAGS1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE1
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM1
POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY:PEDAL/HAND LEVER(MOTORCYCLE)1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC1
STEERING:COLUMN LOCKING:ANTI-THEFT DEVICE1
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION1
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1
TIRES1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH1
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH1
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION1

Recent Complaints

20080123POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

FIRST OF ALL, THE ELECTRICAL IGNITION SWITCH HAD TO BE REPLACE. EVERY TIME THE CAR IS STARTED UP, U HAVE TO KEEP TRYING IN ORDER FOR IT TO CRANK UP. IF IT DOES CRANK, WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, THE CAR WOULD CUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. THAT WAS VERY DANGEROUS. YOU WOULD HAVE TO PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL & KEEP TURNING THE SWITCH UNTIL IT FINALLY CRANKS BACK UP. NEXT, THERE IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE EXTERIOR LIGHTING. THE FUSE BLOWS ABOUT 3 TIMES A WEEK & HAS TO BE REPLACED SO THAT THE HEADLIGHT & BRAKE LIGHTS WOULD WORK. EVERYTIME THE FUSE BLOW & THE LIGHTS STOP WORKING, THE CAR WONT GET INTO GEAR UNLESS U UNLOCK THE GEAR SHIFT EVERYTIME U PUT IT IN PARK. THEN THERE IS THE TRANSMISSION. I HAVE PUT 2 TRANSMISSIONS IN THIS CAR IN LESS THAT A YEAR. WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS CAR? *TR

Mileage: 199,800

20080123ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH

FIRST OF ALL, THE ELECTRICAL IGNITION SWITCH HAD TO BE REPLACE. EVERY TIME THE CAR IS STARTED UP, U HAVE TO KEEP TRYING IN ORDER FOR IT TO CRANK UP. IF IT DOES CRANK, WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, THE CAR WOULD CUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. THAT WAS VERY DANGEROUS. YOU WOULD HAVE TO PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL & KEEP TURNING THE SWITCH UNTIL IT FINALLY CRANKS BACK UP. NEXT, THERE IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE EXTERIOR LIGHTING. THE FUSE BLOWS ABOUT 3 TIMES A WEEK & HAS TO BE REPLACED SO THAT THE HEADLIGHT & BRAKE LIGHTS WOULD WORK. EVERYTIME THE FUSE BLOW & THE LIGHTS STOP WORKING, THE CAR WONT GET INTO GEAR UNLESS U UNLOCK THE GEAR SHIFT EVERYTIME U PUT IT IN PARK. THEN THERE IS THE TRANSMISSION. I HAVE PUT 2 TRANSMISSIONS IN THIS CAR IN LESS THAT A YEAR. WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS CAR? *TR

Mileage: 199,800

20050818LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH

NO EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE. PASSENGER SIDE DOOR ON MY 1998 HONDA CIVIC (2 DOOR), FAILED/FAILS TO OPEN. PASSENGER THOUGHT DOOR HAD BEEN LOCKED BY DRIVER BUT DOOR FAILED TO OPEN EVEN AFTER IT WAS REPEATEDLY LOCKED AND UNLOCKED IN ATTEMPT TO CORRECT PROBLEM. DOOR HAS NOT OPENED SINCE. PASSENGER MUST CLIMB OUT WINDOW OR CRAWL OVER DRIVER SEAT TO EXIT CAR. WOULD BE VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION IF AUTO ACCIDENT OCCURRED ESPECIALLY IF EXIT FROM DRIVERS SIDE DOOR WAS IMPOSSIBLE. CHILDREN RIDE IN THIS CAR AND OWNER FEARS FOR THEIR SAFETY. CAR TAKEN TO DEALER TO HAVE PROBLEM FIXED BUT DEALER ASKED FOR OVER $400 TO REPLACE INSIDE DOOR PARTS AND ALSO STATED $400 MORE WOULD BE REQUIRED IF DOOR PANEL WAS BROKEN AS THEY ATTEMPTED TO REMOVE IT. DOOR PANEL IS VERY DIFFICULT TO REMOVE WITH DOOR STUCK SHUT. OWNER FEELS THIS IS A SAFETY PROBLEM WITH MANUFACTURING OF CAR AND SHOULD BE FIXED BY MANUFACTURER WITHOUT CHARGE. *NM

20050811EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH

1998 HONDA ACCORD,VIN:[XXX]. REPLACED STOPLIGHT SWITCH #[XXX], THREE TIMES IN 100,338 MILES. SWITCH ALLOWS YOU TO TAKE CAR OUT OF PARK. WHEN BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED. WHEN PART FAILS, YOU ARE STRANDED WHERE EVER YOU ARE, WITH CAR STUCK IN PARK. *NM UPDATED 07/19/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Mileage: 100,338

20050716TIRES

I PUT THE SPARE TIRE THAT CAME WITH MY CAR ON THE THE CAR THEOTHER DAY. IT APPEARED TO BE A NEW TIRE. IT WAS A BF GOODRICH TOURING T/A SR4 205/70R15 THAT CAME WITH MY HONDA CRV WHEN I BOUGHT IT TWO YEARS AGO. WHILE DRIVING HOME, THE TREAD CAME LOOSE. IT BEAT UP MY BUMPER AND CAUSED IT TO COME LOOSE AND TORE UP THE LIGHT WIRING BESIDE IT. THE WLAMART FELLOW SAID THAT IT LOOKED LIKE A FAULTY TREAD. I WOULD LIKE TO BE REIMBURSED FOR THE DAMAGE TO MY BUMPER AND LIGHT AS WELL AS HAVE A NEW TIRE.

20050701UNKNOWN OR OTHER

THE PAINT AND CLEARCOAT ARE BREAKING DOWN ON MY CAR. IT HAS NEVER BEEN WAXED OR BUFFED. IT STARTED WITH A SMALL SPOT, THEN GREW. NOW, ALL OF THE EDGES, THE TOP, SIDE PANELS AND TRUNK HAVE WHITISH GRAY AREAS WHERE IT USED TO BE THE ORIGINAL BLACK PAINT.

20050414ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH

I OWN A HONDA ACCORD 1998, EX 4D SEDAN, VIN: [XXX]. SOMETIMES WHEN I MAKE A TURN, THE ENGINE STALLS AND STEERING WHEEL GETS LOCKED. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS!!! IT USED TO HAPPEN ONCE A FEW MONTHS. BUT NOW IT OCCURS ONCE A DAY! I TALKED TO MY LOCAL DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY CAN NOT DIAGNOSE IT SINCE THE PROBLEM IS IRREPRODUCIBLE BY THEM. HOWEVER, THEY SAID IT?S VERY LIKELY AN IGNITION SWITCH PROBLEM AND RECOMMENDED TO REPLACE IT. I CHECKED HONDA?S WEB SITE AND FOUND THERE?RE TWO RECALLS ABOUT IGNITION SWITCH FOR 98 ACCORDS, WHICH ARE 03-088 AND 02-031. BUT THOSE TWO RECALLS DON?T COVER MANUAL TRANSMISSION CARS. THERE IS NOT TOO MUCH DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AUTOMATIC AND MANUAL CARS REGARDING THE KEY CYLINDER. PROBLEM HAPPENS TO AUTOMATIC CAR?S KEY CYLINDER CAN EQUALLY HAPPEN TO MANUAL CAR?S TOO! I WONDER IF HONDA COULD INCLUDE MANUAL TRANSMISSION CARS FOR THE RECALLS TOO, OR AT LEAST REIMBURSE ME FOR REPLACING THE IGNITION SWITCH?*AK *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREE

Mileage: 60,000

20021009POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION

NO DESCRIPTION GIVEN. NLM

20000322STEERING:COLUMN LOCKING:ANTI-THEFT DEVICE

HORN INDICATOR FAILED. MGM

19990823ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:MODULE

ON THREE OCCASIONS THE CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT FAILED. *YC

19990730ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:MODULE

MAIN COMPUTER UNIT FAILED. *YC

19990721SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC

BOTH FRONT BRAKE PADS WORE OUT PREMATURELY AND INTO THE ROTORS AT 9400 MILES.*AK

19990421POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY:PEDAL/HAND LEVER(MOTORCYCLE)

CLUTCH PEDAL FAILED. *YC

19990312ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

VEHICLE EXPERIENCES INTERMITTENT STALLING, UNABLE TO RECTIFY PROBLEMS.

19990312VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM

HEATER/AIR CONITIONER FAILED.

19990304CrashAIR BAGS

DURING VEHICLE COLLISION NO DEPLOYMENT OF AIR BAG, RESULTING IN LACERATION TO HEAD. (POLICE ACCIDENT REPORT).

Compare 1998HONDAHONDA to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 2 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 1998 HONDA HONDA have?
The 1998 HONDA HONDA has 16 NHTSA complaints, 1 crashes, 0 fires, 1 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1998 HONDA HONDA?
The most-complained component for the 1998 HONDA HONDA is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:MODULE with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH and AIR BAGS.
Is the 1998 HONDA HONDA safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.