Total Complaints
14 filings
HONDA PRELUDE · model year
14 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report, and 3 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2000HONDAPRELUDE carries 14 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 2000 PRELUDE is power train:automatic transmission with 6 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:engine (2) and electrical system (2). 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. This model year has 3 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 1 investigation file overlapping the 2000 PRELUDE. 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.
Total Complaints
14 filings
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | 6 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | 2 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 2 |
| AIR BAGS:FRONTAL | 1 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN | 1 |
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
CERTAIN AAI MOTORSPORTS COMBINATION LAMPS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON THE ABOVE LIST PASSENGER VEHICLES. COMBINATION LAMPS NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIA
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE INTERLOCK OPERATION OF THE IGNITION SWITCH MAY NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY, MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO TURN THE IGNITION KEY TO THE "OFF" POSITION AND REMOVE THE KEY WITHOUT SHIFTING THE TRANSMISSION TO PARK.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
CERTAIN PRO-A MOTORS CORNER LAMPS, TURN SIGNALS, AND HEADLIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE D
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 HONDA PRELUDE. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE, THE IGNITION FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
AFTER ELEVEN YEARS OF OWNERSHIP AND 72,000 MILES, TRANSMISSION EXPERIENCED FAILURE OF BOTH RIGHT AND LEFT AXLE SEALS OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR, CAUSING SERIOUS TRANSMISSION LEAKS. BOTH SEALS WERE REPLACED BY THE DEALER. AFTER ONLY FOUR MONTHS, BOTH AXLE SEALS BEGAN SERIOUSLY LEAKING ONCE AGAIN. TRANSMISSION ALSO BEGAN TO MAKE WHIRRING NOISES ABOVE 30 MPH. DEALER DETERMINED THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD EXPERIENCED FAILURE OF DIFFERENTIAL BEARINGS AND OFF-AXIS AXLES WERE WEARING OUT THE SEALS PREMATURELY. DEALER QUOTED $4,500 REPLACEMENT OF TRANSMISSION AS ONLY REPAIR OPTION. *TR
Mileage: 72,000
HI, I HAVE A 2000 HONDA PRELUDE. IT IS THE AUTOMATIC VERSION WITH THE SPORT SHIFTER. RECENTLY MY TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN ACTING MORE THAN USUAL. FROM WHEN I BOUGHT MY CAR IN NOVEMBER OF 2009 AND UNTIL JUNE 18TH 2011, MY TRANSMISSION SHIFTED INTO EACH GEAR FINE, BUT DID HAVE SOME ABNORMAL SHIFTS ON SOME DAYS. FROM JUNE 18TH 2011 IN THE AFTERNOON AND UNTIL JUNE 25TH 2011, MY CAR'S TRANSMISSION STARTED TO SLIP AND SHIFTED REALLY HARSH IN EVERY GEAR. THE WORST GEAR IS 3RD. THIRD GEAR SLIPS REALLY BAD AND HAS A LATE DELAY WHEN SHIFTING TO 4TH. *TR
TRANSMISSION FAILURE, REPLACED ONCE ALREADY. NOW STARTING TO SLIP. *TR
Mileage: 121,548
I HAVE A 2000 HONDA PRELUDE TYPE SH. IT HAS BEEN MAKING A WEIRD SOUND SO I TOO IT TO THE DEALER. THEY SAID THE AUTO TENSIONER AND TIMING BELT NEEDS REPLACED. THE SERVICE IS NOT SUPPOSE TO BE DONE UNTIL 105,000 MILES. THE CAR HAS 77,000 MILES. I RAN INTO THE SAME THING ON MY PREVIOUS PRELUDE WHICH WAS A 1999 BASE MODEL PRELUDE. HONDA WILL NOT ISSUE A RECALL OR HELP FINANCIALLY. THIS COSTS AROUND A $1000 TO FIX. IF THE AUTO TENSIONER FAILS, THE TIMING BELT CAN BREAK LEADING TO A RUINED ENGINE. EVERYONE IN THE HONDA COMMUNITY KNOWS THIS. WHY CAN'T HONDA BE LIABLE TO FIX A DEFECTIVE PART THAT EVERYONE HAS TROUBLE WITH? *TR
Mileage: 77,500
I RECEIVED A SAFETY RECALL FROM THE AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR COMPANY STATING THAT I NEEDED TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AT THE AUTHORIZED HONDA DEALER, DUE MY FROM MY CAR WHATSOEVER TRANSMISSION. 2 WEEKS LATER I WAS UNABLE TO REMOVE MY KEY FROM MY CAR WHATSOEVER REVERSE, OR PLACE MY CAR IN PARK SO THEREFORE I PARKED IN NEUTRAL WITH THE BRAKE ON MY RECALL NOTICE SPECIFICALLY STATED THAT THESE EXACT PROBLEMS WOULD OCCUR AND WOULD BE REPAIRED FREE OF CHARGE OR REIMBURSED. AND HONDA DEALER I FOLLOWED INSTRUCTION FROM RECALL LETTER AND HONDA DEALER HAS FAILED TO REMEDY THE DEFECT IN MY VEHICLE WITHOUT CHARGE AND HONDA AUTOMOBILE CUSTOMER SERVICE HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETELY REPAIRED BUT HOW CAN I COMPLETELY REPAIR IT IF THEY DON'T REIMBURSE MY MONEY AND KEEP MAKING ME PAY FOR REPAIRS OF A RECALL . *JB
Mileage: 73,571
I RECEIVED A SAFETY RECALL FROM THE AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR COMPANY STATING THAT I NEEDED TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AT THE AUTHORIZED HONDA DEALER, DUE MY FROM MY CAR WHATSOEVER TRANSMISSION. 2 WEEKS LATER I WAS UNABLE TO REMOVE MY KEY FROM MY CAR WHATSOEVER REVERSE, OR PLACE MY CAR IN PARK SO THEREFORE I PARKED IN NEUTRAL WITH THE BRAKE ON MY RECALL NOTICE SPECIFICALLY STATED THAT THESE EXACT PROBLEMS WOULD OCCUR AND WOULD BE REPAIRED FREE OF CHARGE OR REIMBURSED. AND HONDA DEALER I FOLLOWED INSTRUCTION FROM RECALL LETTER AND HONDA DEALER HAS FAILED TO REMEDY THE DEFECT IN MY VEHICLE WITHOUT CHARGE AND HONDA AUTOMOBILE CUSTOMER SERVICE HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETELY REPAIRED BUT HOW CAN I COMPLETELY REPAIR IT IF THEY DON'T REIMBURSE MY MONEY AND KEEP MAKING ME PAY FOR REPAIRS OF A RECALL . *JB
Mileage: 73,571
2000 HONDA PRELUDE FUEL CAP WAS LOOSE, AND THE RADIO BECAME INOPERATIVE AFTER IGNITION SWITCH RECALL REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED.*MR THE DEALER ALSO REPLACED THE STARTER UNDER WARRANTY BECAUSE THE VEHICLE TOOK LONGER THAN NORMAL TO START. *NM
Mileage: 54,351
GEAR SHIFTER IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. SHIFTER BECOMES HARD WHEN DRIVING TO SHIFT INTO PLACE. CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER WAS CHECKING IT OUT. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
LOSES COMPRESSION ON TWO CYLINDERS. MECHANIC SAID VALVES MIIGHT BE BENT
TRANSMISSION CASE IS CRACKED AND THERE WAS OIL LEAKING FROM VEHICLE. CONTACTED MECHANIC. *AK HONDA CORPORATE OFFERED TO REPLACE TRANSMISSION FOR FREE. VEHICLE HAS NEVER BEEN IN ANY FRONT END COLLISION. *JG
HAVE COMPLAINED TO DEALERSHIP SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT POOR THROTTLE RESPONSE OR A DEAD SPOT IN THE THROTTLE OF PRELUDE DURING DAYS WHEN TEMPERATURE IS ABOVE 80 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. THE PROBLEM APPEARS WHEN STARTING FROM A DEAD STOP UP THROUGH 3RD GEAR. PROBLEM EXHIBITS ITSELF AS A BRIEF INTERRUPTION IN POWER WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A DEAD STOP. AFTER 3RD GEAR PROBLEM IS NOT APPARENT. PROBLEM IS AMPLIFIED WHEN AIR CONDITIONER IS OPERATING. AIR CONDITIONER MUST BE TURNED OFF WHEN IN HEAVY TRAFFIC CONDITIONS BECAUSE ROUGH ACCELERATION PUTS UNDUE AND IRREGULAR STRESS ON DRIVE TRAIN. UNDER CERTAIN TRAFFIC CONDITIONS THIS POWER INTERRUPTION COULD BE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS. DEALER FAILS TO RESOLVE PROBLEM EACH TIME OR REPORTS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE PROBLEM DESPITE THE PROBLEM BEING REPRODUCEABLE BY THE OWNER WHEN OUTSIDE AIR TEMP IS ABOVE 80 DEGREES. DEALERSHIP IS NOW UNRESPONSIVE. OWNER OF 2000 HONDA PRELUDE HAS REQUESTED THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE A FACTORY ENGINEER INVESTIGATE TROUBLE. THE REQUEST H
VEHICLE STALLS, TOOK TO DLR AND THEY SAID EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF CARBON WAS ON VALVES. DEALER CLEANED VALVES, AND IT WAS HAPPENING AGAIN. CONSUMER STATED THAT 5TH GEAR HAD TO BE REPLACED ALSO.*AK
WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH HAD A FRONTAL IMPACT WITH A TREE IN WHICH THE AIRBAG DEPLOYED 3 SECONDS LATE, CAUSING OCCUPANT TO HIT THE STEERING WITH SEATBELT ON, AND SUSTAINING INJURIES. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
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.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.