Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
Data refreshed
Our database holds 15 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1991 Honda Prelude. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Showing 1–15 of 15
DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH A LOUD NOISE WAS HEARD FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. IT WAS MANEUVERED OFF THE ROAD AND TOWED TO THE DEALER WHO DETERMINED THE TIMING BELT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.
AIR CONDITIONER SYSTEM FAILURE: EIGHT (8) DEALER ATTEMPTED REPAIRS; FOUR (4) NEW COMPRESSORS AND COMPLETE SYSTEMS INSTALLED; THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS SPENT (APPROX. $6,000.00); AND A/C REMAINS DEAD.*AK VEHICLE IS 1991 HONDA PRELUDE SI, VIN [XXX], PURCHASED NEW 7/22/91 FROM WOODLAND HILLS HONDA, 6111 TOPANGA CANYON BOULEVARD, WOODLAND HILLS, CA., 91365. A/C PROBLEM BEGAN MAY, 1996 AT 68,000 MILES, AND LAST ATTEMPTED REPAIR ENDED OCTOBER, 2001 AT 142,000 MILES. WE HAVE FOUR (4) HONDA ACCORDS (1991 AND 93 MODELS), ALL OVER 160,000 MILES, WITH NO A/C PROBLEMS. THE BAD A/C SEEMS LIMITED TO PRELUDE ONLY. IT IS VERY HOT IN SAN FERNANDO VALLEY OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA FOR 6 MONTHS OF THE YEAR. ON OCTOBER 10, 2001, WOODLAND HILLS HONDA RECOMMENDED ANOTHER COMPLETE A/C COMPRESSOR AND SYSTEM REPLACEMENT. THE SERVICE MANAGER THERE, [XXX] (NOW GONE), STATED THERE WAS A " COMPLETE SYSTEM PROBLEM" AND ASKED HONDA REGIONAL HQ FOR HONDA AUTHORIZATION TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE A/C SYSTEM WITHOUT CHARGE, OR TO SHARE THE COSTS. ASSISTANCE DENIED. THIS SEEMS TO BE A PRODUCT-LIABILITY MANUFACTURING FAILURE SPECIFIC TO THE PRELUDE A/C SYSTEM AND THE COMPRESSOR IN PARTICULAR. WE SEE MANY PRELUDE DRIVERS WITH WINDOWS OPEN. WE DO NOT WANT TO SPEND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS MORE FOR WHAT WE THINK HONDA SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE TO FIX. DOES HONDA KNOW IT HAS BAD A/C COMPRESSORS IN PRELUDES AND IS IGNORING OR EVADING THE PROBLEM? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
CONSUMER STATES THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SEATBELT RELEASES ON ITS OWN AT ANY TIME. DEALER STATES THAT COIL CONNECTOR TERMINATOR NEEDS REPLACING. *AK
THE HOOD HAD OPENED UP WHILE MY SON WAS USING THE CAR. THIS RESULTED IN DAMAGE TO THE FRON GLASS, ROOF, LEFT SIDE MIRROR, LEFT SIDE DOOR AND LEFT SIDE FRONT FENDER, AND HOOD.*AK
CONSUMER PURCHASED A USED VEHICLE WHICH WAS IN NEED OF A NEW ENGINE, AFTER SOME TIME THE CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO HAVE A USED ENGINE INSTALLED AFTER INSTALLATION IT WAS NOTED THAT THE ENGINE WAS BAD BECAUSE THE VEHICLE STILL WOULD NOT RUN (HEAD GASKET, SHORT BLOCK, HEAD ASSEMBLY, TIMING BELT AND OIL PAN). NLM
THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH HONDA PRELUDES...EVERYONE I KNOW WITH A PRELUDE HAS ENGINE PROBLEMS
BOUGHT THE CAR AND THE ENGINE BLEW UP AND CAUGHT ON FIRE. FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED TO PUT OUT THE FIRE THE WAS NO REASON WHY THE ENGINE BLEW OUT AND CAUGHT ON FIRE.... IT THREW A ROD. *AK
WHILE DRIVING THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE WON'T LOCK AND WILL COME APART WHENEVER THE CONSUMER MOVES WHICH MAK'S THE BUCKLE TO OPERATE IMPROPERLY. *AK
SEAT BELT WARNING LIGHT AND BUZZER NEVER STOPS, EVEN IF VEHICLE IS OFF.
THIS HEAD-ON COLLISION WAS INVESTIGATED BY THE CHP. CENTRAL DIVISION CHP M.A.I.T. WAS REQUESTED TO EXAMINE THE FAILURE OF THE DRIVER'S SIDE RESTRAINT. UPON EXAMINATION SGT. ESMAY DETERMINED THAT THE RESTRAINT WAS BEING WORN DUE TO THE SIGNS OF LOADING ON THE WEBBING AND LOOP GUIDE. THE WEBBING OF THE BELT SEPARATED NEAR THE LOOP GUIDE. THE DRIVER OF THIS VEHICLE, DOUGLAS GUY VETCH, DOB 10/06/68, WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE FATAL VICTIM WAS IN THE OTHER VEHICLE. THE SPEED QUOTED(50MPH)IS A ROUGH ESTIMATE BASED ON THE OBSERVED DAMAGE AND APPARENT COLLISION DYNAMICS. THIS COLLISION IS BEING REPORTED PER CHP POLICY. IT IS BEING REPORTED BY SGT. ESMAY AND NOT THE OWNER. REPORTS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. SGT. ESMAY
POWER SEAT BELT DOES NOT RETRACT.
DRIVERS SEAT BELT FAILS TO RETRACT. *DSH
SEAT BELT APPEARS TO CLASP WHEN ENGAGED, HOWEVER SAFETY LIGHT GOES ON, NECESSITATING REENGAGEMENT UNTIL LIGHT GOES OUT. *AK
VEHICLE INVOLVED IMPACT 1:00 POSITION SPEED 5 MPH LAP/SHOULDER FAILED TO RETRACT. TT
NEITHER FRONT SEAT BELTS WILL LATCH. TT
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .