Thinking of buying a used 98-99 accord for a good friend of mine who is in a bind and needs a car.ive been helping him a lot lately but dont want to drop $30,000 on a new car. just something to get him around for a while. i have found a few honda accord 2 door ex coupes with the v6 automatic tranny for around $7,000 with roughly 100,000+ miles on them. how well do these cars hold up. i own several honda motorcycles and 4 wheeler because they make the best small engine. Is it the same way with the cars. Ive never owned a honda automobile and have no clue as to how they perform or how well they hold up maintenence wise. I have to leave for 2 months to work on a project and if it breaks down on him then he is just SOL.

sorry for the long story. i would just like some basic information on this car if anyone can help me.
thanks in advance.

SB

 

watch out for the auto trannies.

 

if you can find a 4cyl of that yr go with that.
98-00, maybe 01 accord v6's have tranny problems.
Definitely for the 98-00 series.

Other than that I dont believe there are other recalls.

 

The 98-02 2.3 (F23) 4-cylinder is basically a revised version of the same 2.2 (F22) 4-cyl used in the 90-97 Accords. In my experience, these engines will run gracefully to 200,000+ miles requiring little more than just regular routine maintenance. They arent very quiet or powerful, but chances of a break down are extremely slim. I've got just over 130,000 on my 96 Accord (and have put most of the miles on myself) I've replaced the timing belt, water pump, hoses, accesory belts, tires, brakes, light bulbs, spark plugs, battery, etc. along the way and the car has never broken down, failed to start or needed anything outside of general upkeep. The only thing to look out for with the 6th gens (98-02) is the automatic transmission. You can usually look for leaks around the axle shafts, which is usually one of the first visable symptoms. 00-01 are under a 7-year/100k mile transmisison warranty...but 98-99 and 02 models are not. I believe the problem was more widespread among the V6 models, but 4-cyl versions have been affected also. The problem was faulty carrier bearings. Good luck!

 

I've got 120,000 miles on my 99accord 4cyl sedan and the only major problems I had were a wheel bearing, and just recently one of the calipers needed to be replaced. other than that its the best car I've ever owned. I'm going to try to make it to 200,000 if I can.

like everyone said, the auto trannys have been known to have some problems so you might have to worry about replacing the tranny. if you can accept that, then that is the only major problem you should run into. the car should run long enough for you save up for a new car you really want.

 

The V6 auto trannies only last about 120k-150k if properly maintained. I just got a used tranny with 30k miles off ebay for $700 and had my mechanic throw it in for like 200.

 

The other thing I forgot to mention was the main bearing knock (wrist pin knock, or rod knock...I don't think anyone is quite sure exactly what it is) that occurs between 1500 and 2,000 rpms (give or take) I don't believe it was extremely common, but an unlucky few (including myself) have it. It has only been an issue with the F22 engine as far as I am aware...but the F23 is essentially the same engine, so take precaution. I first noticed it at about 80,000 miles when I was reving the engine via the throttle cable. I could not only hear the knock, but could also feel it through the cable plate. It has not worsened or caused any further problems that I know of. If not mistaken, there was a TSB released. If anyone has further information, please share.