Hey guys, accord forum guy here. I'm seriously thinking of trading in my '96 AV6 in the next month for a '97 5-speed lude, hopefully around the 70k mile range('97 b/c I don't want to make up a large difference in price). I've read some stuff about the auto TBS or recall that they had. Wondering:

a) how do you like your 5 gens.? (i.e. fun, speed, comfort, handling, ups and downs, etc.)

b) any other problems when looking into the '97, maybe '98 5 speeds? recalls, etc.?

Please give me some input if you have a second. I would appreciate it so much to get some insight from prelude owners. Thanks.

Bruce

 

Just traded my 98 Accord coupe for a 99 Prelude (70k miles) you loose alot of the comfort and room of the Accord but the handling and speed is so much better.
And in so far as I'm aware no 5th gen manual tranny or 5th gen recalls at all.

 

well your first mistake is on getting a 5th gen, go with the 4th gen they are more sleek and you will get bitches nah mean? plus put a lil money into and it will look and sound better than any 5th gen, like with a bodykit on a 4th gen you will be stylin puttin a bodykit on a 5th doesnt look right, THAT AINT RIGHT, i got my 93 for 6 grand 5 spd and 68,000 miles thats a deal my friend, dont buy from a dealer get it from a person selling my advice

 

HotLude, we speak English here. Not ghetto jive, dig it? Anyway, as for the fifth gen Prelude, you should be quite happy with it. Especially the five speed. The comfort on any Prelude is quite nice up front, forget the rear seat though. Trunk space is at a premium as well. It is definitely a driving oriented vehicle, as opposed to the Accord's more passenger accomodating design. Recalls, not many: SportShifts have problems, but you won't need to worry if your getting a stick. Some cars have the timming belt auto tentioner stick. Change that when you change the timming belt (you will hear a grrrr on deceleration at about 1500 rpm). The only real recall had to do with the ignition, but if you put the VIN number in Honda's owner link, it will tell you if your car applies. Chances are it won't. As for performance, fantastic. Slick clutch, the gears click nicely, and VTEC is sooooo sweet when you hit it. Tight, linear handling with no dead on center steering. Responsive brakes, and great throttle response in all five gears. The car will run smooth and solid all the way up to 130 if it has been taken care of (I had mine to 130 once). Everything else is Honda reliable.

 

What is timming belt auto tentioner stick?

 

I have heard of some cases of the timming belt auto tensioner sticking (it is a spring loaded device that automatically adjusts the belt tension according to how much or little it's being torqued). It makes a "grrrrr" sound only on decleration at about 1500 rpm. It is not something to really worry about unless you hear the grrrring noise. On cases I've heard of it's very noticeable, so you will know for sure if you have it or not. There may be a TSB for it, but it's not a recall. I may be making more of a deal about it than it really is. Since it's something I have heard of more than once, I just thought I'd let you know about it. My car hasn't had any problems and I'm at 80,000 miles. I don't think its detremental to the belt breaking prematurely, so I don't want anyone to be alarmed at this.

 

Well my Prelude is at 70,000..how many miles til timing belt change? I know Owner Link says 105,000 but really...what would you recommend?

 

105,000 is recomended based on mundane, routine driving. Like I said I just turned 80,000, and I plan on changing it next month. Technically, on any Honda engine going more than 90,000 on the belt is a real gamble. Up untill about the mid 1990's, recomended intervals was 60,000. Then it went up to 90,000. Now it's at 105,000. The reason I wouldn't stretch it more is our engine is what they call an interference engine. That means when the timing belt breaks, the valves crash into the pistons and in essence destroys your engine. You may get lucky and if the belt breaks at low rpms or at idle you probably won't do any damage and the engine just stalls. But if it breaks at high rpms, the engine is toast. I would say you should change yours at 90,000 or there abouts. Since you probably don't drive as much as I do, that may be another year and a half or two years for you. However, if you plan on playing in VTEC alot, I'd change it before 90,000 for sure.

 

Yeah I had a timing belt break yrs ago on my 85 Accord hatch, thankfully it was at a stoplight and it was ok (til I blew the headgasket about a yr later)

 

I just did the timing belt/auto tensioner on my 99', no wonder the dealer charges so much haha a lot of things were a hassle on it, but yea youll know if the auto tensioner goes out, mine went at 57K miles, so if yours hasnt had any problems by now you shouldnt worry.....