1985 Honda Prelude review from North America
"Fun to drive, if you can keep it running"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Dual carburetor setup is a constant source of headache trying to balance. The rat's nest of vacuum hoses attached to these carburetors are always coming loose or leaking. These problems cause a wide variety of poor performance.
Valves won't stay adjusted in the engine.
Myself servicing it, and several mechanics have not been able to figure out why the battery kept going dead at random times. Alternators, voltage regulators, and many other electrical parts replaced in attempt to solve the problem.
Car kept overheating, and this problem eventually made it meet it's demise. Another hard to diagnose problem that resulted in many parts replaced without solving the problem.
Air conditioning compressor self-destructed, and took out the power steering pump with it.
Had to replace the brakes on all 4 wheels to the tune of $900.
General comments?
This car has really tight handling, and is really fun to drive when it ran, but I think I would have more luck with an MG or other British sports car. At least one of those have predictable problems, and the parts don't cost a fortune. This car frequently broke weird, hard to find parts that were very expensive!
This car would be perfect with a small V6, and rear-wheel drive. It just needs a little more torque. The rear-wheel drive would help the weight balance. I can't complain about the handling too bad though, it stuck to the road like it was glued!
The interior is very comfortable. The seats really hold you in place. Tall people like myself have plenty of room to spread out. The back seat though is terribly small, and suitable only for a small child.
Honda really dropped the ball though on general fit and finish. I have not seen the Honda reliability image that everyone seems to talk about in this car. Anybody riding in this car can just tell from the way the lights brighten and dim with engine speed, the clattering of the valves, and many other things that this car was a problem child. I saw many design shortfalls that looks like the engineers were laying down on the job when this car was being created
Recommended reviews
| 1986 - Prelude EX 1.8 12V Custom Dual Carb. Very good value for your money |
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| 1985 - Prelude S 1.8 CCVC Dual Carb Easy on the eyes and the pocketbook |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 1985 |
| First year of ownership | 1990 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 1994 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.8L dual carb Manual |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 3 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 6 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 5 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 2 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 60000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 100000 miles |
| Date of Entry | 1st July, 2002 |