1984 Honda Prelude from North America - Comments

Carburetors rebuilt.

Choke was stuck, producing blue smoke.

CV Axles were replaced.

Alternator was faulty.

Required catalytic converter.

Crank Seal began to leak oil, and crank shaft somewhat does.

2 holes in the body, fixed with foam insulation.

Master brake cylinder broke.

Timing Belt.

Fuel tank leaked.

I bought this car for 1000 bucks at a dealer I thought to be reliable. I was told a set of spark plugs and a bottle of fuel additive would have me a safety check and emissions test, how wrong I was. All of the above repairs were needed for the certification, except for the oil leak and master cylinder, which happened shortly after. The car is 17 years old, and has very low kilometers. I am wondering if the problems I am experiencing with this car, nearly every 2 weeks it seems, are due to the previous owners laziness, or if I am driving the car too hard. Honda has an excellent reputation for efficiency and quality, however this car does not do Honda any justice. This car handles extremely well, however it is rather slow compared to some of the newer cars on the road today. The tachometer seems to get up to about 2700, and will then rev high like the car slipped into neutral for a second when I apply a lot of gas near the shift of the gears, and I have to take my foot off. The car also starts very hard and chugs when it has sat for 10 plus minutes, and when I turn it off it has some run-on, despite the premium and fuel additive I have put in the tank. Recently I have also heard a bit of a clunking noise when I am in first gear and accelerate to quickly. Can anyone please tell me what they think happened to this poor old Honda.

I'm afraid I know what happened to your poor honda... someone drove the living crap out of it my sugestion is to scrap it and buy something from someone reliable next time.

Hey man I just bougth mine and it has a problem too sometimes its low on revs ind I don't know how can I fix that???

Can someone please tell me how??\

el_cacheton5@hotmail.com.

I have two 1984 honda preludes. The first one was grey and cost me 350 dollars. It was in great shape and all that went wrong with it was the timing belt went (stranding me though not an expensive fix). I got that car tee-boned trying to run from cops when they raided a street race. Luckily they never found me, but my ride was hurt and ugly. So I bought another one with a new paint job and rims, threw my system in it, switched the carbeurators and it was good to go, until I went off roading in it and cracked the fuel tank. But anyways. The grey one came with a clutch that was right worn out. A sign that the clutch is slipping (not catching the gears) is when you accelerate fast, you rev up high and not go anywhere. But you can accelerate slowly and still have good speed. I got the clutch replaced and the stock 100 hp really showed. (not much, but good for 1984) The car had boost. Until my vacuum advance went on me. That caused the car to go slower for the revs it was at. That seriously made my life miserable, so I was glad I crashed it and got the other one. Its vacuum system was great and it had been totally rewired with a new engine. Only cost me 1200 from a friend. (Canadian cash too). I am saying that you guys are paying too much. Enjoy your ludes.

My car did that too. It still chugs, but I adjust the idle speed to get rid of that. Oil change, engine restorer, plugs, wires, and dist. cap seemed to fix most of the problems. Before the tune up it wouldn't rev over 3700rpm. Now it revs over 7000 when warmed up. I ran neck and neck with a current model Dodge Stratus one night on the way home from work, he couldn't pass me, so we went again and I could't pass him, both times from about 35mph to 80mph. Did I mention that I'm 16 and this is my first car? I'm in the process of modding it. Next thing is a 2.0liter dual carb Accord engine and 5pd. Oh yeah, my mom gave me the car when she got her Explorer.

My 84 is the best car I've ever had!!! Good ride, good engine, and after 250,000 miles, she still sounds good. I'm saying, if you take care of her, she will take care of you! I've had it 12 years, and bought it off the first owner. Over the years I've replaced the clutch, the timing belt, the alternator, the valve cover gasket, the CV axles and had the brakes re-done, but for a 24 year old car, I think that's pretty good. She has been parked for the last three years while I was out of the country (and unfortunately acquired a massive hole in the muffler which I'm in the process of fixing) but she started right up on my return. Running a little rough but hopefully that's just a couple of gunky carburetors. All I'm saying is don't knock the Preludes, they are Honda's gems!!!