Problems · by component
1996 Honda Accord power train problems
27 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 1996 Honda Accord cite power train, 6% of all 478 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
27
6% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the power train
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“ONE DAY JUST LIKE THAT I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK AND I CAME TO A RED LIGHT SO AFTER COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN MY CAR WAS ON IN DRIVE AND I ACCELERATED AND THE CAR JUST WOULDN'T MOVE. GOT IT TOWED AND I GOT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CODES AND IT WAS P0401 AND P0108 SO I CLEANED THE EGR VALVE AND BOUGHT A NEW MAP SENSOR AND INSTALLED IT. THE CAR HAD A NEW BATTERY, THE TRANSMISSION OIL WAS FULL AND WITH NO VISIBLE BLACK COLOR OR SMELL, THE CAR STARTED BUT WOULD NOT GET INTO GEAR AND JUST WOULDN'T MOVE. CALLED A SPECIALIST MECHANIC AND HE BROUGHT HIS TOOL TO CHECK THE WHOLE COMPUTER PART OF THE CAR WICH IS THE NEXT BEST THING TO TOWING IT TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP, THE RESULT CAME BACK INCONCLUSIVE WITH ALMOST CERTAIN TRANSMISSION FAILURE. AFTER CORONA A LOST OF VEHICLE AND JOB I AM JUDT ABOUT TO SELL IT AS IS CUT MY LOSSES AND MAYBE BUY A BICYCLE FOR NOW. I JUST NEED TO LEAVE ABOUT ONE HOUR BEFORE WORK AND BUY A GOOD AXE BODY SHOWER SPRAY AND ATTACH LIFE ONES AGAIN.”
“96 HONDA ACCORD LX 2.2L TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT 79,758 MILES. A REBUILT TRANSMISSION WAS INSTALLED ON 11/28/08 DUE TO TRANSMISSION CONSTANTLY SLIPPING AND ACTUALLY LEAVING MY 23 YR OLD SON, AWAY AT SCHOOL STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EXPRESSWAY. I HAVE READ ONLINE THAT MANY HONDA ACCORD OWNERS HAVE HAD TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AS WELL. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO NOTE THAT AMERICAN HONDA NEVER CONTACTED US REF TO THE EMISSIONS WARRANTY BEING EXTENDED TO 14 YEARS OR 150,000 MILES [BULLETIN 98-081 HTTP://WWW.EPA.GOV/OTAQ/CERT/RECALL/FR33394.HTM ]. WE FOUND OUT OURSELVES WHILE ON THE INTERNET LAST MONTH DOING RESEARCH ON HONDA TRANSMISSIONS. THE REBUILT TRANSMISSION REPLACED 11/28/08 FAILED US AGAIN WHEN OUR SON WAS RETURNING TO ORLANDO. WE HAD TO GO AND TOW THE CAR BACK TO MIAMI FOR ADDITIONAL TRANSMISSION REPAIRS. THIS TIME IT WAS DUE TO A TORQUE CONVERTER FAILURE. *TR”
“WHILE DRIVING ON THE NJ TURNPIKE, AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION UNEXPECTEDLY SLIPPED INTO NEUTRAL (SLIPPED FROM D4 TO NEUTRAL). ENGINE REVVED TO RED LINE BEFORE I PULLED OVER. JUST NARROWLY MISSED GETTING INTO AN ACCIDENT. *TR”
“ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS, WITH DOOR LOCK ACTUATORS AND SRS SYSTEMS WHEEL ALIGNMENT BRAKE PROBLEMS, TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS YES , PARTS WERE REPLACED, REPAIRED BUT I STILL HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS, AFTER SPENDING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. *NM”
“I HAVE HAD MY CAR FOR 10 MONTHS WITH REPEATED TRIPS TO THE DEALER AND NUMEROUS CALLS TO THE POINT OF PURCHASE, WITH NO RESULTS, I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE RUN-A-ROUND TO MANY TIMES TO COUNT. I HAVE A 1996 HONDA ACCORD AND IT HAS A HEAD GASKET PROBLEM AND THE ENGINE IS HAVING TO BE REBUILT. THE HEAD GASKET AND ENGINE ARE BADLY WATER DAMAGED AND WARPED, AND IT IS COSTING ME IN EXCESS OF $2,400.00 TO GET IT REPAIRED. I WAS TOLD THAT REPAIRS WERE MADE TO MY CAR BUT NEVER RECEIVED A WORK ORDER PROVING THAT SAID WORK WAS ACTUALLY DONE. I AM TRYING TO SEEK PROTECTION UNDER THE LEMON LAW SO ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE ME IN THAT EFFORT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!”
“DEFECTIVE BALANCER SHAFT SEAL BROKE LOOSE, CAUSING AN ENGINE REPLACEMENT BECAUSE OF IMMEDIATE OIL LOSS W/NO WARNING INDICATORS. JUST HAD OIL CHANGE AND TRANSMISSION OIL FLUSH A MONTH AGO. HONDA NEEDS TO REIMBURSE COSTS OF TOTAL REPAIR DUE TO DEFECTIVE ITEM. NEVER RECEIVED RECALL NOTICE EITHER.*AK”
Showing 6 of 27 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.