Problems · by component
1997 Honda Accord power train problems
33 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 1997 Honda Accord cite power train, 7% of all 467 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
33
7% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
What owners say about the power train
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“While driving car speed starts to fall soon there is no pedal at all and smoke and fire come from underneath dashboard transmission hesitates to shift now currently un safe to drive.”
“THIS CAR RANDOMLY SHUTS DOWN AS I AM DRIVING HAVE TAKEN IT TO NUMEROUS PLACES AND NOTHING IS FOUND. SHUT DOWN 6 TIMES IN A ROW LAST TIME WITH MY CHILD IN THE CAR ON A DARK HIGHWAY COLD AND RAINING. VERY DANGEROUS!!! THE INSIDE LIGHTS FLASH ON AND OFF ALL OF THE TIME MOSTLY TURNING CURVES, WASTING BATTERY. NOISE IN THE FRONT WHEELS/TIRES/AXLES LIKE SOMETHING IS WAITING TO BREAK OFF AS YOU ARE DRIVING. OVERHEATED LAST YEAR FOR NO APPARENT REASON COSTING TON OF MONEY. I HAVE REPLACED THE COMPRESSOR TWICE AND STILL THE AIR CONDITIONER DOESN'T COOL. I LEAVE THE "AIR" BUTTON ON TO KEEP THE FANS RUNNING SO IT DOESN'T OVERHEAT AS I'M DRIVING. NOT TO MENTION IN THE SUMMER IT IS BLOWING OUT HEAT AND ALL THE WINDOWS DO NOT ROLL DOWN. THIS CAR IS A MESS AND I WILL NEVER PURCHASE ANOTHER HONDA. THANKS-”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 HONDA ACCORD. WHILE REVERSING, THERE WAS A LOUD METALLIC NOISE COMING FROM THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AND THE MOTOR MOUNT FRACTURED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 170,000.”
“WHILE DRIVING UPHILL IN THE MOUNTAINS OF NC ON I-26, WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING, TRANSMISSION SLIPPING OF MY 97 HONDA ACCORD WITH 88,000 ORIGINAL MILES, CAUSED TRAFFIC TO BACK-UP BEHIND ME IN THE RAIN. WAS FINALLY ABLE TO REMOVE FROM FREEWAY OUT OF DANGER. *TR”
“COMPLETE HONDA ACCORD AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT 69,550 MILES BELOW INCIDENT ALMOST RESULTED IN REAR END COLLISION ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY WHEN ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE ONTO ENTRANCE RAMP AND VEHICLE BEHIND REQUIRED EVASIVE ACTION TO PREVENT REAR END COLLISION WITH MY VEHICLE DUE TO AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILURE, FAILING TO ACCELERATE MORE THAN 20 MPH. FOUR SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION COMPLETELY FAILED FOR MY 1997 HONDA ACCORD LX, 4-DOOR, WITH ONLY 69,550 MILES. THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT ILLUMINATED, WHILE THE "D4" AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION INDICATOR FLASHED OFF AND ON AT SAME TIME. HONDA WOULDN'T DRIVE IN FOURTH GEAR AND ACTED AS IT WAS SLIPPING. VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT TO ED VOYLES HONDA, MARIETTA, GEORGIA ON SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 FOR DIAGNOSIS. HONDA TECHNICIAN(S) ADVISED THAT THE "ECM CODE" DISCLOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD COMPLETELY FAILED AND REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. *TR”
“FOUR SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION COMPLETELY FAILED FOR MY 1997 HONDA ACCORD LX, 4-DOOR, WITH ONLY 69,550 MILES. THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT ILLUMINATED, WHILE THE "D4" AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION INDICATOR FLASHED OFF AND ON AT SAME TIME. HONDA WOULDN'T DRIVE IN FOURTH GEAR AND ACTED AS IT WAS SLIPPING. VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT TO ED VOYLES HONDA, MARIETTA, GEORGIA ON SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 FOR DIAGNOSIS. HONDA TECHNICIAN(S) ADVISED THAT THE "ECM CODE" DISCLOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD COMPLETELY FAILED AND REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. I WAS NOT NOTIFIED AND/OR OFFERED ANY INFORMATION REGARDING HONDA EXTENDING THE TRANSMISSION WARRANTY FOR THIS 1997 HONDA ACCORD LX. AT TIME OF INCIDENT, WAS INTERSTATE 285 ON RAMP WHEN VEHICLE TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING, ALLOWING MAXIMUM SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 15 TO 20 MPH. VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY IN THE BACK OF MY VEHICLE HAD TO TAKE EVASIVE ACTION TO PREVENT REAR END COLLISION. PREMATURE TRANSMISSION FAILURE CREATED A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY HAZARD TO MYSELF AND OTHER VEHICLES TO MY REAR. PLEASE NOTE, HONDA ACCORD WITHIN SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE AND AFTER THE 1997 YEAR MODEL HAS A SIGNIFICANT HISTORY OF EARLY TRANSMISSION FAILURES IN WHICH HONDA HAS FAILED…”
Showing 6 of 33 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.