"How reliable is the 2001 Honda Prelude?"

"Based on 25 NHTSA complaints, the 2001 Honda Prelude has a median complaint mileage of 85480 miles. The most common issue is POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION."

"What are common problems with the 2001 Honda Prelude?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2001 Honda Prelude is POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION, accounting for a significant portion of the 25 total complaints filed."

2001 Honda Prelude: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 25 complaints

Total Complaints

85,480mi

Median Mileage

POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

42,561 25th Percentile

85,480 Median Mileage

115,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:TORQUE CONVERTER

STEERING:LINKAGES

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WAS GOING 15 MPH. CAR IN FRONT SLAMED ON BRAKES, WE SLAMMED ON BRAKES, THE BRAKES WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR,AND THE CAR DIDN'T STOP. RAN INTO THE TRUCK IN FRONT OF US AND SMASHED THE RIGHT CORNER PANEL.*AK"

"THE ABS CONTROL UNIT FIRST FAILED AT 12692 MILES LAST APRIL. THE DEALER STATED THAT THIS WAS AN INTERMITTENT FAILURE AND RESET THE CODES. I WAS TOLD THAT IF THE UNIT FAILED AGAIN IT WOULD BE REPLACED. IT FAILED LAST FRIDAY. THE DEALER DOES NOT STCK THE CONTROL UNIT AND IT TAKES 3-5 WORKING DAYS ..."

"BRAKE SYSTEM IS MALFUNCTIONING AND ENGAGING INVOLUNTARILY. FRONT END VIBRATES. ALSO, LEFT WHEEL GETS HOT AND LOCKS UP. VEHICLE HAS A MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND SHOULD ROLL BACK WHEN THE FOOT IS TAKEN OFF OF BRAKE PEDAL ON AN INCLINE. INSTEAD, THE VEHICLE DOES NOT MOVE. DEALER WAS NOTIFIED AND COUL..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 3 complaints

Median: 69,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 5 NY: 3 NC: 3 WI: 2 WA: 2 OH: 1 CO: 1 TX: 1 NV: 1 AZ: 1

Who Files Complaints?

52%

Original Owners

48%

Second+ Owners

Honda Prelude — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1992	26	-	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	7
1997	88	97,000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	18
1998	86	106,660	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	7
1999	40	67,061	TIRES:TREAD/BELT	2

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28