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Honda Prelude VTEC 4WS Buyers Guide
Apart from the usual checks which you should carry out when buying any second hand car, there are some areas on the Prelude which are worth special consideration. Let me first say that these cars are built to a very high standard, and the panels should fit with a high degree of fit and finish. If you are considering a car which is anything but, then you can assume that it has been neglected and probably had accident damage of some sort which has not been repaired to a high standard. I would look elsewhere for another example. If looked after, and serviced regularly, these cars are good for several 100 thousand miles. My 1995 model has just reached over 134k miles, and I consider it to run as good if not better than the day I got her with only 70k miles on. It is very rare for any component either electrical or mechanical, to fail. However, there are some known problems which seem to affect cars with 100k+ miles on. One that has now affected me a few times, is that the coil in the distributor fails. This can fail suddenly without warning. It is easily diagnosed by removing a spark plug and with the ht lead still connected, lay the spark plug on the engine cover. When you now crank the engine over, look at the spark from the plug. It needs to be a bright blue colour to make the car start, a yellow or white spark is a weak spark. Worse still, is no spark at all. This could indicate that the ignitor has failed rather than the coil. I am reliably informed though that the coil is the component which regularly fails due to it being contained within the distributor itself. This can cause excessive heat to destroy the coil. You can purchase a new (non oem) distributor for around £125, or replace the component very easily with new parts from Probe Distributors. All, I have done is regular oil and filter changes, and replaced the exhaust for a performance stainless steel one. As part of preventive maintenance I had the clutch replaced at 98k miles, even though it was not slipping. It was just getting heavy. A very heavy clutch pedal usually indicates an old clutch.

Rust

Most of the panels and main structural chassis parts are galvanized from new, so rust is not usually a problem. The area which needs attention is usually the trailing edge of the rear wheel arches, and sometimes the lower sill section. For some reason it seems to rust from the inside out here. The first signs of rust always starts here. This is not easily repaired though. Nobody other than Honda makes replacement rear quarter panels, and to replace both rear quarter panels is a massive and very expensive repair. Other options are to cut out and make custom repair panels which is also expensive. Make no mistake, if this area is not cut out, no amount of filler repair will last. I have seen this over and over again. I myself have rust like this affecting my Prelude. I have sourced a complete donor JDM Prelude with perfect body work to repair my Prelude with. This was more cost effective, due to the resale value of all the other parts not required which can be sold on. Sometimes the sunroof can have the odd rust spot appear. The only other area is the window strips along the back window, and the rear quarter glass. These tend to look grubby, with some sort of surface corrosion. A regularly looked after car will not have these problems.

Mechanicals

These engines are bullet proof. With good servicing they last a long, long time. But, check for blue smoke on startup, and when engaging VTEC @ 5000rpm and above. You might notice black smoke (rich fuelling, which is normal in VTEC) but not blue. Blue is bad. This will mean either worn rings, or cylinder bores. The blue smoke on startup is probably worn valve guides, and/or valve stem steals.
If you dare, and you can find somewhere to test this ( without speeding on a public road), you should try to change gear from 4th to 5th at high engine revs. i.e in VTEC in 4th (above 5k rpms) and change quickly into 5th gear. If it is smooth, then great. If it grinds, or worse won't shift up, then you have developed the 5th gear selector fork problem. This is a known fault which still affects some Accord Type-R models. It is something you will have to live with or pay to get fixed.(££!)
Only other things which I have heard of eventually needing replacing are the rear wheel bearings. These come ONLY as a complete hub and are available from ADL Blueprint at a much cheaper price than Honda. Try £110 compared with £300+ each!! It might be worth asking if the wheel bearings have been replaced already on a car you are considering buying. N.B. Some noise which sounds like worn wheel bearings on the Prelude, can actually be traced to certain tyres. One known tyre to avoid because of this is the Avon ZV1 205/55/15. This is ok when new, but once worn, creates a wheel bearing type noise which is actually caused by the tyre tread. Changing the tyres eliminates this. It happened to me. So try swapping your rears to the front before you buy replacement bearings.

4WS

Check that the light for the 4WS illuminates when you switch on the ignition. If it doesn't, then someone could be hiding a known fault with the system. Check that the fuse for the 4WS is in the fuse box, and that the bulb has not blown or been removed. Once you start the car, after a few seconds the yellow 4WS light should go out. With the engine idling, open your car door, and turn the steering wheel, and watch for the rear wheels moving. If they are, then get going on your test drive, if the 4ws light pops on and the rear wheels are not turning then try the 4ws reset procedure detailed here.  

VTEC

The VTEC system will only engage when the car has fully warmed up. So don't go for a test drive and immediately expect the VTEC system to kick in, it won't. You should not be thrashing any car whilst it is still cold, and the Prelude is clever enough to disable the system until at least:
1. It has reached a safe operating temperature
2. There is sufficient oil pressure for safe high rpm VTEC action.

The VTEC system is a ultra reliable system where two profiles exist on the same camshaft which the ecu can engage. Below about 5k rpms a high torque "normal" profile is active. Above 5k rpms a second high lift/duration profile on each camshaft is switched over, which provides a lot more power, and should be easily felt by a sudden surge in acceleration. The engine now is in "VTEC" and should pull strongly all the way to at least 7,200rpm (limiter about 7600rpm). Once the revs return below the 5k switching point the "normal" camshaft profiles begin to operate again. This gives the engine a dual personality, and a big fan base. It should be obvious if the VTEC system is working or not.

Air Conditioning

I am only mentioning this because when I bought my Prelude, the air conditioning controls worked (button lit up on the dash) but I got no cold air. On investigation, I found that a electrical connector near the bottom of the right hand side of the radiator had simply come apart. It was connected to the compressor so I assume it was the signal to control the clutch engagement. When I reconnected the connector, the compressors clutch actually engaged and I got cold air!!
 

| 05.11.2007 | Read more | Print |