The 1996 Honda Prelude has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 124,875 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 4 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine and engine cooling. Last updated July 5, 2026.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. CERTAIN VEHICLES WERE MANUFACTURED WITH BALL JOINTS THAT CAN PREMATURELY WEAR OUT AND, IN THE WORSE CASE, THE BALL JOINT WOULD SEPARATE CAUSING THE FRONT SUSPENSION TO COLLAPSE.
THIS CONDITION WOULD RESULT IN VEHICLE DECELERATION AND A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER. ALSO STEERING CONTROLLABILITY WOULD BE REDUCED.
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT SUSPENSION LOWER BALL JOINTS.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Electrical fire in vehicle trunk. *nm”
“While consumer was traveling at 20 mph ball joints went out, and consumer lost control of vehicle. There is a recall on vehicle for same problem, but this vehicle was not included due to vin. *ak there was a failure of front left lower ball joint, which resulted in a single car accident, while…”
“The main bearings in my motor spun and are scored, this resulted in loss of oil pressure to the crankshaft and bearing journals. Due to this loss of pressure the engine block,crankshaft,journals, and main bearings are ruined. The top half of my motor is fine including the dual overhead…”
“While driving on the interstate at about 75mph the vehicle cut completely off. Has been to dealer at least 6 times for same problem. *ak”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1996 Honda Prelude as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.