2000 Honda Prelude Type SH 2.2 Vtec from North America

Summary:

Boy street racer

Faults:

Nothing much, the car was pretty reliable (I would expect that from a Honda with low clicks).

When I sold the car one of the CV joints needed work and brake pads needed replacing. Minor.

One of the main reasons I sold the car was: I drive in a busy city and it is unbearable that when you need to make a simple U-Turn.. And you CANNOT, the car seems to love the 3-point turn.. POOR TURNING RADIUS.. You would think it's a minor thing but it's not.. this means that the car is not the best parker either.

2 doors is a pain.

High insurance!

Loves oil! I changed my oil every 4,000 Kilometers and the oil still looked BLACK!

Outdated.

General Comments:

It is high-rev happy and offers plenty of torque when you keep the car above 4,000 RPM, otherwise it's a bit sluggish. Remember, when the car is kept at high RPM's it uses more gas, burns oil and is freakin' loud.

Honda's are reliable, and they are a good bang for your buck. Low depreciation means fairly high re-sale value. My previous car was an Acura 1.6EL and that car lasted a LONG time without needing anything substantial. Now from owning both an Acura and a Honda, I would pick the Acura for its build quality and some "extra" details.

I bought my car from a girl that took the car through one too many car-washes and therefore scratched the heck out of the paint job. I knew what I was buying, it was stock, well serviced and did not need any work. I overpaid a little ($15000 in 2007) but got a piece of mind with it. What I am trying to say is that it is very hard to find a clean Prelude, most have been owned by teenagers looking to mod and to show off their rides, they drive the crap out of them and many have been modded. Watch out.

It's a bit of a "boyish" car, the car carries this "racer" mentality. Yes, the police are on the lookout, the 2 doors are a pain, and the Insurance is a PAIN.

Good luck.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 14th November, 2008

29th Oct 2009, 01:05

Your posting has many good points, however your comparison to Acura being better than Honda does not make sense at all. Especially the comparison of the 1.6el!

The 1.6el has no guts whatsoever, and it's just a rebadged Civic that's over priced!

Preludes are amazing cars, inexpensive to maintain, and they have very good feel to them when it's driven properly.

In reply to 29th Oct 2009, 01:05

22nd Apr 2011, 14:15

I agree with everything I just read here!

2000 Honda Prelude 2.2 inline 4 cylinder from North America

Summary:

Good looks, fun to drive, more power than you need, and great mileage too!

Faults:

Passenger door window is slightly out of alignment.

Other than that, NOTHING!

General Comments:

After-market performance parts have become more available since this model's introduction in 1997. I installed an AEM cold air intake pipe, and my mileage improved by 1.5 mpg. Then I switched to Mobil 1 synthetic oil, and mileage improved another 1 mpg. Over my last 6 tanks of gas I'm averaging 26.9 mpg., much better than they predict.

The car is a little lacking in low-end torque, but this is to be expected from a high-compression I4. VTEC activates at around 5200 rpm, and you definitely feel it.

The seats could be a little beefier, but they're fine for an hour at a time.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th March, 2001

3rd Mar 2005, 09:53

I am the original author of this review. Thanks to the past two commentators for clarification on how cold air intakes really work. I guess the first guy didn't understand much about combustion.

Here's an update--my Prelude is now just over 5 years old, I have 51,000 miles on it. I take reasonably good care of my cars, but I'm not obsessive. I can honestly say that this car still looks showroom new. There is very little wear on the "Nighthawk Black" paint, just a few splotches from bird poop that I've buffed out as well as I can. The interior is still as solid and rattle-free as the day I bought it. Nothing is falling off. Everything still works. That's Honda build quality for you--this Prelude was completely built/assembled in Japan, one of the last Hondas like that sold in America.

The motor has a few ticks, pings and rattles when it's idling, but it's still smooth. The reason it makes these noises is because I've had it on synthetic oil since 7500 miles. Synthetic is a little thinner and the noise is just a by-product. Regardless, the engine still runs smooth, no smoke, no hesitation, and still gets over 25mpg. In the long run synthetic oil extends the life of the engine. I can live with ticks like that if that's the case.

I removed the cold-air-intake and went back to the stock air box about 18 months ago. Yes, the mileage did drop by about 1 mpg. I'm not a leadfoot. The engine is much quieter now under wide-open-throttle, and I lost some of that "punch" in the higher RPM range, but it's still okay.

At 30,000 miles I had the transmission flushed by an authorized dealer (okay, it was the Acura dealer, but they ARE authorized to work on Hondas too.) I had heard horrible reports about the "Sport-Shift" transmission, and I wanted to make sure that I had performed ALL of the precautionary measures. As of this writing I have had no problems.

About three years ago, Honda extended my transmission warranty to SEVEN YEARS, 100,000 MILES. Again, I'm not a leadfoot and I take "reasonably" good care of my cars. I'm sure this has contributed, plus the fact that I don't even use "Sport-Shift" very often.

I'll probably be selling the car within the next six months, I need something much bigger and more comfortable. My estimate is that the car is still worth about 50% of what I paid, which is MUCH higher than the industry standard.

Thank you, Honda.

25th Oct 2008, 20:01

Not to rag on anybody or test anyone's knowledge. Modifying the intake system by swapping it with a cold air intake is a VERY delicate job.

Look closely and think along as well. SOME manufacturers place the filter element near at a place where heat is close. So the engine sucks in the nearby hot air.

Not to mention the material it is made affects it as well. ANY component near the motor will get hot, right? and most cold air intakes are made of aluminum. So the cold air kit is heating up. Not good.

If anything heat wrap the Air system, then you will truly see it work. Especially if you heat wrap the headers as well. Just trying to help people out.