Did you test drive a Prelude before buying one?

[rexracer48 1]

Hopefully it won't need to be; there is a bit of radio silence as far as the Prelude is concerned. Have any Honda Hybrid engines actually had any problems?

The Civic/Prelude/CRV hybrid engine is relatively new but head gasket failures are starting to show up as the milage on them increases. I spoke with a couple of Honda techs and they say they think it is a poorly engineered block deck that is the problem. The problem is a slit or groove between cylinders for thermo efficiency of something. The design flaw is not exclusive to Honda. Chrysler and Ford have has the same issues with their engine designs with the same technology.

I would say it is a problem for Honda. Otherwise they would not have issued service bulletins for all these cars. It is a decade of cars that have issues. Here in the US Honda is extending the warranty for the head gasket to 10 years/150K miles. It is odd Honda has not included the Prelude yet. It shares the same engine design.

Honda announced the next generation CRV/Civic hybrid will have a new drivetrain. The new CRV was scheduled to be released here in the US in Feb-March '27. Honda just announced it will be delayed for 3 more months. The next gen Civic was also pushed back for some reason. There are talks of moving some Civic production from US plants to Japan.

The warranty extensions apply to these models:

2018-2022 Honda Accord 1.5T (CVT) (Bulletin 26-003)
2018-2022 Honda Accord 1.5T (M/T) (Bulletin 26-004)
2023-2026 Honda Accord (Bulletin 26-005)
2018-2022 Honda Accord Hybrid (Bulletin 26-006)
2023-2026 Honda Accord Hybrid (Bulletin 26-007)
2016-2021 Honda Civic 1.5T (CVT) (Bulletin 26-008)
2016-2021 Honda Civic 1.5T (M/T), 2017-20 Civic Si (Bulletin 26-009)
2022-2026 Honda Civic 1.5T (M/T) & Civic Si (Bulletin 26-010)
2022-2024 Honda Civic 1.5T (CVT) (Bulletin 26-011)
2025-2026 Honda Civic 2.0 (CVT) (Bulletin 26-012)
2025-2026 Honda Civic Hybrid (Bulletin 26-013)
2017-2022 Honda CR-V 1.5T (Bulletin 26-016)
2023-2026 Honda CR-V 1.5T (Bulletin 26-017)
2020-2022 Honda CR-V Hybrid (Bulletin 26-018)
2023-2026 Honda CR-V Hybrid (Bulletin 26-019)
2016-2017 Honda Civic 1.5T (CVT) (Bulletin 26-099) Expires May 31, 2027
2016-2017 Honda Civic 1.5T (M/T), 2017 Civic Si (Bulletin 26-097) Expires May 31, 2027
2017 Honda CR-V 1.5T (Bulletin 26-098) Expires May 31, 2027
2025-2026 Acura ADX (Bulletin 26-001)
2023-2026 Acura Integra (CVT) (Bulletin 26-002)
2023-2026 Acura Integra (M/T) (Bulletin 26-003)

 

[pillred27 18]

The Civic/Prelude/CRV hybrid engine is relatively new but head gasket failures are starting to show up as the milage on them increases. I spoke with a couple of Honda techs and they say they think it is a poorly engineered block deck that is the problem. The problem is a slit or groove between cylinders. The design flaw is not exclusive to Honda. Chrysler and Ford have has the same issues with their engine designs with the same technology.

I would say it is a problem for Honda. Otherwise they would not have issued service bulletins for all these cars. It is a decade of cars that have issues. Here in the US Honda is extending the warranty for the head gasket to 10 years/150K miles. It is odd Honda has not included the Prelude yet. It shares the same engine design.

Honda announced the next generation CRV/Civic hybrid will have a new drivetrain. The new CRV was scheduled to be released here in the US in Feb-March '27. Honda just announced it will be delayed for 3 more months. The next gen Civic was also pushed back. There are talks of moving some Civic production from US plants to Japan.

The warranty extensions apply to these models:

2018-2022 Honda Accord 1.5T (CVT) (Bulletin 26-003)
2018-2022 Honda Accord 1.5T (M/T) (Bulletin 26-004)
2023-2026 Honda Accord (Bulletin 26-005)
2018-2022 Honda Accord Hybrid (Bulletin 26-006)
2023-2026 Honda Accord Hybrid (Bulletin 26-007)
2016-2021 Honda Civic 1.5T (CVT) (Bulletin 26-008)
2016-2021 Honda Civic 1.5T (M/T), 2017-20 Civic Si (Bulletin 26-009)
2022-2026 Honda Civic 1.5T (M/T) & Civic Si (Bulletin 26-010)
2022-2024 Honda Civic 1.5T (CVT) (Bulletin 26-011)
2025-2026 Honda Civic 2.0 (CVT) (Bulletin 26-012)
2025-2026 Honda Civic Hybrid (Bulletin 26-013)
2017-2022 Honda CR-V 1.5T (Bulletin 26-016)
2023-2026 Honda CR-V 1.5T (Bulletin 26-017)
2020-2022 Honda CR-V Hybrid (Bulletin 26-018)
2023-2026 Honda CR-V Hybrid (Bulletin 26-019)
2016-2017 Honda Civic 1.5T (CVT) (Bulletin 26-099) Expires May 31, 2027
2016-2017 Honda Civic 1.5T (M/T), 2017 Civic Si (Bulletin 26-097) Expires May 31, 2027
2017 Honda CR-V 1.5T (Bulletin 26-098) Expires May 31, 2027
2025-2026 Acura ADX (Bulletin 26-001)
2023-2026 Acura Integra (CVT) (Bulletin 26-002)
2023-2026 Acura Integra (M/T) (Bulletin 26-003)

It certainly looks like the Prelude should have been on the list, I'm hoping they realised there was a problem and have updated the gasket design on it, I hope so as it will surely affect the reputation when it comes to resale time, we get an 8 year warranty here in England as long as you get it serviced at Honda, it won't affect me as my mileage is so low annually (4000 miles) hopefully Honda come up with a improved Prelude and I can P/X my current one at Honda in a few years and I get a better price as they can hardly say to me sorry we don't want it as there is a problem with the head gasket.

 

[OldCoupeGRGuy20 5]

I had a 20 minute test drive but knew straight away I was buying it.
I also turned up out of the blue and got a drive.
I read our American friends talk about mark up and that sounds odd to me. Over here there is a fixed price set by Honda. You may be able to get a discount if they need to shift them. I have always gone in December to order and got good discounts because UK dealers financial year end at the end of that month and they are desperate for sales.
None of that worked with my GR Yaris as it was so rare. Got nothing off that - it was take it or leave it. That car was to be shown on top gear in a weeks time and was told to order it before then as Ausie cars sold out in one morning so I went to see one and ordered without a drive - just sat in it.
I assumed it would be the same over here with prelude. Well, I don't think it was but still no discount. I simply decided life is short and go get one now.

 

[rexracer48 1]

I had a 20 minute test drive but knew straight away I was buying it.
I also turned up out of the blue and got a drive.
I read our American friends talk about mark up and that sounds odd to me. Over here there is a fixed price set by Honda. You may be able to get a discount if they need to shift them. I have always gone in December to order and got good discounts because UK dealers financial year end at the end of that month and they are desperate for sales.
None of that worked with my GR Yaris as it was so rare. Got nothing off that - it was take it or leave it. That car was to be shown on top gear in a weeks time and was told to order it before then as Ausie cars sold out in one morning so I went to see one and ordered without a drive - just sat in it.
I assumed it would be the same over here with prelude. Well, I don't think it was but still no discount. I simply decided life is short and go get one now.

The automotive dealer sales model here in the US is different for sure. It varies by state but our consumer laws for automobile purchases are not as consumer friendly as they can be. Dealer backed lobbyist buy and sway our politicians. As a result of that, we the consumers, have to be extremely diligent when shopping for cars.

You are correct. There are better times of the year to buy cars. Dealers here in the States do the same discounting at the end of the year. The best time to make an offer is at the end of the month, end of the year. Most importantly it is beneficial to find older unsold new inventory on dealer lots. Dealerships get "floor-plan" from manufactures which is like a revolving credit line. They pay interest and fees on every car they own. The longer a car sits in inventory the more it is costing their bottom line. Usually by 90-days a dealer will aggressively discount a car to get rid of it so it is off the books.

The '27 Preludes are starting to show up in dealer inventory now. As a depreciating asset the '26 Preludes are worth less because it is technically a year old at this point even though it brand new. Remaining '26 Prelude inventory will be discounted more as the year ends. $2200 off is pretty easy to find now. I suspect that discount will grow as '26 inventory remains on lots through the end of the year.

This is not unique to the Prelude. This is true for most cars sold in America.

 

[rexracer48 1]

It certainly looks like the Prelude should have been on the list, I'm hoping they realised there was a problem and have updated the gasket design on it, I hope so as it will surely affect the reputation when it comes to resale time, we get an 8 year warranty here in England as long as you get it serviced at Honda, it won't affect me as my mileage is so low annually (4000 miles) hopefully Honda come up with a improved Prelude and I can P/X my current one at Honda in a few years and I get a better price as they can hardly say to me sorry we don't want it as there is a problem with the head gasket.

I do not think you will have an issue based on your low annual milage driven.

I like trying different cars and I usually sell them after 2-3 years for something different. Sometimes much sooner. I rarely own a car long enough for the warranty to expire. That is not my concern. Resale value is my concern. A 10-year/150K warranty extension would help preserve used values.

For whatever reason the new Prelude in Japan has very poor resale value. The '26 Prelude’s resale value in Japan is 58.2%–61.2% of its new-car price. That is a single year of depreciation. That is not globally but it is still not good.

One thing is certain. The Prelude's great fuel efficiency helps claw back some lost depreciation. At today's gas prices it can be substantial for some drivers. In 4 years the Prelude can cost $10K less to drive than a Nissan Z. Probably more if gas prices keep going up.

 

[pillred27 18]

I had a 20 minute test drive but knew straight away I was buying it.
I also turned up out of the blue and got a drive.
I read our American friends talk about mark up and that sounds odd to me. Over here there is a fixed price set by Honda. You may be able to get a discount if they need to shift them. I have always gone in December to order and got good discounts because UK dealers financial year end at the end of that month and they are desperate for sales.
None of that worked with my GR Yaris as it was so rare. Got nothing off that - it was take it or leave it. That car was to be shown on top gear in a weeks time and was told to order it before then as Ausie cars sold out in one morning so I went to see one and ordered without a drive - just sat in it.
I assumed it would be the same over here with prelude. Well, I don't think it was but still no discount. I simply decided life is short and go get one now.

Life is short. I am realising that, probably a bit late. They say you can't make up for lost time, but I'm going to give it a good go anyway. The Prelude purchase was just the start.

 

[Jusbs54910 1]

Life is short. I am realising that, probably a bit late. They say you can't make up for lost time, but I'm going to give it a good go anyway. The Prelude purchase was just the start.

Yep, with each passing day, father time takes a little bit more from me in my later years...this car (among my other hobbies and interests) help to keep be from thinking about what could have been, and more along the lines of what can still be.