Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1998 Honda Civic owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Regarding my 1998 Honda passport - stop and go traffic. Put foot on brake and car suddenly accelerated. Put both feet on brake, engine sounded like it had been kicked into passing gear. Brakes were squealing. Rear ended vehicle in front of me. Vehicle I hit jumped forward and my passport continued to rev and lurch forward striking the vehicle again. After the 2nd strike the engine kicked back down. I'm seeing similar reports regarding the passport and it's sister/brother the rodeo. This is dangerous. Thankfully no one was injured this time. This car can't be trusted.
I was traveling on a wet road at 40mph. When applied brakes, the body of the vehicle jerked forward abruptly and the brakes locked up on me, causing the vehicle to skid off road. The vehicle hit concrete blocks and totaled the front end. The air bags failed to deploy. Ts
My daughter set the cruise control at 65/67 MPH and the car continued to accelerate. After attempting to tap the brakes and turn the cruise control button off, the car was traveling at 90 MPH. When trying to stop the vehicle she had to desperately press on the brakes using two feet to bring the car to a stop. After the car was stopped, she put the car in neutral with RPM's racing at 7500, she then disengaged the power. She then attempted to restart the vehicle 4 times and the RPM's were still racing at the same level. She had to to be towed for the amount of $325.00 from nj to pa. It was towed to the dealership. Piazza Honda told me that she got dirty fuel and it caused a deposit on the throttle body and stretched the cable. They also told me that is she turned the car off it would reset. …
While driving on and approaching one of if not the largest socal freeway interchanges, driving at about 70mph or so, back to la from san diego; our 1998 Civic lx took control of itself and the speed increased to over 105mph, shaking and thumping. After weaving around pockets of traffic, including using the small shoulders, and all 5 or so lanes, as we approached the massive merging of freeways, panicked, we stomped and banged the floor, dash, everything. As shock wore off we thought we were dead, somehow put car (auto trans) into neutral, I believe we May have turned off the car at some point, the brakes finally started to work. Gas pedal was absolutely not stuck (this model was already repaired due to a floor matt recall), feet were not even on the gas as it started to happen (not in cruise, just shock). The car simply took off. …
My accelerator pedal gets stuck and cannot be pressed unless a lot of force is used. When the pedal comes unstuck the car then jumps forward. This makes it very difficult and dangerous to drive, especially in slow traffic and when it rains. I have taken the car to the dealer eight times to repair from June 1998 to November 2002, but they could not repair it, even though Honda had a safety recall for this problem. The floor mat never caused the sticking. Now Honda says there is nothing wrong with the car and that any possible problems are due to lack of proper maintenance (improper oil and transmission fluids used).
While driving on the highway at approximately 55 MPH driver applied the cruise control and set it on 55 MPH. However, when applying, cruise control vehicle continued to accelerate. Driver had to turn the key off in order to get the vehicle to slow to a stop. Owner contacted the manufacturer, who urged consumer to take vehicle into a dealership. There May or May not be a charge.
While parking, car suddenly accelerated up over two curbs and a grass hill (one curb on each side of the hill), sideswiping another car until the engine finally cut off. Dealer could not duplicate problem and denies that the car could have caused this acceleration.
Vehicle was in the parking lot when consumer was backing out of a space, shifted gear into drive and accelerator pedal went to the floor , causing the vehicle to hit another vehicle and a light pole. Reason unknown. Dealer notified.
The vehicle sticks in full throttle and accelerates at a high speed when cruise control is engaged. The dealership replaced a part (part unknown), but the problem recurred. Please provide more details.
Backing out of parking space consumer shifted gear into reverse and vehicle suddenly accelerated backwards at a high rate of speed with foot still on brakes, causing vehicle to run into a bakery store.
Acceleration complaints in other Civic years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 1998 Honda Civic?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 1998 Honda Civic, 7% of the model year's 435 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (8 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1998 Honda Civic acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 1998 Honda Civic, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1998 Honda Civic acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 35,000 miles, and 29% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 7 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.