Honda Accord Sedan (1998)

Honda Accord Sedan

For the sixth generation, Honda split the Accord into three separate models, designed for the Japanese, North American, and European markets. However, the wagon was discontinued in North America while the coupe was discontinued in Japan. This generation also spawned two distinctively branded performance versions for European and Japanese domestic markets, dubbed Type R and Euro R, respectively.

Japan

The Japanese models, introduced 4 September 1997, became narrower than the previous generation, returning to the favorable compact car tax bracket, except for Euro R and wagon, which were classified as the larger mid-sized classification. A nearly identical sister car, the Honda Torneo, replaced the previous Honda Ascot and the Honda Rafaga in Japan, which was sold at both Honda Verno and Honda Primo Japanese dealerships, while the Accord remained at Honda Clio locations. This was the last generation that was badge engineered as the Isuzu Aska.

When the previous generation Accord grew in exterior dimensions, this reclassified the Accord as a midsized car in Japan. The second generation Honda Inspire was manufactured in two platforms, with the smaller G20A five-cylinder engine installed in a shorter and narrower sedan that complied with "compact" regulations. This effort reflected Honda's positioning of Honda Clio as a luxury car dealership that sold the luxury sedans Honda Legend and Honda Inspire, similar to their efforts in North America with the Acura brand. Honda continued to offer the Accord station wagon in Japan. All trim levels sold in Japan were available with Honda's newly created, internet-based telematics service called Internavi.

Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Philippines

The American Accord was only available in sedan and coupe form, becoming the largest Accord to date, sharing a platform with the Japan-market Honda Inspire/Acura TL. While previous generations of the Coupe were considered two-door versions of the sedan, the 1998 Coupe was the first to be given an exclusive front fascia, rear tail lights (which resemble those found on the NSX), wheels, and many other body panels, and was now marketed as a somewhat separate model, the "Accord Coupe", to set it away from the more family-oriented sedan version. It also allowed the Coupe, which was exported to other markets, to fit in more easily with the local Accord versions. The tail light appearance was duplicated on the Japanese market Honda Domani for the second generation of production. The coupe's design was styled by Don Herner and directed by lead designer Eric Schumaker into August 1995 in Torrance, CA. It was later scanned as a clay model and transferred to engineering in August 1995 at Honda R&D in Raymond, Ohio. It was developed by Honda engineer Laura Minor into production form until January 1996, being then developed into prototypes for testing.

Starting with this generation, cabin air filters (also known as pollen filters) were installed as standard equipment and are located behind the glove compartment internationally.

G development began in late 1993, with design work starting in 1994. A design for the sedan by Shinji Takashima and Toshihiko Shimizu was chosen in January 1995 and later frozen for production by the middle of 1995. Prototype test mules were tested from mid-1995 in CD Accord body panels, with full body prototypes being used from 1996. Design patents were filed on 8 March 1996, with development ending in March 1997.

For the 1998 model year, the sedan was offered in DX, LX, LX-V6, EX, and EX-V6 trims while the Accord Coupe was offered only in LX, LX-V6, EX, and EX-V6 trims. The DX model was fitted with a 2.3L I4 engine rated at 135 bhp (101 kW), while the LX and EX included a 2.3L I4 VTEC engine rated at 150 bhp (110 kW). All 4-cylinder models came with a 5-speed manual transmission standard, and with a 4-speed automatic as optional equipment. The DX remained the value-oriented trim with no audio system, manual windows, manual locks, no cruise control, rear drum brakes, and 14-inch steel wheels. The DX Value Package added a radio-cassette player, air conditioning, and cruise control; this was known as the Accord DX in Canada where it was the base model of the lineup. The LX trim added power windows, power locks, door courtesy lights and 15-inch steel wheels; an SE (special edition) package available since 1999 added 15-inch alloy wheels. The EX trim added ABS, alloy wheels, keyless entry, rear disc brakes, and upgraded cloth. Leather seating, CD player, and power sunroof were factory installed options for the EX. All V6 sedan and coupe models received a new 3.0L V6 SOHC VTEC engine rated at 200 bhp (150 kW) and 195 lb·ft (264 N·m) (from the Acura 3.0 CL), ABS and automatic transmission. Some dealer-installed options included: gold finish kit, gold finish exhaust tip(s), gold finish wheel center caps, 6-disc in-dash CD changer, tape deck, fog lights, wing spoiler, alarm system, sunroof visor, car cover and accessory chrome wheels.

In Australia, the 6th generation Accord went on sale in December 1997, and was initially imported from the USA. However, in 1999, the Accord became the first Honda in Australia to be imported from Thailand. In March 2001, the Accord received a facelift, while at the same time, the option of a manual transmission was dropped. New colour choices with the facelift included Naples Gold, Signet Silver, and Nighthawk Black, the first time that black was offered in an Australian market Accord.

In September 2000, both the American-market Accord sedan and coupe received a minor facelift. A new front fascia, rear bumper, side skirt alteration, new taillights and wheel designs freshened the Accord's look. The interior saw few changes with the exception of some fabric and audio configuration changes. The LX and LX-V6 now included a standard CD player, and the EX 4-cylinder now included a 6-disc in-dash CD changer with cassette player while the EX-V6 offered that stereo plus automatic climate control. All V6 models also included a traction control system that could be disabled by a switch, the first Accord to have such a system included. The Special Edition returned to the coupe and sedan models for its final model year, 2002. It included all the features of the LX, but added exclusive alloy wheels, keyless entry and a single CD/cassette radio. In the Philippines, only the sedan was available and offered in VTi and VTi-L trims. The VTi model was fitted with a 2.0L I4 VTEC engine rated at 152 bhp (113 kW) while the top VTi-L trim was fitted with a 2.3L I4 VTEC engine rated at 157 bhp (117 kW). Both models are available with either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic transmission.

Honda made the decision to continue this generation of Accord an extra year. Previously, the Accord ran four years on a single body-style and facelift before being redesigned. The typical Accord generation cycle was a 2:4 trend, with a newly released model running for years 1 and 2 unaltered, then getting a facelift for years 3 and 4 before a major redesign. This generation would run a total of 5 years in a 3:5 trend, with the facelift occurring in year four. Accord sales remained steady despite the additional year.

Despite the Accord's reputation for reliability, the V6 models were plagued by transmission failures and prompted class action lawsuits against the company (4-cylinder models were also affected, but not to the same extent). This caused Honda to extend the warranties for the 2000 through 2001 models to seven years or 109,000 miles (175,000 km). 1998, 1999 and 2002 cars were considered for extended coverage on a case-by-case basis. No formal recall occurred. In Canada, recall letters were sent out to owners who fell within a certain VIN range; this warranty was later re-extended for some owners to seven years in length.

Beginning in 1997, Accord keys were equipped with immobilizer microchips. In late 1998, the Accord was equipped with foldable mirrors. In 2001, the Special Edition was added and the DX Value-Package was re-introduced for 2002 models.

The 1998 Accord was also assembled in New Zealand at the very end of overall CKD car production due to the abolition of import tariffs on built cars which made local assembly uneconomic. 1,200 examples of the car (the mid-sized U.S. sedan version) were built before the Honda New Zealand factory was closed; the very first Honda-owned factory operation to be closed down) and the equipment (which included a paint shop acquired from Nissan when that automaker closed its Australian manufacturing unit in 1994) was shipped to other Honda assembly units, mainly in Asia. Small numbers of Accords were imported (right hand drive) from the U.S. before sourcing switched to Thailand once Accord assembly began there. The Thai factory continues to supply New Zealand with the latest generation Accord and now also ships that line and other Honda models to Australia and elsewhere in South East Asia.

Concerns over airbag safety plague the Japanese automaker. The company announced it was recalling vehicles citing driver's airbags that deploy with too much force during collisions. Honda says 2,430 faulty airbags were installed as repairs to customer vehicles after a collision. But since the company cannot accurately track down which Honda received the flawed airbags, Honda broadened its search to include the 2001-2001 Accord. Since November 2008, Honda has recalled some 1.7 million of its cars for airbag concerns. At its last similar expanded recall in February 2010, Honda said the too-powerful airbags have been involved in 12 incidents, including one fatality.

Europe

The European Accord, also made in Swindon, was different in its styling and was also shorter than the Japanese- and American-market Accords. It was available as a sedan and a 5-door hatchback (liftback), with the U.S.-imported coupe completing the range. It was a platform improvement of the previous generation "European Accord", a joint project with the Rover Group that created the Rover 600, as well as the Honda Ascot Innova. The design approval of the sixth generation Accord came in early 1995.

The standard Accord featured more items than the base models of similar cars (Ford Mondeo, Peugeot 406, Vauxhall Vectra, etc.) in its class. The basic S came with ABS, alarm, engine immobilizer, and air-conditioning, with the SE added the options of metallic paint, cruise control, climate control and later, satellite navigation. The 1998-1999 ES version came with all those features (except the satellite navigation optional), as well as a walnut and leather trimmed interior with heated front seats. This model was renamed as the SE Executive in late 1999.

The EU version had a minor facelift in 2001 including a revised grill, alloy wheels, bumpers and both rear and front lights. In 2001, the trim range was expanded with a Type-V; with leather trim as standard equipment, satellite navigation and a tiptronic automatic transmission as optional. The Sport model, which was as the SE, came with modified styling, spoiler, and a color-coded side skirt (as opposed to black plastic).

Other engines included a 1.8 L F18B VTEC engine rated at 138 hp (103 kW), a 2 L F20B6 VTEC engine rated at 145 hp (108 kW), as well as a 1.6 which was the entry level engine not offered in the United Kingdom, it produces 85 kW (114 hp). The Type-V model (2001-2003) included the F23Z5 VTEC engine, it was the largest engine that European 6th-gen Accord offered.

The Type-R, Type-V, and Sport trims can had a badge on the front grill and hood lid, though the pre-facelift models only signified Type-R on the front. The top of the range SE Executive only became identified as such in 2000 with a badge 'SE EXECUTIVE' on the hood lid. Walnut trim interior was also dropped for the SE Executive during the facelift, while a new climate control system was added.

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