IllustrationWHILE TRAVELING 30 MPH, VEHICLE WAS STRUCK FROM FRONT AND SIDE, NEITHER AIRBAG DEPLOYED.*AK 1 PERSON WAS INJURED IN ACCIDENT, VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. *SLC
1997 Honda Passport
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1997 Honda Passport do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 60.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Passport years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 17 of 56 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Structure. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
3 crash reports1 fire reports4 injury reports
What owners actually said
56 reportsTRANSMISSION IS SLIPPING AND THERE IS NO WAY TO CHECK DUE TO THEY DID NOT PUT IN A DIP-STICK TO CHECK THE LEVEL OF FLUID WHICH EVEN IF YOU GO TO A GAS STATION OR HAVE THE OIL CHANGED THEY CANNOT CHECK TO SEE THE LEVEL OF FLUID. I WANTED TO KNOW BEFORE I BUY THIS WHETHER OR NOT IT IS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND IF THIS IS A PROBL…
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TRANSMISSION IS SLIPPING AND THERE IS NO WAY TO CHECK DUE TO THEY DID NOT PUT IN A DIP-STICK TO CHECK THE LEVEL OF FLUID WHICH EVEN IF YOU GO TO A GAS STATION OR HAVE THE OIL CHANGED THEY CANNOT CHECK TO SEE THE LEVEL OF FLUID. I WANTED TO KNOW BEFORE I BUY THIS WHETHER OR NOT IT IS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND IF THIS IS A PROBLEM WITHTHIS MODEL YEAR? THANK YOU. *AK
A FAULTY HARNESS BELT IS CAUSING ALL THE WIRING TO BE BURNT OUT, THERE ARE NO TAIL LIGHTS, INTERIOR LIGHTS, PARK LIGHTS, HEAT, OR AIR CONDITIONER. *SLC
ON DEC. 23 MY WIFE, MY SON, AND I WERE DRIVING ALONG GA HIGHWAY 365 AT APPROXIMATELY 60-65 MPH AND REAR LEFT TIRE BLEW OUT. I SAW NO DEBRIS IN THE ROAD AND THE DRIVER BEHIND ME, MY BROTHER IN LAW, SAW THE TIRE BLOW AND DIDN'T SEE ANY DEBRIS ON THE ROAD BUT SAW SMOKE COMING FROM THE TIRE AS IT BLEW. THE TIRE BLEW STRAIGHT ACROSS…
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ON DEC. 23 MY WIFE, MY SON, AND I WERE DRIVING ALONG GA HIGHWAY 365 AT APPROXIMATELY 60-65 MPH AND REAR LEFT TIRE BLEW OUT. I SAW NO DEBRIS IN THE ROAD AND THE DRIVER BEHIND ME, MY BROTHER IN LAW, SAW THE TIRE BLOW AND DIDN'T SEE ANY DEBRIS ON THE ROAD BUT SAW SMOKE COMING FROM THE TIRE AS IT BLEW. THE TIRE BLEW STRAIGHT ACROSS FROM THE FRONT SIDE OF THE WHEEL TO THE BACK AND STAYED ON THE WHEEL. THIS TIRE, AS WELL AS THE OTHER 3, WAS APPROXIMATELY 2 MONTHS OLD AND HAD LESS THAN 5,000 MILES ON IT. UPON INSPECTION, THE REAR RIGHT TIRE, WHICH DIDNT BLOW, HAS A BULGE ON THE SIDEWALL NEAR THE TOP OF THE TIRE (CLOSEST TO THE TREAD). THEY WERE PURCHASED FROM GAINESVILLE TIRE SERVICE (770-534-5280) AND HAVE NOT YET BEEN TAKEN BACK DUE TO THE HOLIDAYS. WE CAN LIKELY FIND OUT THE EXACT DATE OF PURCHASE FROM CHARGE CARD RECORDS IF NECESSARY. THE PASSPORT HAS 4 WHEEL DRIVE CAPABILITY ALTHOUGH IT WASNT ACTIVATED AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. YOUR FORM DIDNT ALLOW ME TO ENTER ALL THE NECESSARY DOT DIGITS AND THEY ARE AS FOLLOWS:MK9LCRWR529. WE WILL ATTEMPT TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF BOTH THE BLOWN TIRE AND THE REMAINING REAR TIRE THAT HAS A BULGE. I AM GOING TO TAKE THEM BACK TO GAINESVILLE TIRE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR CONTACTING ME EXPEDIENTLY IN CASE THE TIRES NEED TO BE SAVED FOR YOUR INSPECTION. *AK (DOT NUMBER: MK9LCRWR52 TIRESIZE: P24570R16)
GOODYEAR WRANGLER AP TIRE BLEWOUT WHILE TRAVELING 55-60 MPH, TIRE SIZE P245/70R16, DOT MK9LBCER476. *SLC
IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET AN OPERATORS MANUAL FOR MY HONDA PASSPORT. IT WAS 33 DAYS LATER, AFTER I BROUGHT THIS USED SUV WHEN THE BACK BRAKES WENT OUT.
ENGINE WAS TICKING, AND DEALER STATED THAT IT WAS CHARACTERISTIC OF HONDAS. *AK
WHILE TRAVELING IN THE RAIN DRIVER'S SIDE WINDSHIELD WIPER STOPPED WORKING, CAUSING POOR VISIBILITY. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED, BUT DIDN'T HAVE THE NECESSARY PART AVAILABLE TO FIX THE PROBLEM. *AK *ML
ENGINE HAS ROUTINELY EMITTED ENGINE TICKING SOUND DEGRADING PERFORMANCE AND RESULTING IN 50% LOSS OF COMPRESSION IN #2 CYLINDER. DEALER SUGGESTING THAT ENGINE SHORT BLOCK MAY REQUIRE REPLACEMENT AT OWNER'S EXPENSE. REPAIR MAY EXCEED $5K. DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THIS IS CONSIDERED ABOVE BOARD WHEN TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS HAV…
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ENGINE HAS ROUTINELY EMITTED ENGINE TICKING SOUND DEGRADING PERFORMANCE AND RESULTING IN 50% LOSS OF COMPRESSION IN #2 CYLINDER. DEALER SUGGESTING THAT ENGINE SHORT BLOCK MAY REQUIRE REPLACEMENT AT OWNER'S EXPENSE. REPAIR MAY EXCEED $5K. DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THIS IS CONSIDERED ABOVE BOARD WHEN TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS HAVE BEEN ISSUED TO DEALERS INDICATING THAT THE ENGINE HLA'S ARE STARVING THE CYLINDERS. LOSS OF AN ENGINE AT SPEED CAN RESULT IN SEVERE MANEUVERABILITY AND BRAKING LOSS. ENGINE HAS BEEN ROUTINELY SERVICED WITH HIGHEST GRADE OIL (MOBILE 1). SAFETY/QUALITY ISSUE. DEALER RECOMMENDING BUYERS BEWARE AND TO PURCHASE EXTENDED WARRANTY PLANS FOR THIS VEHICLE. (UNSATISFACTORY!). *AK
VEHICLE ROLLED WHILE IN PARK AT A SERVICE STATION. DEALER/ MANUFACTURER WERE NOT NOTIFIED AT THIS TIME. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.