Two problems related to battery dead have been reported for the 1998 Honda Civic. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Bought used June 2011 with about 169,000ish, was assured that everything was checked out. Drove back home with no problems, and then the problems began. Within two months the battery died, had to replace. In Jan of 2012 car began to overheat and I noticed a 2" crack on the top of the radiator, replaced. Now transmission hesitates and rpms go way up when shifting into fourth gear. I drained and changed the fluid with the recommended Honda fluid, and now the high rpms and slipping are occurring in all forward gears. I feel like a voice in a freaking tornado when it come to any reasonable solution to my problem. This has been a major blow to Honda's reputation for me. This seems to be an issue that needs to be addressed and an immediate safety recall needs to be taken out.
Battery failed.