Three problems related to manual transmission have been reported for the 1997 Honda Prelude. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
1997 Honda Prelude the clutch spring retainer broke rendering the clutch inoperable placing stress on the transmission and damaging the internals from the spring being loose in the system.
Power door locks will unlock for no apparent reason from idle or in motion mph varies. Dt.
Grinding occurs shifting into 2nd from 1st gear, especially at high engine rpms. 3rd happens less often, but doesn't occur exclusively at high rpms. 2nd gear has always felt "notchy" many other Prelude owners I correspond with through email also report similar problems.