DetroitIntegra
New Member
Back about 9 years ago, I bought my '92 Teg from my sister. She assured me that it was "just like new" and "had been kept in perfect condition with all maintenance and would run for another 100,000 miles." My bro in law even knocked $500 off the bluebook value. I am in Detroit, Michigan...... I like Ford cars but also like Japanese cars and thought this Acura would be awesome. Boy, was I wrong.....
So anyway, back to 2000. Great! I thought...nice car, hear lots of good things about Acura. It's an white RS 3 door hatchback 1.6 L automatic transmission A/C/ power moonroof/cruise control/rear defrost the works, loaded.
And so around April 2000, the nightmare began....:evil:
5 weeks after purchase, car was dead by the side of the road. Ignition coil needed to be replaced and some other parts of the ignition system. That was the start of what I call "the Integra experience" ....
Here is what has been replaced since then:
1. Brakes-4 times (They are 4 wheel disc parking brake actuated and almost impossible to work on. A belle tire shop by my house totally screwed it up and my brakes lost all the fluid driving home from work one day as the caliper was not seated correctly..luckily I limped into another belle tire and had it fixed correctly.)
2. Entire exhaust system from catalytic converter to tailpipe-3 times. The car sits so low it drags through the snow during the winter and the exhaust system rusts. The last time I had this done, I put on a total stainless steel $500 exhaust system to try to avoid this.
3. Tires-3 times..this car is impossible to keep aligned
4. Power steering line-- looked under the car one day it was spewing power steering fluid like a beer keg with a hole in it. Luckily I keep a jug of every fluid a car needs in the trunk, refilled the resevoir and went to belle tire, $400 to replace the entire line.
5. Both CV joints
6. Both front ball joints
7. Both front tie rods
8. Front driver's side wheel bearing----this is a b*tch to fix, as they are impacted bearings, Belle tire/auto lab had a hard time even finding them.
9. Alternator
10. Distributor ----($600 here)
11. spark plugs and spark plug wires -- 2 times
12. Front struts and coils--- $700 here..drivers side coil was broken, struts rotten and useless. The rear struts and coils are also rotten and useless, I just don't have the money to replace them.
13. Front end alignment--at least 3 times, car is impossible to keep aligned. It is currently out of alignment again.
14. blower motor for the interior heater--2 times--heater core is fine, the air is real hot, but the blower motor to blow the hot air inside the car is worthless. Turn the fan switch on and..nothing happens.
15. Resistor for the interior fan switch--replaced 2 times
16. Oil pan leak--unless you put the plug back in EXACTLY RIGHT, the oil pan leaks oil like a mother..can be up to 1/2 QT per day. Didn't even bother with this as the local Belle tire seems to know how to put it back in the right way. Oil pan plug hole is weak (cheap aluminum) and mushroomed in.
Now, this is just the tip of the iceberg. As of today, there is a ton more work to do on it:
16. The air conditioner is out. The compressor is totally shot --not even bothering with this
17. There is a major electrical short in the dashboard. It originates somewhere in the windshield wiper button to turn the windshield wipers on. The rear defrost goes on and off like a turn signal, causing the engine idle to go up and down like crazy because of this. The cruise control only works if the windshield wipers are on.
18. The rear struts are totally rotten and worthless and sound horrible
19. I looked at the car on a the hoist at belle tire the entire underside is rust
20. The exterior of the car is covered in surface rust, especially the bumper/trunk which I read is a problem with this car
21. The front outer control arms are nothing but rust
22. The transmission does not work correctly, when it is cold during the winter and i put it into Park, the car takes 1-2 minutes to actually recognize that it is in Park. And the result is that I cannot take the key out of the ignition and the engine goes crazy because it is not in any specific gear. (Park or Drive or Reverse) No one at the local Acura dealer, belle tire, or Autolab, has ever even heard of anything like this. I put the shifter into Park, and it takes 1-2 minutes for the light to come on the dashboard around the "P" and the car to recognize that it is in Park. Only heard 2 possible explanations for this: 1. The shifter cable is old and expanding and contracting due to the cold, replace it 2. The ignition lock out is not working right, replace it.
I think it's both of these problems.
23. Water pump--is not currently working correctly. It sucks down anti freeze like a 12 pack on a hot summer day...obviously it's very cold here in Detroit but I have to fill the resevoir tank once a week. Cracked head???
24. The mainshaft bearing in the transmision makes noise like a mother fuc*er and will have to be replaced..doesn't affect the driving of the car but is very annoying
25. Rear hatchback lock--does not work, it rusted shut. Will have to replace at the local acura dealer. Can only open the hatch from the interior.
This car also suffers from problems I have seen other people describe with this car:
1. Excessive fogging of the windshield/windows
2. Very hard shifting in all gears
3. stalling
I bought this car for $3000, I have spent $5000 fixing it, and would have another $3000 to go but I am taking this nightmare from Japan to the junkyard as soon as I can get some money together to buy something else. Unfortunately this is difficult since all my money goes to keep this car running so I can get to my job. I am going to have to buy a second car to drive while this car is in the shop to get to work.
In other words, this Acura Integra is the biggest steaming pile of horse manure I have ever owned. I have never seen a car like this....I am on a first name basis with the local repair shops they know me and my "piece of shit acura integra" as they call it...My life revolves around:
1. work
2. sleep
3. take Acura integra to a repair shop
Anyone seen "The money pit" with Tom Hanks??
Anyway, I was just wondering if I am just unlucky, or anyone else has had major issues like this....:???:
So anyway, back to 2000. Great! I thought...nice car, hear lots of good things about Acura. It's an white RS 3 door hatchback 1.6 L automatic transmission A/C/ power moonroof/cruise control/rear defrost the works, loaded.
And so around April 2000, the nightmare began....:evil:
5 weeks after purchase, car was dead by the side of the road. Ignition coil needed to be replaced and some other parts of the ignition system. That was the start of what I call "the Integra experience" ....
Here is what has been replaced since then:
1. Brakes-4 times (They are 4 wheel disc parking brake actuated and almost impossible to work on. A belle tire shop by my house totally screwed it up and my brakes lost all the fluid driving home from work one day as the caliper was not seated correctly..luckily I limped into another belle tire and had it fixed correctly.)
2. Entire exhaust system from catalytic converter to tailpipe-3 times. The car sits so low it drags through the snow during the winter and the exhaust system rusts. The last time I had this done, I put on a total stainless steel $500 exhaust system to try to avoid this.
3. Tires-3 times..this car is impossible to keep aligned
4. Power steering line-- looked under the car one day it was spewing power steering fluid like a beer keg with a hole in it. Luckily I keep a jug of every fluid a car needs in the trunk, refilled the resevoir and went to belle tire, $400 to replace the entire line.
5. Both CV joints
6. Both front ball joints
7. Both front tie rods
8. Front driver's side wheel bearing----this is a b*tch to fix, as they are impacted bearings, Belle tire/auto lab had a hard time even finding them.
9. Alternator
10. Distributor ----($600 here)
11. spark plugs and spark plug wires -- 2 times
12. Front struts and coils--- $700 here..drivers side coil was broken, struts rotten and useless. The rear struts and coils are also rotten and useless, I just don't have the money to replace them.
13. Front end alignment--at least 3 times, car is impossible to keep aligned. It is currently out of alignment again.
14. blower motor for the interior heater--2 times--heater core is fine, the air is real hot, but the blower motor to blow the hot air inside the car is worthless. Turn the fan switch on and..nothing happens.
15. Resistor for the interior fan switch--replaced 2 times
16. Oil pan leak--unless you put the plug back in EXACTLY RIGHT, the oil pan leaks oil like a mother..can be up to 1/2 QT per day. Didn't even bother with this as the local Belle tire seems to know how to put it back in the right way. Oil pan plug hole is weak (cheap aluminum) and mushroomed in.
Now, this is just the tip of the iceberg. As of today, there is a ton more work to do on it:
16. The air conditioner is out. The compressor is totally shot --not even bothering with this
17. There is a major electrical short in the dashboard. It originates somewhere in the windshield wiper button to turn the windshield wipers on. The rear defrost goes on and off like a turn signal, causing the engine idle to go up and down like crazy because of this. The cruise control only works if the windshield wipers are on.
18. The rear struts are totally rotten and worthless and sound horrible
19. I looked at the car on a the hoist at belle tire the entire underside is rust
20. The exterior of the car is covered in surface rust, especially the bumper/trunk which I read is a problem with this car
21. The front outer control arms are nothing but rust
22. The transmission does not work correctly, when it is cold during the winter and i put it into Park, the car takes 1-2 minutes to actually recognize that it is in Park. And the result is that I cannot take the key out of the ignition and the engine goes crazy because it is not in any specific gear. (Park or Drive or Reverse) No one at the local Acura dealer, belle tire, or Autolab, has ever even heard of anything like this. I put the shifter into Park, and it takes 1-2 minutes for the light to come on the dashboard around the "P" and the car to recognize that it is in Park. Only heard 2 possible explanations for this: 1. The shifter cable is old and expanding and contracting due to the cold, replace it 2. The ignition lock out is not working right, replace it.
I think it's both of these problems.
23. Water pump--is not currently working correctly. It sucks down anti freeze like a 12 pack on a hot summer day...obviously it's very cold here in Detroit but I have to fill the resevoir tank once a week. Cracked head???
24. The mainshaft bearing in the transmision makes noise like a mother fuc*er and will have to be replaced..doesn't affect the driving of the car but is very annoying
25. Rear hatchback lock--does not work, it rusted shut. Will have to replace at the local acura dealer. Can only open the hatch from the interior.
This car also suffers from problems I have seen other people describe with this car:
1. Excessive fogging of the windshield/windows
2. Very hard shifting in all gears
3. stalling
I bought this car for $3000, I have spent $5000 fixing it, and would have another $3000 to go but I am taking this nightmare from Japan to the junkyard as soon as I can get some money together to buy something else. Unfortunately this is difficult since all my money goes to keep this car running so I can get to my job. I am going to have to buy a second car to drive while this car is in the shop to get to work.
In other words, this Acura Integra is the biggest steaming pile of horse manure I have ever owned. I have never seen a car like this....I am on a first name basis with the local repair shops they know me and my "piece of shit acura integra" as they call it...My life revolves around:
1. work
2. sleep
3. take Acura integra to a repair shop
Anyone seen "The money pit" with Tom Hanks??
Anyway, I was just wondering if I am just unlucky, or anyone else has had major issues like this....:???: