1995 Acura Integra LS

Summary:

You can't get a more economical used car for the money

Faults:

Nothing wrong with this car.

General Comments:

Shifts poorly when cold, but is fine once the engine is warm.

Great car on the highway, fuel efficient and handles great.

Watch out for the low clearance.

1995 Body still looks like it's off the lot, no rust whatsoever.

No signs of serious wear on the engine.

There is every indication that this car is going to be around for a very long time.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th March, 2006

1995 Acura Integra Special Edition 1.8

Summary:

Fun, practical, reliable car, excellent value

Faults:

The leather seats were completely worn out when I bought the car, just use some ugly gray seat covers to avoid the mess.

The man who sold me the car claimed to have replaced the timing belt at 90K miles, but I didn't really trust him, so I replaced the belt, along with all the fluids in the car, the spark plugs, and adjusted the valves. I recommend doing this if you buy this or any similar car, but please, do yourself a favor and replace the water pump while you have everything removed. I took a gamble on the water pump, and at about 115K it finally went. Proper maintenance (ie changing the water pump along with the timing belt) would have prevented this.

Also around 115K, A CV joint came apart, also replaced an axle.

The taillights leak when it rains, I have not gone to the trouble of replacing the gaskets though, as I probably should. I just dry the trunk with a towel after a good rain. I've been sealing various leaks with silicone glue, which has greatly decreased the leak, but I have yet to completely solve the problem.

The (front?) rotors are beginning warp (wobble in the steering wheel under braking), this needs to be adressed, but they still have some life left.

Replaced the master cylinder at about 115K.

General Comments:

The automatic transmission is nice in the city.. but performance wise can be annoying. Even still, the car is fun to drive, and power is about right.

The ride is a little stiff.

Brakes are excellent.. but I need to replace the rotors and probably pads as well.

Back seats are tight.. but its not so bad once you get back there. The hatchback design is great: fun to drive, easily seats 4, and can easily be converted to a 30MPG pickup truck.

Gas mileage is quite nice, even with the auto.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th December, 2005

1995 Acura Integra GS-R 1.8 Liter DOHC VTEC

Summary:

It is my obsession

Faults:

-There was a buzzing with the exhaust manifold at 3000rpm. I replaced the exhaust manifold with a free flowing performance header and the buzz is completely gone.

-The rear calipers seized and I had to replace both of them. Remember the car is 10 years old with over 150,000 miles... It wasn't that expensive anyways.

-The clutch squeaks a little bit, but it still works fine. I think it is a problem with the master or slave cylinder. I haven't looked into it a lot yet.

-The previous owner replaced the exhaust due to rust. I replaced the second one (which was fine) with a free flowing stainless steel one.

-There is a tiny bit of rust above the rear fender. All Hondas get this. Its not bad at all for a car this old.

General Comments:

-I love how nimble the car is. It handles exceptionally well from the factory. It has much more grip than similar cars and the chassis is quite stiff.

-The engine is a song in the GS-R. Acceleration is very strong, especially when VTEC kicks in around 6,000rpm. The B18C1 engine revs to 8,100rpm which makes it a lot of fun to drive.

-The car is great. I have no major issues with its design.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th December, 2005

1st Jan 2006, 08:39

That sqeak in your clutch is actually a spring that is working its way loose inside the transmission. It is a hard problem to diagnose, but it will keep you from having to replace the tranny. I went through the trouble of having the entire clutch replaced, master, slave and all and it still squeaked. Good Luck!

12th Jan 2006, 00:47

Ah, I too had the notorious exhaust manifold buzzing. If anybody else experiences this, its either the inner and outer pipes of your exhaust manifold vibrating against each other or the heatshields on the exhaust, most likely at the cat.

10th Oct 2006, 21:21

I bet you'd be happy to know that V-TEC actually starts pulling at about 4400 RPM's...! You just can't hear it. Neat hey?

1st Jul 2008, 05:04

Actually, no it doesn't.

29th Sep 2008, 14:28

It kicks in at 6000rpm, end of story.

12th Dec 2009, 09:57

Actually, according to the specifications of the car from the manufacturer... VTEC kicks in at 4400 RPM.

18th Feb 2013, 23:17

Completely correct, love how confident the other guy is.

p.s. VTEC can pop at any RPM with a chipped computer or VTEC controller.