21st Sep 2008, 18:20

2002 EL Acura- Good up until the warranty ran out. At 85,000KM I am plagued with rotted bushings all around, the SRS light stays on (I paid 85$ for the dealer to reset the light) and inform me that I needed a new seat belt buckle (non warranty- trust me I COMPLAINED) - Alternator gone and the directional lights work only sometimes.

9th Oct 2008, 17:26

I have a 2003 EL, and the same as the others, at 80 km it was never the same again.

At 60 km the bearings on the tranny went.

At 90km the clutch master cylinder went.

It's a noisy ride and ruff. It's only got 95500km now and and it's a horrible ride. I also work at a dealership; my car is maintained.

7th Aug 2009, 18:43

I have a 2002 Acura 1.7 EL with about 120000 kilometers on it, the past 20,000 kilometers I've had one problem after another. Thermostat had to be replaced, alternator needs to be replaced, SRS light went on and I had to replace driver's seat belt buckle, and rust issues.

21st Apr 2010, 03:59

I personally don't know if you guys with all the problems are just unlucky; I currently have a 2001 Acura EL premium 5 speed manual, with 248,800 km and it runs like a dream. I just did my brakes and changed my oil.

Only problem I have had was I replaced my radiator, but it was almost 10 years old and it started to leak; perfectly normal.

I have had the car since new, and it is very fun to drive and amazing on gas. I treat it well and it returns the favor. Similar to your body, you are what you eat.

Toronto, Canada.

30th Jul 2010, 18:16

Hello everybody.

I have a 2003 Acura EL 1.7 and it runs like a top! One concern I have though is about the timing belt, which is recommended for a change at 176,000 kms or 7 years. The car has only 70,000 kms on the odometer, and it seems to me the belt should last a bit longer than seven years, given the great care we exercise when driving. Any thoughts on this out there?

13th Sep 2010, 10:26

I have a 2003 EL 1.7. It has 217,000 on it, runs like a charm, smooth ride. I love this car.

It's out in the shop right now getting a timing belt and water pump, $490 taxes in. That is a great deal when most wanted around 600 and up...

26th Dec 2010, 00:17

I currently own a 2001 Acura 1.7EL Premium, and it's great. It's got 170,000km on it, and all I've done is change the disc brakes, which I did myself. In fact, with the condition it's in, it looks like I just rolled it off the car lot. I even use it for fishing 7 months of the year, and end up driving on poorly maintained gravel roads and borderline 4x4 trails.

Oh, the SRS light has been on for a couple months now, but 95% sure it's just a common problem with the seat belt sensor.

17th Feb 2011, 14:39

I own a 2002 1.7 EL with 240,000 km on it. Mostly highway driving.

This past weekend I finally had to replace the front brake pads. Very easy job, inner on one side was down to the warning indicator but outer pads still had about 25% of the pad remaining. Not bad considering the amount of miles on it. Should note this is a standard and I tend to gear down to slow down. Rear brakes had to be replaced at about 150,000 km. SRS warning indicator intermittently comes on. Other than that, one fuel pump and one a new battery.

It has great fuel economy, have had up to 800 km on a tank of gas which is just under 50 liters.

10th Apr 2011, 21:08

I'm actually a 2004 Acura EL owner.

My car drives like a charm and I'm very pleased with it. I get about 450 kms per tank. I noticed your reply saying you have gotten up to 800kms per tank. How is that? I have actually been asking people as to how I can increase my gas mileage so any information regarding this would be great. Do I maybe need to change a part or something?

You can email me at moaaz_ic@hotmail.com.

I would greatly appreciate your response or a response from anyone else who knows about this.

Thanks in advance.

Moaaz.

15th Apr 2011, 23:29

I have 2002 Acura EL 1.7.

It is the worst car I ever owned. SRS light on all the time, replaced window switches (driver side) twice, replace gasket, replace thermostat, replace bushing (front).

I will never buy Acura again.

I used to have Pontiac 600 - it was the best car I ever had. I also had Toyota Camry, it was the second best car I had.

This Acura is no good at all. I would stay away from Acura vehicle. I am thinking about trading Acura with Elantra or Mazda.

8th May 2011, 13:25

Hi,

I've read on several websites that many are having issues with gas mileage. Most report replacing their catalytic converter and they end up obtaining incredible gas mileage. The cat has springs so the car won't break down, so the problem often goes undetected. You should have it looked at for this problem.

Hope this helps. :-)

9th Jul 2011, 21:39

Replaced the battery in my Acura 1.7 El 2001 model recently, and the engine idle speed has become erratic. Has anyone come across this problem?

Dan.

16th Jan 2012, 16:26

I have a 2001 Acura 1.7EL with about 215,000 KM. Had intermittent rough idling for a few years after coming to a stop at traffic lights. This went on for years with no check engine light. Finally a light came on, and narrowed it down to a defective VTEC solenoid. Replaced it and fixed the problem. Runs nice and smooth now.

Now my SRS light is on continuously. Paid Acura to do a scan, and found out I need to replace the driver's side seat belt switch. The dealer wants $427 + tax and said it wasn't covered by any warranty. I called Acura Canada to see what they could do... they agreed to cover the cost of the part ($259), but I would need to take care of the labour.

18th Sep 2012, 17:28

How did you get Acura Canada to agree to pay for your seat belt buckle sensor, which caused your SRS light to be continuously on? I have the same situation and they want me to pay $415! Any suggestions would be great.

3rd Nov 2012, 17:42

Our 2002 Acura EL Premium also had the SRS light on. It was diagnosed: a faulty sensor in the driver's seat belt latch, and was replaced at our cost, $400-500. We had about 100000 km when it went in for service in 2011.

After reading some of your comments and other comments, I feel Acura/Honda Canada should refund owners who have taken their vehicles in for this service. This is a known issue for years, but yet Acura service representatives "have never heard of this problem".

Thank you for listening to my rant, and I will be forwarding a letter of complaint to Acura/Honda Canada.