Faults:

- Original transmission went out & was replaced under warranty at 76K miles (known issue, Honda extended original coverage to 7 years/100,000 miles at no charge).

- Power steering pump went at 115K miles (I still drove it for 3 weeks before replacement too!).

General Comments:

Most expensive car I've ever bought, but the cheapest car I've ever owned!! I drive my car very VERY hard!! I've always been horrible at keeping the maintenance up too. I'm the nighmare car owner, & it just keeps taking the beating...

I purchased this car brand new in late 2000 & it is still my daily driver. It replaced a '93 Accord SE the ex kept. I spent about $8,000 more than I wanted to on a car, but after taking it for a drive, I just had to have it.

I made the conscious decision to spend a lot more upfront on the purchase in hopes that I would be happy with it & keep it for about 10 years with low upkeep costs. Well... here almost 15 years later I'm still happily driving it!!

This car has been ridiculously reliable! It's never once broken down on me. The faulty transmission started slipping, but I drove on it for a few days until my service appointment. The power steering pump went out, but I still drove the car for 3 weeks.

I have to re-iterate, I drive my car VERY hard!!! I prefer a manual so I drive it in the manual mode at all times. I like the power so I generally keep it in a lower gear with the engine revving through city or any highway traffic. I red-line the engine in this car several times a day, every single day, as I have done for the last 15 years & 187,400 miles.

The only thing I've changed from stock was moving to a wider & lower profile tire, but on the stock Type S rim. I've had Nitto NeoGens on it since the first tire replacement. This car handles sick with these tires!!

In 15 years here's what I've done in upkeep:

- Oil @ 6K-8K intervals (Synthetic blend)

- Struts @ 140K

- Timing belt with H2O pump @ 110K

- Power steering pump @ 110K

- Ignition coils & plugs @ 130K

- One headlight (around 7 years ago)

- Front rotors (@ 170K miles)

- Brake pads

- Several sets of tires (I said I drive it hard!!)

That is it my friends, that is all I've done to this car besides wring every ounce of performance out of it every single time I drive it. This car is more abused than the ones at the Bondurant training course I pass on my way to work everyday, & it still has plenty of life left in it. I've had GM cars that were 4-5 years old that were WAY more worn out than this one is after almost 15 years of hard street duty.

If you can ever buy an Acura, do it!!!

Faults:

The check engine light came on when the temp dropped below 50 degrees. It indicated a faulty ECM. The dealer quoted me $1500 to repair. I decided to do some research, and found that if I warmed up the car for about 5 minutes, and then restarted, it would not be in LIMP Mode. I live in Houston TX, so below 50 degrees is only about 4 months in the year.

It does have a Comtech air filter as well as a Comtech stabilizer bar under the hood.

General Comments:

Other than the issue during the winter months, it has been almost zero maintenance.