Acura Integra - (All years/styles)

skantor8885

Ok so i bought my second used Integra, this time a 1998 Ls. It seems however that something is up with the latch for the rear hatch/3rd door. It appears to be tied in to the power door locks, but they don't help in opening it. It sometimes works to play with the latch, and the insert and turn the key, but not always. In fact at the moment i can't get the thing to open at all. So can anyone with a 98 LS tell me how this normally works. And if anyone else has suggestions i would appreciate it. Im really hoping this isn't going to turn into a problem car.

nippononly

The 1995, '98, and '99 Integras just made 3 of the top 5 spots on the most-stolen list for 2005. :sick:

gw63

I have the same problem with a 2000 Integra that I purchased TODAY! Has your problem been solved?

mmyk72

How do the theives know what year your Integra is? Can they tell that my 94 is not a 95?

nippononly

No, they can't. Better guard your '94 pretty closely too! :-/

mmyk72

What do they want with such old car? Last I checked, it's worth only $3000.

nippononly

troops

I have a 2000 acura integra GS. My seats are pretty worn out and I want to replace them. I have found a set of seats but they are for a 2001 integra. My question is if anyone knows if I will be able to swap them out? Thanks

voicemailking

My son had an accident with his integra LS 2 door. his front end went into a 97 Thunderbird...Luckily no one was hurt...The collision shop thinks there is no frame damage. The car has only 27,000 miles and we are the second owner. Kelly Blue book says retail value with those miles is about $10,100. If they total the car will insursance pay that value??? They already told me if they fix it they will use after market parts. That i am not happy about...Any suggestions as to what i would be better off if totaled or fixed, an if fixed how can i force insurance co. to use factory parts as i do not want after market...The insurance co. has the body shop as a recommended place to take your car, but for my money don't i have any say???? Thanks in advance.

nippononly

California has a law that you can insist on OEM replacement parts in body work, and you can pick the shop, even if the insurance is paying. Other states have similar laws - you should check the Bureau of Automotive Repair in your state.

As far as what they will pay to total your car, it is negotiated, and usually starts at retail and goes down. Evidence of repairs, maintenance, and upgrades count for you as long as you have receipts. Cross your fingers they don't total your car though - the last of the Integras were great cars.

voicemailking

I am hoping they do not total it. Other then front bumber, hood, and MAYBE 1 fender, they think there was no frame or engine damage. The radiator was broken though. With only 27,000 miles i would take my chances getting the car back. It is maintained well and unfortunately just spent over $300.00 changing fluids, wires, etc..Have eveey record from when we bought it at 15,000 miles. Just hope the damage is not 75% of value, that is rule of thumb they will use in fixing vs. totaling....Thanks for the response!

voicemailking

Looks like they will total it...It is a 1999 integra LS coupe with 27,500 original miles, WAS in good condition, auto, stereo, cd, cloth, sunroof and an added spoiler....I am seeing many different prices, NADA retail average says $10,200.00 where will be a fair price if totaled??? I am also entitled to sales tax here in Florida...Thanks in advance for anyones suggestions!!

:sick: :sick:

chucko3

If they total the car, ask your insurance if you can buy a car back for a lot less, a few hundred bucks. Do some
repairs and apply for a salvage title.

chrissy221

guys, help, last time i checked,,2000 integra SE came with 1.8L engines., im trying to buy one and found a really nice one for 9000 at 160000 clicks with everything power except no sunroof,,but the engine is 1.6L? what does that tell you about what could be wrong with it if anithing at all, and isnt that price anyways a little too generous for a 2000 model?

This is the description i found:

2 Dr, 1.6L, 5 Spd, Pwr Steer, Pwr Door Lock, Pwr Window, AM/FM Radio, CD Player, ice cool A/C, ABS Brakes, Cruise Control, Pwr Mirror, Mag Wheels, Ext. Warranty Available. Certified, E. tested, 30 days Warranty.

its a nice looking car too..helpp???

THXXXXX alot : )

nippononly

2 things:

1. ads like that are often wrong - it is a local dealer who probably has 15 cars he is juggling, and was going by memory when he wrote the ad and got it wrong. Check the car out in person to be sure.

2. Is it a Canadian car? Is "160000 clicks" 160K km, or about 100K miles? For a 6 year old 100K-mile car, $9000 might be an OK price, a little on the highish side and that's all. And besides, are those Canadian dollars?

chrissy221

lol, i feel so smart :S(not) thanks a lot, i called them they said its 1.8 so probably a mistake, but i have another question, if i go see the car, does the engine have whats it is written on it, and whats the name that comes on that engine , do you have any idea? i think it should say honda v tech or somthing for the engine that comes with it?no?would it say 1.8L?....

Number 2- my math skills are bad, first of all, it is a canadian car, 160 000km milage, and its 8000 CDN so i guess that would be around 7200 U.S..lol...im so sorry about the confusion nippononly, but yea i guess you were on the right track, i just confused you... THANKS A LOT anyways

p.s- if i was to put leather seats and a sunroof on it, do you have any idea how much id be putting on that$$? Thanks

nippononly

Wow, you don't ask a lot of questions, do you?! LOL

OK lessee, it's an SE, so it's NOT A VTEC. It will say Honda on the engine cover. In the U.S., every car has an emissions sticker under the hood (usually attached right to the underside of the hood) which will show the engine series including the displacement. Don't know about Canada, but rest assured, it's a 1.8! :-)

$7200 US for a 100K Integra LS, six years old, in good condition, would be a good price. If it's an independent dealer, ask about the possibility of taking it to your own mechanic for a check-out.

The prices for aftermarket leather and moonroof vary widely by quality and region. You could easily spend over $2000 around here where I live, but would it be worth it? Yeah, probably, if you are going to keep it a while. Better to make it the way you want it right up front.

tegcrazy

too bad nobody wants a 91 Integra LS..... I have one that I leave unlocked with the keys in everywhere I go, and still no one takes the frickin thing!

integraguy

I have a 90 Acura Integra and I am having some trouble with the A\C.

1) When I turn off the car the A\c fan stays on and runs down my battery. There is s sticker that says the fan may stay on for about 15 mins but it runs for longer than that. What can I do to fix this problem?

2)When I turn the A\C on while driving or parked my Temperature gauge goes into the RED. Also when it does that if I turn off the A\C the temperature gauge still goes into the red. What's funny is if it starts doing that while I have the A\C on and then I turn the a\c off it still goes into the RED once I stop. However, while it is going up(and I have stopped) and headed into the red with the a\c off I would excelorate while in neutral and the niddle would drop back too below half. Please help. Any help would be GREAT. Thanks in advance.

I cannot understand what is causing this because my friend's 1991 LS is doing the same thing.

qbrozen

Well, first off, that's not your A/C fan running when you shut off the car. That's the engine cooling fan. The reason it continues to run, probably, is because the car is running too hot.

There's something wrong with the cooling system. Could be the thermostat, the temp sensor, or the fan itself. I'm not well versed in your particular car, but I suspect the thermostat.

voicemailking

Followup to above: The car has $7000.00 damage. The insurance comapny WILL NOT total it. Thye say it is worth almost $10,500.00, Ins. Co. says it needs $8000.00 to total. Body shop says that is max damage. Ins. Co. says they will give me $7000.00 - $500.00 ded. for $6500.00, body shop says he will give me about $1000.00 for salvage, it will give me a total of about $7500.00 or other option is to let shop fix the car, BTW, they say there is no frame.....This is a tough call...

integraguy

Thanks for your input qbrozen... Thing is on my friends 91 LS he removed the thermostat and it continued to do the same thing. So he then replaced it with a new one. Same problem continued. He changed the Coolant temp Sensor to the left side of the engine right under the distributor and two other sensors to the back of the engine(Not sure of their names, will find out)... but still he has the same problem...Any Ideas anyone... Thing is the temp niddle stays just below the middle all the time.. But once you turn the A/C/ on.. then the problem starts.

midnightcowboy

Does the A/C appear to work correctly?

If the AC compressor is failing it could be causing excessive load on the engine.

Is there someplace you could get your air conditioner diagnosed FOR FREE ?

One other thing what type of drving speed does it occur? idle, city , highway or doesn't matter.

I know you are new to Edmunds forums and that is why gbrozen and I tried to answer your question in this thread. However, this is the wrong place to post an Integra maintenace question and you would get better resilts if you post the same questions on the following thread;

Acura Integra - (All years/styles)
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.ee9aa4e/0!make=Acura&model=Integra&ed_mak- - eindex=.ee9aa4e

Good luck getting your porblem fixed,

MidCow

pat

The posts have now been moved to the place you suggested - thanks!!

nippononly

I can't remember exactly on the 2nd-gen Integra, but many of the older Japanese cars had two electric cooling fans, one that runs off the temp sensor and a second one that runs all the time when the A/C is on. If that second fan has quit, the car will overheat all the time whenever you use the A/C, but will run without a problem the rest of the time. Might be worth checking.

integraguy

I do have two cooling fans...Thing is they seem to work fine. The A\C fan comes on when I turn the a\c on yet the car will still show signs of overheat---on high way,city.. but even faster when I come to a stop in heavy trafic......

Oh by the way thanks for the help in moving my question to the correct place.. I am new to this and would take any help I can get....I just hope I am sending the message to the correct place this time.. If I am not...Mr. HOST please let me know what I should do .. Thanks again.

nippononly

So you have personally witnessed both fans running at the same time with the A/C on? Then you have to go to the next obvious culprit - the radiator. Your car and your friend's are both old cars at this point - if these are original radiators, they may be so plugged up at this point that they are just barely doing the job most of the time. As soon as you put the extra load of the A/C on, they can't keep up with the extra heat generated, and you see rising temps and overheat as a result.

The radiators on the older Integras were always a bit of a weak link in the chain - you should make sure it is not leaking also. If it is leaking at all, it may not be maintaining the pressure necessary to do its job properly, or it may be low which would always cause problems only at peak times. And on a related note, the radiator cap may not be maintaining proper pressure if it is the original, which would also reduce the efficiency of the system enough to cause problems at times of heavy load (high-speed driving, running the A/C) only. You can pressure-test the radiator cap using a simple device available to the parts store, or a shop will do it for a few bucks I am sure.

tag1677

I also have a '92 Integra and have this same problem. This has happened to me twice in the past week. I go to start the car, put it in drive and the S3 light flashes. The car drives like it is stuck in third gear and will not down shift or up shift. If I shut the car off and then restart, it is fine.

In addition the car has had problems starting on both days where the S3 light flashed. The car eventually starts after 15 - 20 minutes of trying. cars turns over fine but just wont fire. Local Acura dealer says they have never heard of this problem and can't diagnose unless they see it happen. I can't make it happen. It is random.

Does anyone know what causes this problem?

kcy14

Need help. I have a 1992 Integra LS Automatic Trans. It stalls sometimes and will start up again after I turn the ignition. It stalls more often with the AC is on. I'm the original owner and dont' want to get rid of it. I brought it to the dealer and they can't find any problems with it since they can't replicate the problem. Help!

chucko3

What would happen if the engine is idle and you put the car in Park & turn on the AC? The RPM drops?

chucko3

Is the water pump belt too loose?

kcy14

When the car is in park, the car will stall sometimes too. As for the belt, its fine.

gprentice

I am the original owner of a 92 Integra LS db1 5spd.(300,000kms and still going strong). A few years ago I had a similar problem with the ignition - it was intermittently not starting - usually when the engine was warm.

It turned out to be the fuel relay under the dash. The solder connections loosen up over time and can be repaired by applying new solder to the contacts (or just replacing the relay) For more details search on g2ic.com.

Good Luck

chucko3

It could be a fast idle valve.
I don't have a 90 service manual, but look in section 11
of 94 service manual, trouble shooting section.
It will help you to find the problem.
http://tech.hybridgarage.com/tech/manuals/94%20acura%20integra%20service%20manua- l.pdf

mmyk72

I just had my 94 Integra LS serviced. It's an Automatic with 83K miles, last tune up 5 yrs ago at 45K. I've used this repair shop before for minor problems and they seem to be reasonable and never tried to talk me into unnecessary work. I want to get your expert opinion on whether my recent repair costs were reasonable so that I can gauge whether to keep going back to this shop or start finding another place.

$850 total ($~450 for parts, $400 labor) for tuneup that included these:
Replaced Timing belt, water pump, 3 other belts, spark plugs and wires, PCV valve, Distributor Cap & Rotor, Valve Cover Gasket, and fuel filter. Also miscellaneous parts, such as coolant, belt tensioner, Dry Gas, Fuel Inj Cleaner.

Also, a week before this, the catalytic converter started to fall off the bottom of my car and I took it in. They replaced the pipe that connects to the CC (the Catalytic converter was saved), replaced R & L Tie Rod Ends, and Alignment. Total for this job was ~$650 (parts ~$350, labor ~$200 & alignment $90).

nippononly

on the ride, are we?! :-P

If the tie rod ends were broken or worn out, then they needed to be replaced. $560 for that and the exhaust pipe seems on the high side of OK, unless they used OEM parts, in which case I suppose it is in the ball park. Are you sure they needed replacing? Your car doesn't have very high mileage, and miles are what wear out tie rod ends.

Now, this tune-up needs a closer examination. What the heck is half this stuff they did? Timing belt and water pump, OK, at that mileage. Spark plug wires? Were they really worn out? Their resistance can actually be tested, and they don't need to be replaced unless it's too high. Dry gas and fuel injector cleaner? Mostly just high-profit items for the shop. Valve cover gasket? Was it leaking? Did you report a problem and ask them to fix it? It certainly is not part of a standard tune-up.

Basically, this is a comprehensive, "let's find every single thing that isn't like brand new on a 12 year old car and replace it" servicing. If that's what you asked for, then great - that's what you got. But the car is 12 years old. It is OK for SOME things not to be exactly like brand new! And $400 of labor seems a bit pricey for what was almost exclusively routine maintenance stuff that should have taken three hours max.

nippononly

the original selling dealership would have written the code in the car's manual, if you still have it.

Beyond that, I know dealerships can get it using the VIN, so maybe calling Acura directly will accomplish the same thing?

mmyk72

Hi Nippononly - Thanks for advise. You're right...for sure the work took ~4 hrs, so $100/hr labor seemed pricey. I know the additives are pure profits, but can't tell them to 'undo' it.

I question the Valve Gaskets myself since they were changed in last 2 yrs due to a leak. I thought the shop simply put in new ones because the engine was opened up for the timing belt change anyways and might as well put back new gaskets. (Is this a correct assumption?)

I was told the R outer tie-rod was worn at a Firestone during oil change. This place went a head and did both R & L, and price is a little cheaper than the Firestone estimate.

How about PCV valve, Dist cap and rotor? Are those needed at this age and mileage or are they suspicious.

Also, I haven't changed Auto transmission and brake fluid for 5 yrs (~45-50k miles driven). How much is reasonable for these?

nippononly

Well, we're getting into murky waters here, and I'm not sure how much helpful advice I can offer, but I will just address a few things you mentioned:
1. $100/hr for labor at the dealer is about the going rate here in California (Bay Area). At an independent shop that would be a high rate around here.

2. Replacing valve cover gaskets is not part of a standard tune-up, nor part of a timing belt change. And if it was replaced only two years ago, then it probably wasn't even leaking! Uh uh.

3. Never believe ANYTHING quickie lube places and tire shops tell you about the rest of the mechanical condition of your car. However, if your regular shop also thought it was worn, then I suppose it is good they replaced the tie rod end. Replacing the opposite one under the rule of "they are identical parts so if one is gone the other must be about to go" is one way to go - the other way to go is to just wait until the other one wears out, as there is no additional expense involved in doing so, and the other one might go quite a lot longer!

4. Dist cap and rotor would be part of a full tune-up, as would PCV valve. These are things that need replacement periodically, and you said it was like 5 years/40K miles since the last time you did them, right? So those were OK. Having said that, I should add that these should be CHEAP. Dist cap and rotor, $40 tops for the parts and better would be $25. PCV valve, $10 or less. Time to replace them - almost none. 15 minutes. The whole price of the operation for these items should have been maybe $60 of the total.

5. Auto trans fluid - you do NOT want to neglect this for even ONE MINUTE on an older Honda such as yours. Get it changed, standard charge in the industry is around $60 or $70. Some places will want to do a "power flush" for around $200, which I think is a waste of money, as the book does not call for it.

6. Honda calls for brake fluid replacement every two years, which I think is a touch on the frequent side, but since it's not that expensive I don;t havea big objection to it. If yours has gone 5 years, yes you should change that too. I don't know what they will charge you for this, but again it shouldn't be $100s.

edit...PS it is not a good sign that your regular place did all this stuff, much of which was needless or high-profit/low-value crap, yet failed to do an auto trans fluid change. That's one of the more important periodic maintenance items, and a great opportunity for them to sell you the high-profit "power flush", yet they didn't do it or even mention it?

mmyk72

Thanks for your thoughts. I specifically asked for timing belts & water pump replacement (given the mileage and I read that if the belt breaks while driving, severe damamge can result). However, everything else was done during 'tune-up' as the shop thought necessary on its own.

So PCV valve, dist cap/rotor, fuel filter were legit. (Part costs were in your ballpark). Based on what you said, valve gaskets would not be necessary as there was no existing leak and they should look newish (given they were changed not long ago). So that's a wasted $50 or so in parts.

Now that you said the labor for tuneup should be ~$60. How much is labor cost if the timing belt and water pump were changed as a separate job? The labor was ~$400 total, so minus $60 is $340----is this way too high for timing belt and pump replacement?

I was definitely disappointed that they didn't do the trans fluid during the job given the high labor charge. It could be because they didn't jack up the car (I saw it being worked on in a separate area, not where the cars can be elevated).

mmyk72

I will take it in for trans fluid change. Just simple drain & fill for $40-50.

Is the brake fluid change also a drain & fill process, or does it need some fancy flush?

nippononly

Hmmm....

1. auto trans fluid change - good, don't delay! :-)

2. brake fluid change - it is a drain and fill, but brake lines require bleeding, so it will cost a little more in labor than other drain-and-fill operations. not much more, but a little more.

3. Labor on those tune-up parts I specified SHOULD have been around $60, but who knows what they ACTUALLY charged. One way all shops tend to get you coming and going on this stuff is if you give them a laundry list of things to do, they charge you individually by the book for labor for each one, even though some will be duplicative. Which is why I like to go in for smaller, discrete services a little more frequently, rather than one mondo-service every two years where they hit me up for about $1400.

A timing belt and water pump replacement, using OEM parts and performed at the dealer, would be about $500 in my area. That would include about $160-175 for parts including the pump and belts. Using aftermarket parts and performed at a reputable indie shop, I would expect that price to drop by at least $100 and preferably more like $150. And of course, if you go with the local shop with the coupon special, where parts and the quality of labor are dubious at best, you could probably get it done for around $250 total (all California prices). Finally, if it were me asking for that service, I would ask them to change all external belts as well, as there would be no additional labor charge. That would run another $40 or so, perhaps. Belts don't cost much.

mmyk72

Nippononly - Thanks again.

"...they charge you individually by the book for labor ... even though some will be duplicative" - Yes, that's my experience as well, but I don't know enough about cars to know what jobs should be clumped together when I take it in to save labor cost til too late.

For example, when the t-belt was changed this time, they ended up having to replace the coolant. I already had the coolant changed for ~$50 last yr, so that would have been unnecessary if I knew.

You said that you'd rather go in for smaller jobs more frequently rather than get hit with a big one every few yrs. That's the way I want to go too from now on. Can you tell me what groups of services you normally ask for & at what intervals and how much to expect to pay?

Thanks for your breakdown of the costs. It does seem that my last repair was on the high side for an indie shop. To make myself feel better, I called an Acura dealership and fount out that t-belt and water pump replacement alone would cost $679. (My total bill was $880 with the tuneup and tax). I think I did pay less than dealership repair shop but higher than I should've. The shop did change 3 other belts along with the work (like you said, about $40 in parts).

nippononly

your dealer wants a lot for a t-belt and water pump! The last time I got a quote from my dealer for that service was 2 years ago though, so maybe it has gone up a lot. I wouldn't expect it to go up that much. They quoted me $525, including the 3 replacement external belts.

I usually do one major service every two years (which is about 30K miles for me), which costs about $400 at my dealer, and includes all the maintenance items you had done, plus auto trans fluid (if applicable) and brake fluid, but not spark plug wires, which if they need replacing would cost an extra $50 or so.

In between, I do oil changes at 5K intervals, and at 10K intervals I add a tire rotation.

Finally, when it was time to change the t-belt, I used to just ask for that INSTEAD of the major maintenance, and then tell them to add new spark plugs, an oil change, and fresh air and fuel filters. None of those services are duplicative, and the whole thing including t-belt, pump, tensioners, belts, filters, oil, and plugs, would come to less than $700.

Now, I sold my '88 a couple of years ago, which had the same maintenance interval as yours, and since then I had an RSX which has a timing chain and much less servicing, so my prices are a little out of date. But that servicing schedule should serve you well and save you a few bucks. However, I will add that my "system" depended on me being able to do many visual checks myself, which I would do from time to time. My car only got a professional inspection once every two years, which may not be enough for you depending on how well you can detect new problems cropping up in your car, and/or how much you can inspect yourself.

The Integra is a super-durable car, so I don't think it needs inspection as often as the dealers will tell you it does. If you drive significantly less or more per year than I do, then if I were you I would go for a major service every 30K miles or two years, whichever comes first.

go8b

I got the same problem here in ATL... anyone got any answers or sugestions?

mmyk72

Thanks for your guidance. I drive ~7000 miles/yr in mostly highway type traffic, rarely stop & go. So I consider myself on the light side of usage.

I usually take it for oil change ~4-5 months (always ) at Firestone. The part I hate most is getting a long list of what's wrong with my car at the end. They said my CV boot looks worn a few times, but this shop I just used never mention anything. Another time, it's brake fluid that's low (I can see through the canister that it's not). It's always something.

I now know better and will get the std maintenance done say in 3 yrs (rather than wait 5 yrs like I just did). From your advice, it'll need for sure these: Auto trans fluid & filter brake fluidfuel filterspark plugs
Probably also the Dist cap & rotor and PCV valve since it costs only ~$40 more in parts and maybe not much in additional labor.

I'll tell them to not change spark plugs wires ($58 in parts) unless they test them, and definitely not the oil additive crap.

nippononly

Totally! Sounds good. And let me reiterate, because I was NOT kidding: NEVER believe ANYTHING a tire place or a quickie lube place says about the mechanical condition of your car (except alignment, at the tire place), and ALWAYS decline "extra services" or "needed services" that are offered or mentioned. Those places are a double whammy: the staff range in competence from below average to none, and they are paid and bonused to sell you high-profit maintenance and repairs, whether your car needs them or not.

I think if you follow the schedule you laid out, given your 7K miles per year, you should be just abour right on the perfect compromise between miles and years. As far as oil changes, I am sure you could get away with one change every six months rather than more frequently, but as everyone always says, "it's cheap insurance" to do it more frequently. Don't forget those tire rotations now and again! :-)

mmyk72

Thanks many times for your help.

BTW, there is a website that describes cases where Firestone deliberately breaks something in the car, then try to sell you the repair. It shows pics of evidence and descriptions of events that sound pretty convincing.

I'm sure different Firestone shops have different level of honestly. But, I'm always nervous trusting my car with chain store type repair shops. But since I don't know how to do oil change myself, there isn't much option.

mmyk72

How do I know if brake pads need changing? Are there early warning signs (noise, pedal feel, etc.)?

I don't want to wait till too late and end up damaging something expensive like the drums. But I also don't want to get screwed by shops trying to sell me something I don't need.

nippononly

is the sign, not when they are cold in the morning, but when they are hot. If they screech, that's your warning to change the pads. Eventually they will go from squeaking to grinding - then it's too late! :-P