2000 Acura 1.6 EL Reviews

Nothing has gone wrong with the car.

As for regular maintenance:

Oil changes every 5000 km.

Front brakes pads/rotors 147000km.

Universal exhaust joint installed after running over a piece of rebar on the highway.

Rust starting on the front passenger side of hood.

The Acura EL was purchased as a commuter car. It served its purpose really well. Never been stranded. The car was sold recently due to my growing family.

This car came with many great options. It did not have leather or heated seats, which is great, because throughout time, the leather would crack from the heat and become an eyesore.

The acceleration was decent because it's a manual, thankfully.

Interior space was adequate for four grown adults. Trunk space was generous.

Fuel mileage was great. 6.5L/100KM in the summer, around 7.5L/100KM in the winter. But with gas prices rising, filling up my tank cost around $57.00 CAN at $1.30/ L.

As stated in previous entries these cars have problems with the power window motors as well as the key-less entry modules.

My power windows are working, but take a long time to open.

My key-less module stopped working at 125k.

Acura dealers are VERY expensive and I would not recommend any of them. Find yourself a reliable mechanic for your maintenance needs.

I still have not fixed the key-less as I can live without it and it is a dealer dependent service (with means $$$)

Overall this is a good little car that will satisfy most folks. If you have not already done so have a valve adjustment done. It was supposed to be done at 48k according to the manual, but a lot of people overlook this and the mileage suffers for it. After I did the valve adjustment my mileage went from 350kms per tank to 500kms per tank in mixed city and highway driving.

For the sporty driver this car will leave you wanting for more.

For the luxury minded driver, you will notice considerable road noise for a so called 'entry level' luxury car.

Having driven this car for 50k kms I will recommend it to anyone. I have peace of mind that it will not leave me stranded. At 170k the engine still drives like new which would leave me to believe that this car can go upto 500k without any problems.

A/C works great in summer without straining the engine much. Pickup is not effected too much with the A/C.

Suspension is a little still for my liking, but I was used to a Camry before this!

Resale value is great. Please check with your insurance before purchasing this vehicle as I learnt that this car is used by a lot of people who like to modify/race them. The insurance was twice as much as my camry. Please look out for any performance mods if you are purchasing such as car as this should bring up a red flag in your mind!

Hope this review helps!

* One day during the summer, the power door locks began to mysteriously lock and unlock themselves -- lasted for a few weeks until one day it mysteriously stopped. Very annoying when driving, or returning to a car that you had previously locked!

Pros:

Good fuel economy (7.44 litres/100 km).

Operating air conditioning doesn't seem to significantly affect fuel economy.

Simple and easily accessible controls (heating, stereo, etc.)

Included features (e.g. power sunroof/moonroof, heated seats/mirrors, power doorlocks, power windows, fold-down rear seats, alarm system, cruise control, etc.).

Attractive exterior styling.

Aside from power door lock bugaboo, I have had no problems with mechanics or body integrity.

Cons:

Not a lot of horse power (need to get to the upper RPMs to get performance out of engine).

Bugaboo with speedometer during cold climates (sometimes needle will temporarily "stick")

Leather is not supple (lower grade leather, in my opinion).

Handling (steering and cornering) below that of older Integra models (e.g., 1991).

Imperfections in the road can be a little unsettling for the car (lessening my confidence in it's handling ability).

My knee hits the steering wheel column when I applying the brakes (maybe not the greatest, ergonomically-speaking, for tallish drivers).