Comments: 1-15, 16-25
I had a recurring problem with warped front brake rotors causing shimmying when braking - most noticeable at 25-45 MPH. The problem was fixed when I replaced the rotors. I think the seller installed cheap junky rotors or lied about replacing the rotors when I bought the car.
Clutch got sticky - hard to start smoothly, whole car would shudder - when driving around for a long time in the city. I think the seller lied to me about putting in a new clutch.
Engine has slow oil leak - down 1 to 1.5 quarts by the next oil change.
Alarm system sounds when I unlock the doors with the key (I don't have key-less entry) so I need to leave a door unlocked or disable the alarm somehow. It only shuts off after extensive jiggling of the key in the cylinder lock. The seller played stupid so I thought he was operating it wrong when I bought it.
The heat shield on the left tail-pipe fell off.
This car likes to stall in warm weather after highway driving (summer 2000) when the clutch is released.
Power steering squeaks/loses power in cold weather.
There is a rattling metal or knocking noise in the engine compartment at idle rpm, and at 3500 RPM when accelerating hard.
At a mechanic's suggestion I had the clutch master cylinder replaced because it was leaking. After that the clutch would slip in warm weather or after 15 miles of highway driving. Probably mix of new and old hydraulics caused the slave cylinder to fail?
The motor started knocking terribly when I was driving to a transmission shop to fix the clutch, and the car wanted to stall all the time the last couple miles of the trip. Mechanics say it's in the lower end of the engine and the cheapest solution is to put in a used engine. OUCH!!! I suppose that I wasn't watching the oil levels closely enough between oil changes (do it myself every 3500 miles), and neither did the previous owners.
The transmission crunches or grinds into 5th gear at speeds above 65 mph when accelerating.
This car had been abused by former owners - center air vent in the dash was missing up/down fins, leather was stained, carpet was OK, but the stock stereo was missing and replaced with cheap junk.
But it came with Eagle alloy wheels and back windows tinted and nearly perfect paint, except for rust on rear quarter-panels, which was not too costly to fix.
This car's combination of comfort and power is the best I've ever driven of older model cars. The clutching action is so easy and delightful!
It seemed like a steal of a deal when I bought it last summer for $5500, based on the test drive and Honda's / Acura's reputation.
Except for the alarm, the electrical system of this car is still perfect.
The suspension / handling is very comfortable and tight.
Seems like this car is a mechanics nightmare. It's packed up like a Rubicks Cube! Labor for any operation in the engine is out the wazoo! And quality parts are very expensive.
Of course, you get what you pay for. I have to ask myself if I want to afford this car - yes, but I may be sorry if things keep breaking.
Regarding the alarm, I had the same problem with my Vigor. You can effectively permanently disable the alarm (who actually bothers to respond when they hear a car alarm anyways?) by opening up the hood and finding the little switch that detects whether the hood is closed. Just bend this so that the alarm system always thinks the hood is open and the alarm system will never arm even if you lock the doors.
Best car I've ever had.
I had the same problem with my Vigor. I always had to unlock the doors from the passengers side so that the alarm would not go off, but now I've got keyless entry and it's not acting up anymore!
The radio display went out, but it's a great car with great performance!! I love my Vigor!
I started having the same problem with the alarm on my Vigor about 3 or 4 months after I bought it. At first it did it maybe once a week than once it took me a couple minutes to get the damn thing to go off, as loud as the damn thing is as you can imagine it can be a bit embarrassing in the middle of the mall parking lot. Fortunetly it had keyless entry so I never set the alarm anymore.
All your problems could be solved by visiting the Vigor site at acuravigorclub.com.
Wonderful source of information on repairs, where to get parts, and to get to know the 1000+ members/owners of Vigors.
I also had the car alarm problem. I checked out the acuravigorclub. com website and they had a link to an excellent review/repair of the problem (complete with pictures). Unfortunately, this didn't quite do the trick, and rather than spend the $200 just on the part (quoted from Acura dealership), I bent the hood sensor as suggested in an earlier post. This worked!! No more alarm problems since.
I seriously had the worst time of my life with this alarm. when I picked it up from the shop, it was open so there were no problems. when I got to my friends house around 7pm I got out, locked all the doors manually went in, remembered my lights were on, went back out, unlocked the car manually with my key and BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP et cetera. I was so completely angry! it was SUPER embarrassing and it did it like 5 times while everyone was freaking out on each other, including the neighbors who obviously never had to deal with a vigor before. "turn it off" DUH no, mame I LIKE it... so my friend ripped the wire for the horn and we stayed there and figured how to start the car, but in all the commotion, the left headlight burnt out and I couldn't go anywhere anyway because my life is horrible. I will try that awesome trick the car into not making noise.. trick, thanks :D.
Bought my '92 Vigor July 2003, and have loved it. Great power and handling overall. However, I've faced many of the issues the original poster did, and for the same reasons. Previous owner obviously had no idea how to properly maintain this car.
The only recurring problem I have encountered was the stalling in warm weather. Once I replaced the fuel pump I've not had the problem since. Not a cheap fix ($600 CAD, approx $450 USD) with labour, but well worth it if you are experiencing this problem too.
Found this discussion last night and can't thank the person enough who mentioned the tip about the hood sensor tricking the alarm system. Turned it over and so far so good, what a relief, thanks.
Thanks for the tip on the alarm, hood sensor, trick. It seems to fix the problem. I also noticed that the little light on the dash still flashes indicating that the alarm is armed, even though it appears to be disabled. Hopefully this will keep thieves from attempting to enter my car.
I LOVE MY VIGOR!
I just bought a 1992 Acura Vigor, it seemed nice all it needs is a new exhaust, at least that's what I thought. I drove it home and I started to smell a burned rubber type of smell, when I opened the hood nothing was on fire and I could not really see where the small amount of smoke was coming from. It would go away when I opened the hood. I also could not really see the oil level, it looked like there wasn't even any on the stick. Could somebody please give me an idea of what of could be? Thank you!
I have a Vigor 93. Yesterday the alarm got engaged when I unlocked the passenger door and I can't turn it off. The driver's side inside door handle broke last week so I have to open it from the passenger side. Before, whenever alarm went off, I would turn the key in the passenger door and it would work. But this time it went off when I tried to open the door. The hood sensor thing seems to work for a lot of people, can some tell me where this sensor is?
I will appreciate all the responses.
Thanks.
Bought a 92 Acura Vigor last year, but since then I've had problems with starting the car. The problem is that this starter is very scarce where I live. I live in Republic Domincana and nobody knows what is the I number of this starter. If they were able to tell me which is the I number of the part, and where I can buy it from?
I have my 1992 acura and it runs realy good I don't know y every one has problems wit this cars...
I'm really, really interested in buying a vigor, and I found one for a reasonable price or at least I think so.What? are the things that I need to look for regarding performance and other things that wound make it a good vehicle to buy.
I bought a 1994 Acura Vigor recently and the alarm system went off, tried to turn it off by putting the key in the door and it didn't work. Disconnected battery, and now it won't start.