1992 Acura Vigor GS review from North America

Power antenna failure

Power door lock actuator failure

ABS problems

Alternator failure 3 times with in 10 years

Hot starting issues (Main EFI relay)

Fuel pump

Squeaky suspension

Noisy interior

Intermittent rough idling problem

Oil pickup clogs

Master cylinder out at 60,000

Sunroof stuck in open

Ignition switch failure

Driver’s side door lock seized up

Radio display went black

Engine coolant temp sensor out at 55,000

Oxygen sensor replaced 2 times under warranty

ECU replaced once under warranty.

Basically an accord with a odd ball 5 cylinder engine crammed under the hood (and I do mean crammed). This has to be one of the most dreadful cars I have ever had the displeasure of working on myself. And unfortunately many things seem to fail frequently and are expensive to replace (see below). I am the second owner (first owner was my grandmother who stopped driving 3 yrs ago). The car has maintenance records an inch thick from when it was still under warranty. Currently has 65K original miles on it of which I have put 15K of those miles and I keep up on maintenance.

Honestly there is nothing that appealing or extraordinary about the vigor to warrant such good reviews. It gets relatively poor gas mileage (16 city 25 high way). Really not that fast (8 sec 0-60), uncomfortable (non height adjustable seats), rough riding.

It is EXPENSIVE to fix (not a car for the do-it-yourselfer as the engine compartment is overly crowded). Example, to change the oil cooler gaskets (common leak point) and a 1 hr job in a regular car takes 6 hours on the Vigor. As unbelievable as it sounds you must remove the battery to change the distributor cap and rotor! Apparently the engineering team designing this car hadn’t considered that someone would actually need to repair it someday!

Problems that are the most uncommon on other cars seem to plague the Vigor. From electrical issues that are intermittent (main relay, a/c system, security system, etc.) and odd mechanical issues (oil cooler gaskets leaking at 60K?, master cyl at 65K) this car takes the cake in my book as one of the WORST cars I have ever owned.

It’s not much of a wonder why this car was only made for 3 years. And to those who had such great things to say about the car I wonder if they are up to date on repairs or have ever attempted to fix the car themselves. (It is a 14 year old car and I would assume most of the current owners will be tackling most repairs).

There are FAR better used cars you can buy for the money, so if you still insist on purchasing one think twice, actually talk to some mechanics about repair cost, and consider other options.