Author Topic: Used Vehicle Review: Acura EL, 2001-2005 (Read 3909 times)

Autos_Editor · « **on:** October 21, 2010, 04:05:29 am »

Because it's based on the Honda Civic sedan, the Canada-only Acura 1.7EL is "top-of-the-heap, reliability-wise, among small luxury sedans," reports Chris Chase. But he recommends avoiding 2001-2002 models because of potential automatic transmission problems.

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gta_driver · « **Reply #1 on:** October 21, 2010, 11:08:33 am »

I use to own an '04 EL and got rid of it this past August when transmission issues started creeping up. The car returned great fuel economy by my pet peeves where acceleration with the 4 speed automatic, any passing or merging required planning, especially if there where passengers in the car or the AC was on. Ride, which is mentioned in the article, was too firm, you felt every road imperfection. The seats weren't comfortable for any driving requiring more than an hour. Some of the interior materials where poor, especially the metal plated interior driver handles. They had a nasty habit of splitting apart and leaving sharp edges, which would cut your finger. The funny thing is, this was a recall item on the Honda Accord (interior door pulls between the cars are identical) but not on the EL. The dealer wanted $200 to change it out, I used hockey tape. And finally if you used cruise control a lot, you could never understand why, the cruise control control was placed in the lower left corner, behind the steering wheel. Engaging cruise control required the driver to look behind the steering wheel while driving. On Acuraforum.net there is a thread about defective ignition switches on the EL which can leave people stranded. It prevents the car from starting. I had this issue along with many others. Members on the forum where trying to organiza a petition to compell Honda to have a recall. There is another thread on clubel and hondaforums about P1456 EVAP Emission code which can create lots of problems from loud idle to stalling. The solution to fixing it is to change out bypass valves, EGR and/or EVAP module. On the less serious side, driver side power windows are known to get stuck when the weather turns colder. This has to do with metal contracting in the mechanism. Sometimes the SRS light will stay on, this is because, the sensor gets stuck. Hitting the driver or passenger seat a few times gets things unstuck. The little dowels that hold the CD storage door in the center of the dash eventually pop out. The solution to this is taking the door off or purchasing the smallest arts and crafts dowels you can find at a store like Michaels and using them. And the low windshield warning ballast in the winshield washer reservoir gets stuck or breaks easily. I had mine repaired while under warranty and then it went again. I no longer cared.

bigjodyg · « **Reply #2 on:** October 21, 2010, 02:02:35 pm »

Top of the heap reliability my fat a$$

oldsnail · « **Reply #3 on:** October 21, 2010, 02:27:44 pm »

Mechanical, identical to an CIVIC Si 4door. Other than luxury amenities, the EL does offer 4-WHEEL-DISC brakes which were not offered on the civic Si coupe/ sedan; but found on the SIR's.

I think the EL or even the CSX fits nice in the acura line-up and unique for it is not offered down south.

AirCanada · « **Reply #4 on:** October 21, 2010, 02:55:06 pm »

These "Civics" are overpriced!

articsteve · « **Reply #5 on:** October 21, 2010, 03:28:14 pm »

Good car in standard shift.

First 2 years: front struts defective. Honda ran from this problem. Not a huge deal. About $135 a piece.

ALL years: auto tranny in this series bad for long haul. Not just first 2 model years.

Avoid this car in auto, otherwise good.

PS: Low windshield fluid warning system defective on all years. Not worth repairing. But lite is annoying.

AND avoid the Touring: front seats are garbage. Premium better experience with leather, heated butt warmer (no heat on back rest

), and sunroof.

wing · « **Reply #6 on:** October 21, 2010, 03:31:44 pm »

Seems like all Honda automatics should be avoided!

articsteve · « **Reply #7 on:** October 21, 2010, 03:42:07 pm »

At least until the mid 2000s. The 5 speed auto in the Accord back whenever (2005

) started the correction.

That goes for the entire Acura lineup until the mid 2000s.

gta_driver · « **Reply #8 on:** October 21, 2010, 04:18:00 pm »

I forgot to mention. Interior road noise for an "Acura" or "premium car" is unacceptable, especially at highway speeds. Honda saved $$$ on the sound deadening material.

carcrazy · « **Reply #9 on:** October 21, 2010, 04:47:34 pm »

Reliable? Yeah, right.
Tell that to my buddy who got rid of his fully loaded 2001, low mileage and mint condition. The tranny died this past summer at around 100K. The dealer was asking $5K to fix it, but they would only give him $3K in trade-in after the fix. He walked away.
The irony was that in the same weekend, the tranny in my other buddy’s 2001 Civic died. He fixed it for $2K at an indy shop and got rid of it. His was over 100K km, but nothing ridiculous. He managed to get back the money he put in the tranny in trade-in, but not much more, which means he basically gave the car away; so much for Honda's resale value.
The good part is that both ended up with a Bimmer. The tranny failures sped up the process for sure.

bridgecity · « **Reply #10 on:** October 21, 2010, 05:09:59 pm »

FWIW, I recently sold a 2005 Honda Civic. I owned it for 5 years, albeit with low mileage (46K km). It never went through the doors of a dealership or mechanic, absolutely zero issues. I'll also add that it was a basic model, so less to go wrong.

Definately stay away from autoboxes in the early 2000s for all Hondas. Its a bit hit and miss for 2003-2004 models. Some models had very reliable trannies in these years, others were still poor. For 2005+ they have been solid.

articsteve · « **Reply #11 on:** October 21, 2010, 05:22:14 pm »

The good part is that both ended up with a Bimmer.

mid 90's to early-mid 2000's for Bimmer automatics is no better. Those ZF ppl make the worse crap. I dunno the situation from early-mid 2000s on because I'm out of the loop. All sealed up; fluid for life, never needs servicing.

Define lifespan.

Weexy · « **Reply #12 on:** October 21, 2010, 05:25:28 pm »

Interesting - our 2001 Civic with 120,000 on the clock has had zero issues. Even under the impatient lead foot of my 22 year old step-daughter who is now the primary driver

rrocket · « **Reply #13 on:** October 21, 2010, 06:02:43 pm »

It's funny..I hear nothing but gushing praise for the manual....and nothing but "stay away" from the autos....

carcrazy · « **Reply #14 on:** October 21, 2010, 06:48:35 pm »

Quote from: WxyOne18 on October 21, 2010, 05:25:28 pm

Interesting - our 2001 Civic with 120,000 on the clock has had zero issues. Even under the impatient lead foot of my 22 year old step-daughter who is now the primary driver

Manual or Auto?

carcrazy · « **Reply #15 on:** October 21, 2010, 06:53:49 pm »

Quote from: articsteve on October 21, 2010, 05:22:14 pm

The good part is that both ended up with a Bimmer.

mid 90's to early-mid 2000's for Bimmer automatics is no better. Those ZF ppl make the worse crap. I dunno the situation from early-mid 2000s on because I'm out of the loop. All sealed up; fluid for life, never needs servicing.

Define lifespan.

2007 328i and 2009 335 convertible.

bridgecity · « **Reply #16 on:** October 21, 2010, 06:57:08 pm »

I should qualify my statement about staying away from early 2000 Honda autos. Definitely stay away from the 5-speeds mated to V-6s. The 4-speed autos mated to the 4 cyl. fair a bit better. Consumers reports shows them as average for the Civic.

ar_ken · « **Reply #17 on:** October 21, 2010, 10:10:58 pm »

So this is "top-of-the-heap" reliability eh......

First of all, this is not a "small luxury car". Anyone who bought one and thinks they bought a "entry lux" vehicle is kidding themselves. Acura TSX is entry lux. EL is Civic. Nuff said.

gut · « **Reply #18 on:** October 21, 2010, 11:42:07 pm »

Wow! I bet the author and half of the posters don't own the 1.7 EL (and never have owned it, never mind have driven one). Nothing wrong with that, though

I own a 2001 one from the new, auto, Touring, now at 101,000 km, 10 lit/100 km average at 90% city.
Regularly serviced at Burrard dealership, did everything they've suggested me to do (the stuff from the regular maintenance schedule), not abused too much, my two kids have learned driving on it, daily commuter (city, 31 km/day).

Experience:
1) No issues whatsoever
2) Once in a second year I went back for warranty claim: the lid on the cup holder was opening a bit slow due to some spring being unhooked. This I don't even count into the issues - it was fun to get that fixed in 10 minutes, while sipping coffee and browsing the Vancouver Sun.
3) It would be pity to sell this car for 6-7k$, as it is really worth more than half of the new cars being sold these days in the compact cars class which will be junk in a matter of couple of years

And note about the lux or not:
- There are no luxury vehicles in this class. It doesn't work that way. It must be bigger and more 'lux' to be a luxury vehicle. (Not to mention front drive and really being a re-badged Civic, or whatever other make and model ...) My other vehicle is luxury vehicle (CLK) for that matter.
- Acura TSX is Honda Accord in Europe, and it is not a luxury vehicle there. Just a regular family sport sedan.

articsteve · « **Reply #19 on:** October 22, 2010, 02:19:21 am »

Wow! I bet the author and half of the posters don't own the 1.7 EL (and never have owned it, never mind have driven one). Nothing wrong with that, though

Sold this car mid September/10 for 7K. 2001 EL Touring auto. Nice aftermarket leather front seats, 17 inch mags with good rubber, new struts, lowered an inch, good Blizzacks on OEM alloys, Krowned, 35K km. First gear was starting to hold shift when cold. First symptom of sticking valve body. Hard to say when failure will result. Hopefully it will go 140k km. Needs timing belt next year. Fair deal to the buyer. She should get 5 solid years out of it.