Disappointed with Acura Overall

[CANDE5]

Honda has been THE or ONE OF THE largest EXPORTERS of vehicles in the United States, year over year for a long time. I would rather have my car built at the Japan plant for nerdy reasons too but I'm not upset that it was built in Ohio. I've owned LOTS of Hondas that we're built state side and i've had EXCELLENT history with my Honda's.

For context, here is my list of Hondas I've owned to date:

- 98 CRV LX
- 00 CRV EX
- 2012 Civic EX
- 13 Accord Sport ( my friend still owns with almost 200K on it with ZERO issues )
- 14 Accord Sport
- 16 Accord Sport
- 21 Civic Sport Hatch
- 22 Pilot Touring
- 24 Civic Touring
- 25 Accord Touring
- 26 Integra Type-S

Having said that, The paint on my car now has a few blemishes that only I will ever see when I wash it. The stereo in this car, while not perfect, is still very, very nice. Plenty of bass and great sound quality. It's the first car in a long time that I didn't mess with the system in it. I added a sub to the 24 Civic Touring with the Bose system (which was INCREDIBLE minus the lack of deep bass). I also added a sub to my 25 Accord Touring ( Also LOVED this system once i had a JL sub in the trunk ). The DE5 system is just not quite as loud as my old man ears would like. To say its BAD though, is a stretch. Sorry.

I did have to get my exhaust replaced under warranty as one of the tips had paint flaking out of it but they did it with Zero grief and the replacement catback hasn't had the same problem.

Having worked in sales, service departments and body shops nearly all of my professional career, I feel pretty versed in saying that many of you are being babies and just whining about anything you can find that isn't perfect about a car that you FEEL you spent LUXURY money on. It's 2026. 60K on a car is common place now. Not luxury. Service departments live on warranty work. Mass produced vehicles are nearly never perfect. I can walk around a dealer lot and find flaws on almost every single car on the lot.

Cry harder. These cars are SOLID!

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[crepr12]

OP punt your acura and move on...life is to short to...I'm going to drive the wheels off of mine..its great daily driverjmho

 

[UWU-mancer]

I for one look fwd to destroying the fuck out of this car. Getting a 4 piston long block. Not build the trans tho. Blow the trans. Then swap in a built trans

vehicles are consumable items. All of it. The whole thing. It’s all a consumable item.

 

[Xelloss]

Interesting thread. Sadly, I have joined the group of people with annoying rattles. Got the 3100hz resonance rattle on passenger side.... I should probably go update my review post actually. No rattles through 6months owning... but it was basically cold entire time. After a few heat cycles/hitting 95 outside, started setting in. Time to consult the other threads some helpful people have made, I'm not terribly sensitive to ambient car noise but this one is annoying.

Also, got to experience the fun of getting debris under the brake dust shield. I literally pulled over because I thought my whole wheel was about to come flying off or something! Nope, just a pebble under the dust shield. Not a big issue, got it sorted but was annoying.

That being said, I still love the car.

Wrote bunch of stuff just because, still had Friday get-everything-done-and-escape-work mode brain for some reason. So here's a Tldr:

Tldr; Everything is overpriced, DE5 is a top trim hot hatch not a true luxury car and that should inform purchasing, I still hate big screens in cars and touch controls which deeply lessens my personal enthusiasm for many ~70k+ German cars, Acura still hasn't sorted out rattles and fit issues, S3 is the superior luxury car at same price, and I still love my ITS because I was intentionally buying a hot hatch not a sporty cruiser.
-------
Extended thoughts....

Reading through the comments, here and elsewhere, it really hit me where I think the demarcation line is between love and regret and some other posters hit on it re: expectations.

People who were looking to get / in market for a true luxury car with an 'edge' (light weight, manual) seem to be disappointed. Which is understandable, and from the styling and design language of the exterior (which is still my favorite right now of any car, yes 110% subjective but I'm shocked at how many people eyeball my car) it does look the part. Part of why I couldn't get excited about Audi was the styling felt bland to me and don't even get me started on BMW except for the M340i. (Again IMO) So I can definitely see how some expectations are missed.

If you went in looking for the toppest top trim hot hatch, then it seems more likely you still love your car. Which was 100% my case. I cross shopped German cars, because why not, I'd previously owned BMW and loved it, and may as well look right? Would be silly not to.

But what I really wanted, and in my head was buying, was a Type-R with a pricey trim upgrade that gave it better real-road suspension tuning, a fancy HUD, massive exterior styling upgrade, extra sound deadening to not be quite as raw to live in, and a better sound system. Which I do think is quite nice, though not the best, but playing with settings, turning the 3d sound on (was off by default), EQ, and did something on my phone/Spotify, forget what, and it's pretty decent.


My pre-2019 brain definitely thought it was overpriced, in the same vein that I felt like everything I looked at should really be about 10k less expensive. It is what it is, and far from unique to Acura unfortunately.

But, for real, if what you want is a luxury car first for the same money the Audi S3 is where its at. Remember to get the packages with adaptive dampers and such, it's a nice car. RS3 is pretty awesome, though somehow its sound system didn't seem as good as S3? Didn't spend as much time playing with it. Anyhow, S3 is where its at IMO if you want a ~55k luxury sedan thats just pretty nice all around.

Saw some comments on S5 and... yeah it's good, but for me I sat it in it. Felt like I was gonna be driving a wide screen monitor around, said "nope" pretty quick. M340i also had annoyingly large screens.. the HVAC touchscreen controls were... yeah... no idea why car makers do that, honestly I like driving to get away from my screens... despite how potent it drove and how slick it felt, the more time passes the happier I am I took a pass on it. If I went back in time to buy again, I'd probably still buy an ITS, outside chance I'd give RS3 a go.

Anyhow, I digress.

 

[UWU-mancer]

Interesting thread. Sadly, I have joined the group of people with annoying rattles. Got the 3100hz resonance rattle on passenger side.... I should probably go update my review post actually. No rattles through 6months owning... but it was basically cold entire time. After a few heat cycles/hitting 95 outside, started setting in. Time to consult the other threads some helpful people have made, I'm not terribly sensitive to ambient car noise but this one is annoying.

Also, got to experience the fun of getting debris under the brake dust shield. I literally pulled over because I thought my whole wheel was about to come flying off or something! Nope, just a pebble under the dust shield. Not a big issue, got it sorted but was annoying.

That being said, I still love the car.

Wrote bunch of stuff just because, still had Friday get-everything-done-and-escape-work mode brain for some reason. So here's a Tldr:

Tldr; Everything is overpriced, DE5 is a top trim hot hatch not a true luxury car and that should inform purchasing, I still hate big screens in cars and touch controls which deeply lessens my personal enthusiasm for many ~70k+ German cars, Acura still hasn't sorted out rattles and fit issues, S3 is the superior luxury car at same price, and I still love my ITS because I was intentionally buying a hot hatch not a sporty cruiser.
-------
Extended thoughts....

Reading through the comments, here and elsewhere, it really hit me where I think the demarcation line is between love and regret and some other posters hit on it re: expectations.

People who were looking to get / in market for a true luxury car with an 'edge' (light weight, manual) seem to be disappointed. Which is understandable, and from the styling and design language of the exterior (which is still my favorite right now of any car, yes 110% subjective but I'm shocked at how many people eyeball my car) it does look the part. Part of why I couldn't get excited about Audi was the styling felt bland to me and don't even get me started on BMW except for the M340i. (Again IMO) So I can definitely see how some expectations are missed.

If you went in looking for the toppest top trim hot hatch, then it seems more likely you still love your car. Which was 100% my case. I cross shopped German cars, because why not, I'd previously owned BMW and loved it, and may as well look right? Would be silly not to.

But what I really wanted, and in my head was buying, was a Type-R with a pricey trim upgrade that gave it better real-road suspension tuning, a fancy HUD, massive exterior styling upgrade, extra sound deadening to not be quite as raw to live in, and a better sound system. Which I do think is quite nice, though not the best, but playing with settings, turning the 3d sound on (was off by default), EQ, and did something on my phone/Spotify, forget what, and it's pretty decent.


My pre-2019 brain definitely thought it was overpriced, in the same vein that I felt like everything I looked at should really be about 10k less expensive. It is what it is, and far from unique to Acura unfortunately.

But, for real, if what you want is a luxury car first for the same money the Audi S3 is where its at. Remember to get the packages with adaptive dampers and such, it's a nice car. RS3 is pretty awesome, though somehow its sound system didn't seem as good as S3? Didn't spend as much time playing with it. Anyhow, S3 is where its at IMO if you want a ~55k luxury sedan thats just pretty nice all around.

Saw some comments on S5 and... yeah it's good, but for me I sat it in it. Felt like I was gonna be driving a wide screen monitor around, said "nope" pretty quick. M340i also had annoyingly large screens.. the HVAC touchscreen controls were... yeah... no idea why car makers do that, honestly I like driving to get away from my screens... despite how potent it drove and how slick it felt, the more time passes the happier I am I took a pass on it. If I went back in time to buy again, I'd probably still buy an ITS, outside chance I'd give RS3 a go.

Anyhow, I digress.

Lord. The rocks in the heat shield. Absolutely hate it. And I dunno why but it happens at least 1-2 times a month too

one guy recommended the following and it works perfectly! Go in reverse and try and hit about 10mph then immediately slam on the brakes. Has worked every single time.

I got rattles too but I’m lucky. Music at volume 7-8 drowns it out. My rattles are much lower in the rev range. Maybe 2.5k rpm

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Lord. The rocks in the heat shield. Absolutely hate it. And I dunno why but it happens at least 1-2 times a month too

one guy recommended the following and it works perfectly! Go in reverse and try and hit about 10mph then immediately slam on the brakes. Has worked every single time.

I got rattles too but I’m lucky. Music at volume 7-8 drowns it out. My rattles are much lower in the rev range. Maybe 2.5k rpm

Just grab the heat shield and bend it back. I used to get rocks constantly because the idiots in my county decided chipseal was smart, but once I bent the shield away from the rotors it has been totally fine.

 

[UWU-mancer]

Just grab the heat shield and bend it back. I used to get rocks constantly because the idiots in my county decided chipseal was smart, but once I bent the shield away from the rotors it has been totally fine.

Screw that. I’m lazy. Going in reverse is fun

 

[nttran98]

I’ve been in enough fl5’s to know those mf’s rattle like crazy on the inside too

being made in Japan isn’t a flex. Especially not if it’s modern Honda.

Hindsite, this is the correct statement.

 

[UWU-mancer]

Hindsite, this is the correct statement.

And I said that respectfully btw

the fit and finish we saw 20+ years ago ain’t there anymore

thinking your shit was made in Ohio or Japan or on the moon is a flex is wild.

frankly. If your msrp wasn’t like 60+ thousand and made in Germany…… I don’t wanna finish that sentence but, U know?

cuz I’ve been in a newer nsx (the type s version). My tattoo artist owns one. Lemme tell you about its paint and interior and quality. Absolutely perfect. And that’s a car built in Ohio.

Things aren’t nice in the 40k range anymore. Want nice? Bump up to 50k but if you want perfect, bump up to 60k or even more and make it German.

again. Respectfully speaking.

 

[whtciv2k]

I dunno, the Germans seem to know how to paint a car, and durably. Porsche kind of excluded to be frank. I haven't been impressed by Porsche paint, especially darker colors. Germans also use the least amount of paint I've found. My audi was a consistent 4.5 to 4.6mil all around, except for plastic parts. The bmw is fairly close to that as well. Ime with paint, thinner is a lot less likely to chip and peel, especially if prepped properly.

After I pointed out several issues to the acura dealer, they still had dealer add ons waiting to be delivered (like the Alcantara wheel and carbon spoiler) so I told them I'm not trusting their service department to install them. They cut me a check off the purchase price, and with a steep discount on the parts given the frustrations of all the other things. That's the best I could hope for for them "making it right". Shame it had to take negotiation though.

In order of best paint I’ve seen from cars I’ve owned are

Porsche - had the taycan for 4 years. Lots of highway driving. Not a since rock chip.

BMW- that shit is just thicc

mercedes - some of the newer ones are questionable, but pre gens were like the BMW’s. My wife’s new eqe already has chips galore

Volkswagen - decent

any Japanese car - shit paint. I can’t tell on my LC cuz I got full vinyl for the first 4 years and now have full body ppf. That paint only seen oxygen for like 4 months total lol

any Korean car - probably the worst. My ioniq looks like shit. Great car otherwise.

 

[optronix]

And I said that respectfully btw

the fit and finish we saw 20+ years ago ain’t there anymore

thinking your shit was made in Ohio or Japan or on the moon is a flex is wild.

frankly. If your msrp wasn’t like 60+ thousand and made in Germany…… I don’t wanna finish that sentence but, U know?

cuz I’ve been in a newer nsx (the type s version). My tattoo artist owns one. Lemme tell you about its paint and interior and quality. Absolutely perfect. And that’s a car built in Ohio.

Things aren’t nice in the 40k range anymore. Want nice? Bump up to 50k but if you want perfect, bump up to 60k or even more and make it German.

again. Respectfully speaking.

I'd still stop well short of calling anything mass-produced anywhere near "perfect".... and the reason why is also in your post.

The NSX was perfect because it was basically built bespoke. That facility in Ohio was a dedicated low-volume plant that only built a handful of cars; well really just the NSX and select "PMC edition" models. I'd been hoping for a PMC edition Type S but I think that ship has sailed.

That said, I've taken delivery now a half dozen new German cars and literally the only issue I've ever had was a missing bolt in the driver's seat of the 2020 Macan. The paint was also good on all of them but they definitely did all need a polish after delivery- something my DE5 actually did NOT need ironically (actually come to think of it the Tango Red RS5 didn't need one either).

I'll list them because that's what we're doing in this thread now.

2015 Macan S
2015 M4
2020 Macan S
2021 RS5
2023 Boxster GTS
2023 Macan GTS

And the near-new I bought gently used:

2015 Boxster GTS
2015 S3
2016 Golf TSI
2017 Carrera S
2018 S4
2019 Boxster GTS

Actually worth mentioning as I rattled them off I recalled this- the Golf (my son's car) had a HORRIFIC water leak in the trunk that could not be repaired, after over $1000 of attempts. Probably the shop's fault but they were supposedly a dedicated water leak specialty shop but that was the single worst "issue" I've ever had with a car I've owned. Unfortunate because otherwise it was a genuinely good car.

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