Integra quirks part 2 and Integra versus Integra

[NCIsland77Integra]

Hi everyone
If you've seen my other posts, you know I've had 2 X 2023 Integra's. Both were fully loaded 6-speeds. Some items of comparison (questions that don't need to be answered) and other things (that don't necessarily need a response either). Drove the first car for 2300 miles. Now 900 on the second one.

Integra versus Integra
Why did the first Integra have a super tight feeling transmission and clutch pedal compared to the looser one on the second car
Why did the first Integra really not feel like a turbo car, when the second one feels like it's got a heavy-breathing turbo (by comparison)
Why did the first Integra not have a light on the dash to show when the headlights were on like the second one does
Why did the first Integra have a power up/down enabled passenger seat when the second one does not (both still use power front/back and seat recline)
Why did the first Integra have a noticeably louder exhaust compared to the second one

Both cars had different driving characters. It's been interesting.

Other items
Since my 2007 Accord, I'm not sure I'd actually refer to the items as 'cup holders'. sippy cup maybe?
I really would like the option of turning on/off my headlights. Not every overpass or shadow should trigger a fully lit exterior. doubt these lights last forever
I really would like a rear window wiper. Call me crazy. there can be visibility issues
I would really like a stock spare tire and change kit. The civic hatch comes with it.......the car is certainly expensive enough
I wonder about rust over time around the back glass and lack of any real drain. 280Z anyone?
Can someone tell me why my steering wheel and windshield wipers flinch each time I start the car?
When I put the driver's seat in a position that suits me (I'm 6' 1"), I can't see most of the heads up display. I usually raise the seat out of the gutter and make sure I can get a fist between my head and the roof of the car (driving school tip) At least the TLX offers a button to adjust.
LED headlights (which are awesome) are not motorized. Thought that was the rule? I find it most distracting for others when I'm going up or cresting hills
While I admire the start/stop feature on the manual tranny car, imagine my surprise when the car fired on it's own before I asked it to......dash showing alerts like charging or climate control needs. Unexpected. If I read the manual, it might be in there.
Unlike the 2-liter turbo Accord, gas mileage goes down around 77-78 MPH. Highway's with hills limit the efficiency of the 1.5-liter. At around this speed, the tach is turning 3000 RPM. Which, for reference, is the exact same characteristic as my 1994 Nissan Hardbody SE V6 4X4 with a 5-speed. A little surprised the 6th gear doesn't generate more RPM lowering.

Overall I bought this car for the manual transmission and features. Styling suited me and I need the room of the hatch compared to Honda Civic SI. It is subtly quick (at least compared to the more put you back in the seat feel of the 2-liter turbo Accord) and gets good gas mileage (35-37 in mixed daily driving)
I hope it lasts forever and stays as reliable as my other Honda purchases.

 

[BKK Jack]

You can stop your headlights from coming on automatically, but turning on your parking lights. Of course, that will turn on your tail lights.

The wipers reset whenever the car is started. Not uncommon these days. One convenience I found out is you can manually put them into maintenance position, when the car is off. Don't know about your steering wheel. Mine doesn't do that, but I have the lane departure mitigation in the vehicle settings and the lane keep assist turned off.

The heads up display is height adjustable via the right side of the steering wheel.

I believe the only rule regarding headlights is where the "cut-off" is on level ground. I do wish the Integra had adaptive lights. My 2012 GTI had them and they were brilliant. Not only did they turn into corners a bit, but there was a linkage in the rear of the car that leveled them, so if it was loaded in the back, the lights weren't pointing at the sky. I don't know why 11 years later, my "near luxury" car doesn't.

The idle shut-off/restart can be a little intrusive at times. I've had the car start a few time while sitting at a light, but some of the traffic lights around here are really, really long. You can turn off the notifications of why auto stop/start isn't working, but I forget exactly where.

 

[treyk]

Why did the first Integra have a power up/down enabled passenger seat when the second one does not (both still use power front/back and seat recline)

by this do you mean that the passenger seat can be raised up? like a barber shop chair? And on one car it was electronic and the other one was manually adjusted?

 

[NCIsland77Integra]

it was electronically adjustble up/down. there is no manual adjustment that I'm aware of (maybe BKK Jack can inform? I seem to learn all my good stuff from you -- thanks for the tip on the HUD adjustments. Given other cars, I didn't expect that to be in the cluster). I prefer the seats higher.

 

[submitaweasel]

I also get the steering wheel twitch and wiper twitch on start as well as a wiper twitch on power down. I have the same settings turned off that Jack mentioned.

At the same time, I get a motorized noise on both start and stop coming from the dash. My wife described it as "why does your car sound like a transformer when you start it?" My best guess on the last one is the HUD adjusting between my setting and the default position.

Sometimes I get a noise from the drivers door as well that sounds like the door lock is struggling, but haven't had any issues with it.

Regarding the start/stop: if the car senses the need to fire up due to voltage dropping to a certain threshold, it will start. If it senses it cannot maintain climate settings, it will start. If the ect drops below a certain threshold, it will start. If climate settings are either HI or LO or the car is in sport mode, idle stop is disabled. In the case of it starting, does it ever shut back off on its own? Between this car and all my loaners, not a single one would idle stop a second time without physically moving then stopping again.

Regarding the passenger seat, it sounds like someone mixed up some parts. The passenger seat is only 4 way adjustable (forward back & recline; just confirmed in my car).

 

[BKK Jack]

it was electronically adjustble up/down. there is no manual adjustment that I'm aware of (maybe BKK Jack can inform? I seem to learn all my good stuff from you -- thanks for the tip on the HUD adjustments. Given other cars, I didn't expect that to be in the cluster). I prefer the seats higher.

My passenger seat is only fore/aft and seatback angle. How long ago did you get the one with height adjustment?

Also, I tend to forget where some of the settings are. It usually boils down to hunting and pecking, because sometimes it doesn't make sense to me why they are where they are. The only one I can remember specifically (I think) is the back-up camera. Why is it in the general settings? Is it not a driver assist? Of course, I could be completely wrong and it is in the driver's assistance in vehicle settings.

Another feature my 2012 GTI had the Integra appears not to was a setting for max audio volumn on startup. It was nice if you were blasting a favorite on the way home the drive before and forgot to turn it down before getting out. If it is somewhere, please tell me.

 

[TheRas900]

The light thing is so frustrating! That and the poor rear visiblity are my only two complaints. Interesting to see you have the same ones listed.

Sounds like the first one drove better. Why did you switch?

 

[NCIsland77Integra]

Hi everyone
The first Integra was a late August car. The second car was December.
I like the feel of the clutch/transmission on the first better, but also felt it was down on power compared to the second one. Toss up I guess.

The first car had the paint destroyed by the dealer trying to fix items that were present upon delivery.......

I don't feel the rearward visibility is bad, unless there's rain, snow, fog, etc all over the back glass. I keep a squeegee in the car for those days.
I do rain-x the back glass, as well as two front side windows and the front windshield. It helps? But rearward is an issue with any of those things on the back glass. Even if I squeegee before leaving the yard, the back glass can fog over before I get too far leaving just the side mirrors. The defroster helps, but then I'm looking through the defroster lines.
This car lives outside.

 

[BKK Jack]

The auto lights are not nearly as frustrating to me as the auto intermittent wipers. The seem to go from too much of an interval to full fling-themselves-off-their-mounts speed for no apparent reason. I'd much prefer non-auto wipers. I'm more than capable of setting and adjusting the interval myself.

I also keep a squeegee in the car.

 

[bpebler]

It seems like the auto wipers are just a waste of technology. They were worthless on my last 2 Rams also. Couldn’t stand them. At least I can turn them off in the settings. I’m assuming you can do the same in the Integra?

I liked the better visibility on the Integra vs the TLX when I test drove them a couple times & then sat in them again at the recent annul auto show. Poor visibility is one reason why I sold my 99 Trans Am.

 

[submitaweasel]

I've noticed the auto wipers work perfect during the daytime hours at my setting but as soon as the sun sets now my setting is no longer frequent enough. I ended up setting at a "too frequent" setting for daylight hours and have been okay with it since.

After switching back to non-sensing wipers with the loaners, I found my own complaints to be...too complain-y. The auto wipers are better than constantly switching between 20 different intermittent settings, but are not perfect.

Edit:quoted the wrong post, removed quote.

 

[BKK Jack]

I've noticed the auto wipers work perfect during the daytime hours at my setting but as soon as the sun sets now my setting is no longer frequent enough. I ended up setting at a "too frequent" setting for daylight hours and have been okay with it since.

After switching back to non-sensing wipers with the loaners, I found my own complaints to be...too complain-y. The auto wipers are better than constantly switching between 20 different intermittent settings, but are not perfect.

Edit:quoted the wrong post, removed quote.

I admit it is pretty nit-picky and overall I couldn't be happier with the car. However, it would have been very easy for Acura to have the auto intermittent function a user selection in the settings. While they were doing that, they could have done the same for the headlights.

 

[submitaweasel]

I admit it is pretty nit-picky and overall I couldn't be happier with the car. However, it would have been very easy for Acura to have the auto intermittent function a user selection in the settings. While they were doing that, they could have done the same for the headlights.

I agree the lack of a manual intermittent wiper option is strange. I had that conversation with the salesman before I bought the car. It clearly made him uncomfortable.

 

[BKK Jack]

I just sent a note to Acura Customer Car about the auto lights and wipers. When (if?) they respond, I'll let you know what they say.

Here's what I sent them:

My concerns are about the auto intermittent wipers and the auto headlights. I'm sure you felt it necessary to add these "features" to increase the status of this vehicle, but I find them to be more of a detraction and distraction in their current form.

The wipers are the worse of the two, especially at night. Without moving the switch, they will go from having too long of an interval to fling-the-wiper-arms-off-their-mounts full speed for no apparent reason. They are a little better in the day, but I still find trying to get the right setting frustrating and distracting. I realize I can defeat the auto function by switching to Lo, or use the Mist function, but that completely defeats the purpose of having intermittent wipers, doesn't it?

The headlights aren't as bad as the wipers, but still frustrating. Despite having the sensitivity at the minimum setting, they are still too sensitive and will turn themselves on even slightly overcast days and every time I drive under an overpass. I don't need or want this to happen, and it really shouldn't.

Both of these frustrations could be easily mitigated by a software/firmware upgrade to make the auto functions for both user selectable in vehicle settings. I realize you are trying to increase safety to account for even the most inattentive and stupid drivers, but I have been driving for over 45 years and am not the lowest common denominator. Go ahead and set auto as the default coming off the showroom floor for the coffee drinking, Mcmuffin eating, Facebook and Instagram browsing idiots out there - of which there are far too many - but please make the auto functions for the wipers and lights user defeatable for those of us who take piloting a 3,000lb potential death machine seriously, pay attention solely to the task of driving, and are more than capable of realizing when we need headlights and how hard it is raining.

Thank you.

 

[bpebler]

Awesome email.

Am I understanding this correctly - that there is NO manual intermittent wiper setting as submitaweasel has described? If there’s a switch, what does it do - just straight on to a low, constant setting?