My friend has an 02' RSX. He's been telling me that he's encountered so many problems with the car. Like Check engine light, he had to upgrade the computer and some other light went on.

Is the RSX really reliable?

 

i would say that reliability depends on how the vehicle has been treated...

my wife has had an 02 since they came out 3 years ago,and no problems what so ever.....

 

well a check engine light isn't really a problem. the light goes on because of some problem with the car. what was the result of the CEL diagnosis?

he had to upgrade the computer....I'm taking that to mean the ECU. that's really wierd that acura would replace the ECU. there is no upgrade though. 02-04 ECU's are all the same.

some other light went on.....

basiucally it comes down to this. lights don't go on unless something's wrong. find out the reason behind the what's wrong.

so far the documented problem with rsx's is transmission grind. I've not heard of anyone that has had any actual engine problems with a showroom stock RSX.

your friend's rsx. has his car had any major mechanical breakdowns? lights going off doesn't mean a thing. there's a light for reminding you to change your oil. there's a light for when the sideairbag system is disabled because someone's leaning on the door. there's a light for when your oil is low. lights are just indicators that a problem exists. what is the problem and what is the cause of the problem is of more concern.

 

correct that. . they had to upgrade the ECU program.

I forgot what light came on for. I know for sure it wasn't the seat belt, oil, door open,.. etc..

the last problem was his idle was fluctuating from 1500. Good thing his car is under warranty still.

 

First, the 02 was the first year of the RSX. First model years always have bugs, no matter what make.

Second. There are a couple lights to be aware of. There's a Maint Req light which periodically pops up when it's time for routine maintenance, i.e. oil changes, etc. Annoying but helpful for some.

A check engine light can mean a number of things, but it often is related to smog, as in a catalytic converter issue, etc. Often these are minor annoyances also, not really the sort of thing you'd say makes for an unreliable car.

RSX's are known for one thing: a slight grind between 1st and 2nd gear, and an occasional notchy feel or pop-out of 3rd gear. Acura is taking (some) steps to sort this out, and it's important to note that not all owners have this issue, and the ones that do have made A LOT of noise about it, but it generally happens a few times when it's cold or very sporatically, and it's more of an annoyance than a reliability issue.

Finally, it's a friggin' honda. Honda and Toyota are pretty much the most reiable car makers out there; other co's are good, but you won't find many smart people who will say that Honda's are plagued with issues. Any car, any make and model can and will have a few things here and there, because they're complicated and subject to varying degrees of use and abuse. It also has to be said that for a lot of RSX owners, this is their first manual tranny, their first 6-speed, maybe even their first car, and many are young racer types, which is to say perhaps a bit abusive.

Personally, I have no problems with my 04 Type S after a mere 10,000 miles, but I don't expect any major issues in the future. After much research (Subaru WRX, Audi A4, VW GTI, Mitsu EVo, Nissan 350) it became very clear that the RSX is about as reliable as you can hope a car to be.

Treat it well and it'll treat you well.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tuesday &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">First, the 02 was the first year of the RSX. First model years always have bugs, no matter what make.</TD></TR></TABLE>mine doesn't, not even the grind... built in August '01

the only real problem I've had was a jammed jack, replaced under warranty.

 

they are very good. the early one have a few quirks but nothing major