Acura Integra Reliability by Year

Based on 2M+ real complaints filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

758 NHTSA complaints (1986–2026).Complaint rate: 91.8 per 10,000 vehicles sold in the US.

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Should I buy a Acura Integra?

Quick answer from 758 NHTSA complaints · 1986–2026

Acura Integra reliability depends heavily on the model year. Several years show complaint spikes well above the model's own average, while others are meaningfully cleaner. The most commonly reported issue across all years is steering defects. Pick the right year and this Integra can be a reasonable used buy; pick the wrong one and you're inheriting known problems.

✓Best years to buy
✗Years to avoid
⚠
Most common Acura Integra problem: Steering Defects — 244 complaints (1.2% crash-involvement rate).

Keep scrolling for year-by-year complaint trends, recall campaigns, and component breakdowns — or click any year above for a full report.

Why these years are worse

The most common issues driving the complaint spikes:

  • steering defects — 244 complaints (1.2% involved a crash)
  • air bags:frontal — 41 complaints (87.8% involved a crash)
  • seat belt issues — 29 complaints (6.9% involved a crash)
  • service brakes, hydraulic:antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip — 25 complaints (20.0% involved a crash)
  • automatic transmission — 24 complaints (8.3% involved a crash)
Severity Score
248.5
Complaints
758
US Units Sold
82,543
Crash Rate
12.0%
Fire Rate
1.6%
Injuries
81
Fatalities
3

What Happened to 10,075 Acura Integras On the Road

Complaints record what owners reported. These are the outcomes actually recorded against 10,075 Acura Integra VINs built 1987–2026 — accidents, title brands and odometer flags from our vehicle-history database, not from the NHTSA complaint file.

Accident History
10.4%
Salvage Title
0.4%
Total Loss
0.6%
Frame Damage
2.5%
Reported Stolen
0.0%
Odometer Issues
0.2%

Do the complaint spikes show up in real accident history?

The Acura Integra averages 10.4% accident history across all model years. Here is how the years flagged above compare on real records:

  • 2023 — 14.5% of 4,497 VINs on record show accident history, above the 10.4% model average. The complaint spike is backed by real damage records.

Typical Acura Integra on record: 1.1 owners on average, 14,725 average miles.

Which Years to Buy & Avoid

Years auto-clustered by complaint volume relative to this model's median.

Rankings based on raw NHTSA complaint counts. Sales volume data not yet available for this model.

Bottom line: Avoid the 2023 Acura Integra. The 2001 models had significantly fewer reported issues. Most common issue across all years: Steering.

Avoid These Years

2023
71.7 complaints per 10K sold · 8 crashes
32,090 units sold
1994–1996
~57/yr complaints · 50 crashes
1990–1992
~42/yr complaints · 7 crashes

Average

1989
~20/yr complaints
1993
~29/yr complaints
1997–1998
~25/yr complaints
2000
~18/yr complaints

Better Years

2001
~6/yr complaints
1999
~8/yr complaints
1986–1988
~10/yr complaints

Too New

2024–2026
72 complaints so far
50,453 total units sold

Need 3+ years on the road for reliable complaint data.

Looking at a specific Acura Integra?

A model's reputation is just the start.

Even within the “good” years, individual cars can have hidden accidents, title issues, or odometer rollbacks. Check the actual VIN before you buy — full history report for $8.99 (vs. Carfax $44.99).

Complaint Rate per 10,000 Vehicles Sold

Normalized by US annual sales volume — higher = more complaints relative to sales

Show raw complaint counts

Common Acura Integra Problems

Most reported component complaints to NHTSA. Bar length = volume; color = crash-involvement rate.

Show full table
ComponentComplaintsCrash %
Steering Defects2441.2%
Air Bags:Frontal4187.8%
Seat Belt Issues296.9%
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip2520.0%
Automatic Transmission248.3%
Airbags2060.0%
Tire Defects1910.5%
Seat Belts:Front:Buckle Assembly1711.8%
Electrical Faults160.0%
Lane Departure: Assist110.0%

When Each Problem Spiked

Year × component heatmap. Darker cells = more complaints that year. Reveals which model years a specific defect concentrated in — useful for spotting redesign-cycle quality dips.

Data Sources & Methodology

Complaints: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation consumer complaint database (758 records for this model). Public domain data, updated monthly.

Sales data: US annual vehicle sales from goodcarbadcar. Coverage: 20% of model years have sales data. Total US sales: 82,543.

On-road outcomes: Accident, title-brand, theft and odometer records for 10,075 Acura Integra VINs in our vehicle-history database. Independent of the NHTSA complaint file — a complaint is what an owner reported, these are what was recorded against the vehicle. Year-level figures are shown only for model years with at least 200 VINs on record.

Rate calculation: Complaints per 10,000 vehicles sold = (complaint count / US annual sales) x 10,000. This normalizes for sales volume so high-volume models like Civic or Camry aren't unfairly penalized.

Year classifications: AVOID = 1.5x+ the model's median complaint rate. GOOD = 0.6x or below. Years less than 3 years old are marked TOO NEW (insufficient data).

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