Was recently gifted a 2002 Acura RSX base model automatic that has been sitting for a year in a parking lot and needs some work, Most of the wear and tear stuff like brakes,rotors,oil and battery i can do on my own and are pretty straight forward but there are two problems that I thought a more specialized forums might help me with.

The first problem Is the idling ,when I first got the car running it idled normally for about a minute . After that it began revving up and down in an almost rhythmic fashion, I was told by the person giving it away it might be the gas in the car breaking down due to age but I did notice and he did mention that the tank was completely filled before parking it up to avoid any issue with water/condensation in the gas tank because he wasn't sure how long the car would sit. I'll be completely honest all my finding are from googling so they don't mean jack but I was thinking it might have something to do with the idle air control valve being dirty or needing replacing since he did mention it didn't do this before he parked it up and that's what others online have pointed to as a solution for similar problems. I also wanted to note there was a check engine light that i wasn't able to read since the battery was toast and died immediately after shutting the car off and I'm waiting on a new one.

The second problem are the door locks, I've noticed all older cars security systems seem to go to hell and this one seems to fit the trend as well. The physical door lock pole on the inside of the door is stuck up and when I try to force it down it wont budge. Also after locking the door with the key remote (the lock doesn't actually go down) and opening the door, the alarm went off and it seemed when I put my foot on the brake it stopped which I don't understand. I do know on the last older car I owned that changing the old worn battery seemed to fix most of the alarm issues but I'm still not sure about the driver door physically not locking and the previous owner did tell me it was a problem and they just left it unlocked(they clearly lived in a better neighborhood than me) . I would like to fix the issue since older cars like this are prime targets for auto theft and I don't want to put all this money into fixing it only to have to stolen.

This is my first post on these forums so I wanted to thank anyone who responds in advance and if there is any more info or details or anything I can clarify to help with identifying the problems ,please ask away!

 

Welcome and congrats on the car. For the idle surge, it's most likely the Idle Air Control Valve (IACV) as you mentioned or a vacuum leak. I'd start by cleaning the IACV as those are notorious for getting clogged to see if that resolves the issue.
​Also, inspect all hoses for cracks. If there are cracks, you may have a vacuum leak.

For the door lock, it's a failed or failing actuator. I have this issue on my driver door. To get the knob to go down (lock position), I pull the door handle and push the knob down with my hand. Been doing it for years, so it routine for me. The alarm still works and key fob opens the driver door... I just can't lock it with the key fob.

 

I agree that the idling problem is likely the IACV. This is on the throttle body and can be removed and cleaned with carburetor cleaner. Make sure the moving parts move freely with no binding.

The door lock actuator is a pain to replace, but there are YouTube videos showing how to do it.

Enjoy your RSX. It can be a very reliable car. I am currently driving a 2002 Type-S with over 250K miles on it and while it could really use a paint job, it is reliable and fun to drive.