Project X

I combined a few questions into this thread as i didnt want to spam the forum. Is the cost of ownership of a TL about average as any other car/sedan? I'm looking at a 6MT and it has larger front brakes that say Acura on them - are these brembos? If so, my understanding is that these will not last that long? On average how many miles will they last?

Also, I didnt find a clear answer on the mpg city/hwy for the 6MT version (2005)...

Thanks!

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

1. Cost of ownership? Yes.
2. Are they Brembo's? Yes.
3. Average life of Brembo pads? 17k-30k (depending on braking habits).

weas

I have an '08 6MT, and average about 22 MPG with a heavy foot. 50% hwy and 50% city.

piggydog

Honda MTs are great for MPG, and durability IMO. I know some have the 3rd gear prob but mine is perfect. I get 30 mpg if I go 80mph on the highway, low 20's in the city. Brake pads cost me $60 for the ceramic lifetime pads. Easy to change out. Car is cheap to maintain imo.

SouthernBoy

I have two 3G TL's. Mine is an '04 manual and my wife's is an '05 automatic. I drive mine a little more in town (not a crowded city) than does she. In the winter months I average slightly over 24 MPG in town and around 29 on the road. She averages 25 in town and around 29 on the road. In the summer, my average is 25 in town and up to 32 on the highway while hers generally is the same as mine during that time of year.

Yes, the manual has Brembos and pad life can vary greatly with these. The stock pads are very good but the dust a lot. I changed mine at 25,000 miles to a set of pad which dust around 90% less. I still have those pads on the car at close to 73,000 miles. My originals would have been good for perhaps 60,000 miles. I have a neighbor who has an '05 manual with the stock pads and 90,000 miles on them. Most of his driving is highway. If you are good with your brakes, you should be able to get over 40,000 miles out of the stock pads.

As for general cost of operation, manuals tend to cost less than automatics... assuming you know how to properly operate a manual transmission.

Yonkers914

iTrader: (1)

It all depends on how you drive. I do get a lot of brake dust from my pad's and my gas mileage is about 15-16 mpg becaue i drive hard and almost always in the city. but i seen it climb very easily when i stay on the highway crusing at 70mph i got up to 26mpg lol amazing for me. All in all a good buy and cant go wrong.

InWI

My gas mileage with a mix of city and highway is usually between 24 and 26. My brembos have over 30000 on the stock pads yes they dust. Bridgestone summer tires are almost gone.

OneWickedTypeS

I got around 30000 miles out of my front brakes,
But FYI the front brakes the dealer will charge probably around 900. bucks to do. I did them myself with Rotora slotted and drilled rotors and pads for a lil over 400.
Hope that helps...

Jackass

I have an '05 6-spd and so far have 24k on the front pads and they still look to have plenty of material left.

City MPG -- 20ish
Mixed MPG -- 27-28 (22 mile commute ranging from 25mph to 70mph)
Highway MPG - @65mph -- 33-37mpg
Highway MPG - @75mph -- 28-32mpg

During the winter my MPG drops a bit. My last road trip I only got 28mpg on the highway. MPG drops steadily as you go over 70 or decide to get a heavy foot.

mayday813

I've got a 2005 TL 6 speed with approx. 67K miles on it. I average about 28 mpg mixed city/interstate driving. Great in snow w/limited slip differential. Original brakes all the way around, 40k miles left on front and 30k miles left on the rears. Front brakes do dust but not as bad as European cars. Keep the rims waxed and it helps minimize the effect of the dusting. Manual transmission vehicles are cheaper to maintain than automatics assuming you don't abuse the clutch. Replacement of the clutch is a $2k proposition if I'm not mistaken. Otherwise, a reasonable car to maintain cost wise.

Adobeman

I get around 26-27 MPG with mainly highway driving. If I reset the MID while on the highway it says 31-32. No complaints at all with my average MPG.

As for the brakes I've got a bit over 37K on the car and the pads are original. I am usually pretty light on pads though. My last car had >80K on OE pads. I'll replace them in the spring. They won't be at their absolute limits then but after 5 years I'll have no problem changing them out a bit early. I plan to use OE pads. The dust is a bummer but I know I like the way they perform. Ditto what mayday813 about waxing the rims.

powerflow

Pads are a piece of cake to DIY, Brembo /or not.

I changed mine at 40K on my 6MT.

GM syncromesh or AMSOIL synromesh in the trans, and your all good.

JERU

2005 TL Manual. 33 highway/24 mixed. You will get spanked if you have a dealer do the brake job. But brakes in general are easy enough to do on your own and there are some good DIY threads on this. It is a shame dealerships get over on so many people on this pretty easy job. But everybody has to make money on somebody...

subinf

I spend a lot of time in SF. I get shit mileage. On the highway it is consistently around 30 though (for longer trips). If I stay out of SF I'm low to mid 20's

OEM pads for Brembos are by far the best out there - I'm getting between 20-30k on them.

ngg19

New front oem pads installed by dealer are about $350; closer to $800 for new rotors and pads for front.
I replaced front pads twice; my 04 has 51,000. So expect about 25,000 miles. I drive about 70% city.
Great car though; I think it feels faster now and the linkage on the transmission is very smooth; even better than my 07 s2000