Hi everyone. I've always like the 3rd gen tl. Right now I drive a 08 subaru sti. Its a great car except for the engine. It gets crappy mpgs and blows ringlands. My last 5 cars have been manuals. I love driving manuals. I appreciate their simplicity and effeciency. Previous to the sti I had an 06 civic si that I bought new. It was a decent car. The engine was pretty good, but it had a clunky front end and a sketchy 3rd gear. Both issues were resolved by warranty but still left a bad honda taste in my mouth. I had some preludes previous that were much better. It appears Honda hasn't made a great transmission in about 15 years. I hear about the TL having simular problems as my civic with the manual. I'm almost willing to be they are basically the same trans. Not many problems have come up in my searches with the autos in the 3rd gen TL. I'd like a car I can put 250k miles on but still enjoy driving. I'd like that car to not take me to the bank every few years like the sti would. I want 30 mpg going 60 mph. At first I was just going to look for an 08 up accord v6 sedan, but then I realized I can get much more car in the tl for simular money. I really like the brembo brakes (best part of the sti) on the early manuals and later type s. I drive about 60 miles a day, mostly highway. Is there anything in particular to look for? Any years better than others? I'm more concerned with miles than year right now. Is this the correct approach? I live in iowa and they don't exactly grow on trees around here. Thanks for any advice.

 

dude, there's an easy fix for ALL honda 3rd Gear problems.
Honda's transmission fluid was at fault.
Simply swap the OEM fluid for GM Syncromesh Friction Modified fluid.

the GM magic juice has cured my pop outs and grinds. I will never again use the OEM fluid.
and this is my first Honda, but I have researched and found that MOST HOnda's have this problem...like you've found out.

the GM stuff is just a better fluid all around.
enough about the juice......




if you're wanting the most power out of these Honda's go for the 6MT....either the type- s or the base model.
they provide the most horse power, with the type-s being the leader.
the auto trannies just ROB too much power and is heavier than the 6MT counter parts.

Honda's will last over 200k miles.
but in my searches the ones with high mileage are beat up inside and out. meaning the interior and exterior.

I bought my pristine 2006 6MT base TL with 31k miles.....the seats are fucking PRISTINE!
it isnt real high class leather so higher mileage cars will show wear in the seats.

if I were you, I'd get a 2008 TL-S 6MT with about 27-40k miles....I believe the price range would be around $20-25K.

Do not settle for an auto.
expand your search to other states as these '08 TL-S 6MT's are coming off lease.

 

Nate, Justin pretty much covered everything for you. I'm not sure you're going to get 30 MPG at 60 MPH though...

Still, the Type S is a sweet ride with Brembo's.

 

Hey, fellow Iowan.
If you are wanting to find a manual, keep looking on autotrader everyday. It took me 4-5 months to find a manual I like. Good luck. Where in Iowa are you from?

 

Like Justin said the 6mt TL 3rd gear issue is basically completely fixed with the GM fluid. Its amazing!! the tranny is the absolute best I have ever shifted! I have an 07 Type S 6mt and yes its worth it. The car gets measureably better fuel economy, fun to drive, and quicker! Cant go wrong.

Type S 6mt's are tough to find be prapaired to travel to get one and if your not willing plan on waiting a long time possibly for the right one to pop up. Around here in Chicago Type S's are still pretty expensive. low mileage 07 and 08 S's still go for high 20's from dealerships.

 

Do you do mostly highway driving? I do about 90% highway cruising at 62 for the most part and averaged 31 mpg my last 4 tanks. I figure that out by dividing what it took to fill by miles traveled....digital readouts are nice but the old fashioned way's much more accurate. This is also accomplished by conservative driving and shifts around 2500, I don't care, it's getting better gas mileage than a lot of 4 cyl. econoboxes. lol I do the occasional pull entering an open stretch of highway but conservative describes it for the most part.

I've only had my 06 MT w/ nav for about 3 weeks but it is def. one hell of a car, you feel so proud driving one.

Search hard for what you want, you'll find it. I looked at 3, only 1 being local w/ 6MT, Nav before finding mine. One of those involved a day trip to Queens, NY. What a waste of time that was, typical NY body on that one. Then a trip to MD and I came home with my new to me TL. The Type S is a gorgeous car as well but was out of the payment range I needed to be at.

 

+1 on the GM Syncromesh Friction Modified MTF, it made a huge difference on my 05 TL 6MT. Great car, good luck on your search.

 

I have one of each, an '04 manual (mine) and an '05 automatic (wife's), and we are the original owners of these cars. My '04 manual is noticeably quicker than the automatic but both do get decent mileage on the road. Best I have ever managed was a year after I bought my '04, on the first leg of a summer vacation trip. With the car loaded and the A/C running the entire time, I managed 33.94 MPG.

But mileage is not that important to me... performance and pleasure come first. If you can find a decent manual, get it. Based upon their sales brochures at the time, this is the transmission Acura intended for this car.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I live about 10 miles south of Iowa City. I drive about 30 miles east to work and then back. It seems like there might be a few out there within a reasonable distance.


I put GM synchromesh in my 94 mustang gt's manual a few years back with great results. It took a lot of notchyness out of the trans and its really been holding up well for how much power the car makes.

I'm getting my ~30 mpg estimate from fuelly. I might be slightly optimistic. Here is the fuelly for my sti. http://www.fuelly.com/driver/nateg20/impreza

Lately I'm more about compromise on the daily driver. That being said, I love to drive fun cars. I regularly have a child in this car so the 4 doors is key. It also didn't make any sense driving an sti that only got 24 mpg when you baby it. AWD has it moments but the longer you own it the more over rated it seems.

Is the manual trans identical in the 04-08 tl? I think they made some changes to the si's manual in 08. Is there any other quirks to look out for?

Like I told my buddy all i want is a 30mpg, 4 doors, reliable, a sunroof (no sunroofs on us stis), and a manual. Being fun to drive would be awesome and really pursuade me. Why is this so hard to get now a days?

 

Finding a 6MT is going to be a struggle. You have to stay on top of the ads constantly. Acura (honda) is probably one of the best cars you can get IMO. It's a honda motor,and with pretty much minimal "babying" you can get the car to run forever. Trannys are annoying, but you can get over it. Get a 6 speed!!

 

The 06+ Civic SI had tranny problems, but that was easily fixed from a recall on the 3rd gear syncros. All Honda 6 spd trannies had problems. RSX had it and the TL has it. The TL needs a recall on their 3rd gear as well. I'm experiencing the pop-up on cold weathers like I did on the Civic. One thing is, the MTF needs to be change out. But it's not the cure if it keep popping out.

 

^the thing is.....I rather keep changing the fluid at 30k intervals than letting a tech tear up my car.
if you search, there are horror stories of the tech messing up Reverse gear.
My 3rd gear does not pop out EVER any more after switching fluids.
will drain and fill with GM juice at 30k intervals.

 

Like everyone says, if you really want a stick, wait until you find the right one....But be prepared to wait a while/travel out of state to find a good one. Good Luck!

 

Wow, going from an STI to a TL. Is the STI modded? I actually did the complete opposite of you, sorta. Good luck with your find OP. The TL isn't going to be as "mod friendly" as the Scooby I'm getting 24 MPG as well, but the AWD and turbo is so worth it.

 

John!!!!! you picked up a wrx!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaah BOI Almost pulled the trigger on a V but they break too much shit. Found the perfect WRX, for me anyway I'll be updating an old thread soon

 

You've got a better engine though. In 07 they changed the pistons from forged to hypereutectic. Do a google search for "ringland failure" and most of the results will be on newer subis.

I popped an engine at 24k, and 8500 miles later I'm really starting to question how much longer this engine will hold together. Its started, kind of out of the blue, using oil and idling rough.

Option b is to say screw subaru, put a decent forged "street" shortblock in my sti (~3500, maybe add another grand if you have someone else install it) and probably have a reliable car. But then I'm just back to a dd that gets 24 mpg and will probably only last 100k at most before I get to do it all over again. As great as the sti is, it's not worth that much hassle to me. I've got the 94 mustang to tool on.

 

Ah I didn't pay attention to your year model. Seems like A LOT of people are having problems on the Subi forum with the same shit you are. 08-11's lol I cannot say I blame you for wanting to get rid of the STI.

 

If you have Acura warranty, wouldn't using GM's fluid void the warranty if they were to work down there?

 

^most cars are coming off warranty. 04-06 that is.

when the tech drains your fluid does he analyze it!?
i think NOT.


"lets send this sample to the labs. we'll make the customer wait 2-4 weeks without his car "

 

Theres actually a good amount of 6mts in the chicago area, look them up on cars.com

 

I am in Ames.

It just blows that there is only one Acura dealer in the state of Iowa and that's in Johnston. My TL is still under warranty and it's sometimes inconvinient to take my car down there.

 

There were only 2 regrets in my life.

1. Not getting the TL-S Manual (Because I didn't know how to drive stick)
2. Breaking up with one of my past gf

 

I have an 05 6MT and would definitely recommend it to everybody who likes manuals (if you can find one). In Las Vegas I would get a minimum of 30mpg every fill-up with a freeway cruise speed of 70mph to and from work every day. The indicator in the dashboard was always spot on with my calculations, so I definitively trust it and no longer double check. Typically I would get 31mpg, and occasionally 32. Probably depended on weather and how much I drafted in traffic. Now that I live in Reno, my MPG ave dropped by 2. I drive a lot more side streets and hills, with only half the freeway distance.

I put the "manual" over the importance of "navigation", and I can honestly say I do not regret it one bit.

Mine did suffer the 3rd gear issue, and I ended up getting that synchro replaced under warranty early on, rather than try the GM FM fluid fix. It's been fine since, but it has gotten progressively notchier as the OEM fluid is breaking down (it's been over 30k miles). I will definitely use GM FM when I change the stuff out next time.

I do have personal experience with the GM FM fluid after a dealer overhaul left my wifes 3rd gear feeling pretty bad in her 03 Element. Occasionally it would pop out of gear, but the dealer said they could not repeat the problem (even though my wife would have trouble at least once a day). I swapped in the GM FM and we never had a bad shift again. Can't recommend this stuff enough. People on Honda-Tech have been using it over 8 years now without issues.

Yes it's true that Honda's 6-speeds are funky. S2000 is known to be just as bad as Si and TL-sport. I feel that if they had a better trans fluid, they wouldn't suffer the bad rap they are getting. The company as a whole needs to focus more on fluid performance, and a little less on fuel economy. Our government would say otherwise.