not that it's that big of a deal, but it's the first time that i wont just drive it to work and home.

driving from Chicago to Detroit. about 400 miles.

so far, the TL has been pretty comfortable......i dont see this being too much trouble.

i will say though, you guys are right....these stock tires suck.

 

Have fun and take pics!!!

-Be safe...

 

Watch out for people pulling out of driveways, and be safe and enjoy the trip.

 

thanks, and, well, if anyone pulls out in front of me perpendicularly on the interstate, you'll be seeing me on the news :p

 

and, now, im back.

i must say, the car is pretty comfortable....and is pretty smooth cruising at 80 for 4 hours, straight. gas mileage is pretty good.

but the one thing that i tried to look our for were the rattles.....and i dont have any....i have an 04, and i don thave any of those issues, so i guess thats cool

 

what was your avg mpg on the highway?

 

well, i didnt reset my trip meter, but i did the drive from chicago to detroit in 7/8 tank, which is pretty good.

the drive was about 325 miles. but then again, i was trying to draft trucks along the way.

 

I just took my 05 TL on a road trip to Las Vegas this past weekend. The ride was pretty smooth and the seats were comfortable as hell. The power going up the mountains was awesome. I love the power of this car. I was passing cars with ease. I was getting 26 MPG going 80-85, sometimes 90 mph which isn't too bad.

But I must say that there were a few annoying rattles that I just couldn't figure out and stop. The rattling was definitely annoying, but it was too bad with the radio turned up.

The first was on the driver and passenger side doors. It was sweaking right around the edge of the doors where it opens up. Sounded like something was rubbing together. If I pushed against the upper portion of the door panel, the sweak would kind of stop, but would start up again once I stopped applying the pressure.

The second was around the shift knob. Something inside was definitely rattling, and it was constant throughout the entire trip. On daily driving, the rattling would come and go. On my road trip, it was rattling non-stop. My friend tried to make it stop but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I plan on having it checked out.

One final note...my buddies thought that the cabin was 'noisy' compared to other cars. They commented that there was a lot of wind noise, and that they could really hear the road. They didn't say that it was loud to the point of annoying, but expected it to be a bit quieter. They compared it to the Lexus IS, which one of them drives, and a BMW 5 series, which another friend of mines own. I never thought our cabin was the quietest, but it was interesting to hear other people comment on it.

Overall, it was a great trip.

 

Great!

Just couldn't help thinking about this one, "seats were comfortable as hell." lol

 

I think I can help you with this one. I was getting a squeaking/rattling noise from around both my front drivers and passenger windows, as well. I completely eliminated all these noises, quite by accident.

While detailing my interior, I was wiping down the inside window "frames" (black plastic) with a damp cloth. I noticed that that as I applied pressure while wiping down these areas, it produced a "cracking" noise that sounded as if the parts were mating up a bit better than they had been. I then did this to all four windows, and was pleased to discover that all the squeaking/rattling noises were eliminated. This was 18 months ago, and everything is still quiet as a church mouse.

Try this and see if it helps.

As far as the noise coming from the shifter area, you might have your dealer look at the shift gate/console assembly. Also, if the sound sounds "metallic", ask the tech to look a little further and check the shift linkage and flapper assembly.

CC

 

We did the run to Las Vegas from Central California the week before Christmas, 400 miles each way.

I averaged 28.4 MPG going and rarely came under 80 MPH. Coming home we averaged 26.8 MPG with a fair amount of time mid 90 MPH. Traffic was a little lighter as it was mid week. For those that don't know, traffic moves nearly this fast on I15 between Las Vegas and Southern California, posted limit is 70 MPH. CHP seems to leave you alone most of the time if you are not driving recklessly.

Car ran great, I have no squeeks or rattles. There was a little more wind noise than I like but oh well. XM, CD's and comfortable seats helped make the drive a relative peice of cake. My car will have 17,000 miles before new years and will be 13 trouble free months old. Early Happy New Year.

 

Thanks for the tip CCogan. The strange thing about the sweaking noise by the doors is that it doesn't always make that noise...only sometimes. I'll try your suggestion and hope it goes away for good.

 

Indianapolis, IN to Greenville, SC

On the way down I averaged 28 MPG and 77 MPH

On the way back I averaged 31 MPG and 74 MPH

Car was smooth and handled the mountain inclines quite well. Handling was superb for a 4-door sedan with Santa's goodies riding shotgun in the back.