Hey everybody, I just bought a 2006 TL 6mt a few weeks back and was just curious when everybody replaced their clutch. My car currently has 40,250 miles and was just wondering if i need to be saving up for a new clutch soon.

 

06 TL with 126,000km on the original clutch but I guess it all depends on how you drive it or I should say how the person before you drove it.

 

Barring anything abnormal, such as poor design, inferior parts, errors in installation, towing, racing, or living in a city such as San Francisco, the only other factor in the life of a clutch assembly is the operator. And if he knows what he's doing, really knows how to properly operate a manual transmission, the clutch should last several hundred thousand miles.

If you buy a manual vehicle in a private sale, you should ask the owner to take you out in it (use a ruse for this). What you are looking for are his habits and mistakes. That will tell you a huge amount about how the car was driven and perhaps the state of the clutch. What does he do when sitting at a stop on a hill? What does he do with his left foot when driving? How does he downshift (big one)? How does he upshift? For you to notice errors here, you must also know how to properly do these things.

My '04 manual has over 75,300 miles on it and is showing no evidence of abnormal clutch wear.

 

I have just over 55,000 miles on my '05 6MT on my original clutch and the only owner.

What are the first signs that the clutch is wearing out?

 

i have 85k miles on my car and from my understanding the previous owner never replaced clutch. It was all highway miles in FL so i think i got a winner . I have not yet had the clutch act in a funny way...but the checkvalve mod is a must i still have to buy a dremel and get that shit done.

 

I have 83,000 miles on mine with the original clutch. Like others have said, it all depends on how you drive or if your the second or third owner, how others before drove the car.

I was able to go 97,000 on my civic before I got rid of the car and even then it looked like I would be able to get a ton more miles before replacing it.

 

owned numerous vehicles with MT-never had to replace the clutch on any of them-most went way over 100K miles with a few over the 200K mark.

 

Unfortunately for TL manual owners, we have a self-adjusting pressure plate which tends to hide traditional signs of the onset of clutch failure. So for general purposes, one would normally look for slipping, vibrations/chattering, noise (sometimes), smell, engagement occurring to high in the take-up. By far the most common of these is slipping.

 

I have an 06 Manual. Bought it new.

I now have 95k miles on the original clutch, and it's still fine.

ALSO, my TL is the first manual car I have ever owned. So I essentially learned on it! And the clutch is still fine after all these miles!!!

 

i got 03 CL Type S with 6 speed manual - same tranny

63k clutch changed due to slippage.
no im at 84k and i know that soon i will need another one...
but i do drive alot in city and hard so its all about how you drive it
i know ppl who did 220k on oryginal clutch...

 

Still 21,000 miles on your new clutch and you expect to be replacing it again, soon? You must be doing a heck of a lot of "hard" driving along with some bad habits, to burn through a clutch that quickly.

 

55k on 2007 TL-S and it's just fine. Hope to get 200k out of it...at least 150k

 

I owned a tsx and an acura tech told me that you can guess by the clutch fluid , if its half way then your halfway through your clutch. Not sure how accurate this is but he seemed like a good tech.

 

Same here.

 

i have an 04 at 114 now. i think its the original clutch, and recently have been feeling some weirdness to the clutch (different catch points almost feels like its stripped or something) dont know if i should start looking for a new clutch or what.. any suggestions? any good brands as far as clutches go? i know comptech had something third party wise going with acura, would that be the brand to go?

 

Can you describe what you are experiencing with your clutch in a little more detail and accuracy? For example, what do you mean by "stripped" (clutches don't "strip)? However, "catch points" (which I assume you mean points of initial engagement) can change which would tend to indict either low hydraulic fluid or a failing hydraulic control system which actuates the clutch (ours are hydraulically controlled).

Unless you're going to be racing the car, you're most likely best to stay with the factory parts. Honda/Acura saw fit to make a simple and reliable component, complex (escapes me why they might want to do this). For example, we have a dual-mass flywheel, a self-adjusting pressure plate, and a friction disk with a solid hub.

 

yeah. for the year that i have owned the car i have had my moment of adrenaline and would punch it. i floor it through first with a pretty lame launch and then scratch through second only to immediately smell my clutch. after that the clutch petal would seem a little bit more loose than when i started the hard driving. like there wouldnt be the same amount of stiffness in the clutch pedal, somewhat by what i meant with the stripping of the clutch.
also does anyone else have trouble with a squeaking clutch pedal? mine squeaks in first with a standing start and when i put it into reverse from a stand as well, no other gears it does this on release... i can also feel this in the pedal as well.
i do plan a little bit of racing and would like to put in a lighter weight flywheel whenever i do change my clutch, thus keeping down the rev's... they just want to stay high forever!!! so maybe aftermarket i dont know.. haha
thanks for the advise

 

I have 57k on my car (2006) and my clutch still feels brand spanking new.

I drove the car hard for the first month or so when I had it (the car had 48k) and was amazed at how tight it was; it's still laughably easy to bark second gear. I'm impressed. I expect it to last at least 140-150k.

 

I have 76K on my 05 6mt and I beat the shit out of it. It has 6K supercharged miles on it and it slipps occasionally but not too often. Mostly into 3rd if it does but I do know that i have done all the wear and tear and that this clutch for OEM is pretty damn solid.

Edit: it started slipping after i put my Pnp Manifold on it around 58K and even with the SC its still holding up just about the same

 

I want a clutch....
to you all!

 

If you smell your clutch (that burning odor), it is slipping. The reason for your problems could be a failing clutch delay valve. Our cars have a small valve installed in the hydraulic system that protects the drive train from hard clutch engagements. This valve can sometimes fail or not do its job properly which can result in either slower engagement or incomplete engagement. Some people remove it to get the feeling of a "normal" clutch. You might want to consider doing this (search is your friend). This is what your problem sounds like to me.

A squeaking clutch pedal usually comes from the actuation rod which goes through the firewall from the top of the pedal. Spray some white lithium grease on this and your squeak should disappear.

 

If you got 20k out of a clutch I don't care how much city driving you do or how hard you drive it, you're doing something wrong.

Driving hard should put no wear on the clutch if you're driving with the clutch engaged. Slipping the clutch from 5,000 every time you want to accelerate might be another story.

 

dont hate cause you're not part of the elite TL manual group

 

Where can i find this valve that you're talking about.

 

If you ask you shall receive......https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-performance-parts-modifications-112/113-removal-slave-cylinder-check-valve-734300/

 

187k and original clutch finally gave out. I drive like a bat out of hell everyday. It started to slip about a month ago and finally got to the point that it won't even move anymore. I'm currently replacing the clutch. The transmission is a PITA to remove you gotta pull it up. I don't see a way of it fitting down since the frame is directly in the way.

 

You can drop the front subframe and take the trans out the bottom.

 

The subframe is removable? On mines it looks like a solid piece molded to the uniframe of the car. I'll give it a try. thanks for the heads up!

 

Yeah the service manual says to unbolt it and pull it down. I haven't done it myself but when I saw the TL I just bought at the dealer on the lift for synchros, the whole subframe with suspension was laying on a dolly.

 

I got you all beat...Gonna hit 200,000 miles on the car next week....All original!!!! No slipping what so ever. Look out for my 200k thread coming to a photo thread near you!

 

FYI for anyone else that's doing this. You DON'T need to drop the subframe, tranny, or lift it to change the clutch. There is enough space to move the tranny out of the way, the subframe craddles it in there while you swap the clutch and pressure plate. Installing it was pretty easy since it was never completely pulled out of the car. Clutch is like new now. Hopefully I won't need to do this again for another 187k.