bluescreenofdeath

Hey everyone,
My 2006 TL 6-spd Base was purchased as a certified pre-owned through an Acura dealership, in 2009. I'm the second owner; first owner was a corporate lease to an attorney in Miami, it had 31,000 miles on it when I bought it with all Acura dealership maintenance records including oil changes.
Fast-forward to 2018, I'm still driving my 3G now with 130,000 miles on the clock, and with VERY little maintenance issues. I've done new suspension, and minor bolt-on mods, but it's pretty much stock. Complete timing belt, water pump and 105K service completed. I've replaced all engine mounts, replaced master and slave cylinders for the transmission (both failed this year). Clutch holds strong under load testing, but pedal feel has deteriorated and just doesn't feel right as of late. But with that said, here's everything still ORIGINAL and working with 12 years and 130,000 on the car:
Clutch
Handsfree Link/Bluetooth
Seat motors/window regulators/seat heaters
Radiator
Alternator
Starter
Catalytics/Exhaust
...I live in Florida so no worries about rust.

I've been told that I should cash in my chips now, since so little has gone wrong with the car, a lot of those things that have miraculously held out are bound to start going out, one after another, soon. Being out of warranty, some of these things are a worry, while others are not, but my question is,
How many other 3G's out there have also had this type of long-lived reliability on these commonly replaced parts, and how much longer could I feasibly go before seeing issues? I don't want to sell, but I'm not in a finance position to start re-building the car out of pocket. It'd be nice if I was, because I'd obviously just plan on replacing all these things soon and then get ANOTHER 100K out of the car without issues (hopefully). Just curious what everyone's opinion is on my experience....have I been extremely lucky up to this point, or do some of these cars really hold up with good care to 200K without having to replace all the common parts?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

yours like mine is still a baby. we have the exact same story. bought my 2006 6MT in 2010 from an off-lease with 31k miles...I'm the 2nd owner.
I blew my engine by shifting to the wrong gear....and installed another engine with 100k+ miles on it...the body only has 85k on it.
still going strong...i'm at 8 years and closing in on 9 in Feb of 2019.

replace the broken parts, like you have been doing and the car can easily reach another 10 years.
it's only when people start to neglect the cars is when problems start to compound...NEVER let it get to that point. always fix a broken component before it compounds into $3-5k worth of work.

I expect to have mine for another 10 years...

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

@bluescreenofdeath Another 2006 6MT checking in; there are examples of these cars up in the 300,000 mile range, so yours is barely broken in. I currently have 142,000 on my car and plan on keeping it until 300,000 rolls over on the odometer.

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

If it ain't broke, don't fix it... Keep taking care of the car as you have been and it will reciprocate that same care. Cars are all the same. Some are lemons and some are great, they all have maintenance so I wouldn't worry about it. It's going to need work eventually.

truonghthe

I don't know why people scare about repair cost on the 3g TL, by far its a cheapest car to maint I ever own. Obviously you never seen items on a Lexus broke down right?

on the other coin its up to your situation... IF you can wrench your own the TL isnt bad in term of repairs or DIY. IF you can't wrench your own OR needed reliable mean of transport (travel interstate ALOT) and you can afford the monthly payment then go ahead and get yourself a new ride.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

130K with no major problems is status-quo for most Honda vehicles. That's assuming there's no engineering defects. They've had their share of transmission issues for example, but that's not a longevity thing. That's just bad engineering.

There's not much of anything on a 3G 6-speed that's defective from the get-go. Mine went 160K miles with literally nothing going bad except the battery. And I never changed the timing belt or water pump at 105K like I should have (I'm not recommending someone do that though ) I'd be surprised if you couldn't get another 200K miles before something breaks that makes it more economical to junk the car than repair it. Probably the only thing you'll be looking at is a new clutch eventually.

My 4G has gone 170K miles with no problems other than the alternator. Well, and some problems I caused, but that's not the cars fault......

WDPanda

These cars are tanks. Minus the leaky power steering oil.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I never had the power steering fluid problem. I had the 3rd gear synchro issue but GM Synchromesh cleared that right up.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

my current issue; side mount is being held by one bolt. the other bolt's head was sheared off.
dreading the repair, because I suck at repairs and dont feel like extracting the bolt. lol
tap center of bolt to start a indent, then use a drill with a extracting bit....however, everything that CAN go wrong..will go wrong...this is why they call me JustonJacks

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I removed that mount on my 3G as another weight savings measure. Which was stupid . The sucker weighs about two lbs. though. Just sayin.....

I did not remove it on my 4G...….

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

im using the XLR8 mounts, but when the bolt head sheared off (presumably from my driving, hardcore shifting, abuse, abuse,abuse!) I checked the polyurethane or whatever type of material the rubber part is made of and it's going bad...again presumably from my abusive driving.
a friend gave me a free stock side mount....I just need to extract the broken bolt. please dont get stuck in there.

optical24

I am the second owner to my 06' TL. It has 270,000 KM and still going strong. Mostly everything is original such as the engine, engine mounts, transmission (5sp auto), exhaust, suspension, etc...The only problems I had with the TL was the alternator, starter, and the VSS. Right now, the front lower control arm bushing will need to get replaced. Overall, this car is a tank.

bigbadboss101

270,000k, good! I am in Calgary and tempted to buy one, 05-08. Couple Typs S with 250,000km. About $7,500 asking for those and one with 200k for $9g Canadian. Might check out the non S too as there are a few on Kijiji. Will ask for full maintenance records.

giraffe

iTrader: (1)

I feel like mine is one of the few that is always having an issue. Less than a month ago I was on the side of a highway because the throttle position sensor went and the car wouldn't move. 2nd time just this year that it has had to be towed. Somehow my axle broke in January. I think it was because I was struggling to get up a snowy hill and the one wheel caught traction and snapped the axle, but I feel like they shouldn't break that easily. Both front ball joints have been replaced in the past year as well. Only have 86k on it. I will say though, most of the time it is just small minor issues that can be fixed easily.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Axles snap, fact of life. Granted it doesn't happen all that often, but the older the axle, the higher the likelihood of it happening. The fact is, even the newest 3G TLs are now ten years old, and things will break, also a fact of life. From my perspective, the 3G TLs (other than the 2004-2006 automatic transmissions) are some of the most reliable "old" cars on the road, and the cost of replacing things which wear out and/or break is far less than what it would be to maintain a payment on a new car.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

driving is tough on the suspension....and it takes a beating, rightfully so.