Piston Slap: Drive It Like You Lease It. Then Don't.
Anthony writes:
I currently own a 2006 Acura TSX, 6-speed manual, with 32,000 miles. I’m also leasing a 2008 Mazda Miata for 2-years. I’m giving the Miata back in September of this year and it’s way under milage. I have two questions about my TSX:
1) Because of the mileage, I want to drive the leased Miata as much as possible. How little can I drive the Acura without it becoming detrimental to the car’s health? Is there anything I should be doing when I am driving it? Currently I drive it about 1 day every 2 weeks and make sure the A/C compressor is on.
2) How similar is the 6-speed transmission in the TSX to the 6-speed unit in the Civic Si. I’ve heard that’s a problematic transmission and that you should not skip-shift it. I’ve had no problems with the TSX’s transmission thus far. Your thoughts?
Sajeev Answers:
Combining the two questions into one (completely illogical) inference, I believe you need to rev and shift the living daylights out of your Miata to it all out of your system before the fragile transaxle in your TSX is your only mode of transport. That said, let’s answer your questions. Seriously this time.
Question 1: so the lease on the Miata runs out in about six months. You could easily put the TSX under a cover, let it sleep the entire period and have no problems after your final goodbye at the Mazda dealer. While I would continue your current TSX exercise regiment, extend the intervals to every 2 months. It’s nice to have the luxury of time to listen for trouble spots that might creep up after the Miata’s gone. Then again, I expect nothing will go wrong, especially if you garage it.
Question 2: Google is most inconclusive; hopefully the Best and Brightest can help. The trouble prone unit is used in the Accord and Civic, so it’s probably used in the TSX. If you haven’t joined a TSX owner’s forum yet, you really, really should. One universal truth: everyone treats manual transmissions differently, and most wrong-wheel drive transaxles start losing their integrity when people get stupid.
But I think you are fine. If you are a gear jammer at heart, find a car with a beefier driveline…something with a T-56 transmission for your right hand fits the bill nicely. And don’t lease it, either.
(Send your queries to mehta@ttac.com)
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As per Toyondai92, GM Synchromesh is the answer to everything. Most of the horror stories I've heard regarding the six speed are due to idiots accidentally skip-shifting while down-shifting and and breaking something. Honda's six speeds have very narrow and tight gates (or it might just be me...) and it's easy to miss a gear if you're pushing too fast. Drive it gently and it should last forever.