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Honda Ridgeline SUT

14850525354

Comments

  • gearhead1gearhead1 Member Posts: 408
    Since Edmunds experience with the struts, I've been concerned about light off road durability. I just read the account of a RL owner on another forum about how he got stuck in the mud at a boy scouts event.

    yep, there's alot of BS on the net, and you can add that story to the list. I've been in mud and deep sand with the Ridgeline with no problem. I assure you that's a BS story.

    My wife's partner also subjects her RL to rutted washbaord dirt roads on a daily basis and her struts are just fine.
  • geo9geo9 Member Posts: 735
    All the posts on failed strut issues at ridglineownersclub
    are all LIES too huh?????????????????????? :cry:
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    I suspect those failures were all early production models, as I haven't heard of any recently. Regardless, those affected were a tiny percentage of vehicles. It's water over the dam.

    Bob
  • mrjjgittesmrjjgittes Member Posts: 156
    Complimentary, in a back-handed kind of way. Karl says most owners will never need true ruggedness, and thus should not have strut issues. But earlier in his post he stressed how non-offroadish the dirt road was that caused the Edmunds' vehicle strut failure. I don't think dirt roads are partcularly beyond how many/most people will use their Ridgelines. I am disappointed that Honda has (apparently) not formally investigated the Edmunds incident and issued a response for inclusion in an update. A 3 out of 4 strut failure during testing by the biggest on-line auto site ought to be addressed. I can't imagine Edmunds being unwilling to post whatever Honda would have to say.
  • jerrywimerjerrywimer Member Posts: 588
    Or rather, under the bridge, right? But we won't go there, or at least Ridgeline owners probably shouldn't. :P

    Just kidding, before anyone has a stroke! :D
  • gd113gd113 Member Posts: 114
    I thought he left. Same line from 6 months ago. Talk about beating it to death. I'm a member of the ROC and I think one person posted something about struts. Even if there were a few out of the 51k vehicles sold so what?. For someone who hates the Ridgeline he spends alot of time at the ROC.
  • gearhead1gearhead1 Member Posts: 408
    I can't imagine Edmunds being unwilling to post whatever Honda would have to say.

    This is what a Honda insider had to say, and from my personal experience with the Ridgeline, I believe him. It's sad when people are so proud they can't fess up top what they did.

    Given the road they drove on, it is widely know this is a severe surface and road that must be treated with respect. They also failed to mention they failed two tires in this run due to the sharp shale on the surface. Due to the ride damping qualities of the Ridgeline, I suspect the vehicle was driven very fast over this surface at a high ambient temperature. Based on the description, the seals failed in the struts as well as the dust shield. The temperature extreme that was required to trigger this failure is so severe, there must have been an extreme input (temps greater than 300F).

    I doubt that a Tacoma could be driven controllably on that surface at the same speed/duration as the R-L. With the live rear axle, there would be so much axle hop it would be impossible to replicate the speed that is possible in a Ridgeline. During a recent trip an acquaintance made on that same road on a rental SV, they experienced 2 flat tires that had to be replaced and saw numerous other vehicles broken down along the route. Edmund’s conveniently left out the detailed facts describing the route.
  • mrjjgittesmrjjgittes Member Posts: 156
    Wow, that sounds like one vicious dirt road.
  • varmintvarmint Member Posts: 6,326
    Conditions will change from one trip to another. A good rain will create deep ruts and holes which were nothing more than a bump the day before. The amount of traffic on unimproved roads will also change their character. Without footage proving something about the skills of the driver or the conditions on that day, we cannot discount the story Mr. Brauer is telling.

    The only thing I would say is that 50 miles at 20 mph is a fairly long trip on a bumpy road. If the driver was forced to slow below 20 mph for specific rough patches, it is entirely possible he learned the need for slowing down after experiencing a few good hits.
  • gearhead1gearhead1 Member Posts: 408
    The only thing I would say is that 50 miles at 20 mph is a fairly long trip on a bumpy road.

    It was 100 miles, 50 miles each way. If anybody has driven on a rutted washboard surface for even 10 miles at 20 mph, they know it's not only a long trip, it's an eternity.

    The fact is I find even myself (having bought my truck) being impatient and going faster than any vehicle should on these kinds of surfaces, however; I'm not concerned about strut failure, but developing a squeak or rattle in the dash. 100 miles would be torture to drive that slow, and I doubt the driver would be that patient to take it slow when the vehicle will do 40 mph or more on this surface.
  • varmintvarmint Member Posts: 6,326
    It is possible that the smooth ride of the Ridgeline gave the driver a false sense of confidence. But that is purely speculation on our part. Which is why I say we have to go with the description as it was given to us.

    My BIL owns a Ridgeline and we'll end up wheeling it on a beach and maybe the trails at Paragon. That's probably a whole lot more than most other drivers will do. We'll see how it goes.
  • gearhead1gearhead1 Member Posts: 408
    My BIL owns a Ridgeline and we'll end up wheeling it on a beach and maybe the trails at Paragon. That's probably a whole lot more than most other drivers will do. We'll see how it goes.

    I've had the RL in deep sand without even needing to air down the tires with no problem, but there are many different kinds of sand, so you have some different options in the RL.

    -air down the tires to 15 psi

    The problem with this is that when the tires are down this low you can not turn off the VSA for safety reasons. You can turn off the VSA by simply removing the VSA fuse. If you do this, you should have a good sand machine.

    Like I said, I have never even needed to air down, but it's good to know if you need to.

    I know your pretty informed, so you might have already known that.
  • geo9geo9 Member Posts: 735
    Some of you have GOTTA take off the blinders !
    A simple search at ROC with the term "struts" will
    suprise you. Several threads both new and old with
    strut issues so its not limited to "first year jitters". Not to mention posts from owners of a ridgeline and
    another honda vehicle with strut issues.........

    I wonder if a few models use the SAME struts ?
  • gd113gd113 Member Posts: 114
    Yes please educate us, a Caddy and GM owner. I think it's flattering to all of us that you spend so much time monitoring the various Ridge websites for us. Actual owners don't know what they are talking about. Everyone take off you blinders now. Struts are failing all over the place ahhhh... :confuse:
  • geo9geo9 Member Posts: 735
    I also have a old Triumph, Ford, GTO and a Z-28.
    I know about problematic vehicles !!!!!!!
    I read about MANY vehicles. The ridgelines problems
    are well known and posted on several threads.......

    One of my customers has a new 'ridge and is having
    water leak issues. The dealer has been stroking him.
    Hes quite unhappy as the nearest honda dealer is 40
    miles away!
    I am sure he is over at ROC at this moment.................
  • gearhead1gearhead1 Member Posts: 408
    I did a search on struts at ROC before I responded to you the first time Geo. You know how many failures came up? One, and that was ages ago. If it was a recurring problem there would be a TSB issued and there isn't.

    You've got a job? That must mean your some sort of adult. That's kind of sad. I thought you were a kid. you should go back to pickuptruck.com and lick boots over there.
  • gd113gd113 Member Posts: 114
    Fine. I guess I don't understand your repetitive posts on this. Are your comments an attempt to pursuade someone interested in the Ridgeline not to buy? You can't possibly think that. If there is someone out there actually listening and taking action based on his comments please let us know.
  • geo9geo9 Member Posts: 735
    C'mon now !!!!!!! There are SEVERAL threads over at
    ROC on strut failures and replacement.
    Denile is not only a river !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Should I bring all them to the top for ya or just post
    links from here? Maybe a little cut and paste?
    Check out the ridgelinesut forum also for more.....

    JOB??????? Nah....i don't have a "job". I am the BOSS
    and OWN my own businesses. i have LOTS of time!
  • geo9geo9 Member Posts: 735
    Judging from what I have read on this forum, I believe Honda has been sold w a lot of defective shocks. Someone's Quality Control failed as well. There has been quiet a few posts about shocks failing for no reason, on both old and newer trucks. If you do a search for "struts", "weird noise" "bumps" etc. you'll find most of them. I have not had this failure. I bought mine in March......... :cry:
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    As in our court system, Honda is innocent until proven guilty. You're the one on a "mission" here, and you're the one making all the strut accusations, so why don't you do all the work, and post the alleged links?

    If you're make accusations—prove them.

    Bob
  • mrjjgittesmrjjgittes Member Posts: 156
    I think it has GREAT features (safety, trunk, big on the inside, not huge on the outside....) and would generally fit my daily lifestyle better than a typical pickup. However, the Edmunds experience gives me pause because 2-3 times a year I would be taking the RL to a friend's house in Baja, that is 40 miles down a washboard dirt road. (We use an f-150 now, and don't exactly go slow, w/ no suspension problems.) Thus, I would be encountering the exact circumstances that caused the Edmunds RL to fail. I do not want to end up at the dealer with a year old vehicle having to do a back and forth over whether they will replace struts under warranty, or whether I "abused" it. I guess the bottom line for me is that struts should not be failing on a new truck, absent some other damage to the undercariage indicating it was launched in the air, or dropped into a deep hole etc. This is why I haven't bought yet, and am hoping for either comment from Honda, or an upgrade to the '07.
  • maple2maple2 Member Posts: 177
    you dont need to look hard you can find it right here it happened on the edmunds test drive but oh yeah you dont believe them either so obviously they are lying then right how dare anybody who has a problem with any japanese veichle post it for anybody else to see everybody know hondas are flawless right. but if my friends uncles brother's chevy puked out 3 struts you would take that as gospel. open your eyes it happens im not saying that its happening all over but for you to try and deny that nobody ever has or ever will have an ounce of trouble in their ridge is plain ridiculous
  • geo9geo9 Member Posts: 735
    Check out post #2543 for names of 2 ridge forums where
    ANYONE can plainly see those strut problems from REAL
    'ridge owners.............

    Not to mention the Edmunds long term test vehicle....
  • aspesisteveaspesisteve Member Posts: 833
    assuming a strut breaks in the first 3 years or 36k miles of operation, it's covered under the warranty right?

    so what's the big deal?
  • danielacostadanielacosta Member Posts: 132
    A lot of misrepresentations both ways in this thread. I checked ROC and found that the quotes from the "Honda Insider" are from someone known to be very pro-Honda, which is fine, but if you read the rest of the story you will see that his quotes are an exaggeration. In particular, he implies two tires were blown by Edmunds on their test, when in fact they were replaced sometime later by the dealer; i.e., there were no tire failures on this road, just strut failures.

    On the other hand, a search for "strut" in the ROC forums doesn't reveal a lot of strut failures as another poster implied. A lot of cases of wind noise and water leaks, which is well documented on many forums on the early Ridgelines, but I didn't see a lot on struts.

    I have always valued Edmunds' reviews along with those of many other sites and magazines. If they say they blew 3 of 4 struts and were not abusive, I believe them. However, I don't see a lot of evidence from other sites/magazines about RL strut failure, so it doesn't seem to be as big a problem as the wind noise and water leaks were. Similarly, one of the struts on my new Civic lost a seal in pure street driving, but I'm not overly concerned about it.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Bingo! :)

    Bob
  • gd113gd113 Member Posts: 114
    However, I don't see a lot of evidence from other sites/magazines about RL strut failure, so it doesn't seem to be as big a problem as the wind noise and water leaks were.

    That's right. The water leak was a much bigger problem. I had it on mine and it was fixed and I will be happy to complain to anyone about it. To keep going off on this strut issue is a waste of time, its the least of the Ridgelines problems. I did the search on the ROC I don't see all the strut posts that are alleged. I don't think that the strut complainer is going to change anyones mind here.
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    Welcome to the RSHOLLAND Memorial Silverado Recall discussion forum.

    I'll be the first to ask Bob the Silverado guru a question.

    Bob, for campaign 05V055000, how much time will it take a technician to complete the repair?
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    However, I don't see a lot of evidence from other sites/magazines about RL strut failure, so it doesn't seem to be as big a problem as the wind noise and water leaks were.

    I don't see a lot of evidence that the RL does anything other than commute and make trips to Home Depot.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Bob, for campaign 05V055000, how much time will it take a technician to complete the repair?

    I have no idea, but whatever time it takes, it's time away from doing normal preventative maintenance and repair.

    I will say this, at least all the recalls are keeping more mechanics employed.

    Bob
  • gd113gd113 Member Posts: 114
    I don't see a lot of evidence that the RL does anything other than commute and make trips to Home Depot.

    Uh, so what? Is having a truck a a macho/poseur showdown? I use mine to commute and occasionally haul stuff. What do I care what someone else thinks. Go buy a Ram v8 with 10k towing, 8mpg, I'm sure everyone will be in awe of you. :sick:
  • geo9geo9 Member Posts: 735
    Here a few links to the BIG 53,000 units sold and some of
    the strut issues post on just ONE other site..........
    That river of DENILE is deep, wide and murky !
    http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5845&highlight=struts- - -
    http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5845&highlight=struts- - -
    http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5202&highlight=struts- - -
    http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3023&highlight=struts- - -
    http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2578&highlight=clunk
    http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3268&highlight=struts-

    There is just a FEW from a simple search at ROC........

    And sure the Silverado has quite a few recalls and prob.
    TONS of TSBs. But ya figure the GMT-800 trucks have sold
    OVER 8 MILLION or so !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Not a PALTRY 53k ! :cry:
  • gearhead1gearhead1 Member Posts: 408
    Nice work Geo, out of 3,000+ Ridgeline owners, you uncovered a clunk, rattle and one strut that was replaced. I'll alert the media.
  • gd113gd113 Member Posts: 114
    Wow. The strut issue is huge. You were right. 2 posts are the same and 1 refers to Edmunds test. Recall all Hondas.

    OVER 8 MILLION or so !!!!!!!!!!!!!! angry owners.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    That's the best you can come up with Geo? If I were you I'd worry more about the next upcoming Silverado recall, which I'm sure is just around the corner, and less about the Ridgeline.

    Bob
  • geo9geo9 Member Posts: 735
    Its funny .............If you folks in DENILE have read
    the WHOLE thread/posts from ROC on the strut issues
    you SHOULD plainly note comments from other 'ridge
    owners to new 'ridge owners that have strut issues.............

    But I suppose there are NO water leak issues either eh?

    Strut failures have also been noticed in articles/forums
    at Car & Driver and Motor Trend. A simple on line search
    for "ridgeline struts" will do the trick !!!!!!!!

    But you folks already KNEW that ! :cry:
  • gearhead1gearhead1 Member Posts: 408
    You know, I'm just uncovering parts suppliers with that search request.

    No one is saying is saying that some early Ridgelines (or 05 Tacomas) for that matter didn't have a leak issue or some wind noise. Those are the only 2 legit issues that you could bring up that would be valid Geo, but Honda has addressed those so what would be the point.

    It's simple Geo, if there were a strut issue, there would at least be a TSB on it and there isn't.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    DENILE? The correct spelling is DENIAL.

    Nobody here is is in denial. Unlike you, we all just have put things into perspective. When we see a strut recall or a TSB, then we'll take it more seriously. So as of now, the strut issue is more of an anomaly than anything else.

    Bob
  • gd113gd113 Member Posts: 114
    I'm in DENILE. Time for Mr Chuckle to give it up. Go to those sights and search. All I get are posting categories. Nothing takes me right a strut issue. They must be buried in the board if they are there. If there are so many others with strut issues why don't they chime in and post right here. Calling those with strut failures, please post. I hear crickets.
  • splatsterhoundsplatsterhound Member Posts: 149
    Don't know about the ridgeline, but my good friend's mdx had his front struts break recently. Same underbody, right? He also lost his transmission in sand.
    He does drive his MDX hard, and he actually takes it off road, but it seems much too soft to handle the abuse. Don't throw too much hate my way...
  • 5553543255535432 Member Posts: 150
    Guys, I think I need to help Geo's trying too hard cause to discredit the Ridgeline.

    Geo is their anyway I can help your mudslingin crusade against the Ridgeline? It just seems so unfair that legit owners here are gangin on you coz we can't find anything wrong with our rides while it seems you have uncovered tons of em.I could break a strut or two just to help your cause and give you a tad bit of credibility. Just say please.

    By the way how did you got the screen name geo, did you get that from that GM crap with a loaner Toyota engine the Geo Metro? :confuse: No offense meant, just curious.
  • Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
    ....it's time to rein in the insinuations, accusations, and generally uncivil remarks. I haven't been in the Ridgeline P&S topic for awhile, but it seems that may be the best place to talk about the possible strut issue that some feel is so rampant. OR, you can create a discussion specifically for that topic in the Honda Ridgeline group. This way only those interested can choose to participate.

    Thanks for your cooperation.
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    ANYHOO...A simple search on honda struts mentions the
    struts are made by MacPherson (spelling police?) and
    other honda models are having strut problems also.


    MacPherson is a suspension design not a strut manufacturer.
  • gd113gd113 Member Posts: 114
    For those who were "confused" and thought that Ridgeline sales were dropping like a stone here are the numbers. As published by PRNewswire today March sales have just been reported:

    5,344 vs 3,875 up 38% over last year.
  • ramzey28ramzey28 Member Posts: 130
    1) How much soft sand has someone gone in without issues, did you air done, did it bog down, etc?
    2) Whom has had issues and with what problem for a build date after Jan 06.?
    3) Has anyone done minor off roading but with some rocks and such (mud) that has had issues with ground clearance.?

    Not looking for a serious off road truck but do want some security that it can handle it if I take it on the Beach or down some trails/mountains?

    Thanks!
  • danielacostadanielacosta Member Posts: 132
    If you're not a hard-core off-roader, you'll do fine in the Ridgeline. If you need more ground clearance than it offers, or if you ride the frame rails, look elsewhere.
  • maple2maple2 Member Posts: 177
    If your basicaly lookin for something to go to home depot to pick up a new bbq or something it should be ok or mabe play in a little puddle after it rains it should handle that too but if your lookin for a truck keep lookin
  • gearhead1gearhead1 Member Posts: 408
    If your basicaly lookin for something to go to home depot to pick up a new bbq or something it should be ok or mabe play in a little puddle after it rains it should handle that too but if your lookin for a truck keep lookin

    Yes, if you need to go pick up a half ton babecue, or you need to tow 5,000 lbs of hamburger patties in a trailor to your barbecue, the Ridgeline will work just fine. If the barbecue is located at ranch where you have to negotiate deep sand BLM trails, the Ridgeline will also perform just fine.

    Nice try.
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