If you own a 2008 Honda Ridgeline with the last six digits of the VIN ending between 519807 and 520571 sold before today (November 20, 2007) you will receive a telephone call regarding a safety recall of the hood prop rod slipping from the grommet hole.

The problem really only affects about 20 vehicles that have been sold, and is caused by a incorrectly stamped grommet hole.

If your vehicle has the problem a support bracket will be installed free of charge.

The Honda TSB number for this campaign is 07-083.

If you have a vehicle in the VIN range and want a copy of the complete TSB information please send and email request to me with "TSB 07-083" in the subject line. My address is joe@ridgelineownersclub.com

This recall is only for a very few 2008 Ridgelines.

Text of letter sent to Service Managers today:

"November 20, 2007

Dear Service Manager:

Honda Motor Co., Ltd, Inc., is announcing a safety recall campaign on a limited number of 2008
Ridgelines. On affected vehicles, the hole for the hood support rod grommet was stamped slightly
outside of specification. A mis-stamped grommet hole does not provide enough material to hold the
weight of the hood support rod when the hood is being held by the rod. This could cause the grommet
and the support rod to come out of the body, resulting in the hood falling down.

Repair Strategy
The repair is to measure the location of the hood support rod grommet hole from the edge of the front
bulkhead. If the measurement is out of specification, a support rod bracket must be installed on the
front bulkhead. Most vehicles within the affected VIN range only require an inspection of the grommet
hole. For inspection, repair, warranty, and VIN information, refer to Service Bulletin 07-083, Safety
Recall: Hood Support Rod Slips From Its Grommet Hole.

Some vehicles affected by this campaign may be in your new vehicle inventory. These vehicles must
be inspected before they are sold or leased. To see if a vehicle is affected by this campaign, do a VIN
status inquiry.


Customer Notification
Only about 20 vehicles requiring inspection have been sold. The rest are in transit to dealers or are in
dealer inventory. All owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by telephone the week of November
19, 2007. These owners will be asked to return their vehicle to the selling dealer to have the hood
support rod grommet hole inspected.

Parts Information
Nationwide, less than 30 vehicles require the installation of a support rod bracket. If an inspection of the
grommet hole finds you with one of these vehicles, call (800) 880-1072 to order a Support Rod Bracket
Kit.

Sincerely,

American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Honda Automobile Division"

If you purchased a 2008 Ridgeline on or after November 21, 2007 and your VIN falls in the range of the safety recall you can easily check to make sure your vehicle was inspected or repair prior to your purchase.

Locate the engine compartment VIN tag. The first character of your VIN should be a "2". Upon inspection or completion of this safety recall the service technician should place a center punch mark above the "2". Example below.

.
2HJYK1XXXXXXXXXXX

Man, I'll bet the guy who's sole purpose of employment is to punch a hole in a piece of steel is feeling pretty stupid right now...

NEWMAN!

Maybe Honda should contact Fig and ask him how to build a proper hood support system.....:rolleyes: :D

Thanks Joe. Sounds like Fig might have hit the jackpot... ;)

Bought mine the end of November, will not take delivery until Dec. 26. So, there it sits at the Honda Dealer, here I sit wondering what the VIN is on my purchased but not delivered Honda. Recall possibility and I don't even have possession yet!

Bought mine the end of November, will not take delivery until Dec. 26. So, there it sits at the Honda Dealer, here I sit wondering what the VIN is on my purchased but not delivered Honda. Recall possibility and I don't even have possession yet!

Don't sweat the small stuff, a grmoet is all that is needed to fix it. Just remeber to use this check list before accepting your new truck:

Link: http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376&highlight=checklist

Checklist put together and provided by fellow member vertrkr:

CHECK LIST ITEMS:


Items to Bring:

1. Music CD.

2. 12v power outlet accessory.

3. Tire (http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376&highlight=checklist#) guage.

4. Flashlight if buying at night.

5. iPod or alike if buying Nav model.


Issues Reported by Owners
(most of these issues are resolved by now but good to check none the less)

1. Wind noise - starts at 40mph coming from the windshield. Most likely upper molding. Any RL with a VIN # ending with 16000 or higher should have this fixed.

2. Steering Wheel creaky - apply forward pressure to the wheel and make sure it doesn't creak.

3. Key remotes - test each of the two keys to make sure both are programmed. Test the lock/unlock buttons. You should also get a 3rd valet key.

4. Kinked windshield washer hose - check to make sure they squirt.

5. Water leaking into interior, passenger seat or rear seats, check under seat and floor mats, drive (http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376&highlight=checklist#) in puddles if possible.


General Outside:

1. Don't buy the Honda (http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376&highlight=checklist#) Care warranty from the dealer. You can PM 'christn' in this forum and get it for $25 over cost. Currently $1075 for the 7/0/100 plan. See the "Honda Care Warranty Pricing" thread for more details.

2. Bring a tire guage, make sure tires are at 32psi when cold (3 hours after driven). If warm add a few pounds then re-check when cold.

3. Open/close all 4 doors, check rubber seal/strip for tears or alike.

4. Open tail gate both ways, down and sideways. When open sideways the exterial bed lights should come on.

5. Check in bed Trunk locks with key remote. Unlock and open. There should be a drain plug in the front left corner on the bottom.

6. Check spare tire tray, both wingnuts secure. Also make sure the jack is there on top of the spare and secure. Spare should be at 60psi.

7. Check both mirrors fold in and back.

8. Turn on headlights, check low & hi beams, parking lights, license plate lights, turn signals, brake lights, reverse lights.

9. Check moldings around all windows for big gaps, tears or other problems.

10. Check body/panels for fit, dents, scratches.


Engine:

1. Pop the hood and make a general visual inspection everything looks right.

2. Check fluid levels - Coolant, Power Steering, Brake, Oil, Transmission. For Transmission the engine needs to be hot, normal operating temp. Check tranny dipstick right after shutting engine off. For oil the engine should be off 5-10 minutes before checking.

3. Check belt tension - should deflect a little bit pushed, I don't know the exact spec but just make sure it's not overy loose about to fall off or too tight with no deflection at all.

4. Start engine and look under hood again, listen for any strange noises.

5. Test drive truck for a few miles, go on freeway if possible. Listen and feel for any strange noises or vibrations. It should be a very quite & smooth drive.

6. After the test drive let it sit for a bit then check underneath to make sure there are no leaks from the engine oil, transmission, coolant system and rear differential.


General Inside:

1. Check both rear seats to make sure they flip up and stick. Needs a little push to make them stick. Fold down and then lower center back armrest/cup holder tray.

2. Check all 5 headrests for smooth operation up and down. To lower you need to push the button/slide tab near it's base.

3. Should be 3 rubber floor mats, 2 in front and 1 in the rear.

4. Power seat - check all motions work and lumbar too. Check passenger seat manual operations.

5. Apply parking brake and release.

6. Check switch operation for all windows, sunroof, both mirrors & heater, door & window lock. (Note key must be in ignition in the ON II position.)

7. Check all 3 power outlets, 2 in front and 1 in rear. (Note key must be in ignition in the Accessory I position.)

8. Turn on radio, check AM, FM, XM, put a CD in make sure it plays. (Note key must be in ignition in the Accessory I position.)

9. Seat Heater - check both, takes about a minute before you'll feel heat. (Note key must be in ignition in the Accessory I position.)

10. Check climate control fuctions. Make sure you get Hot & Cold air.

11. Center console - Armrest should slide back and forth and also lift up to reveal coin holder. Slide center console forward, in the tray should be two plastic dividers you can slide up and out to different positions.

12. Open glove box, should drop down slowy, not free falling.

13. Honk the horn.

14. Nav equipped models - hit the map button make sure the map is displayed and the location is correct.

15. Check voice recognition, hit the speak button on the steering wheel and say "what time is it", should say the time after a few seconds.


Items Delivered with Truck:

1. Two keys, One valet key (3 total)

2. Owner's Manual.

3. Honda Service History booklet.

4. Quick Start Guide.

5. Warranties booklet

6. Sticker (monroney label)

7. Michelin tire warranty

8. Continental spare tire warranty

9. Radio Anti-Theft code & Navi code card (if equipped)

10. Navigation System manual (if equipped)

11. XM radio channel guide (if equipped)
__________________________________________________ ______________

Be sure to come back to ROC and check for updates and post your experience:
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com (http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/)

Excellent work. I really appreciate it. ;)

If you purchased a 2008 Ridgeline on or after November 21, 2007 and your VIN falls in the range of the safety recall you can easily check to make sure your vehicle was inspected or repair prior to your purchase.

Locate the engine compartment VIN tag. The first character of your VIN should be a "2". Upon inspection or completion of this safety recall the service technician should place a center punch mark above the "2". Example below.

.
2HJYK1XXXXXXXXXXX

So where do we get the "range of the safety recall"? Mine shows a manufacturing date of 12/07... but I'd like to check anyway.

Thanks

So where do we get the "range of the safety recall"? Mine shows a manufacturing date of 12/07... but I'd like to check anyway.

Thanks

If the last six digits of your VIN fall between 519807 and 520571 you're part of the recall.

If the last six digits of your VIN fall between 519807 and 520571 you're part of the recall.

Thanks! Apparently Dec 07 was well beyond... I'm at 527...

hondas silly recalls...... whats next :p

This is the one problem that I've found on my Ridge, and mine was delivered to the dealer just 1 day before I bought it in April. My VIN is well beyond the range. It was delivered without the grommet that holds the rod seated in the hole. I managed to get it seated fairly easily, but now the white plastic end of the rod does not line up with the square holes in the hood - it's twisted about 30 degrees.