ROAD TRIP GONE BAD!! My drive shaft fell off my Ridgeline!(i have pictures)

August 2,2009

I just wanted to share my experience with yall and i hope this doesn't happen to you. My dad and i left Houston to go on a road trip to Las Vegas. It was about 250 miles away, when we started to smell something like burning tires and so we slowed down (I-10west = 80mph speeding limit). All of a sudden we hear a loud *POP* and we immediately lost powers to the rear wheels. when we got out of the truck, we saw that the drive shaft was hanging on the floor. I took it to the nearest Honda, which is in Midland, Tx. I left it there for them to check my Ridgeline out, and they could not determine the reason for the drive shaft just breaking in half. Right now i am in the process of getting honda to cover all expenses for my truck to run again. To be totally honest, i still think about my accident because i NEVER thought something like this would happen to a HONDA PRODUCT. That is the main reason why i bought the Honda Ridgeline; It is suppose to be DEPENDABLE AND SAFE and now i don't feel as safe as i did in my own truck. If you can help and tell me if your truck has had any MAJOR issues similar to my Ridgeline please contact me. thank you for your help

NEEDED TO FIX MY CAR:
-New Transmission
-Catalytic converter shield
-new bolts and nuts
-Transmission case
(this is a list for now, there is no telling what might be wrong with it after they get it running)


http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp222/jonathanPeng/IMG00032.jpg

http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp222/jonathanPeng/IMG00031.jpg

http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp222/jonathanPeng/IMG00027.jpg
When the drive shaft ripped off from underneath the car, it tore open a hole in the transmission casing,
http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp222/jonathanPeng/IMG00026.jpg

http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp222/jonathanPeng/IMG00030.jpg

http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp222/jonathanPeng/IMG00025.jpg

wow, thats alot of carnage.


Ive never heard of anything like that.

Have you ever had anything down there taken apart that could cause something like this. Or have you ever had anyone touch anything under there that might have caused the problem?

wow, thats alot of carnage.


Ive never heard of anything like that.

Have you ever had anything down there taken apart that could cause something like this. Or have you ever had anyone touch anything under there that might have caused the problem?


I haven't had any problems like this before, and i don't let anyone touch my car besides the Honda dealership. I have a lifetime oil change at the dealership near my house. Every time i get an oil change there, They inspect my car for any problems. My truck is still In Midland, Tx awaiting to get fixed.

"we immediately lost powers to the rear wheels"

That is odd since at highway speeds you are basically in FWD, I would think you would just hear it dragging.

How many miles on the truck? You stated that at ~80mph, you felt a loss of power to the rear wheels... At that speed it's pretty much only FWD. In one picture the shaft looks bent, could y'all have hit something in the road? Had y'all been off roading lately?

"we immediately lost powers to the rear wheels"

That is odd since at highway speeds you are basically in FWD, I would think you would just hear it dragging.Wow, great insight. :rolleyes:

I've been around here a long time and I can't remember ever seeing anything like this. Don't let it sour your outlook on this truck or Honda products, although you have every right to feel that way. Good luck with the repair.

"we immediately lost powers to the rear wheels"

That is odd since at highway speeds you are basically in FWD, I would think you would just hear it dragging.

I talked to Honda and they said that the Ridgeline is a FWD vehicle with VTM-4. We heard a loud POP and we stopped immediately stopped to see what it happened. By that time i could not drive my vehicle due to immediate loss of transmission fluid.

How many miles on the truck? You stated that at ~80mph, you felt a loss of power to the rear wheels... At that speed it's pretty much only FWD. In one picture the shaft looks bent, could y'all have hit something in the road? Had y'all been off roading lately?

I have 87,500 miles on my Ridgeline. I might have hit something, but i highly doubt it. Honda checked out my car and said they could not determine what happened to cause this accident. The drive shaft is a part of the vehicle that's suppose to last for at least 200,000 miles, especially A HONDA product.

I have never took my truck off roading....YET. I hope that i can one day but right now i've been out of a vehicle to drive for over 2 1/2 weeks.

I've been around here a long time and I can't remember ever seeing anything like this. Don't let it sour your outlook on this truck or Honda products, although you have every right to feel that way. Good luck with the repair.

Thanks. I am in the process of getting Honda to set my mind at ease by taking care of this whole situation. I hope they will take care of all the repair bills, and other unnecessary expenses (Lodging and towing). I will report this to the better business bureau and other government agencies so people will know. I hope this accident will be the only "freak" accident that will occur with this truck.

When was the last time the transfer assembly fluid changed?

I wonder if it seized :confused:

I have 87,500 miles on my Ridgeline. I might have hit something,

I have never took my truck off roading....YET. I hope that i can one day but right now i've been out of a vehicle to drive for over 2 1/2 weeks.




You know youve never been off road but you cant say the same about ever hitting anything? Scary.

When was the last time the transfer assembly fluid changed?

I wonder if it seized :confused:

Before our road trip i made sure i changed the oil, oil filter, transmission fluid, and i bought new tires.

Hmmm... Did your tire store use a full lift or a floor jack? Is it possible that some yo-yo jacked your truck by putting a floor jack under the transmission instead of the proper lift spot?

Reason I ask is that I have developed the dreaded "body wrinkle" and am almost convinced it was how the "idot" at the tire store jacked my truck doing a rotation... No proof, though, just a suspicion. (I also noticed a rip in the plastic "skid plate" under the front as well, but again, no proof, because it took a few weeks for me to notice it.)

For future reference (& so I don't have to refer to my manual) :), where are the proper lift spots?
Dnick

For future reference (& so I don't have to refer to my manual) :), where are the proper lift spots?
Dnick

Here's (http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9823) a thread that discusses the jack points. There are 6, counting the two central jack points.

Before our road trip i made sure i changed the oil, oil filter, transmission fluid, and i bought new tires.

Still no transfer case gear oil or diff change?:eek:

Hmmm... Did your tire store use a full lift or a floor jack? Is it possible that some yo-yo jacked your truck by putting a floor jack under the transmission instead of the proper lift spot?

Reason I ask is that I have developed the dreaded "body wrinkle" and am almost convinced it was how the "idot" at the tire store jacked my truck doing a rotation... No proof, though, just a suspicion. (I also noticed a rip in the plastic "skid plate" under the front as well, but again, no proof, because it took a few weeks for me to notice it.)

I get my truck serviced at Honda so i don't believe someone jacked my truck up from underneath the transmission because they should know the proper way.

Still no transfer case gear oil or diff change?:eek:

Sorry i forgot to mention that. Yes i did change those too.

I get my truck serviced at Honda so i don't believe someone jacked my truck up from underneath the transmission because they should know the proper way.



Sorry i forgot to mention that. Yes i did change those too.


Did you watch them put the drain plugs back in?

Did they put in the proper amount of respective oils?

I noticed that the propeller shaft "broke" at the front u-joint. Where you doing any kind of slam shifts into drive from park or neutral before this happened?

Outside of owner abuse (sorry, but I have to mention it as a possibility), I can only see this as a freak accident.

Over in the CR-V world, some of the 1st gen CR-V's have well over 350k miles on them, and I can't recall seeing anyone having a problem like this on their 4WD models

Did you notice any vibration in your driveline in the weeks/months prior to this? The 4WD CR-Vs are starting to wear out their universal joints, and the only replacement is a new $800 propeller shaft, which are now pretty scarce. (people are substituting a u-joint from an ATV instead). So I'm curious if your front u-joint might have seized.

Chip H.

Be thankful it broke from the rear and not the front..if that happened the drive shaft may have dug into the pavement and flipped or rolled the truck and at 80 mph. you may have then be telling this from the hospital or someone else may be doing if for you. Again, feel fortunate. Sorry to hear about the damage either way.

Be thankful it broke from the rear and not the front..if that happened the drive shaft may have dug into the pavement and flipped or rolled the truck and at 80 mph. you may have then be telling this from the hospital or someone else may be doing if for you. Again, feel fortunate. Sorry to hear about the damage either way.

When looking at the photos the OP posted, you can see the propeller shaft broke off where it connects to the transfer assembly in the front.

I'm sorry for the OP's problems and don't mean anything bad, but it seems to me that if the drive shaft fell to the ground (the OP said "floor", ?) while the RL was in motion, the linkage should have been beat or scratched badly by the pavement. And there probably was a risk of pole-vaulting the Ridge. The metal strap that hangs down to catch a loose drive shaft looks like it was bent violently. Seems weird.

So, if the drive shaft is disconnected at the transfer case, but still connected to the rear assembly and the rear wheels are turning, does the drive shaft continue to turn?

When looking at the photos the OP posted, you can see the propeller shaft broke off where it connects to the transfer assembly in the front.

Thanks for pointing that out.. I guess I did not look at the pictures close enough.:o.. I just cannot believe the amount of damage and they were very lucky.

I'm sorry for the OP's problems and don't mean anything bad, but it seems to me that if the drive shaft fell to the ground (the OP said "floor", ?) while the RL was in motion, the linkage should have been beat or scratched badly by the pavement. And there probably was a risk of pole-vaulting the Ridge. The metal strap that hangs down to catch a loose drive shaft looks like it was bent violently. Seems weird.

So, if the drive shaft is disconnected at the transfer case, but still connected to the rear assembly and the rear wheels are turning, does the drive shaft continue to turn?
Mythbusters proved that a drive shaft cannot "pole vault the rear of a vehicle. THey even went to extremes (setting a block for the dragging driveshaft to hit) and had no luck. So sorry, only in movies does this happen.:p

It sounds like the VTM engaged the rear diff at speed. The force on the shaft from the rear diff probably would have sheared it at the farthest point from the force, since the transfer case would be moving at a different speed than the engaged VTM, thus the break at the transfer case. An electrical gremlin engaged the VTM?
I wonder if Honda will foot any of this bill, or charge the owner full price.

It sounds like the VTM engaged the rear diff at speed. The force on the shaft from the rear diff probably would have sheared it at the farthest point from the force, since the transfer case would be moving at a different speed than the engaged VTM, thus the break at the transfer case. An electrical gremlin engaged the VTM?
I wonder if Honda will foot any of this bill, or charge the owner full price.

...shearing at weakest point you mean.

I wonder why the safety strap didn't hold?

-:)

It sounds like the VTM engaged the rear diff at speed. The force on the shaft from the rear diff probably would have sheared it at the farthest point from the force, since the transfer case would be moving at a different speed than the engaged VTM, thus the break at the transfer case. An electrical gremlin engaged the VTM?
I wonder if Honda will foot any of this bill, or charge the owner full price.

The rear diff is made up of electronic clutches. I would like to believe that the clutches would fail before the propeller shaft.

Outside of owner abuse (sorry, but I have to mention it as a possibility), I can only see this as a freak accident.

Over in the CR-V world, some of the 1st gen CR-V's have well over 350k miles on them, and I can't recall seeing anyone having a problem like this on their 4WD models

Did you notice any vibration in your driveline in the weeks/months prior to this? The 4WD CR-Vs are starting to wear out their universal joints, and the only replacement is a new $800 propeller shaft, which are now pretty scarce. (people are substituting a u-joint from an ATV instead). So I'm curious if your front u-joint might have seized.

Chip H.

Sorry, but no it wasn't seized. When i told my uncle(a mechanic) that the drive shaft fell off, he thought it was the U-Joint because that's a common spot that breaks. Just like someone pointed out, it broke from within the transfer case.

Be thankful it broke from the rear and not the front..if that happened the drive shaft may have dug into the pavement and flipped or rolled the truck and at 80 mph. you may have then be telling this from the hospital or someone else may be doing if for you. Again, feel fortunate. Sorry to hear about the damage either way.

Broke from the rear?... it broke from the front of the vehicle. Luckily there wasn't any 18 wheelers or multiple vehicles behind us in both lanes because i did fear that the pipe would have dug in the ground and been injured or even killed due to defect in the Ridgeline.

It sounds like the VTM engaged the rear diff at speed. The force on the shaft from the rear diff probably would have sheared it at the farthest point from the force, since the transfer case would be moving at a different speed than the engaged VTM, thus the break at the transfer case. An electrical gremlin engaged the VTM?
I wonder if Honda will foot any of this bill, or charge the owner full price.

Even though my car is out of warranty, Honda did offer to pay a percentage of the bill, but I don't believe that is good enough. I intend to see this through 100% because this was a "freak" accident that was NOT suppose to happen. Honda is suppose to be reliable and safe. I felt neither. Unfortunately i will be out of a vehicle for 2 months or so due to this whole situation.

Mythbusters proved that a drive shaft cannot "pole vault the rear of a vehicle. THey even went to extremes (setting a block for the dragging driveshaft to hit) and had no luck. So sorry, only in movies does this happen.:p

Exactly.:rolleyes:

I'm sorry, maybe the wording "pole-vaulting" was a little too extreme. (The Mythbusters did vault their car 1-2 feet off the ground, though). But that's not my point; my curiosity was that the driveshaft does not show any scrapes or scratches from impacting the pavement. The op said the vehicle was moving, and I presume on the highway. But they also used the term "floor," as in "indoors" which would explain the lack of scratches. ...just a feeble attempt to wrap my brain around it, what we read and what we see in the pictures, that's all.

And I'm still curious whether the driveshaft was still spinning until the Ridge came to a stop.

The main point is that the Ridges are safe, and this is definitely a freak occurrance.

And I just happened to be changing my VTM-4 fluid today, so I'm paying a little more attention to it than I might on any other occasion...

And I just happened to be changing my VTM-4 fluid today, so I'm paying a little more attention to it than I might on any other occasion...I think something is missing from this story because this type of incident is unheard of.

Mythbusters proved that a drive shaft cannot "pole vault the rear of a vehicle. THey even went to extremes (setting a block for the dragging driveshaft to hit) and had no luck. So sorry, only in movies does this happen.:p

I like movies... :p

I'm sorry, maybe the wording "pole-vaulting" was a little too extreme. (The Mythbusters did vault their car 1-2 feet off the ground, though). But that's not my point; my curiosity was that the driveshaft does not show any scrapes or scratches from impacting the pavement. The op said the vehicle was moving, and I presume on the highway. But they also used the term "floor," as in "indoors" which would explain the lack of scratches. ...just a feeble attempt to wrap my brain around it, what we read and what we see in the pictures, that's all.

And I'm still curious whether the driveshaft was still spinning until the Ridge came to a stop.

The main point is that the Ridges are safe, and this is definitely a freak occurrance.

Pretty much floor is road, like we turn off a light, they close the light... that help you any?

It will be interesting if peng reports back any findings from Honda. It certainly looks like the sort of "catastrophic part failure" that would be of interest to at least the next level up from his local dealership.

Question: Would this be covered under drivetrain warranty, or would that have expired at 60K miles?

I am curious if there is more to the story here...

Believe me guys, I am just as confused as to why this happened to my Ridgeline. I love my truck and i like to keep everything in working order for years to come. I have all the receipts for everything I've done to my car from oil changes to buying new floor mats. lol


I stopped the car immediately after i heard the loud POP, and the drive shaft wasn't spinning when we looked underneath the car. We did, however, see something burning a bush on the side of the road. It was probably from my vehicle, Maybe a piece of the drive shaft that fell.

I've talked to a lot of friends, tow truck drivers, Honda Customer Service, mechanics and even the HONDA dealership said they could not believe this happened. Honda diagnosed the car and checked everything out, but they could not determine the cause of the accident. They said they didn't see any type of damages from something like a rock that might have hit it, but as you can tell by the pictures, it completely Messed(F***ed) up my truck.


Do you believe i have a case against Honda?

I noticed that the propeller shaft "broke" at the front u-joint. Where you doing any kind of slam shifts into drive from park or neutral before this happened?

I'd like to know the answer to this.

We did, however, see something burning a bush on the side of the road. <SNIP> Do you believe i have a case against Honda?

Hmmm... Burning bush... I think you may have experienced an act of God :) Or a roadside bomb, perhaps?

Seriously, it sounds like a weird random part failure. If you're out of warranty, I don't think you have a case. I think if Honda "investigated" it, they should have given you more results than "we don't know." You at least ought to know exactly which part failed. My bet is it was a bolt or something small that triggered it.

This is just a guess, but I bet that "pop" was the restraining strap snapping. At that point the driveshaft fell, and it might not have hit the ground until you were going much slower. Again, just a guess.

(A side note: I am reading a book about Apollo 11. It points out that even with NASA planning for 99.9% reliability of parts, that translated into an average of over 5,000 parts failures per flight. When I read that, I thought that it's kind of amazing that a vehicle like our trucks can go many many miles -- in your case 81K -- without a part failing. No way possible they're at 100% reliability, because after all, it's a machine. Just food for thought.)

Keep us posted, peng. Let us know if Honda helps you out any. Hopefully, you'll have your truck back running right soon, and this will be come one of those "war stories" you use to entertain friends. :)

It will be interesting if peng reports back any findings from Honda. It certainly looks like the sort of "catastrophic part failure" that would be of interest to at least the next level up from his local dealership.

Question: Would this be covered under drivetrain warranty, or would that have expired at 60K miles?

I am curious if there is more to the story here...

Yes, the drive train warranty is up to 60,000 miles

Unfortunately, My vehicle is out or power train warranty and the extended warranty. I have 87k miles on my Ridgeline. Even though it is out of warranty, Honda did offer to pay for most of the repairs, but i believe i shouldn't have to pay for anything because it was a "defective part." The Honda Technician could not determine what the cause of the accident; All they know is that the 1 1/2 inch thick metal piece that goes into the transmission shell casing just SNAPPED, which caused damage to the drive shaft. The highway speed (80mph) was also a factor.

my main concern is, How can Honda make me feel safe driving another "Honda" vehicle?

I'd like to know the answer to this.

Previous to the accident, i have never slammed shifted my truck from park to drive, drive to neutral, or anything of that sort. That sounds painful for my truck. lol

Yes, the drive train warranty is up to 60,000 miles

Unfortunately, My vehicle is out or power train warranty and the extended warranty. I have 87k miles on my Ridgeline. Even though it is out of warranty, Honda did offer to pay for most of the repairs, but i believe i shouldn't have to pay for anything because it was a "defective part." The Honda Technician could not determine what the cause of the accident; All they know is that the 1 1/2 inch thick metal piece that goes into the transmission shell casing just SNAPPED, which caused damage to the drive shaft. The highway speed (80mph) was also a factor.

my main concern is, How can Honda make me feel safe driving another "Honda" vehicle?

Take what Honda is offering! Your out of warranty period. If it was a defective part, it lasted 87k miles. Honda doesn't owe you anything.
Just my two cents.

You experienced a really strange failure.

If you are out of warranty and Honda can not determine the actual cause of failure, AND they are willing to cover MOST of the repair costs, I would jump at it.

As far as feeling safe in a Honda, you've had no other issues that you have made us aware of (Or need to for that matter). One failure in almost 90,000 miles is pretty good in my book.

my main concern is, How can Honda make me feel safe driving another "Honda" vehicle?

How? I'll tell you how. From what you claim and from what others have said here, no one that is even remotely involved with this truck has EVER heard of anything this bizarre and freak from happening. Some of these trucks including those loony Russians have had their trucks in pretty bizarre situations and this takes the cake. This is an unprecedented incident the likes of which has never been seen and likely never will be seen again. The sheer number of people qualified and casual saying they have never seen this on this truck should put your mind at ease. And if that still doesn't satisfy you go get another brand.

my main concern is, How can Honda make me feel safe driving another "Honda" vehicle?



golly I dont know...., I think you need to sell your Honda ASAP.

And if that still doesn't satisfy you go get another brand.

I don't think peng ever seriously suggested that he was unhappy enough with his Ridgeline to go over to the dark side. I think he stated that he was surprised that this happened on a Honda & it has rattled his confidence. In fact, he's come back in this thread and said pretty much the same thing.

Perhaps he did damage the part somehow "abusively," but I'm inclined to take him at face value & figure what he experienced was a true "freak" part failure. I am a bit interested by the fact that the dealership didn't advance it to the proverbial next level just so the engineers could look at the problem.

Like I posted previously, there's no way any manufacturing process can achieve 100.0% quality assurance. And even a 99.999% reliability level means that there's going to be 1 part failure in 100,000. It's always a pain when the failure happens to one of us, though!

Yes, the drive train warranty is up to 60,000 miles

Unfortunately, My vehicle is out or power train warranty and the extended warranty. I have 87k miles on my Ridgeline. Even though it is out of warranty, Honda did offer to pay for most of the repairs, but i believe i shouldn't have to pay for anything because it was a "defective part." The Honda Technician could not determine what the cause of the accident; All they know is that the 1 1/2 inch thick metal piece that goes into the transmission shell casing just SNAPPED, which caused damage to the drive shaft. The highway speed (80mph) was also a factor.

my main concern is, How can Honda make me feel safe driving another "Honda" vehicle? You're sh*tin' me, right? You want a manufacturer to repair your truck for free? a truck that is an additional 50% out of warranty? Defective parts are covered by the warranty, not for the life of the vehicle. :rolleyes: Had this happened at 59k miles, I would fully expect Honda to cover every penny.

Honda can't, nor should they try to make you feel safe. If these actions from Honda can't make you feel good about how they handle the extremely rare situations, nothing will. Sell the truck and jump from the Honda brand as soon as you get it fixed. If this occurred with a Big 3 truck, I'm sure Ford/Chevy/Dodge would better the "WELL out of warranty" deal Honda is giving you. They are good that way. :rolleyes: There are plenty of ex-big 3 owners around here that will tell you tales of getting their truck fixed while in warranty, let alone out of warranty.

And that, my friends, is the word.

Like I said, I'm just surprised Honda didn't give him more explanation than "we have no idea why this happened." Had they said, "Well, dude, it is a one in a million freak parts failure," I think that alone ought to make him feel safe about Honda products.

OTOH, if "feeling safe" means that he expects a company to repair something that breaks way out of warranty, he probably will feel safer with a Kia or Hyundai & a 100K bumper to bumper plan.

Agreed. Peng, if you do a search of "drive" or "shaft," on this site of 18,000 owner members, you'll get 10 pages of posts, not one of which mentions anything near this experience. I'm sure that was quite alarming when it happened, but there is nil chance you'll ever experience this freak situation again.

Maybe this is the reason peng had trouble. :confused:

42251

Seriously, I don't mean to make lite of your situation. It does suck when it's your truck that's out for the count.

Yes, the drive train warranty is up to 60,000 miles

Unfortunately, My vehicle is out or power train warranty and the extended warranty. I have 87k miles on my Ridgeline. Even though it is out of warranty, Honda did offer to pay for most of the repairs, but i believe i shouldn't have to pay for anything because it was a "defective part." The Honda Technician could not determine what the cause of the accident; All they know is that the 1 1/2 inch thick metal piece that goes into the transmission shell casing just SNAPPED, which caused damage to the drive shaft. The highway speed (80mph) was also a factor.

my main concern is, How can Honda make me feel safe driving another "Honda" vehicle?

Dude, take the offer. It's a good deal.

If you're still not feeling safe about the vehicle after it gets repaired, put it up for sale.

Chip H.

I know guys who build race engines and they have told me they will build an engine and it will run forever and then they will build another and the rod will break two days later. It just happens, why? who knows. It sounds to me like a 1 in a million freak failure, if they fix it, your chances of that happening again are minute. So, I would get it fixed and keep it. My .02.

I have had part failures in several other brands of vehicle and some manufacturers will say it is out of warranty-your paying for it. We owned a Nissan and had something go wrong (out of warranty) and they told me I had to pay for it. I called their customer service and complained and they took care of the bill and told me they wanted to keep me as a valued customer. Call Honda and try. But K757 has a point, it has gone this long without trouble and if they are paying for most, it might be a good deal.

Take what Honda is offering! Your out of warranty period. If it was a defective part, it lasted 87k miles. Honda doesn't owe you anything.
Just my two cents.

I have to agree, There is a warranty period. When its over its over.
Honda or any car maker does not need to repair a vehicle for life.

I cant believe they offered to do as much as they did. I would have
said if you want a vehicle still under a warranty you need to buy a
new one.

Holy batcave! That's scary man... I never had anything like that happen thank god, I'd be sooo scared! I am glad you guys are ok though :) HEY at least no one was hurt! :)