can anyone tell me why i lose all throttle response when i go over very small bumps, such as speed bumps. The dealer told me to turn off the vsa because must be fooling the computer? I have a 2006 ridgeline.

I don't know why it does that, but I turn off the VSA when going over speed bumps and it does help. Just remember to turn it on again when you're done with the speed bumps.

If you accelerate over a speed bump, the tires are temporarily in the air and the truck senses this and throttles back in an effort to keep wheels from spinning. VSA does what it is supposed to do. Why do you accelerate over a speed bump? Most people I know slow down, hence the term "speed bump."

I have had this happen to myself once or twice as well, and I never even considered the tire being in the air momentarily. I knew that it was the VSA causing the reaction, but I did not think about it!! Now that I do think about it, I was cruising through the parking lot a little faster than normal when it happened!!!!!! :D

Another lesson learned on the Ridge BOard!!!!!!

Maybe not in the air, but definitely unloaded weight distribution-wise.

If you accelerate over a speed bump, the tires are temporarily in the air and the truck senses this and throttles back in an effort to keep wheels from spinning. VSA does what it is supposed to do. Why do you accelerate over a speed bump? Most people I know slow down, hence the term "speed bump."


I do slow down, almost to a stop. But but still have this prob.

can anyone tell me why i lose all throttle response when i go over very small bumps, such as speed bumps. The dealer told me to turn off the vsa because must be fooling the computer? I have a 2006 ridgeline.

i have had this happen to me also.I approach speed bumps slowly and it doesnt happen all the time, but when it does i lose all response from the accelarator pedal.if i continue to press the dead pedal to the floor when the throttle re-engages the truck lunges forward at what ever speed it would have been at had i not lost all throttle response.I was also told this could be eliminated by turning off the vsa.i guess my biggest concern is if this is in fact a design feature and i am pulling out into traffic and hit a bump and forget to turn off the vsa on my 4wd vehicle i will have entered oncoming traffic with out being able to move.this doesnt seem to make any sense to me.i am scheduled to go back to the dealer on monday but after reading the post here im not so sure anymore.i just dont understand why this would be a desired design.i am not spinning the wheels nor am i jumping the speed bumps.should i disengage the vsa every time i use the 4wd or see a bump?

I have also experienced the same thing over the speed bumps, never thought to hit the VSA button - thanks for the info everyone - I'll try that next time

No, in my opinion you should not disengage VSA in this condition.
VSA under normal operating conditions will constantly monitor all wheels and take appropriate action when one or more of the wheels are slipping. The action the VSA takes varies depending on the application. The VSA could brake the wheel or cut throttle or increase torque, depending on what is going on at the time. At least this is what I have observed it doing under many "rube goldberg" tests I do, and they agree with the write ups Gary and others have done. So, lets look at what happens when you go over a speed bump...
First, you slow down and are probably applying the brake or coasting. When the tire hits the bump, it could momentarily go airborne (milliseconds) or at the very least be in an unloaded condition. If you are not applying the throttle, or if you wait until the tire clears the bump, you should notice no change. If, however, you apply the throttle when your tires are going up or at the top of the bump, you could engage the VSA for a split second. When this happens, you then could get the condition described in your original post. I only disengage my VSA on the beach or in really slick enviroments and only then when I am going slow. For example, I don't disengage it going down the interstate when it is snowing, but I do disengage it going up a really steep muddy or icy secondary road. After a while, I got the "feel" for how my truck reacts. In my old 4WD truck, I could pull out on loose gravel and spin like crazy until I got up to speed. I expected that so I was never suprised and I made sure I had enough room before the next car came to allow for the time it took to come up to speed. Now with my RL, When I pull onto a road off of gravel, I know my I won't spin much (VSA ON) but the VSA could engage and it might take a little longer to come up to speed. So, two different trucks, different operation but the same approach. Hope this helps.
I still would like Honda to automatically disable VSA under a certain wheel RPM, oh, say 5 rpm. THis would help in my opinion.

thanks everyone i am new to this site and to forums all together so please excuse me if i am making a mistake here but i am interested in the last response.Am I understanding correctly a complete loss of throttle response is acceptable maybe even expected.when the throttle re-engages wouldnt this actually spin the heck out of the wheels in slippery conditions?I hate to seem so thick headed and maybe i have just become over sensitive to this when it happens but the truck goes from dead throttle to lunging forward.
thanks again for all the info.

when the throttle re-engages wouldnt this actually spin the heck out of the wheels in slippery conditions?No, not correct. The VSA would detect the wheel spin and reduce the throttle automatically to keep the wheels from spinning. That's (part of) what VSA does.

thanks so here is where i become confused when i go over the speed bump and lose all throttle response including when the front wheels are compmetley over the speed bump.i continue to press the then dead throttle pedal down and when the throttle re-engages the truck shoots forward as if it just remebered where the throttle should have been all along.

never experienced this in 33,000 miles.

time to get your RL into the shop...

I notice a hesitation when I go though a yeild turn.

I let off the accel when I approach the turn. I have about a 2 sec delay before accelleration after touching the gas. If I am more aggressive witht he accel it seems to not be as noticable (except for suddent accelleration).

This is consistant at ~ 5 mph and ~ 25 mph

I notice a hesitation when I go though a yeild turn.

I let off the accel when I approach the turn. I have about a 2 sec delay before accelleration after touching the gas. If I am more aggressive witht he accel it seems to not be as noticable (except for suddent accelleration).

This is consistant at ~ 5 mph and ~ 25 mph

I believe the throttle reduction is proportional to wheel spin.
I have no clue on the post by bconr above.

thanks so here is where i become confused when i go over the speed bump and lose all throttle response including when the front wheels are compmetley over the speed bump.i continue to press the then dead throttle pedal down and when the throttle re-engages the truck shoots forward as if it just remebered where the throttle should have been all along.
If I were you I would try to re-create this condition and see exactly what happens...what speed, were you accelerating, etc. You might have a problem your shop needs to address. Let us know.

I have another trip to the dealer/shop scheduled for monday. Hopefully I will be able to re-create the problem with diagnostic equipment in the vehicle.Unfortunately this will be my 3rd trip trying to recreate the problem and of course it never happens at the dealer.But I will let everyone know if i have any luck.I saw an ealier posting dated several months ago and the owner stated the dead throttle happend in his truck while a tech was driving it.Does any one thats been on the board for any length of time know if he ever recieved a fix or explanation?
I wouldnt mind so much if it was a slow accelaration its the completley on then off function of the gas pedal i am experiencing that concerns me.
When i have managed to recreate the situation it has been as follows.I approach a speed bump basically coasting around 5 to 10 mph ii brake for it and let the truck basically coast over the bump and then when i try to accelarate the gas pedal is dead and if i keep pressing it it seems to turn back on and the truck takes off. i wish i could do a better job of explaining this.I really feel like it could be dangerous.

I don't own a Ridge yet (soon), and I'm still reading up on this particular system. I do have a understanding of the VSA in my RWD car.

When the front wheels are going over a large speed bump they will end up going slightly faster than the rear wheels, because they have farther to go (following a curve vs straight line). If this system is very sensitive it may "think" the speed difference between the front and rear wheels is wheel slip. That is the only thing I can think that is unique to speed bumps.

Don't have clue, just a theory.

I don't own a Ridge yet (soon), and I'm still reading up on this particular system. I do have a understanding of the VSA in my RWD car.

When the front wheels are going over a large speed bump they will end up going slightly faster than the rear wheels, because they have farther to go (following a curve vs straight line). If this system is very sensitive it may "think" the speed difference between the front and rear wheels is wheel slip. That is the only thing I can think that is unique to speed bumps.

Don't have clue, just a theory.

That is a very good theory, IMO. I don't go fast over speed bumps, or accelerate over them either, just brake and coast, then accelerate past it. I also have the hesitation if I don't turn off the VSA, but I know it's going to happen, so I don't stay on the pedal. Although now I just turn it off for the speed bumps and no problem.

I see how people might think it could be hazardous in other very rare situations. I think the system might be just a little too sensitive and agree with the post about automatically disabling VSA under 5-10 mph, or a certain RPM, while still being able to somehow account for slipping tires if that's possible.

If this hesitation thing is happening a lot, then you need to have your ridge in the shop. They need to look at the VSA and check it's settings...this should not be something that happens often...rarely, sure...but not often.

As for the Yield...just adjust your speed. This is very common in Honda's...the car is stuck trying to decide what gear to go into because of the speed you are at, thus the hesitation and why it always happens in Right turns and not left turns. Just a confused gear hunting computer.

Perhaps if you begin concentrating when going over speedbumps you can make this stop. I've tried it two ways in my RL and have a working theory. Most drivers begin to accelerate off the speedbumps as soon as the rear wheels hit. As someone pointed out, the VSA will interpret one set of wheels on the speedbump as wheel spin, and momentarily take over the accelerator.

When I try this, I get exactly that response, a lag. When I let the rear wheels come off the speedbump then accelerate I get normal response. Most drivers don't really notice that they do this because the rear wheels don't translate the bump as readily to the driver.

I also have to question why you are pushing the accelerator to the floor when you get lag. If you push it as far as you normally would, and get no response then normal reaction should be to let off and figure out what's going on, or in this case since you know what's going on then keep it where it is until the VSA gives you back control.

Turning off the VSA is not a good idea under almost any circumstance as it significantly reduces the chances of losing control of the vehicle. If you understand how the system works, and work with it instead of against it you'll have alot less problems, and alot safer ride.

Im sorry, I dont know how to include just the paragraph from shadow2079 I am responding to, but to answer your question...I was under the impression the vsa would limit the throttle response, not kill the throttle response completely, and then if needed re-engage the throttle slowly to prevent spinning the tires.Maybe Im wrong about all of this.But since the throttle was not responding at all I was curious as to just what would happen if I tried to use the then dead throttle pedal.The results being, i can push it to the floor or anywhere in between and when it re-engages there is nothing gradual about it.The throttle responds to where ever the pedal is at that time.I didnt get to take the truck back yet and frankly at this point Im not going to bother.After reading all the post concerning this issue I am just going to live with it.Maybe the owners manual should include a paragraph about honda's 4wd vehicle, its vsa system and speed bumps.I guess You live and learn and all of you have been very helpful with this.And I have also noticed you are corrcet if i wait for all four wheels to clear the bump it seems to be only a minor delay.I sure hope I dont encounter any bumps pulling into traffic.
Should I ever encounter 4wd off road tpye conditions I sure hope there arent any speed bumps(said tongue in cheek) Hey overall I like the truck just a little surprised by a bump causing the condition Ive encountered.I really agree with an earlier post. I think it would be a great idea if honda could automatically disable the vsa at slower speeds or rpms or design to to respond a little quicker. Thanks again to everyone for all your help.
I'll keep reading and learning

To help out with your fears of pulling into traffic and hitting a bump, I believe the throttle response should only lag if both of either the front or rear wheels are perceived by the VSA to be spinning. If one wheel were to hit a pot hole for example I think its less likely that the system would see that as wheel spin, and if it did, its more likely to brake that individual wheel, not decrease throttle response. I'm not an expert on these things, but I have owned several Honda's with the VSA system and this seems to be the norm.

Thanks again for the information.Im sure like most new things it just takes some getting used to.