After 13K miles--the good and the bad

[drager]

Hi All,

I just joined and just would like to share my experience with the Ridgeline.

Overall, I am very satisfied. I went from an Acura CL (which got me hooked on Honda) to the Ridgeline, which I bought last May. I've put a little over 13,000 miles on her, and for the most part, she's been solid. Quick summary of the good and the bad from my experience (Thankfully, there's no "ugly" to report).

THE GOOD: Great ride. I felt every bump in the CL. I still have a good feel for the road in the Ridgeline, but the suspension does a great job of dampening the bumps. The seats are very comfortable. The CL seats were doing a job on my back--the Ridgeline seats are firm, but still very comfortable. I drive about 33 miles to and from work every day in her, and I am grateful for the seats every single day. I like the look of the dash. clean lines, not flashy. Storage options are great. I still have not had to use the bed yet mainly because I have not needed it yet (i'm sure I will eventually). The in-bed trunk and the rear folding seats afford me enough space. For a truck, acceleration is good, but I am very impressed with the handling. I can take a turn almost as well as I could in the CL without any wheel hop-does a great job of hugging the road. Have not gone off-road yet, so I can't report on her handling off the pavement, but winter just started, and I'm waiting for the first snow storm so i can see how she handles in the snow-really want to try the locking rear diff.
Front visibility is very good. Heat and A/C is very good. Safety. I live in Mass. For those you from here, you know our drivers. For those of you not from here-watch "the Road Warrior" you'll get the idea. I wanted a truck because of safety issues, and Honda has always been known for safe vehicles. Shortly after purchasing her, I had heard that the the Ridgeline received the 1st 5 star rating for front and side impacts, which only reinforced my belief that I made a wise decision. In the CL, I felt like I could be crushed at any minute by a Ford or Dodge full-size, now I have peace of mind, and that in and of itself is worth it. Now tail-gaters are not nearly as intimidating. OK, now for......

THE BAD: The mileage. I do about 90% highway (mostly to and from work). When I first purchased the Ridgeline I was getting a little under 20 MPG. This was acceptable for me. In the last 1-2 months, my MPG has dropped to about 18 MPG, and I can't figure out why. My driving habits have not changed, and this is probably my biggest gripe so far. I figured it would be the opposite that mileage would be worse during the break-in period, but not for me. I've been tracking my mileage since I bought her by using the trip odometer so I know that mileage has dropped. Kind of surprised that there is no display for MPG average like other vehicles. Blind spots. I have to turn around when getting on the higway to double-check. When I was just using the mirrors, I've come close to getting into accidents. Honda should consider larger side view mirrors perhaps? Heated seats-the driver's seat heater is inconsistent. Sometimes it heats up right away (on high), but for the most part, it takes 10 minutes on a cold day for them to work-much too long. The CL had heated seats too, and they warmed up much more quickly. Rear bumper/fascia. Backed into a sign post at a gas station (my fault) doing about 5 MPH. Put a nice hole in the rear bumper. Hoping I can get it bonded--too scared to see what the dealer would charge for replacing the whole thing. Would like to see bumper guards, or some sort of removable full-length bumper guard to prevent having to replace the entire rear bumper fascia. I've noticed recently that when turning on the ignition in the morning, I get an almost screeching noise. nothing too scary, but enough to make me wonder what's going on under the hood? Went to the dealer for an oil-change and they said I should bring it in so they can plug in the diagnostics tool--I guess that will be the next step. Other minor gripes--cabin noise, slow LCD display response in cold weather (before warming up). Finally, nearly every time I get into her, I have to put on the defrost because the windshield fogs up, and I'm not sure why? This was more noticeable during warmer weather but still have to do it nearly every time. My only thought is that Honda did too good a job of insulating the ridgeline and that a lack of outside air flow into the cabin causes the fogging? The lack of noise from the engine and traffic makes me think this is a possible cause. I also noticed that I can get back into the truck in cold weather after a period of time, and its still warm. Again, I am just thinking it must be very well insulated, but could this cause the fogging issue?

OVERALL: I am still very pleased with the Ridgeline despite some minor issues. The good still outweighs the bad, and still no ugly to report. My main concern is the dropping MPG. Hoping the dealer will resolve the other issues. I test drove the Titan (which was nice too), but I'm a sucker for Honda reliability and would very much like to keep the truck for as long as possible. If anyone else has had some of the issues that I listed above and you've figured it out, would you mind letting a fellow Ridgeline owner know what you did to solve it? Thanks in advance.

[Truckin']

Overall, a very good report. If you do a search you will find lots of info on gas mpg. Ours has dropped too, down to about 16 mpg. Trade ya. . . Of course we'd like to see that up higher. It doesn't bother us as much as it seems to bother you. I guess that's from driving full size Fords that only got about 12 mpg.

The window fogging issue has been discussed too. We don't have what you describe but it seems others have. We've only had to defrost on very cold days when it would be expected in any vehicle.

The seat heater is something I would take back to the dealer. We feel heat in both seats within the first minute and it's very warm by five minutes.

Thanks for this comprehensive post. We'd like to hear more from you.

[Webwader]

When I first purchased the Ridgeline I was getting a little under 20 MPG. This was acceptable for me. In the last 1-2 months, my MPG has dropped to about 18 MPG, and I can't figure out why.

Hi Drager, welcome to the ROC. The drop in the gas mileage in the last couple of months is probably primarily due to the fact that you are now running on winter blend fuel that has ethanol with results in lower mpg. Something you have to live with until summer blends come back again. In any case you are getting better mileage than a lot of us are. Glad to hear that good outweighs the bad for you.

[LadyRidge]

Welcome to the ROC family drager..and thank you for such a detailed and informative post.
I am sure if you search through the threads of valuable input in this forum, you may find more suggestions like Webwader's as to why your mpg has dropped.
Again, welcome and we're glad you're here.

[drager]

Truckin,

Thanks for the welcome, and you're absolutely right. I know mileage for trucks is not that great--just kills me that some owners are getting the 20-22MPG on the highway. As for the fogging, I had her through the summer, and it seemed worse during the warmer months than during the colder months. Even now, all I have to do is breathe on the windshield and it fogs. I'm still thinking that Honda did too good a job of insulating the Ridgeline and that there's not enough outside air flow coming in--but that's just my guess.
As for the seat heater, yeah, that's the next step--I'm hoping the diagnostics tool will find something--maybe I have an electrical issue. But I am still very happy with her, and still want to keep her for a long time. I had the acura for 8 years, and would like to keep the Ridgeline even longer. Have you had her off-road yet?

[drager]

Originally Posted by Webwader

Hi Drager, welcome to the ROC. The drop in the gas mileage in the last couple of months is probably primarily due to the fact that you are now running on winter blend fuel that has ethanol with results in lower mpg. Something you have to live with until summer blends come back again. In any case you are getting better mileage than a lot of us are. Glad to hear that good outweighs the bad for you.

Webwader,

Thanks for the info--never thought of that one. I love the Ridgeline so I have no problem waiting for the summer months to see if you're right. I drive 60 miles each way for work and I keep an eye on the MPG, but since the good does outweigh the bad, I'll wait it out.

[drager]

Originally Posted by LadyRidge

Welcome to the ROC family drager..and thank you for such a detailed and informative post.
I am sure if you search through the threads of valuable input in this forum, you may find more suggestions like Webwader's as to why your mpg has dropped.
Again, welcome and we're glad you're here.

Hello Ladyridge,

And thank you for the welcome. I've already found quite a few Ridgeline owners that seem to have similar experiences through this forum and am grateful to be here, and yes, Webwader does have a point. I am hoping that Honda will address these issues. I normally would not buy 1st year production from any other company (and I work in aftermarket parts sales), but I felt very confident buying the 1st year Ridgeline. I think when you love you're truck, you tend to notice the details more. Thanks again for the welcome and I'm glad to be here.

[Truckin']

Originally Posted by drager

Have you had her off-road yet?

Yes, we put several hundred miles of dirt roads on her this summer. However, we are being very selective about our offroading. Our rock climbing days are behind us.

The Ridgeline handles a good dirt road with the best of them. It's an enjoyable ride. There's no way I'm giving up exploring the dirt roads. That would be silly, here in the west where we have thousands of miles of good forest service and BLM roads to explore. We are simply making sure we don't get into some of the places that would get us in trouble. There are roads we took in our Trooper that we will probably never visit again.

[Zemog]

Welcome to the group, Drager. Thanks for the great report on your experiences with the Ridgeline.

[kdogofjtown]

Nice review - I was having trouble with the milage as well - started to drop. Read several posts on this site and decided to check the tire pressures- front tires were at 40 psi and back were at 29 psi. Corrected them to 32 all around and milage has gone up from 16 mpg to current 19 even with winter driving. May want to check your tire pressures as well - I was amazed how much of a difference this made for me.