two issues :(

[genuino]

Hey everybody, this is my first post in this section as I never had a problem with my RTL.
1.- I was feeling a light shimmy so took it to the dealer to re-balance, fine for 3 days (weird) and the shimmy came back. Took it a second time and the tech told me the two back tires were changed. Went home and didn't noticed any shimmy. The next day the shimmy was there , made another appointment and this time time changed the front tires. As soon as I got on the highway, the shimmy was there. Went back the next day and they sent me to Butler Tires for high speed balance. Everything was fine until I got on the highway, the shimmy is there!, not sure what to do other than to request a Regional Engineer (or whatever they call him) to look at my truck. Anyone with an idea what could it be?
2.- Transmission is almost slipping at times, going downhill it shifts down and stay there for long time and the only way to get it to shift up is to take my foot off the gas momentarily but when pressed again it hesitate and engages with a little jerk and sometimes a light knock on the floor. Also doing over 55 or so, if you take the foot off the gas pedal when someone is slowing down in front of you and press again, most of the times it hesitates and you can feel the clunk on the transmission or floor, transmission is not functioning properly and of course the dealer told me a BS story about the drive by wire technology to convince me that it was to Honda specs, that there is not an issue with it.
Sorry for the long post, but I want to hear what you guys have to say before trading my RTL in, eyeing the MDX or the new VW Tiguan.

[mdwalls]

Can't help you with the shimmy, but the trans will and is supposed to down shift the way you described.

[Humble Pie]

Originally Posted by genuino

Hey everybody, this is my first post in this section as I never had a problem with my RTL.
1.- I was feeling a light shimmy so took it to the dealer to re-balance, fine for 3 days (weird) and the shimmy came back. Took it a second time and the tech told me the two back tires were changed. Went home and didn't noticed any shimmy. The next day the shimmy was there , made another appointment and this time time changed the front tires. As soon as I got on the highway, the shimmy was there. Went back the next day and they sent me to Butler Tires for high speed balance. Everything was fine until I got on the highway, the shimmy is there!, not sure what to do other than to request a Regional Engineer (or whatever they call him) to look at my truck. Anyone with an idea what could it be?
2.- Transmission is almost slipping at times, going downhill it shifts down and stay there for long time and the only way to get it to shift up is to take my foot off the gas momentarily but when pressed again it hesitate and engages with a little jerk and sometimes a light knock on the floor. Also doing over 55 or so, if you take the foot off the gas pedal when someone is slowing down in front of you and press again, most of the times it hesitates and you can feel the clunk on the transmission or floor, transmission is not functioning properly and of course the dealer told me a BS story about the drive by wire technology to convince me that it was to Honda specs, that there is not an issue with it.
Sorry for the long post, but I want to hear what you guys have to say before trading my RTL in, eyeing the MDX or the new VW Tiguan.

On the shimmy issue, check the sidewalls real closely for possible bubbles....beads could have been damaged if you changed the wheels.....if you have not changed the wheels from the factory, test on a different road / route....there are sections of road near me that I can feel through the truck, but it is the road , not the truck.....not saying that's the cause......just trying to help....

[HondaTech]

Any shimmy and vibration is almost certainly due to tire/wheel combination. Either there is a problem with one of them or they are not balanced properly.

As for the trans, it is supposed to downshift at specific times and in certain conditions. Basically, if there is no flashing "D" light or a check engine light, it is operating normally.


HT

[genuino]

Thanks for posting guys, somehow I was afraid about the transmission issue because my next door neighbor pointed out something that makes sense. I drove stick my whole life and he said the weird shifting I feel is that I tend to lift my foot off of the accelerator when I feel that the engine is about to shift, making it behave the way is was not meant, meaning that the grade logic (if I remember correctly) gets confused as to what to do. On my way to the airport to drop my niece on her way back to Italy, I paid attention to the way I handled the accelerator and I must say there was a big difference, just pressed the pedal and let the tranny do its work. Sorry If I sounded a little bit off before, it sounds funny but maybe I need to learn to drive automatic transmissions .
The slight shimmy will be looked at tomorrow again by Buttler Tires and rebalance to make sure.
Thanks guys, .....I still love my Ridgeline tho.

[r-squared]

Reminds me of a scene from "My Cousin Vinny", but being that the problem seems to clear up and then get worse again - is it possible you're driving through mud or something that is attaching itself to your rim and taking it out of balance?

You'd probably have thought of that...just trying to think of reasons it gets better than worse.

[JGRTX]

Sounds like Roush-Fenway lug nuts to me

I remember having an issue once and I swore it was tire related. It turned out to be drive shaft vibration (sloppy U's). Then again, it was a POS Ford.

[Smokin Ace]

Originally Posted by JGRTX

Sounds like Roush-Fenway lug nuts to me

I remember having an issue once and I swore it was tire related. It turned out to be drive shaft vibration (sloppy U's). Then again, it was a POS Ford.

Same thing here but it was a POS Chevy Camero.

I have a quick question as well. When I back out of my garage and put the truck in drive I rool maybe 10 feet then I hear a little tump in the front. Is this normal?

[shovelhd]

It's normal. Search for ABS Check.

[Smokin Ace]

Thanks for the help. :-)