Thinking about buying this '09, have questions though

[rollinhonda]

Originally Posted by Rockwood

Carfax is only as good as the data it's given. The lack of data does not prove that the work was not done.
I'd buy the R and use the $20k savings to finish my man cave.


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Very true, CARFAX is most useful for tracking ownership and to see if vehicle was salvaged.
I would not rely on it for maintenance records. A Honda dealer would be able to tell you what was done by a Honda dealer and recorded in the system.
Otherwise, owner records are the best bet.
If in doubt, a full fluid changeout is a good investment.

[Car Compulsive]

I strongly considered a new F150 Lariat or King Ranch, but found too many quality issues (body items, clunky tranny, and unknown Ecoboost reliability). I would certainly avoid a used Ecoboost as gas turbos of any brand tend to be sensitive to driver abuse and timely maintenance. I considered the Tundra to be the superior full-size pickup. Ultimate, the flexible cargo handling of the Ridge, garageable size, MPGs, and Honda reputation for reliability made up for the smaller bed size of the Ridge.

I am planning to keep this truck for 10+ years (LOL given my past history), so I had no issue in opting for new v. used Ridge so I can be sure of the service history.

[ateupwithgolf]

Originally Posted by mtb

It doesn't look like the important MM were done : VTM-4; ATF & Transfer Fluid... Should have been drained and refilled by now (several times for the VTM-4.)
None is indicted on the CarFax, other than Oil+Filter/ Car wash and "Checked"?

Could you clarify what you mean by MM? Also, what does a complete fluid exchange typically cost if I were to take it to a Honda dealer?

I won't be doing it myself, so I was wondering if I were to negotiate the dealer doing the work, or if not, how much to knock off on the price to get this maintenance done? Great info, guys thanks.

[ateupwithgolf]

Originally Posted by speedlever

One thing, if it's a Canadian built 09, that might be more attractive since they moved the production mid-year in 2009 from Canada to Alabama.

Ditto what's said above about service. Brake fluid is due now. Wouldn't hurt to to the power steering too. So a complete fluid and filter change would be suggested so you'll know where you are maintenance-wise. And multiple (3x or 4x) tranny drain and fills to convert from Z1 to DW-1 tranny fluid (the new replacement for Z1).

Not very mechanically inclined, so forgive.

So I need to ask for new brake fluid, steering fluid, transmission fluid, and ?
Then what filters need to be replaced?
I then should ask for dw-1 transmission fluid?

Where's the best resource I can find to see if this is a good price for this vehicle? KBB? Thanks!

[tpevehouse]

To be honest, you'll be paying through the nose at the dealer for all this. If you get out with a $600 bill i'd be impressed.

Brakes - This is a matter of debate on the forum. I used a bottle of synthetic dot 4 fluid on my last change. Some people prescribe to the honda fluid (which the manual recomends). The change is easy. I didn't even have to take the wheels off when I did it. Just jacked the truck up slightly. Took about 30 minutes.

Trans - If you do it yourself and switch over to DW-1 you'll need a case of Honda fluid.

$75 at amazon is what I paid, round it up to 90 for shipping.

$75 at amazon is what I paid, round it up to 90 for shipping.

The change takes about 2-3 hours and all of that is drain time where you can do the other fluids in the mean time.

Transfer - $5 worth of gear oil from any auto parts store and you're good to go. Takes about 15 minutes including drain time.

Diff - this is probably the biggest pain to change. You'll need a gallon of

VTM-4

VTM-4

fluid. You'll also need a gallon pump like

THIS.

THIS.

you can buy those at walmart for like 4 dollars. The VTM-4 fluid has to be kept clean so the pump needs to be dedicated to that one job, forever. All in all it only take about 40-60 minutes to change, including drain time.

Power Steering - With 30K miles and almost 4 years on my truck i'm afraid to admit that I have not change my PS fluid yet... Typically when the PS fluid is changed the resivior is changed also since the filter can become clogged easy. I think that it is like $15 for the tank and like $6-7 dollars for a bottle of fluid (x3 right guys?).

All in all you're looking at like $150(ish) for fluids to set a baseline. Compare that to what I can only imagine as $6-700 at a dealer. It might not be that bad at a dealer where you live though. I do all my own maintenance so I kind of just pulled that out of thin air. All the fluids are EASY to change and like I said take a weekend morning even if you have never done them before. There are how to threads all over this forum with pictures and step by step instructions.

"MM" means "Maintenance Minder" the trucks computer has a set integrated maintenance schedule and it tells you when something is needed.

[speedlever]

MM stands for the Maintenance Minder. A full fluid and filter change out at the dealer will likely hit your wallet in the $500-$600 range. DIY will be around $125 for the fluids and filters. It will probably be more expensive having the transmission fluid changed over to DW-1 unless the seller has a device to change all the fluid at once. Avoid any kind of transmission fluid flush. It is not approved for Honda.

The filters are the cabin filter and the engine air filter.

Use all Honda fluids except for engine oil (5w-20 that meets the requirement) and transfer assembly (80w-90 hypoid gear oil) which are not special.

Your location may have much to do with used vehicle prices. It's hard to say. Look at autotrader.com for vehicles in your year and mileage to get an idea of the asking prices.

[Ian Brantford]

Originally Posted by ateupwithgolf

I won't be doing it myself, so I was wondering if I were to negotiate the dealer doing the work, or if not, how much to knock off on the price to get this maintenance done? Great info, guys thanks.

I know that you don't want to do things yourself and a Honda dealer will be expensive, but please don't let the seller do mechanical work. They might not even know to avoid "flushing" the transmission due to possible filter damage. Whoever does the work needs to know the specifics of this vehicle, even though it's not rocket science.

[ateupwithgolf]

Originally Posted by Ian Brantford

I know that you don't want to do things yourself and a Honda dealer will be expensive, but please don't let the seller do mechanical work. They might not even know to avoid "flushing" the transmission due to possible filter damage. Whoever does the work needs to know the specifics of this vehicle, even though it's not rocket science.

Just spoke to the dealer, here is what he told me regarding the vehicle and the lack of maintenance records.

" In order for things like oil changes, cabin air filters and transmission flushes to show up on the carfax the previous owner would have to have brought the vehicle to a carfax certified dealer. A lot of dealers around town still are not registered under carfax. Every vehicle we get in goes through a multi point inspection. Everything that you have mentioned in your chat is on the check sheet. If it needed to be replaced it was."

What do you think?

[northernlights]

Use your gut feeling if it looks like it was well taken care of make the call. Just buy it and drive it. The RL aint no different than anything else. Good God better make sure they do the lean idle thing to.

[Bethard728]

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the service history in 51,000 miles. I know that the tranny and VTM fluids are recommended earlier than that, but I don't think any significant damage could be done if nothing was changed at that mileage. I realize this is my own stupidity, but I had no idea that any of the fluids were recommended that soon and I went over 70k before I did the first tranny, transfer, and VTM fluid change. Since then I change it every 35k. I currently have 155 and everything seems fine.