[silkiechicken]

I have taken care of to the best of my ability since the day I drove it home. It doesn't feel right to trade it in after all the work and TLC I have put in to it.

My truck is basically stock without nearly as much as you have done to make it yours, but I agree, it hurts to even consider replacing it so soon. I was fully hoping for at least 250k/10 years before I was in the market again. This truck was my first vehicle purchase. Drove the car my parents gave me for 13 years while I squirreled away the cash for a new ride. That car made it to 201k miles and 24 years old, despite being driven by a new driver, and it went to a new home on it's own power. We joke that this is our punishment for straying away from a Toyota. LOL

 

[Ice]

Honda used the 6-speed transmission from 2009 to 2020. It seems most problematic in 2016-2020 Pilots and 2017-2019 Ridgelines.

Man, you’re like a walking encyclopedia. I was under the assumption that all 1st Gen Ridgeline have the 5-speed and the 6-speed started with the 2nd Gen… I wonder what went wrong… shouldn’t it get more reliable after all those years? Thanks for the correction

 

[silkiechicken]

Man, you’re like a walking encyclopedia. I was under the assumption that all 1st Gen Ridgeline have the 5-speed and the 6-speed started with the 2nd Gen… I wonder what went wrong… shouldn’t it get more reliable after all those years? Thanks for the correction

@zroger73 Knows everything. As for the tranny, I believe the 6 speed was used on the smaller cars... but is struggling in the larger vehicles. However, zroger73 will know for sure. lol

 

[14v6]

My truck is basically stock without nearly as much as you have done to make it yours, but I agree, it hurts to even consider replacing it so soon. I was fully hoping for at least 250k/10 years before I was in the market again. This truck was my first vehicle purchase. Drove the car my parents gave me for 13 years while I squirreled away the cash for a new ride. That car made it to 201k miles and 24 years old, despite being driven by a new driver, and it went to a new home on it's own power. We joke that this is our punishment for straying away from a Toyota. LOL

RL is the perfect fit for you. Have you thought of other contenders if you switch to something other than a Ridgeline?

 

[zroger73]

Man, you’re like a walking encyclopedia. I was under the assumption that all 1st Gen Ridgeline have the 5-speed and the 6-speed started with the 2nd Gen… I wonder what went wrong… shouldn’t it get more reliable after all those years? Thanks for the correction

2006-2014 Ridgelines used a 5-speed (which was VERY reliable). 2017-2019 Ridgelines used a 6-speed that debuted in the 2010 MDX. Some have speculated that the addition of Variable Cylinder Management was the root cause of the 6-speed failures, but I don't buy into that theory for a number of reasons.

 

[silkiechicken]

RL is the perfect fit for you. Have you thought of other contenders if you switch to something other than a Ridgeline?

There really isn't anything compelling in the midsize market, but might be worth taking another look since it's been 6 years. We had considered owning a daily and a weekend full size, but it still doesn't quite make sense in terms of storage or cost of maintaining/insuring two separate vehicles. Plus, a full size (short of the highest trims) comes with the challenges of balancing the whole reaching the pedals and seeing over the hood. One might think a trailer and SUV would open up more options, but I can't back a trailer, there's no good place to store one, and doubling up feed/animal transport with a work day commute would not be possible, as that is how I'd for sure get stuck in the parking garage.

 

[Will48121]

There really isn't anything compelling in the midsize market, but might be worth taking another look since it's been 6 years. We had considered owning a daily and a weekend full size, but it still doesn't quite make sense in terms of storage or cost of maintaining/insuring two separate vehicles. Plus, a full size (short of the highest trims) comes with the challenges of balancing the whole reaching the pedals and seeing over the hood. One might think a trailer and SUV would open up more options, but I can't back a trailer, there's no good place to store one, and doubling up feed/animal transport with a work day commute would not be possible, as that is how I'd for sure get stuck in the parking garage.

Ya I hear you. I really don’t want a Tacoma, but it seems like the most reliable option. Naturally aspirated, no VCM to worry about. They’re so ancient at this point, but I guess that’s why they’re so reliable.

 

[bluegrass]

Transmission oil has a single D/F every 8K miles since new. At 80K miles it had 4x D/F. 6K miles later transmission solenoid failed.

Is this correct? You replaced the transmission fluid every 8K miles?
Why the extreme over-servicing? Is it because you knew about the 6-speed failures and were trying to prevent it from happening to you?

 

[stevem5215]

Fluid replacement every 8k is a lot for any vehicle. While that may seem like a good idea one thing that does happen is the detergents used in transmission oils will also be too aggressive on the internals of it. Also, the DW-1 fluid is suspect in the additive package being pumped up while the base oil used is of lower quality. But, that doesn't mean bad oil. What it means is possibly by changing the oil more often it will allow the detergent nature of it to be too aggressive in keeping the inside clean. See, too often is sometimes just as bad as not often enough. Finding the correct sequence is what the MM is all about. Honda tried to figure that out for us but the 6 speed failed that on them. Hence what we have. Personally, I'm going with the testing of the fluid method to see if we find anything in there that can give us a HINT as to what's going on. I'm almost due for a fluid change in it. It'll be a 10k dump and fill or maybe a little over. Depends on if Spring will be sprung sooner than later as it makes it warmer to mess around under the truck.

 

[zroger73]

Do we have evidence that the intervals specified by the MM are inadequate for the 6-speed? If so, how do we explain all the 6-speeds that have been trouble-free when maintained per the MM?

 

[stevem5215]

Actually, based on your previous reply of the problematic use of the 6 speed it would appear to me that adequately answers the question. But, these things are IMO of course. And since we have no hard proof of failures from Honda corporate we are just guessing as to the issues of the 6 speed. And if the MM was set up correctly from Honda engineering wouldn't we see less failures in the 6 speed design ? Lots of questions. No good answers from anyone. Even the aftermarket isn't addressing this thing. Maybe not a big enough sample problem to tackle. Maybe someone knows more in the transmission industry. We surely have no good answers.

 

[longboat]

Actually, based on your previous reply of the problematic use of the 6 speed it would appear to me that adequately answers the question. But, these things are IMO of course. And since we have no hard proof of failures from Honda corporate we are just guessing as to the issues of the 6 speed. And if the MM was set up correctly from Honda engineering wouldn't we see less failures in the 6 speed design ? Lots of questions. No good answers from anyone. Even the aftermarket isn't addressing this thing. Maybe not a big enough sample problem to tackle. Maybe someone knows more in the transmission industry. We surely have no good answers.

It's too bad ZF doesn't offer a "crate" ZF9 that could be retrofitted in place of the AT6, without the need for all of the sensors, specific computer parameters, etc.

 

[bluegrass]

And if the MM was set up correctly from Honda engineering wouldn't we see less failures in the 6 speed design ?

No, not necessarily.
Your question assumes the 6-speed transmissions are failing due to inadequate maintenance / fluid changes. The failures may not be connected at all to fluid changes.
Instead, there may be inherent flaws in the design/engineering/application of the 6-speed that have nothing to do with the MM system.

 

[zroger73]

Actually, based on your previous reply of the problematic use of the 6 speed it would appear to me that adequately answers the question. But, these things are IMO of course. And since we have no hard proof of failures from Honda corporate we are just guessing as to the issues of the 6 speed. And if the MM was set up correctly from Honda engineering wouldn't we see less failures in the 6 speed design ? Lots of questions. No good answers from anyone. Even the aftermarket isn't addressing this thing. Maybe not a big enough sample problem to tackle. Maybe someone knows more in the transmission industry. We surely have no good answers.

I'm just trying to view this from outside the box since I have no real interest in this either way - I don't own Honda stock and there is no benefit to me in steering people away from 6-speed Ridgelines. Even years later, I still can't make a confident correlation between maintenance, how the vehicles are used, and failure intervals. I've seen 6-speeds fail early and late. I've seen 6-speeds fail whether or not the vehicle was ever used to tow. After years of watching them fail, the best guess I can come up with is that there is some type of material or assembly inconsistency that predestines a 6-speed to live a long, healthy life or fail prematurely no matter what you do.

 

[silkiechicken]

Ya I hear you. I really don’t want a Tacoma, but it seems like the most reliable option. Naturally aspirated, no VCM to worry about. They’re so ancient at this point, but I guess that’s why they’re so reliable.

I'm not sure the newer Tacoma's are really that much more reliable. It might be flying off it's reputation from the 90's and 2000s as well. The G3 Tacoma came out in the same general years that the G2 RL... and it also has it's issues, which like the RL, they may have ironed out in the later revisions.

That said I did test drive a Tacoma when I was looking and I ended the test early. It was not a comfortable ride and the engine/transmission felt like it was trying to overcompensate for not being a full size, along with a nose so obtrusive you might as well get a full size.

 

[kmears58]

Story time!! Everyone gather round, grab a cup of joe and have a seat!

Despite my futile attempt at over-maintaining (here), it was all for naught. At 86,000 miles, the transmission has failed. Let me preface by saying that Honda did help out quite a bit with the cost for the transmission replacement and the dealership (Russell & Smith Honda) stepped up big time. The truck was never taken off-road, nor doing any sort of towing. The closest thing to towing would be hauling my 425 pounds motorcycle 150 miles to COTA race track and back a couple times. The transmission was completely trouble free prior to the failure. There was no warning, no sign of any sort. Everything had always worked perfectly as it should from day 1.

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It all started by a subtle lurch while driving home from work, cruising in traffic hours (40-50 mph). It behaved as if it missed a gear. The RPM would suddenly surge while driving, like your kid yanking the shifter to Neutral while you were driving. There was no engine light, or any indication. As I got closer to home, more stop and go traffic, the truck progressively shifted harder and harder. As I pulled into the garage, the dash lit up like a Christmas tree, engine light and all sorts of warnings. I pulled the code P0776: Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Valve B Stuck Off:

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I dropped off the truck at the dealership that very evening. I went back home and did some research. To my horror, there are many stories like this on ROC. To that, I appreciate greatly of the guys who went before me and shared their wisdom. The information helped tremendously as you will see shortly.

The advisor from dealership called me a day or two later. He said they attempted to "flush" the transmission fluid hoping to unstuck the solenoid but it did not worked, and that the truck will need a new transmission as dealership does not fix or replace internal parts. He mentioned something about the transmission fluid looks off and doesn't seem like original Honda DW-1 fluid. I can see the direction of this conversation was heading and what he was hinting at. I have done all maintenance work myself after the 3 years/36K miles warranty has expired. All the oil change, transmission fluid, transfer fluid, and rear differential fluid, all done by me. Only Honda OEM fluids have been used. Since they did not have those maintenance work on record, sorry we cannot help you. I told the advisor all the work has been done on the schedule, and it's ludicrous that the technician thinks the fluid is not DW-1 when it's certainly is. I was told that the cost to replace the transmission with a remanufactured (reman) unit would be $10,600, all inclusive of labor and and taxes.

I asked the advisor if there's a good-will application from Honda to help with the cost, considering that I have bought 3 Honda vehicles from this dealership, with the latest a 2022 Pilot. The advisor said yes, he can forward to his boss to submit a good-will application for this transmission replacement. However, he will need a copy of the receipts of all the fluids I have purchased if I indeed did all the work myself. Apparently they still think I was being untruthful and I that I used unapproved fluid that caused the problem. Luckily, I was able to pull the receipts from the online purchase at Majestic Honda and sent them off to the advisor. He called me the following evening and said the good-will application has been approved!! Pretty quick turn around I would say! He said considering my loyalty to Honda and to the dealership, and the fact that I did indeed purchased all the fluids for the vehicle from another dealership, Honda will foot a majority of the cost, and my total cost out the door would be $4,500, down from $10,600. Now, based on my research around this forums, other guys are paying 3000 for a new transmission, although that was before covid inflation. I told the advisor that at the risk of sounding ungrateful, even though I really am, why am I paying $4500 when other folks are paying $3000. He went off rambling something about they're not the same work (they are) and cost inflation yada yada (true and I understand), but he can try to help me somewhat and reduced the total to be $4300. At that point, I figured to not push my luck any further and told the guy ok , $4300, let's do it, but add in a brake fluid change for me while you're at it. While we were on the phone, I asked for the cost to do timing belt and valve adjustment for future reference since it's almost time to do those anyway. He told me timing belt job would be $1300 and valve adjustment $600 on top. Why am I telling you this? This is why.

Before I hung up the phone with the guy, I told him I will swing by to pick up the parking tag for my work since it will be at least a week for the new transmission to come in and a few more days for them to work on it. I got to the dealership, the advisor walked me to the truck to get the tag. Before I left, he pulled me aside and told me his boss has a proposal for me. In my head I was thinking yes sure, your boss wants to buy the truck from me for bottom price, and I can drive home with a brand new 2023 Ridgeline (and 72 more months of payment). But that wasn't what I heard. He said my boss proposed that if it's ok with me, since they are already down there replacing the transmission, they can replace the timing belt, free of charge. I was shocked and bewildered. WHAT??? Free? From a Honda dealership? I thought the guy was messing around. I asked 3 times if I heard him correctly and he said yes sir, we will do your timing belt for free. I went home and sent a text to the advisor, wanting to making SURE that they will also replace the water pump and the tensioner, and not just the timing belt. They actually did it, free of charge!

View attachment 435551

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The final bill was 4600. New transmission, torque converter, timing belt job (belt, tensioner, water pump), brake fluid flush and 14 days of car rental (which I paid for 4 days because dealership can only cover 10 days). I essentially paid 3K for a new transmission + new torque converter, and $1300 for timing belt job. The new transmission definitely has a new programming. Whereas before it would want to upshift as soon as it could, the new transmisson is eager to go above 3K RPM and STAY in the powerband as long as it could. I normally turned ECO off with the old transmission because with the ECO on it bogged down too much. The new transmission, with same foot pressure, it's impossible to drive smoothly in stop and go traffic. It's like a wild horse that just want to rev up and take off. Perhaps I could learn to feather the pedal with the new transmission to drive smoothly with ECO off with more seat time. For now, driving with ECO on is perfectly fine with me.

The technician noted a few thing. The timing belt tensioner was leaking a little bit. It was good timing that they did the timing belt at 86K miles. The left front strut was slightly leaking. Weird that the other 3 are fine, and the truck has never been off paved roads. But that's for another day for another thread.

View attachment 435553 View attachment 435554

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My take in all of this? I'm glad Honda took responsibility and helped out, even though I did not have warranty of any sort. As the truck is an asphalt queen, it's embarrassing for a Honda to need a new transmission at 86K miles. I was shocked and genuinely surprised that my dealership offered to throw in a timing belt job, even after I have submitted defeat and they had zero reason to help out. It really does help cushioning the blow quite a bit. The new transmission is fantastic! I wish I didn't have to pay $4600 for it.

Lesson 1: ALWAYS USE HONDA FLUIDS. If anything happened, don't count on Honda to help if you used anything aftermarket.
Lesson 2: Buy from reputable source and save your receipts!
Lesson 3: Honda 6-speed transmission is fine for a 3500 pounds Accord (I had one), but not a 5000 pounds Ridgeline.

Zroger, please add one to the statistics.

 

[kmears58]

Counting your story from Honda, I know 2 other resent stories in my family, one from Dodge, and one from Toyota for pricy repairs. Our certified mechanic (meaning he can do warranty work) has fixed both our cars for 1/2 of the dealer quote. He isn't giving us a deal, he's just charging the appropriate costs.

 

[Bobcool]

I went with a ‘23 but my 18’ just died in the same fashion. Well maintained; dealers were clueless when I described rough shifting (except push fluid$$$ flushes; which gave me couple hundred more miles before it threw the code and went limp). 63,000 miles is too short for Honda and I really wish I had a better situation(maybe I’ll detail the whole story later but I loved the ridge enough to get another). I was not close to home when she started really going south and had to make decisions. Honda should be replacing these transmissions for free I’m kinda befuddled these failures appearing a lot more once they reach similar miles to others.
Usually the minority is who complains on the internet but with the transmission it seems like it just wasn’t meant for this or the pilots

 

[Ice]

I went with a ‘23 but my 18’ just died in the same fashion. Well maintained; dealers were clueless when I described rough shifting (except push fluid$$$ flushes; which gave me couple hundred more miles before it threw the code and went limp). 63,000 miles is too short for Honda and I really wish I had a better situation(maybe I’ll detail the whole story later but I loved the ridge enough to get another). I was not close to home when she started really going south and had to make decisions. Honda should be replacing these transmissions for free I’m kinda befuddled these failures appearing a lot more once they reach similar miles to others.
Usually the minority is who complains on the internet but with the transmission it seems like it just wasn’t meant for this or the pilots

Ever since the beginning of the issue, I have this lingering thought of whether of any of this was my fault. Did I mess up somewhere along the line? Did that one time where I got a little heavy foot on the highway caused the issue? WAS IT KARMA????? But in any case, no, all the documented transmission failures I have seen are all similar in the mileage range. I'm glad you shared your story. The more we share the better understanding we'll have to guide future purchase decisions. When you have time, please detail your story. All of us would love to hear it. That 2023 is nice though huh?

 

[silkiechicken]

(maybe I’ll detail the whole story later but I loved the ridge enough to get another)

Yes! I'm with @Ice. Tell us your story. It can be helpful for others to read stories of those who were in similar situations. It can help guide what might be the best course of action.