Head unit is very outdated in modern vehicles. Road noise is dependent on type of road. On asphalt my truck is quiet, but on concrete it is loud. Different tires can help some, but even my wife's Michelin tires do the same. Check your air pressure and run a couple PSI more and see if that helps. Both of the Ridgelines I have owned also seemed to lag a little, the nature of this automatic unfortunately. The wireless charger works on SOME phones, but not many. Another reason why I bought an RTL.

 

Transmission downshift lags

2021 transmission really lags when I “punch it” trying to pass or merge. (Econ and D mode). Do I need to select the S Sport mode to avoid this condition? PS… I really like driving this rig!

www.ridgelineownersclub.com

 

…..Lots of things I do like and don’t regret getting it but I’m surprised at these issues…didn’t expect that of a new Honda!

Thoughts?

Honda used to be known as a paradigm of quality. No longer. They are plagued with all kinds of issues, just like many other manufacturers. Not a criticism of you, but you’re expecting too much from modern-days Honda. That ship sailed 10+ years ago.

One difference (from other manufacturers) though, is that Honda is very slow to correct problems. They let customers live with it and usually just wait until they re-design the model to make corrections. They used to be able to get away with this when they were known for quality, but that is no longer the case. Many long-time customers are simply moving on…

 

The wireless charger issue is known but is also a bit frustrating, as I have other friends(in different brands ) who don't have this same issue. Did Honda just go to an inferior supplier /manufacturer of the unit used in the RL? Sound quality from the head unit is about what I expected, as most manufacturers save the quality units for their luxury brands. Honda does have a Great product in the RL, but I do believe they could have paid better attention to detail in a few places to give us an even better experience for our $$.
One guys opinions;
Loose the sunroof and provide better infotainment
Provide options that work or don't provide at all(wireless charger)
Cooled /vetilated seats in the Upper trims

Other than these, I don't have any real complaints, but everybody feels different based on what they came from/drove previously.

Enjoy the ride! After 5 months for me, I'm pretty content with my choice to buy an RL.

HT

 

Loose the sunroof and provide better infotainment
Provide options that work or don't provide at all(wireless charger)
Cooled /vetilated seats in the Upper trims

 

Bought a Ridgeline mainly due to the ride comfort and upgraded features compared to my previous Tacoma that had a harsh ride and out of date features. Overall first impressions don’t disappoint on the ride qualities, but I’m a little disappointed on some of the issues I have experienced.

Transmission operation seems odd - has a slight lag going into gear when starting off, almost like It freewheels for a moment before engaging. This is most noticeable when downshifting using the paddle shifter.
Is this normal? My Challenger engages immediately when downshifting using paddle shifter.

Head unit sound quality is inferior compared to my Challenger and previous Tacoma.

Road noise is loud, especially on older asphalt.

Wireless charger doesn’t work.

Lots of things I do like and don’t regret getting it but I’m surprised at these issues…didn’t expect that of a new Honda!

Thoughts?

Transmission shift- Normal:
The shift delay or " rolling in neutral" is normal for the 9hp transmission because of the 'Nested design'
There are two Dog clutches from 4-5 gear and 7-8 gear. The dog clutch requires a delay ( neutral) to mesh the clutch teeth
5th gear is 1:1
you will experience one delay in normal driving before you hit overdrive gears then one more if you decide to use 7-8

Challenger Zf 8sp is a Traditional automatic with clever engineering, it is much faster shifting due to the 4 planetary gear set and 3 clutch design. Allowing for 1 or 2 gear quick shift. Yes, it 'counts' 7 "gears" but its 8 gears. Carrier/ring gear can also assuming a gear by underdriving a planet gear

Sound- Normal genetic and meh sadly:
Honda only recently started using branded Audio systems ( Bose) Acura has used ELS for a while,but almost never in Honda products until 2022 Civic Bose premium was an option and now going forward for new models and model year
Toyota has been using JBL for a long time since the late 90s and Domestic vehicles seems to have decent headunits along with branded audio

Road noise- Normalish:
Road Noise loudness or prevalence can be subjective,but some of the reasons

no fuzzy carpet underneath fender

Ridgeline uses McPherson Strut and FWD layout generally they transfer more road noise into the cabin because you're sitting in the front the engine and wheels are also driven in the front and these struts don't control small movements well

The Tacoma and Challenger use a Double wishbone front suspension and RWD layout

Challenger being lower, less movement and power send to the Rear wheels
Tacoma is physically isolated from the Frame ( body on frame truck) more of noise coming from body/chassis Flex

Also the 'Ampliture reactive dampers' or two mode dampers are good for Harsh bumps and small undulations. On bad roads with many variation it's especially noisey

 

Good feedback and information - just getting used to this truck…thanks!

 

I think it drives Well. Not as nice as my Pilot, but then I’m biased. However, for a truck, it is incredible. Best driving truck out there.

The rtl-e sound system is interesting. Too bass heavy, in my opinion. The current Pilot uses an updated head unit and is much better. I imagine the Ridgeline will move up to this soon. Nevertheless, it is more than acceptable. Try the in bed audio. It is really fantastic. The OEM Soundsystem is still pretty good, and much better than Tacoma or Subaru for instance.

 

Agree about the sound being bass heavy - I have my bass down and treble up and on a lot of songs it’s still bass heavy. All things considered, a MUCH better truck overall compared to my now gone Taco! Thanks for the reply Jeff!

 

You think this truck is loud?? Damn, my old Subaru would've given you tinnitus then...

 

I assume that you have checked, perhaps online, to confirm that your phone supports wireless charging. I also thought that the wireless charging wasn't working. When I checked I discovered that my Iphone 7 does not support wireless charging. It does work with my friend's iphone 8 though...

 

The rtl-e sound system is interesting. Too bass heavy, in my opinion.

I completely agree, especially with vehicle at low speeds and stationary. This makes listening to be some podcasts and audiobooks difficult because of booming bass distorting deeper voices.

Interestingly enough, at higher speeds (with more wind and road noise) it starts to sounds better balanced for music again against the background roar. It seems almost as if the system was tuned to sound good at highway speed (with cabin noise) at expense of audio balance in less noisy situations, in my opinion.

 

Hmmm the opposite goes for me comparing from a Tacoma (I've had a 2022 Tacoma SR for 1 and a half year)

The noise is worse in the Tacoma, I hear everything outside specially those speeding vehicles passing over me while I'm waiting the turning lane to turn green. (It's like I'm just standing outside). And you will also feel the truck shaking.

The sound system I like the sound system much better on my Ridgeline, well maybe because I just got the base model Tacoma and it didn't have the premium sound system. Plus I like the way the Honda's have different volumes that you can adjust for notifications like Siri (Apple Carplay) and background music. In that way if you can turn your music loud without Siri screaming at you with the directions or any notifications.

The acceleration I'm going with the Ridgeline since I just got the base model Tacoma with a 4cyl 2.7 engine which is sluggish compared to the Ridgeline. With the V6 Tacoma I couldn't say since I haven't driven one.

 

Hmmm the opposite goes for me comparing from a Tacoma (I've had a 2022 Tacoma SR for 1 and a half year) The noise is worse in the Tacoma, I hear everything outside specially those speeding vehicles passing over me while I'm waiting the turning lane to turn green. (It's like I'm just standing outside). And you will also feel the truck shaking. The sound system I like the sound system much better on my Ridgeline, well maybe because I just got the base model Tacoma and it didn't have the premium sound system. Plus I like the way the Honda's have different volumes that you can adjust for notifications like Siri (Apple Carplay) and background music. In that way if you can turn your music loud without Siri screaming at you with the directions or any notifications. The acceleration I'm going with the Ridgeline since I just got the base model Tacoma with a 4cyl 2.7 engine which is sluggish compared to the Ridgeline. With the V6 Tacoma I couldn't say since I haven't driven one.

I can enlighten you--the V6 Tacoma is no speed demon. The Ridgeline sure felt faster. The only upside to the ('19) Tacoma was that I had a manual, and if you flog the hell out of it it was pretty fun to drive, especially off road. But the ride quality and noise was decidedly better with the Ridgeline.

The OEM RL stereo was better than the OEM Taco stereo, despite being bass-heavy. I had to replace the front speakers ASAP in the Taco (went with Kicker 3-ways) and it made a big improvement. I have not seen a need to change speakers in the Ridgeline or Pilot.

Now the stereo situation may be different with the '24's. Re' ride, I doubt the Tacoma will be quieter or more refined, since it is still a BOF truck, no matter how they massage the suspension.