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6 Months in to Ownership

6K views 36 replies 23 participants last post by  UnLearnYourself 
#1 ·
Hard to believe it has been 6 months since I got my RL RTL-E. Time to list some of my likes/ dislikes / nice to haves. I just rolled over 9200 miles and completed my first service last weekend. So on to the details.

Likes: Ride and mileage. I find the RL to be very comfortable and capable. Seats are comfortable and the AC does its job well. From hauling a bed full of mulch to balled trees to out on the town. MPG continues to be in the mid 20's with a long trip this weekend averaging 27.2. A nice step up from my Pilot that rarely got above 22. Infotainment. No big issues here. Everything works well. I use Car Play for music and pop between Waze and the integrated Garmin maps. Integration with the smart phone is good and I'm enjoying the hands free calling.

Dislikes: Acceleration. This started as a non issue for me but the more I drive the more I dislike the acceleration lag. Will be looking at installing a Sprint Booster here in the next few months to resolve. Auto High beams. I'm getting more used to this function but I still feel like I'm blinding oncoming traffic. No one is flashing me for having my brights on, so maybe I'm over sensitive on this one.

Nice to have: Hotspot integration. Geeze put a cell sim in the RL so we can use it as a hotspot or at least give us the option to add our own. Camera view on all trim levels. I love the RH camera for turning on our Accord EX-L. In my opinion, just having the sensors for traffic is a step down and the camera should be standard on all levels. Bed Rail kit. Get a good bed rail kit for the RL so it is easy to secure cargo other than the tie downs in the corners. I know we can adapt a Toyota rail system but give us one purpose built.

Overall I'm very pleased with the RL and am looking forward to seeing how it does in the winter weather.
 
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#2 ·
This started as a non issue for me but the more I drive the more I dislike the acceleration lag.
I've never noticed this in either my 2017 or 2019. I push the accelerator and it responds just as quickly as any other of the dozens of vehicles I've owned save for the turbocharged Civic, Accord, and RDX that had unavoidable turbo lag.

Nice to have: Hotspot integration.
That wish will almost certainly be granted in the coming weeks when the 2020 model is announced.
 
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#6 ·
I have not tried turning ECO off. I'll run for a tank with it off and see if it improves performance and also what it does to my MPG /tank
 
#13 ·
Hard to believe it has been 6 months since I got my RL RTL-E. Time to list some of my likes/ dislikes / nice to haves. I just rolled over 9200 miles and completed my first service last weekend. So on to the details.

Dislikes: Acceleration. This started as a non issue for me but the more I drive the more I dislike the acceleration lag. Will be looking at installing a Sprint Booster here in the next few months to resolve. Auto High beams. I'm getting more used to this function but I still feel like I'm blinding oncoming traffic. No one is flashing me for having my brights on, so maybe I'm over sensitive on this one.


Overall I'm very pleased with the RL and am looking forward to seeing how it does in the winter weather.
Been thru 2 winters skiing in Westa Viriginia and Its awesome in the snow. Period.
And it has amazing acceleration as well. Car and Driver recorded 0-60 in 6.4 seconds.
Maybe you don't have the Eco function turned off.
 
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#14 ·
Been thru 2 winters skiing in Westa Viriginia and Its awesome in the snow. Period.
And it has amazing acceleration as well. Car and Driver recorded 0-60 in 6.4 seconds.
Maybe you don't have the Eco function turned off.
My issues is not 0-60 but doing 65-70 and having to accelerate to pass or merge. I do need to try the eco off and see if that makes a difference before getting a Sprint Booster. Appreciate the feedback.
 
#15 ·
Sometimes, when I know I'm about to pass I'll press the D4 button on the shift lever. This raises the engine speed and the transmission will only need to downshift 1-2 gears when flooring the accelerator instead of 3-4 gears resulting in less of a delay.
 
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#17 ·
I drive the RL in to work today. Figured the 50 mile commute in would be a better real world test than just hitting the back roads around the house. There is a very noticeable difference when you turn ECON off, especially when cruising along at 72MPH. I found myself backing off the throttle a bit to maintain speed. Acceleration to pass was better, more responsive than with ECON on. On my commute home today I'll drive the entire route with ECON off so I get more used to it vs just disabling during the drive. Not sure what impact if any it will have on my overall MPG so I'll have to do it for a tank or two and do some division. Interesting observation with my test this morning. On the wife's 2016 Accord when you disable ECON (i4) the green outline for the gauges goes away. On the RL, it still stays on. Definitely more testing to do. Thanks everyone for your feedback and tips.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I didn't use Eco enough to be sure I got accurate measurements, but it seemed to be no better mpg than accelerating moderately with Eco off. I noticed a definite lag, however, when I wanted to accelerate quickly and that seemed dangerous so I turned it off and left it off since shortly after I got the truck.
 
#21 ·
I usually have it off but wanted to see if I could get better gas mileage, I too feel like it is almost a safety hazard as you go to take off in busy traffic and want to speed up to match the pace of traffic and you can't. It is a big difference where with eco off, the car almost seems jumpy, with a lot of available throttle, and responsiveness. I'm going to see what kind of mileage I get.
 
#22 ·
It seems in my limited experience that I'm most likely to benefit in MPGs when I'm most likely not to use the ECON mode and least likely to benefit from ECON mode when I am most likely to use it. For example, I think the ECON mode helps in stop & go driving and does not help so much in steady-state driving like on the Interstate. I don't care for the "driveability" of the Ridgeline in ECON mode during stop & go driving so it is off then and when the ECON mode is on is when I am highway driving. I mostly leave it off all the time.

I find that my personal time necessary in acquiring empirical data exceed my attention span.
 
#23 ·
Does anyone know when the cylinder de-activation happens? Is it only in ECO mode and at causing speeds or does it kill 3 cylinders when in normal mode? Curious. Also some motor heads out there feel that cylinder de-activation is not good for motors. People why have C7 Corvette's with auto transmissions are having some issues as you cannot turn it off unless you are using the paddle shifters.
 
#24 ·
Does anyone know when the cylinder de-activation happens? Is it only in ECO mode and at causing speeds or does it kill 3 cylinders when in normal mode?
ECON (not ECO) mode has no effect on VCM operation. The engine switches to 3-cylinder mode after everything is up to normal operating temperature and the engine is very lightly loaded (not driving uphill, not driving into a strong headwind, not accelerating, etc.) Even under ideal conditions, the engine won't stay in 3-cylinder mode indefinitely - it will periodically revert to 6-cylinder operation even under light load conditions to maintain cylinder and catalytic converter temperatures.
 
#25 ·
I haven't used Eco at all and get the same great mileage, 19 city, 27 highway, 22-23 mixed. I have lots of passing power after 65 mph, turn off Eco!

You will be pleasantly surprised with how good your Winter driving will be. Cuts through snow/slush on the road and almost impossible to fishtail.

Agree that a rail kit would have been nice, and the rear view camera is pretty blurry.
 
#26 ·
I have a 2018 RTL-E. Love it. I do all my driving with ECON turned Off. Throttle response is very good, only if I catch it in too high a gear does it seem sluggish (only for a second). I tried using the ECON mode once, I did not like the lazy throttle so I used it for one tank of gas and turned it back off. The gas mileage I recorded was only slightly different from what get normally so I use normal mode.
 
#29 ·
90 plus percent of all my driving is in urban/suburban areas. I don’t get good mileage, 16-17 at best. When you live on an island and very little freeway 55-60 mph max, I think its expected. It’s still a couple more mpg than I got with my Frontier, and its way quieter, and way-way more comfortable. Sure I’d like it to be better, but I don’t drive more than 1K a month. Fuel is at its best around $3.50 / us gal so even with less mpg than the rating the RL is suppose to get, its not all that costly as far as gas & goes.

Simply put, I get where I want to go, and do it comfortably. No valet guy/gal has ever looked disappointed to get a chance to drive it......wait. Maybe that’s why the mpg is low.... hum
 
#32 ·
Very cool. I saw a lot of G2's on Maui when I was there in January. I mean an alarming amount. I'm going back next April and eventually relocating there. My G2 will be going with me along with my Leaf, one of my sportbikes and my FX SVHO so I can fish off the coast. Mahalo.
 
#30 ·
I find this discussion about MPG very interesting and some what funny. We own 1970 and 1971 pickups, which are very similar in size to the Ridgeline, where they are making us 10-12 MPG on a good day. So, comparatively speaking, we are thinking that it is great when our Ridgeline is making us double that figure! (y):D
 
#31 ·
My dad has a 1972 Ford pickup with a straight-6 and 3-speed manual that averages 18 MPG in city driving. It's all original except the points and condenser were replaced with electronic ignition many years ago. It has no power anything. I find it extremely difficult to drive.
 
#33 ·
Eco mode = OMG kinda dangerous driving around when used to driving the truck with it off. Kinda never heard of someone buying a vehicle then reducing the power.....usually the other way around.

After owning my 18 EX-L RL for 10 months apart from the noted trim light concerns I wish the brakes were better or had more feeling ( creeps when at lights and not paying attention ). Nothing like my RDX lot sharper and more direct.
 
#34 ·
Dislike: auto start engine stops if you do anything other than brake/start button. Drives me nuts. I push the brake pedal, try to move shifter, realize I'm in auto start mode and engine shuts down. Fer effs sake. My ford doesn't care. It waits until I hit the start button with brake on or times out and shuts down. You can do the Macarena and the engine stays on.

No idea why Honda is so picky.

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk
 
#35 ·
Dislike: auto start engine stops if you do anything other than brake/start button. Drives me nuts. I push the brake pedal, try to move shifter, realize I'm in auto start mode and engine shuts down. Fer effs sake. My ford doesn't care. It waits until I hit the start button with brake on or times out and shuts down. You can do the Macarena and the engine stays on.

No idea why Honda is so picky.
Failing to properly transition from a remote start to a normal start by following a specific procedure suggests to the vehicle that a thief or unattended child may be inside, so it shuts the engine down to err on the side of safety and security.
 
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