[wrenrj1]

This is the ninth year I've posted this thread on the anniversary of the new purchase of my 2007 Ridgeline. I hope it helps new, current and potential owners of what the goods and not so goods have been based on my experiences.

For the sake of simply repeating things from past years, I suggest you do a username search and you can see the posts from each year I’ve owned my RL and the issues along the way as they tend to give a year to year update.

Just one oil change/tire rotation occurred in year nine ($59.94), this is probably the cheapest year for maintenance over the nine-year period. Miles-My ODO is at 83,255 as of today (9,250 miles/yr.), my annual averaged dropped 340 miles/year from year eight. My miles driven are pretty low by most RL owner standards, but having an extra car to drive for about three-months kept miles off the RL this past year. I continue to register around 15-16mpg in the city which hasn't changed over the course of ownership.

General appearance: Excellent, The RL still looks great (considering I drive from home garage to parking garage five days a week in Nebraska). Having the rear bumper cover replaced/repainted due to being rear ended in year 8 and also helped. The bed has its share of scrapes/scratches. I haul a couple loads of wood every year and misc stuff. It's a truck...

Interior, while a bit dirty due to lack of driver maintenance is still in excellent condition. All electronics work and the AC blows as cold as day 1. The rubber in the cup holders continues to deteriorate due to daily use but all the flaps are there. The glove box door rattles, but I haven’t done much to remedy it as of yet. That's the only rattle I've heard over the years. Finally, while the engine compartment could use a good cleaning, there are no leaks.

Maintenance-I follow the MM for all routine maintenance. Total cost for maintenance over the last eight-years is $2616.64. Total maintenance costs almost doubled between years seven and eight due to tires and battery (or about $319.59/year over eight-years) Compare that to the seven-year mark of $189.63/year. Year nine brought the annual maintenance average down to $290.74/year. Maintenance/Repairs on my dime included:

-1 set of Sylvania standard headlight bulbs
-2 sets of Sylvania Silver Star headlight bulbs
-1 RR Tail light bulb
-1 center Tail light bulb
-1 Nail in the tire, repair
-16 Oil Changes (one free)
-3 Rear Diff. Changes
-2 Transmission fluid changes
-1 Brake fluid change
-2 Air/cabin filters at 30k/60k.
-5 tire rotations
-2 Door dings repaired
-Rear brake pads replaced
-New Tires (Michelin LTX/AT)
-2 Batteries (Current Optima Red Top)
-1 set Wiper Blades
-Rear bumper cover replaced

Upcoming Maintenance: Next Oil change I’ll have the front brake pads/brake fluid replaced. I’ve been reading up on the radiator issue and have considered changing out the radiator, still on the fence on doing this. I'd like to know what the failure rate is. I'm trying to get a look at the status of my fitting but haven't found the right angle/position for getting my phone down there to take a good pic.

Warranty issues-Like everyone, I’m waiting on the airbag recall, but not real concerned about it. Otherwise during the early years of ownership, I had more than my share of warranty/recall issues however my local dealership (Honda of Lincoln) took care of everything with a smile. My warranty repairs included:

-Replacement of swing tailgate latch
-Replacement of Drivers side Headlight assembly due to condensation
-Replacement of Battery due to bad cell
-Replacement of missing bolt in center console causing console to
rock L/R
-Replacement of blower motor 2P connector (recall).
-Replacement of power steering rack that was caught within warranty, just not diagnosed but replaced under warranty.

Overall-I continue to be happy with this truck. It fits my needs. Everything still works, it drives like new but that's expected from a Honda I'm also pleasantly surprised with the resale value of this truck after nine-years as well. See you in 12-months.

Honda Ridgeline Day 1:

Honda Ridgeline Day 3287:

Damage after being rear ended by a Tundra, nice license plate imprint...

 

[ISO Truck]

Great info. Nicely documented.

Your experience with the '07 RL is very different from mine with an '07 Pilot. We are just shy of 100K now, and are in it for nearly $10K of maintenance (this includes 2 replacement sets of tires). That's roughly $100 of maintenance for every 1K miles, or average of $1K/year -- horrible! This of course does not include the airbag recall hassle.

We average about 15-16 mpg. If it's all city, we get around 12.

Aren't you overdue for the timing belt? That's a whopper $$, as it typically includes water pump, idler pulley, coolant, etc at the same time.

 

[coolbob]

Thanks for the annual update, good to know what to expect down the road!

 

[wrenrj1]

Great info. Nicely documented.

Your experience with the '07 RL is very different from mine with an '07 Pilot. We are just shy of 100K now, and are in it for nearly $10K of maintenance (this includes 2 replacement sets of tires). That's roughly $100 of maintenance for every 1K miles, or average of $1K/year -- horrible! This of course does not include the airbag recall hassle.

We average about 15-16 mpg. If it's all city, we get around 12.

Aren't you overdue for the timing belt? That's a whopper $$, as it typically includes water pump, idler pulley, coolant, etc at the same time.

No, I'm going by mileage and won't replace the timing belt et.al. until I reach 105K. My RL doesn't see hard work past being a commuter vehicle for 95% of the time. I did exceed maximum vehicle/trailer weight a few weeks ago hauling for river rock, and hauling a few loads of wood hasn't been much of a stressor. I'd still like to know more about the radiator failure rate which is what I'd be more concerned with, if indeed it was an issue.

 

[ISO Truck]

No, I'm going by mileage and won't replace the timing belt et.al. until I reach 105K.....

Roger that. I do a fair bit of heavy towing (boat) so did it at 9 years/ 95K miles -- the dealer insisted I was overdue by 2+ years and had been pestering me the entire time. I wanted to go to the 105K but they claimed there is still a time interval despite what the MM or manual says. Not sure if I believe that, but my manual does say to accelerate the replacement if doing a fair bit of towing.

By the way, Go Guard!

 

[Flyboy]

I had the same issues and thoughts on my radiator. On someone eases recommendation I bought this endoscope from Amazon. Using it with Camerafi software I got some great images in just s few minutes. I've used it several times since buying it for other things around the house as well.

Although I don't think mine was in danger of immanent failure the condition of the right side connector was headed that way. The washer, which is the main culprit in the problem from what I understand, was covered in rust. Left side looked brand new.

The swap is DIY possible (I did it with my sons help) and it's been rock solid since. I took it on a 4.5 hour trip to Pigeon Forge this weekend which meant a lot of mountain driving and the temp was right on the whole time.

What made me go ahead and make the switch was the cost if it did fail. I couldn't afford to have that kind of repair right now.

 

[RidgeDawg88]

First of all, nicely done.

Secondly, unfortunately the exterior condition of your fittings isn't a good indicator of the condition of the offending washer (from what I've read.) I have an 08 RTL with 90k and I replaced my radiator a couple of weeks ago only to discover that it was in no danger of failing. My fittings were nice and tight though there was corrosion present. I hate spending money needlessly but I do feel better knowing it's all in ship shape now.

Good luck with whichever way you decide to go.

Btw -I had an 07 RTX that was identical to yours. Traded it on my current RL back in 2012.

 

[speedlever]

Great info. Nicely documented.

Your experience with the '07 RL is very different from mine with an '07 Pilot. We are just shy of 100K now, and are in it for nearly $10K of maintenance (this includes 2 replacement sets of tires). That's roughly $100 of maintenance for every 1K miles, or average of $1K/year -- horrible! This of course does not include the airbag recall hassle.

We average about 15-16 mpg. If it's all city, we get around 12.

Aren't you overdue for the timing belt? That's a whopper $$, as it typically includes water pump, idler pulley, coolant, etc at the same time.

So as not to drift this thread, you might like to document your issues with your 2007 Pilot under the Other Cars, Trucks and Bikes forum.

I'll just say that in contrast to your 2007, my 2006 Pilot has been exemplary in service (no towing). The only failure I've had was an alternator in the low 90k miles. I did the TB/WP service at 120k miles. Oh, I did have to replace a component that drives the rear HVAC system. That was a relatively cheap and easy fix. Which reminds me I need to clean off the filter that covers that part.

 

[RTLGATOR]

Great report and record keeping, I have 72,500 on my 07 and on third tire replacement due to the famous Michlin cracking but I was able to find fairly new take offs both times (I'm cheap) but each time about 5 years for tires...other than power steering pump replacement just routine maintenance and now will think about doing timing belt stuff but it's sitting now waiting on air bag parts. I can't say enough about my RL and brag about it to my friends/family to a fault....

 

[wrenrj1]

Great report and record keeping, I have 72,500 on my 07 and on third tire replacement due to the famous Michlin cracking but I was able to find fairly new take offs both times (I'm cheap) but each time about 5 years for tires...other than power steering pump replacement just routine maintenance and now will think about doing timing belt stuff but it's sitting now waiting on air bag parts. I can't say enough about my RL and brag about it to my friends/family to a fault....

Thanks for bringing this up RTLGATOR as I was going to make a comment about this on one of the airbag threads, but it must just be me, in that I have no problem driving my RL until the airbag inflator fix is done, granted I live in Nebraska. I figure that of the millions of these airbag inflators out there, the failure rate is small in comparison. I am surprised that there are several RL owners on the forum parking their RL's until this is resolved. Not to hijack my own thread!:laugh:

 

[RTLGATOR]

Thanks for bringing this up RTLGATOR as I was going to make a comment about this on one of the airbag threads, but it must just be me, in that I have no problem driving my RL until the airbag inflator fix is done, granted I live in Nebraska. I figure that of the millions of these airbag inflators out there, the failure rate is small in comparison. I am surprised that there are several RL owners on the forum parking their RL's until this is resolved. Not to hijack my own thread!:laugh:

Well I thought the same and had decided to drive mine until the parts came in, then the girl in TX who was killed by bag got me thinking about it and could not drive anywhere without thinking of it....so I parked it and got rental and now wishing I had not done that...

 

[roadie]

Best color

 

[wrenrj1]

Done a bit of hauling with my RTX as well. Actually exceeded GVWR a couple weeks ago hauling river rock, but here's a few hauls.
Hauling Wood

Me holding a Gator...Has nothing to do with the post...

Hauling my KLR 650

 

[rtx07]

Good report and very nice truck, love that color.