[Gonzo]

I was hoping not to have any of the problems listed on this board, I test drove a black RTL-Moon Roof without the Navi and did not experience any of the complaints on the board. Late Friday I picked up my Silver RTL-Navi so Saturday was my day to explore it, as luck would have it; I have the Haunted creeking steering wheel and the gosh alful wind noise that does start at 40 and increases with speed almost a decible per additional mile per hour. Now thee ridge has a great stero system but if it ever failed and I was faced with a trip longer than 1 hour the combination of haunted house noises would make you want to drive it off a cliff. This is the 5th Honda I've owned 4 purchased new, and I'm very dissipointed that on a vehicle over 35K that the typical Honda attention to detail, fit and finnish iis lacking. Now I'm faced with missing time from work and transportation to play the vehicle swap game with my dealer to try to resolve these problems!!!!!!!!!!!

Not to mention that I started out dissipointed about the lack of milage screen on the Navi we all know how much extra we payed for this option, kinda of like getting a 50" Plasma TV withouy the remote!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Honda, if your truely reading these boards, email me at [email protected] and we can arrange one of those recorded phone interview of my pleasing Ridgeline experiences.

P.S.S. I should have asked the dealer to order me a model, similar to the one Honda gives to Car and Driver, Autoweek, and Consumer Reports, you can bet these problems were not in any of those demo's.

Gonzo

 

[T Mac]

Sorry to hear about your experiences, Gonzo. Keep us posted on how things work out.

If this is a problem with the way the RL is manufactured, I'm sure Honda will resolve it soon so that the newer RL's coming off the line won't have that prob.

 

[Ridge]

That's one reason I didn't want to order a truck. I'd rather shop from available stock and test out each one. I could still have a problem develop, but so far these seem like real minor annoyance issues. Let me make you feel better. People that bought 05 tacos went out to their truck after it has rained and found their carpets soaked: leaky windshield, dealers ripping out dash, removing body panels to find problem. Also suspension popping sounds that have not been resolved upon multiple visits to the dealer. unusually bad paint chipping . Heater breaking 3 hours after purchase. this customer has been without his vehicle for 30 days. It's in pieces at the dealer. The part required has no part number.

Feel better yet? i'd gladly trade any one of those problems for a creeky steering wheel or a little wind noise.

 

[vertrkr]

I have the Haunted creeking steering wheel and the gosh alful wind noise that does start at 40 and increases with speed almost a decible per additional mile per hour. Now thee ridge has a great stero system but if it ever failed and I was faced with a trip longer than 1 hour the combination of haunted house noises would make you want to drive it off a cliff.

I'm right there with ya on the wind noise. It's too loud to ignore, can't drown it out with the radio so I just get to sit there and listen to it howl making me more and more frustrated every mile. To make the situation absolutely maddening, I brought back to the dealer who said they didn't hear anything, guess I forgot to tell them to take the earplugs out of their head and drive it over 40mph. I still have hopes it will eventually get resolved but it's going to take even more of my time to make calls, get to the dealer and so forth. Guess this is what I get for buying an early first year model. I really, really want to like the truck but I just can't get past this issue as it sours the milk for me so to speak.

 

[clarkcreech]

Although I don't yet own a Ridgeline, I've test driven three of them over the past two weeks. I'm more impressed with the Ridgeline than any other SUVs/trucks I have driven, and I have driven everything I can think of in the $30k/midsize range. I'm thinking of buying a Ridgeline this summer after I've read all the auto mag reviews, along with other owner comments on this web site and the epinions web site.
In my three outings with three different vehicles (one RTL and two RTS's) I never experienced any of the two things you were disappointed in: the steering wheel vibration and the wind noise at higher speeds. I drove each of the Ridgelines up to 70 mph, with none of the symptoms you mentioned.
Here is my thinking on the problem, which may or may not be correct. None of the Ridgelines I drove had a roof rack or running boards, so I'm wondering if the wind whistle could be coming from either or both of them. Regarding the steering wheel shake I have no ideas at all, but I certainly would have noticed it if it had happened in any of my test drives, as I am very sensitive to vibrations of any sort due to some previous experiences with this problem.
Good luck with your Ridgeline, and I hope you get your problems taken care of sompletely. I plan to test drive my Ridgeline fully before I purchase it.

 

[Keoni]

Just to be clear...is the wind noise found only on the sunroof models, or are we seeing it happen on all models? My RL has no sunroof and makes no noise whatsoever (knock on wood).

Aloha,
Keoni

 

[Gonzo]

Don't get me wrong; I'm in love with the truck! Over the weekend I think I have drummed up more business for the dealer from parking lot conversations with interested individuals (wish Honda offered a referral bonus). These issues I’m complaining about are minor and will be taken care of no doubt! I'm just frustrated that in this price range these problems exist at all. To clarify my RTL-Navi currently has no accessories installed yet so its pretty much stock off the dealer floor. I didn’t even let the dealer add the pin stripe! The sound from the steering wheel is a creaking sound not a vibration at all; the truck steers and tracks fine!

Gonzo

 

[Harry]

I have a sunroof but no running boards. I have no noise at all. This has to be the quietest truck I have ever owned.

 

[vertrkr]

Just to be clear...is the wind noise found only on the sunroof models, or are we seeing it happen on all models? My RL has no sunroof and makes no noise whatsoever (knock on wood).
Keoni

Mine has the sunroof but it really sounds like the noise is coming from the front windshield but ya never know. As for other accessories, I had the noise driving home from the dealer when it was bare of any of them and still has the noise now I have running boards and all the other accessories.

 

[Shortbus]

I had a wind noise problem with my Element after replacing the factory glass. I thought they didn't seal it well enough and I took it back to the glass company. I hung out with the guy who fixed it and he showed me what the cause was. Seems the moldings on the two sides of the windsheild are plastic and are held on with plastic clips underneath them. When he removed them (carefully) you could see that some of the five clips were broken. After putting new clips in and reattaching the trim the noise was gone. I don't know if this is the case with the Ridgeline but it might be worth looking into.

 

[bongus]

That's one reason I didn't want to order a truck. I'd rather shop from available stock and test out each one. I could still have a problem develop, but so far these seem like real minor annoyance issues. Let me make you feel better. People that bought 05 tacos went out to their truck after it has rained and found their carpets soaked: leaky windshield, dealers ripping out dash, removing body panels to find problem. Also suspension popping sounds that have not been resolved upon multiple visits to the dealer. unusually bad paint chipping . Heater breaking 3 hours after purchase. this customer has been without his vehicle for 30 days. It's in pieces at the dealer. The part required has no part number.

Feel better yet? i'd gladly trade any one of those problems for a creeky steering wheel or a little wind noise.

I read the same post on a different forum. I was one of those that was considering the Taco and the RL. I went with the RL over the Taco and I'm glad I did. The only problem I've found is a missing seat moulding that the dealer quickly ordered and will install when it arrives. After 300 miles no creaky steering wheel or haunting wind noise. I've ordered the roof rack, hopefully it does not create too much noise.

 

[bongus]

Just to be clear...is the wind noise found only on the sunroof models, or are we seeing it happen on all models? My RL has no sunroof and makes no noise whatsoever (knock on wood).

Aloha,
Keoni

I have the RT-L with sunroof and no noise here...build date 3/5/05.

 

[GEEK1]

PEOPLE LISTEN......

Have you ever driven a Chevy Trailblazer? How about a Silverado? If you haven't, then you don't know what wind noise is! Listen (and I'm not being mean), THIS IS A TRUCK, NOT A CAR. Due to the aerodynamics of a truck or any SUV for that matter, you will hear SOME windnoise. The fact of the matter is this, windnoise or not, IT'S STILL A HONDA. The things that are guranteed for you is an engine and chassis that will last for yearsssssss to come! I LOVE MY RIDGE and I get googly eyes every day I'm in it. Let us enjoy the superior 7 spkr sound system, the smooth car-like ride and the overall satisfaction of knowing that you drive a HONDA - a company known far beyond it's "windnoise" problems, but for it's excellent customer service and superior chassis.

 

[delphi7x10]

Geek1,

If you read all these posts, the folks who have this problem, have it bad, so bad they can't hear the 7 speakers, therefore its not trunk areo problem, its a munfactureing problem with a limited number of Ridgelines.

PEOPLE LISTEN......

Have you ever driven a Chevy Trailblazer? How about a Silverado? If you haven't, then you don't know what wind noise is! Listen (and I'm not being mean), THIS IS A TRUCK, NOT A CAR. Due to the aerodynamics of a truck or any SUV for that matter, you will hear SOME windnoise. The fact of the matter is this, windnoise or not, IT'S STILL A HONDA. The things that are guranteed for you is an engine and chassis that will last for yearsssssss to come! I LOVE MY RIDGE and I get googly eyes every day I'm in it. Let us enjoy the superior 7 spkr sound system, the smooth car-like ride and the overall satisfaction of knowing that you drive a HONDA - a company known far beyond it's "windnoise" problems, but for it's excellent customer service and superior chassis.

 

[denvrfan]

My new Ridgeline RTL is the 5th Honda product I've purchased in the last 6 years ('99 Acura TL, '01 Accord, (2) '04 Accords and now the Ridge). While my wife's '04 Accord is tight as a drum with nary a rattle or squeak, I have had body integrity issues with several of my Honda products. Our '01 Accord had an instrument hood that sounded like a tin can whenever the sun warmed it up. My '04 Coupe had a horrible creaking noise that came from the window frame when it was cold. So far, 4 days into ownership, the Ridge appears to be a very solid vehicle. The slightest noise bugs me to death so I am listening for everything. The wind noise issue is what I'm really looking for but nothing appears to be abnormal after 120 miles of driving. By the way, I do have a sunroof but no roof rack.

 

[Gonzo]

Thanks for all the replys, the dealer claims to want to correct these problems! Will let this board know how it works out

Gonzo

 

[hagerswami]

Hey fellas, I guess I now have more miles on my Ridge than most of you. I've now had it 15 days and have 2175 miles and no problems. No wind noise and no creaky steering wheel (thank heavens, that would drive me crazy). I'm averaging between 20-22 mpg with a 75/25 split. Still really like the vehicle and tickled I bought it. Hopefully nothing will occur in the coming months and years of ownership, but I am glad I got the 5/100000 warranty just in case. Happy trucking.