[conchflats]

received a phone call from Jason with Honda of America today. He asked to record the conversation then asked me detailed questions about my experience with the Ridgeline (aprox 45min. ). He knew about the wind noise from a previous call from Honda I had about my buying experience(s . I tried to give him an exact description of the noise he asked me to hold so he could call the service manager at the dealer I bought the Ridgeline from. Jason the coordinated a "ride along" appointment with the service manger tomorrow. The service manager asked to have the Ridge for 2 days as I am having side billets and back up sensors added . Jason the arranged for a rent a car for me .
Now I have owned several Hondas before and this is service beyond anything I experienced before .
I did mention the lack of a odmeter computer for those with a navi he seemed to be aware

 

[Heinrich]

They should have this level of service, especially on a new model vehicle of this cost (a premium). I think there is a bit of good customer service balanced with a special interest in making sure this new line launches well and receives good response and PR.

What did Jason say about the disabled "trip computer" feature in the navigational system?

 

[conchflats]

A follow up, I met with the the service manager at the Honda dealer . He met me at the driveway to the dealership with the master tech Dan . He did a ride along with me driving . He had a pair of stethoscopes to listen for the wind noise . We drove for a 5 mile loop where the Dan the tech found the noise at the top of the front windshield . He then suggested we drive another Ridge line off the lot to see if also had the same wind noise. We did that in a fully loaded RTL , where we found no noise on the same loop . We returned to the dealership where Dan talk to Honda America and felt it was the window seal . They asked to keep the Ridge several days to diagnose and fix the problem . They had a rent a car waiting (a new Mitsubishi SUV ) . I have never been treated so well by a service department . For anyone worried about buying a a first year truck well feel great-full it is a honda .

 

[Ridge]

Wow, this sounds like a great company to deal with. I'm glad I'm supporting them with my dollars. I'm surprised at how badly Toyota has handled customer problems from what I've heard on Edmunds.com forums. Toyota has really had some issues with this new 05 Taco release. So far, the problems I've heard about with the Ridgeline seem like really minor periphery issues, and it sounds like Honda is really stepping up to take care of people.

 

[delphi7x10]

Conchflats,

I am very happy to hear that Honda is looking after you so well, I have called with a couple of questions and they have been great about getting back to me. But thats just talk, to see they extend this service down to actual service on the vehicle, is just about unheard of, out side of Rolls Royce, but they are in a different price margin.

Let us know what they find, and what the fix is.

A follow up, I met with the the service manager at the Honda dealer . He met me at the driveway to the dealership with the master tech Dan . He did a ride along with me driving . He had a pair of stethoscopes to listen for the wind noise . We drove for a 5 mile loop where the Dan the tech found the noise at the top of the front windshield . He then suggested we drive another Ridge line off the lot to see if also had the same wind noise. We did that in a fully loaded RTL , where we found no noise on the same loop . We returned to the dealership where Dan talk to Honda America and felt it was the window seal . They asked to keep the Ridge several days to diagnose and fix the problem . They had a rent a car waiting (a new Mitsubishi SUV ) . I have never been treated so well by a service department . For anyone worried about buying a a first year truck well feel great-full it is a honda .

 

[zero]

I am new to the Honda experience and reading accounts like this makes me feel very comfortable that I have joined the club with my purchase of an Ody and my impending purchase of a Ridgeline.

 

[T Mac]

Another thing to keep in mind, Honda does read this forum from time to time. I'm sure of it. So they are really digging for feedback in a variety of ways and I think that's great.

 

[GEEK1]

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[GEEK1]

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[ff-fritz]

My service experience has not been so great. I took my RTL to Honda because of leaking. They didn't know anything about it, couldn't find it couldn't fix it. Then they did a 1/2 ass job washing it and f-d up my paint.
Thanks Honda! It sucks to because i am a true Honda fan. All of my cars have been Hondas or Acuras, My mom and brother too.

 

[shingles]

Wow, this sounds like a great company to deal with. I'm glad I'm supporting them with my dollars. I'm surprised at how badly Toyota has handled customer problems from what I've heard on Edmunds.com forums. Toyota has really had some issues with this new 05 Taco release. So far, the problems I've heard about with the Ridgeline seem like really minor periphery issues, and it sounds like Honda is really stepping up to take care of people.

A few years back, I believe Toyota had a problem with their V6 engines sludging up. I think their offical response was "what sludge problem".

 

[shingles]

My service experience has not been so great. I took my RTL to Honda because of leaking. They didn't know anything about it, couldn't find it couldn't fix it. Then they did a 1/2 ass job washing it and f-d up my paint.
Thanks Honda! It sucks to because i am a true Honda fan. All of my cars have been Hondas or Acuras, My mom and brother too.

Honda does not own ANY of the dealerships. They are always owned independently. Honda has some control over dealers, but they do not have direct control. So don't blame American Honda perse. Call American Honda, complain about the dealership, call your local BBB chapter and file a report, write an offical letter to the dealership sent registered explaining the situation, then take your Honda somewhere else.

 

[CUinaRidge]

Could we Start a new thread on which Dealerships or Authorized Honda Service Centers that are the best. Which one's have the best mechanics??
Where they are located etc etc...

I live in NE Wisconsin and am almost thinking of driving to Minnesota for Service on the major service requirements.

I got the best Service from Suburban Honda Repair in the West side of the Twin Cities - Minnetonka- . I went there for over 8 years and always was VERY satisfied with great service. Fixed right the First time! My 1987 Honda Accord got 287,000 hard driven miles, and still was running great when I sold it - only the drivers door was ready to fall off!! Northern SALT!!

I was not to happy with the service I received on the Hitch Install here locally - They FORGOT to replace the muffler straps back on, which left the muffler hanging and banging around.

Lucky for me I checked the job as soon as I got home and noticed it right away so no damage was done. Yes it only took me 15 seconds to re-install the muffler rubber straps back up on the pegs - but makes me think what else would they forget if they go in the engine and do valve timing tor timing belt replacement!! A Wrench in the engine block??

Honda's are great, but which mechanics are the best to work on them??

 

[Truckin']

CU, you just bumped this older thread back up to the top so it should get some new attention. That can be as good or better than starting a new thread. It's better to use an existing thread and keep adding to it than to have multiple threads talking about the same thing. It simplifies searches and keeps our forums more organized. Sometimes the moderators will even combine threads, but if we take care in selecting where to put our topics and do a search before starting a new topic, we can save them from that busy work. That being said, if this topic does not quite address what you want it to, you can start a more specific thread. Using a good description of what a new thread is about helps everyone.

OK, enough of the forum tips for the moment.

I would be concerned with such an obvious oversight too. I hope you followed up your correction of their mistake with a call to the service department so that the mechanic can be informed about flubbing it.

We are exceedingly pleased with our dealership thus far. They have done a great job with our installs and servicing. We are going to use them exclusively unless we run into any substandard work.

I never thought we'd be servicing at the dealer. I always considered it overpriced. We also have a 25 year loyalty for having our vehicles serviced at a local Goodyear. I'll continue to take my Jeep to Goodyear, but the RL is going to Honda.

 

[CUinaRidge]

yep... did not want to start a new thread... so I bumped the closest one to what I could find up...

Honda's are very specific and special - What makes them so great and run a long time.
They like Honda Parts and run better with Honda Parts.

Things as small and simple as windshield wiper blades work better with Honda wiper blades. In my old Accord I have tried off brands and they do not work as well as the Honda blades!!

I had friends in MN that had Honda's and took them to other service shops for such as break repairs and they had nothing but problems. Referred them to my trusty Honda Authorized Repair and there problems disappeared immediatly (fixed correctly the first time).

And yes my oops... I did call them back and informed the service manager that the straps were not replaced. Funny though with Customer Service call a couple days later they had no recollection of my problem and again had to re-state my problem with the install.

I have found owning Honda's for 14 years the hardest part is finding a good mechanic to work on them.

 

[Truckin']

yep... did not want to start a new thread... so I bumped the closest one to what I could find up...

Oh, preaching to the choir then, eh? I'm glad you know this about forums already. I hope it didn't strike you wrong. Perhaps it will benefit someone else who comes along and doesn't quite understand how forums work yet.

Thanks for the heads up on more reasons to shift our loyalty to Honda for the RL. The dealer is actually more conveniently located. The only thing that tugs at us is the super service and care we've gotten all those years at Goodyear. It's an exceptional place and once you find good mechanics it's foolhearty to take that lightly. Hey, that's just what you're talking about, isn't it?

 

[Ultra-HOG]

I like the idea about being able to give credit where credit is due, or otherwise. We also need to be clear that the posts are individuals opinions, not some organized effort to slam a particular dealer, even if it is deserved. I don't think anyone wants to have to deal with legal troubles over something that gets posted. There needs to be some way to organize the posts so that someone searching for service in a particular area can find it reasonably fast. I understand that you can do a search but perhaps we could make it easier if each post was started with something like "Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Service" , or "Pennsylvania, Western, Service". That way, if someone wanted to search for and browse for service in a particular area they would at least return results that would be grouped by location. There would also be no need to start 50 or more threads. If anyone else has some good ideas, lets hear them!

 

[CUinaRidge]

I know this site has some very loyal and long time Honda customers.

Some dealerships are great with there service, some are not unfortunately.
I was just wondering if we could get some posts where people felt they got the best service from??

Yep posting locale and state sounds like a good idea that the search should pick up.

For the Minnesota residents out there in the Twin Cities - Minneapolis / St. Paul I would recommend Suburban Honda Repair.

 

[dbb]

Could we Start a new thread on which Dealerships or Authorized Honda Service Centers that are the best. Which one's have the best mechanics??

This site might help some: http://cartalk.com/content/mechx/

 

[Ultra-HOG]

That's a great site dbb! Thanks! Maybe we don't have to reinvent the wheel. It still might be nice to have a place on the ROC where members can post their experiences. With all of the talented ROC members, someone is sure to have the answer as to how to organize it on the ROC. If interest does not develop, at least there is another way to recognize good and bad dealers.