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How many "issues" needing repair is too many for a HONDA?

4K views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  Parsec 
#1 ·
2008 RL RTX bought certified used with 14k December of 2009 now has 38k.

Repair List to date:
  1. Rear seat support arm
  2. Driver seat bottom replaced due to premature wear
  3. Steering wheel replaced due to cracking and peeling
  4. Rear main seal replaced due to oil leak
  5. VTM4 seal replaced on left due to leak
  6. Transmission fluid leak repaired with o-ring change
  7. front brakes and rotors replaced because of uneven wear and vibration
  8. 4 michelin tires replaced (60% prorated) because of "unsafe" wear and "chopping"
  9. Entire Rack and Pinion system replaced due to power steering fluid leak into rack boot
  10. Left front strut replaced due to suspension failure (90% covered by honda)
  11. Left front shock replaced due to suspension failure (90% covered by honda)
  12. Since I have owned the RL the dealer has aligned the vehicle 3 times
  13. TPMS sensor failure x2
  14. Endless interior rattles that just seem to get worse when they try to repair them
  15. Seats that get stained by rainwater and even light use- this is considered normal wear and not eligable for repair

The RL has never been wrecked. I don't abuse it. I don't tow with it.
What gives.
I have owned 4 Hondas previously (92 accord, 96 civic, 2000 accord, 2004 accord) no major issues outside of routine maintence.
I asked Honda customer service if this level of failure was expected and they said that they have had very few problems with the RL.
I have been trolling the forums and see that others have had the majority of these issues but I want to know if anyone else has had them all occur in one vehicle and if so did Honda acknowlege the problem?
What should I do next, I have pretty much lost faith in this truck lasting as long as any of my other Hondas did.
I asked Honda customer service for an extended warranty because it seemed the failure rate on parts that should last the functional life of my vehicle was very high... they refused. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
 
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#2 ·
2008 RL RTX bought certified used with 14k December of 2009 now has 38k.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Two RLs since spring of 05 and none of the problems. I would lean very hard on Honda and your local dealer for some relief!!!
 
#3 ·
Let me say that out of all the ROC members that post problems and dis-satisfaction with thier RL, it is a small percentage. Which goes to show Honda's quality. Second, if ANY car maker had a 0% problem, that's the vehicle we mostlikely would drive if we could afford them.
My observation is that some Honda dealers are also selling other NEW vehicles (like GM or Fords) These dealers usually have a limited number of Honda trained/certified mechanics. Example: Where I purchased my Hondas it is a sole Honda Dealer, a mojority of the mechanics are Honda certified, the parts room has only Honda parts. Another local Honda dealer also sells GM vehicles, he has only two Honda certified mechanics and has to look every part up on the computer, once I asked for a small part and they accidently gave me a GM part, my part they had to order. I have been there once and heard a conversation with another customer that the Honda mechanics are not in yet, if they are in a hurry another mechanic could look at it.
This is my two cents.
 
#4 ·
Man, and to think I was pissed, because I got a light on my dash to "check gas cap" on my 4 year old RL, which reset itself after about a week later!

Sorry to hear your troubles unphased1.
 
#5 ·
Thank you for your support.

Let me say that I have no problems with my dealer. They are a local president's award honda dealer and have been excellent.

For the most part honda has also been very accomadating about the repairs. My total out of pocket for all of the failures listed above has been a little less than $950 over the course of about 6 months and the total that has been covered by the factory/dealer has been ten times that.

I'm afraid of these future major issues now because my 3yr/36k warranty is expired.
Honda covered the most recent issues under a 90% covered policy because my milage was only 37200 with the rack and pinion leak and strut/shock front end failure.

The factory customer service rep is difficult to get in touch with and I end up leaving voicemailes. On one of our conversations he did say that future issues would be considered on a issue by issue basis (should one arise)because they wanted to close the current case regarding these issues... I considered this kind of a blow off and now feel really on my own with a RL that has a high failure rate.

What do you think I should be asking for from the factory customer service rep. I asked to extend the bumper to bumper warranty. He told me the other day that Honda would not do that.

They are pushing really hard to close my case.

Please help!
 
#6 ·
I would be very frustrated if my Hondas required that amount of service - we bought Hondas because the reputation meant we wouldn't have to waste our time have the vehicle fixed. So far, that's been the case with our 2003 Odyssey and 2008 Ridgeline - aside from basic maintenance, we've had zero issues.

Sorry for your troubles.
 
#7 ·
You have had more problems with 1 Honda than I have had with 15 over 30 years. Time to kick your problem up to the next Honda level since your current contact is trying to close the issue!!!
 
#8 ·
This is possibly one for the Honda record books. You have every right to feel poorly about your purchase.

Many of the interior problems are ones that are occasionally individually visited upon Ridgeline owners and do reflect a relaxation of Honda's standards. Unfortunately, you seem to have found all of them in one vehicle. Statistically, I expect that this is well within the realm of random chance that you got a vehicle was this way from the factory.

The serious mechanical issues are another story. The ones in the suspension and drive system are extremely rare. Although you went ahead and pointed out what comes to mind right away (collisions -- none are recorded), many of these issues could be the result of some very hard and reckless driving. They are just the kind of issues that are difficult to detect or backtrack that make some of us willing to pay the depreciation and buy a new vehicle.

I know that most people look for low mileage in a used vehicle, for me it is a red flag. The owner might have been an unsupervised teenager, a trophy spouse who drives over sidewalks daily, a debtor with foreknowledge of a repossession, or just someone who made a mistake or two. In any event, someone might have foreseen the need to dump it on the used market before these things caught up with him/her.

How does Honda fit in to this? Your used vehicle was Honda Certified. Normally, used vehicles are "caveat emptor". Not this one. Honda sold you either a multiply defective vehicle, or a damaged one. You did exactly the right thing in asking for an extended warranty.

The rep the expected thing of a seller of lesser goods: tried to "manage" you into accepting nothing after you paid for something (where "something" included being of a highly reliable brand). He is crossing his fingers in the hope of minimising the expenses will cross his desk. He is failing to consider that they are coming from one vehicle and thus harming the company name.

In order to get a better decision, you are going to have to bypass the useless person. Either someone higher at Honda, or perhaps a local journalist (consumer-interest writer or automotive writer) needs to be contacted with an interesting story about a Honda with 1980's Lada quality. You paid for a reliable vehicle that you can trust, and instead you got stress and expense, with no end in sight.

Here is what I have seen proposed once by another rare person with a defective purchase: propose that it be taken at full market value (for a non-defective model) as trade-in and upgrade to a newer vehicle of the same model. Since it's the individual vehicle at issue, you'll be dumping it yourself. Unfortunately, the dealer, and not Honda central command, would be the one eating the loss here.

Like most others here, I bought my Honda Ridgeline with some pretty high expectations and they have been well met. I have never had my vehicle in the shop for anything but mundane replacement of consumables. Best wishes for your quest for the same.
 
#9 ·
Wow, I see many of the posters on this thread are driving 08 RLs. Can't believe they all rolled off the same assembly line in Canada. Mine will turn over 85k today and it hasn't been in the shop yet. ..........just regular maintenance and a few light bulbs..............too bad they were not all built that way.
 
#12 ·
Either that or it was made at the end of the shift or on a Friday. ;)

good luck with a solution.
If the OP had not mentioned the manufacturer I would have guessed it as a UAW product made on 1st shift Monday morning!!!
 
#11 ·
The previous owner had to abuse this RL. You have way to many issues with the front end on your truck. If it hasn't been wrecked then its been jumped or something. No way I would keep this RL. I would be looking for another RL or at least another vehicle.

I have the steering wheel issue, interior rattles & buttons lights burned out but none of the other issues with the front end you have listed.
 
#16 ·
unphased1, I think you need to change your user name to unfazed1. You are remarkably calm in the face of a true problem child in your RL. No way should you have to deal with all those issues.

Now some of them are known, but none that I have personally experienced in my 2008 RL. My comments in bold below.
unphased1 said:
Repair List to date:
Rear seat support arm
Common, but not frequent issue. Easily and cheaply solved

Driver seat bottom replaced due to premature wear
Wear (fabric and cushion) is often reported, but I've heard of few replacements

Steering wheel replaced due to cracking and peeling
No recollection of this issue

Rear main seal replaced due to oil leak
There have been reports of a few rear main seal issues. Not common at all

VTM4 seal replaced on left due to leak
No recollection of any issues here

Transmission fluid leak repaired with o-ring change
No recollection of any issues here

front brakes and rotors replaced because of uneven wear and vibration
A few reports. Of those, it may have been caused by sticking caliper slide pins

4 michelin tires replaced (60% prorated) because of "unsafe" wear and "chopping"
At what mileage? This doesn't ring a bell either.

Entire Rack and Pinion system replaced due to power steering fluid leak into rack boot
Isolated issues, not common at all

Left front strut replaced due to suspension failure (90% covered by honda)
Very isolated, if any issues

Left front shock replaced due to suspension failure (90% covered by honda)
Another very isolated issue, if any

Since I have owned the RL the dealer has aligned the vehicle 3 times
Very isolated, if any issues

TPMS sensor failure x2
Rare reports, if any

Endless interior rattles that just seem to get worse when they try to repair them
Occasional, but uncommon. My RL is very tight and rattle free, except for personal junk in the various storage areas.

Seats that get stained by rainwater and even light use- this is considered normal wear and not eligable for repair
Often reported. It has been said that Honda uses two vendors for the cloth seats, one of which seems to predominately have this problem. My personal RL is stain free after 3 years of service.
I agree with the others. Sounds like an abused vehicle to me. And I learned something about the value of buying a certified vehicle, if the warranty that comes along with it is actually useful in helping you resolve the issues.
 
#18 ·
So far, I have had the drivers seat issue, although I didn't have it replaced because mine is actually not bad. Had the light burn out in the drivers side seat heater switch, which is no big deal. Had to replace the clip on the windshield washer res, and lastly I just replaced my OEM doughnuts today as they had 64k and winter is approaching.

Considering that my RTL is an 08 and I drive a lot, not bad. Better than the last Nissan I had, but not quite to Toyota standards.
 
#19 ·
Sadly I'm back at the Honda service department. I thought all of the front end issues with steering and suspension were finally fixed but while driving on the highway the rl began to pull right again and the steering became unpredictable. The rack and strut are apart and now they are trying to align it but it is being difficult according to the tech.
I'm stuck leaving it now and have to rent a car to go to work tomorrow.
Honda customer service is still asking me to be patient while they try yet again to fix a persistently problematic rl.
 
#20 ·
And yet you remain unfazed. :)

Thanks for the update. I really hope they can track down the cause of this weird behavior.
 
#21 ·
Picked up my RL today. The dealer assured me it is right again. Apparently the ftont left strut and shock assembly they replaced was again faulty. I drove it and it seems good again. Honda corporate is offering no other relief. My concern is now even greater regarding inferior parts etc. That a new strut assembly was also faulty and needed replacement right from the factory. Bad quality control. Ugh.
 
#22 ·
So many parts are interdependent... if the vehicle was previously abused, the replaced parts might be strained by interacting with other damaged parts. If you have yet more problems with the front suspension, it's time to give up on fixing the truck and replacing it with one that isn't subtly damaged.

Best wishes for an end to you truck troubles.
 
#24 ·
I have replaced the original tires, a set of brakes, and regular maintained. except for a few burned out lights in the dash and radio, no significant mechanical issues until the steering wheel play I posted last week. Having that checked this week and will post the results.

Still not up to Toyota standards, but way way better than that Nissan crap I used to have.

What the difference between a golf ball and a Nissan Quest?

You can drive a golf ball over 200 yards in a straight line!:act060:
 
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