What a great story! (and well written)

We can all imagine the aggravation of hearing that thing moving around.....especially on a brand new truck.

Congrats on your high tech/low damage approach to fixing the problem.

PS- now we need the model info for both cameras for future reference.

 

There's a "loose screw" in my Ridgeline too...

But it won't go if the "loose screw" isn't in the driver seat to drive the truck... 🤪

 

Looks similar to the bolts used on the door hinges:

 

Good work. Thanks for posting!!

There is probably some sick joker on the assembly line that tosses one in now and then

 

hahahah I thought that, too!!

 

Great story and glad you got it out! What a relief!

 

Yay!!!

My new Tesla came with three "rattles".

• One was front camera shield intermittently buzzing against the inside of the windshield. That was easily solved with a tiny piece of foam wedged between the two surfaces.
• The second took a bit longer to solve and ended up being an extra bolt rolling around in the bottom of the front passenger door panel. Once I finally narrowed down the location of the noise, the bolt fell right out when I pulled the door panel away from the door.
• The third rattle was more of a thumping sound coming from the rear hatch area - mostly during the cooler months. That one took 27K miles to finally locate and was solved by adjusting the left liftgate bumper out a half a turn.

Thankfully, it is now rock-solid. I HATE rattles - they quickly ruin a vehicle experience for me.

I am so glad you found yours and came up with a creative way to solve it! Great work!

 

There's a pair of 8x20 flange bolts used to secure the center HVAC duct. Given the location you found it in, I'm guessing this is your culprit:

Also, that was an epic write-up! 😁

 

Those door screws must be an issue. I posted a thread about the door screw and the poverty cover left over from my RL's assembly.

Check to see that this is truly an extra and none are missing.

 

Hi,

Do you have a link to your thread, please? I had a look through your thread titles and couldn't see it, maybe I missed it.

Thanks

 

That was a lovely story, and you tell it with such enthusiasm! (a little Forrest Gump reference)

But seriously, way to work through that problem, that was an exellent and enjoyable read!

 

That was a lovely story, and you tell it with such enthusiasm! (a little Forrest Gump reference)

But seriously, way to work through that problem, that was an exellent and enjoyable read!

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

It's wonderful having this forum to be able to share and learn on.

Best wishes

Siouxsie

 

https://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/threads/anyone-know-what-this-is.241858/

 

I have never been so emotionally invested in the removal of a loose bolt before. I love a happy ending.

 

I had a spent 9mm brass fly into my range vest unknowingly. When I tossed my vest on the floor it found it's way into this opening that has a gravitational pull just less than that of a black hole.

1. Had the truck for a week.
2. Brass is non-ferrous so magnets are a no-go.

I plan to put some screen over them when I get a little garage time this fall/winter. I cannot imagine how many cheerios are in those things from people with kids.

 

I had a spent 9mm brass fly into my range vest unknowingly. When I tossed my vest on the floor it found it's way into this opening that has a gravitational pull just less than that of a black hole.

1. Had the truck for a week.
2. Brass is non-ferrous so magnets are a no-go.

I plan to put some screen over them when I get a little garage time this fall/winter. I cannot imagine how many cheerios are in those things from people with kids.

At least the Cheerios might blow out with the fan on high

 

So I had a lovely 80 mile magic carpet ride in Shen this evening through the Shenandoah National Park, up and down the Blue Ridge via Skyline Drive. No rattles, creaks, or rolling noises; just the blissful sound of Shen's V6 purring away.

A happy and contented Shen & Sioux tonight.

 

Check out my new avatar! haha

 

Oh - btw - the bolt's name is.....

Roland

 

You should put Roland in a safe non-rattle space for good luck.

 

You are a great storyteller! Glad you figured it out and funny name for the bolt.

 

Wow what an amazing story! Thanks for sharing and so glad you found your mystery noise! Your post inspired me to tell my own recent experience with a mystery noise. I bought my new 23 Ridgeline back in January. Everything about it has been great. A few days after bringing it home, however, I noticed a squeaky rattle emanating from what I perceived as something in the dash just above the glove box. It wasn’t that bad at first and not always that annoying. It was only noticeable on bumpy roads. However, it became more noticeable over time (to me anyway). Naturally I took everything out of the glove box and even the console to see if this would eliminate it but to no avail. My wife could hear it as well and chastised me for being so picky because it wasn’t that loud and thought I shouldn’t worry about it. Over time however it began to drive me crazy. On one occasion, a few weeks back, my oldest son was driving with me and I asked him if could hear it which he could. I asked him if he could pinpoint where it was coming from. Oddly, he felt it was coming from somewhere behind him on the passenger side! We were in a hurry, so we really didn’t explore it further that day. I was absolutely convinced that there must be a poor seal between where the dash meets the windshield especially since when I leaned into the dash the noise resonated all along the dashboard. I considered taking it into the service department to have them look into it but since I let it go so long, I decided to wait till I had to take it in for the first oil change which was fast approaching. I had serious reservations about even mentioning it to the service department. I envisioned them having to tear the dash out to locate it and what a mess that would have been. Would I get it back in its original pristine condition? Finally, two days before my appointment I happened to be going out somewhere with my son again and this time I asked him to drive while I tried to locate the noise from the passenger’s seat. He took a deeper interest in trying to help me locate the problem and agreed. In addition, he wanted to try taking everything out of the car again which we did even though I told him I had already tried this. So, two minutes into our test drive while I was frantically trying to hear where the noise was coming from, it suddenly stopped. My brilliant son had found the problem. He leaned over to me with a big smile on his face and handed me the culprit. You won’t believe this, but it was a garage door opener that I had on the driver’s side sun visor! The one thing I didn’t think to take out when I tried emptying everything out of the truck, dah! Apparently, the openers case was rattling against the internal parts. How did I not figure this out before now? So, I wear hearing aids and as it turns out they were picking up the sound in very deceptive way. As an aside, I have linked my own garage doors to the Home Link buttons on the mirror but was using the garage door opener for a rental property we own. Sooo, crisis averted!

 

Wow what an amazing story! Thanks for sharing and so glad you found your mystery noise! Your post inspired me to tell my own recent experience with a mystery noise. Thank you, glad you enjoyed and thank you so much for sharing yours!!

My wife could hear it as well and chastised me for being so picky because it wasn’t that loud and thought I shouldn’t worry about it. Hahaha! You're like me - once your hear it you CANNOt unhear it and the source MUST be found!!

My brilliant son had found the problem. He leaned over to me with a big smile on his face and handed me the culprit. You won’t believe this, but it was a garage door opener that I had on the driver’s side sun visor! Hahaha that's a classic!! I'm so glad you found it. Like me, you wouldn't have wanted the dealership tearing your pride and joy apart because, with the best will in world, they never go back the same!

Thanks & best wishes

Siouxsie

 

Looking forward to reading your next great novel on Amazon.

 

Good thinking to tape him down. Else he might find some nut while hightailing it to that next hidey hole. lol

 

Hey everyone

So for those who have read my previous posts, you'll know I bought a brand new 2025 BE just over two weeks ago. Her name is Shen, short for Shenandoah, as I live on a farm surrounded by the ridgeline of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Shenandoah National Park.

I absolutely LOVE everything about Shen and honestly could not be happier - except for the metallic scurrying noises emanating from the front footwell area all the way back to under the driver's seat!!! This was most evident when braking and accelerating IE an object subject to inertia.

The rest of the time, when cruising along and under only very mild braking or acceleration, there was just the usual wonderful quiet magic carpet ride.

So I honestly tried to tune this noise out and decided I would love Shen no matter what. After all, nothing is perfect, and, as the Japanese say, Wabi Sabi - celebrate the flaw. The noise was really starting to get to me, though. I would lay awake at night marvelling at how wonderful Shen is and yet also how irritating that noise is....

The noise - akin to that which one would expect to hear from a 10mm diameter ball bearing or marble rolling around somewhere within plastic in the car - was starting to really annoy me and distract me.

There was no way I was going to ask the dealer to investigate because, even though I'm not that old, I am old enough to know that things never go back the way they came out from the factory and minor cosmetic damage could be a resulting reality. So I decided to try and fix the issue myself.

I reasoned that I should start by looking in the most likely area which for me was in the driver's side underseat heater ducts. They are very exposed and something could have easily fallen in there, I mused. Also, the rolling noise could be heard from one part of the truck to another, so I concluded it was definitely something moving & rolling.

I have experience of using endoscopes and fibre optic cameras in mechanics so I decided they would be the best tool to use. I looked on Amazon and bought the two items linked to below.

At the time of purchase, I honestly did not know why I bought two cameras. I kind of kicked myself afterwards for being stupid in that regard. But, as it turns out, there was a reason that happened!! Also, each camera came with a hook & magnet attachment which turned out to be indispensable to my success!!

Camera with telescopic rod and monitor:

Amazon.com

Camera on 16.5ft semi rigid cable and monitor:

Amazon.com

So, yesterday was spent moving Shen in the garage to a position where I would have full access to the rear of the driver's seat area. I moved the driver's seat forward as much as possible and tilted the seat forward. I also raised the passenger seats up out of the way. The two ducts were then revealed, see photo below.

View attachment 457982

I decided to start with the camera on the telescopic pole. I positioned myself in the rear cabin and began by inserting the camera into the left of the two ducts. My able assistant, Lisa, did a great job holding the monitor screen steady for me to watch.

After wiggling it in a foot or so, I thought I saw an object in the duct but it was just the camera light reflecting off an inner plastic pillar of the duct system.

I continued to push the camera in, extending the rod as I did so. I estimated I must have been about two feet into the duct system by now which would put the camera's position near the dash board end of the centre console area.

Then - BINGO!!!! In the distance, so to speak, I could see a flange bolt laying on its side in the duct!!!! At that moment - it felt like I had discovered the Holy Grail. It was a feeling of elation, joy and RELIEF, that I have never known before.

Seriously. It was akin to the moment that Shen's supplying dealership told me that they had just been informed of a RL in the colour & spec I wanted unexpectedly on its way to them in about 3 week's time.

Lisa had the presence of mind to utilise the snapshot function of the camera monitor and took a picture of the bolt laying in the duct, see below.

View of the bolt inside the duct

View attachment 457983

I was so - excited, dumb founded, ecstatically happy, etc etc - that had it not been raining and 45F out - and the Sheriff having just driven past - that I would have happily stripped down to my bra & knickers and run down the road in delirium.

As it happened, I took a 5 minute break and had a cup of tea followed by a random dance of joy around the garage and then just stared in dumbfounded amazement that I had actually found the culprit of the hideous noises!! But what to do now??

So after calming down, I decided the next move would be to make a mental note of how far into the duct I was, remove the camera and deploy the magnet attachment that came with it. I removed the camera and I estimated that I was at least two feet, maybe more, inside the duct system.

I attached the magnet and reinserted the camera into the duct. Unfortunately, the magnet attachment obscured the view of the camera. I was deflated at that instant. But then Lisa made the brilliant suggestion of removing the magnet, reinserting the camera into the duct to locate the bolt again. Then, insert the second camera with the magnetic attachment into the duct and watch for its arrival with the first camera. Then, when the second camera comes into view, guide it toward the bolt using the first camera's view.

Believe it or not - I still can't quite believe this - but it actually worked like a charm!! Or partially, anyway. I wiggled the second camera through the duct and it then appeared on the first camera's monitor. Shaking, I gently guided the second camera to the bolt and KABOOOOM!! the bolt literally flew onto the magnet!! HOORAY!!!

Heart pounding, hand shaking, Lisa and I not daring to breathe, I gingerly pulled the second camera back toward the duct exit and then.......DOH.... the bolt fell off the magnet!!

So in we went again, repeating the process until, at last, I pulled the camera out of the duct with that ^&*%$#@ bolt attached to it!!!! HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY!

Here is the offending object:

View attachment 457984


View attachment 457985

I have carefully examined the bolt and its specification is:

• M8 bore flange bolt
• 12mm hex head
• 20mm length
• 1.25 thread pitch

There is no sign of usage, thread locker, quality control coloured ink, etc.

Anyone care to speculate what the stamped marking on the head relates to? I doubt it's meant to say 'ten' because the zero in ten usually has a slanted and not straight line through it. Could this marking be some sort of Honda bolt code which might point to its origin?

I have absolutely no clue how it got in there. Although I do recall shortly after I first got Shen hearing a mild 'clunk' from the under the dash area and then the noise starting from there. Maybe a fan mounting bolt? Maybe something left in there by accident at the factory? Who knows.

What I do know though is that I am relieved beyond description. This success is rare for me - normally, I end up breaking something or making the original problem 50 times worse! I could not have written the scipt more perfectly for how things turned out and for that I am truly grateful.

I also know that I will be sharing a picture of this bolt along with an abridged version of this story with the supplying dealer and formally telling them that I found it rattling around inside the duct and was able to fish it out.

This is important, I reason, because in the unlikely event of something failing down the line that can be attributed to this bolt's appearance, I will have a paper trail recording the fact that this happened very early in my ownership.

So I hope you enjoyed this true story. I am happy to share my joy & relief with you! And Shen no longer has a screw loose! Just me! Hooray!


Best wishes

Siouxsie

Glad you found that evil, hell spawned bolt.

 

I also bought 2 endoscopes one, a 15' that will fit through a small 19mm sparkplug hole . The other has an articulating claw. I seldom use either, just wanting to own a couple of cool-tools.
Glad you found the elusive nuisance.
I am just finishing up on adding a front camera to my 2025 RL BE, since my 2024 Pilot Elite has wonderful 360 cameras. The cameras are the biggest shortcoming on the RL.

 

I also bought 2 endoscopes one, a 15' that will fit through a small 19mm sparkplug hole . The other has an articulating claw. I seldom use either, just wanting to own a couple of cool-tools.
Glad you found the elusive nuisance.
I am just finishing up on adding a front camera to my 2025 RL BE, since my 2024 Pilot Elite has wonderful 360 cameras. The cameras are the biggest shortcoming on the RL.

I think it's always good to have the ability to 'see' with endoscopes, expecially nowadays as they are so affordable. I feel like I've got my money back already by locating that bolt!

Yes, the cameras could be better - and I think they will be.......

IF there is a Gen 3 Ridgeline, my betting is it will adopt a lot a of the features of the all new 2026 Passport, not least the 10 speed transmission and the new TrailWatch camera system. From Honda's latest press release about the 2026 Passport:

"New technology to enhance the off-road experience includes an available new TrailWatch™ system with four camera views--front, rear, side and 360-degree."

So we'll wait and see!

Best wishes

Siouxsie

 

The 10 speed in my Pilot seems to make the heavier pilot much quicker than the 9 speed in the RL.

With the RL gets better cameras and the 10 speed, I will probably get a 26 or 27 to upgrade.

Drilling through the double wall firewall of the RL was a scary moment (to run the camera camera cable).

 

So I hope you enjoyed this true story. I am happy to share my joy & relief with you! And Shen no longer has a screw loose! Just me! Hooray!

Now you only need to be worried about the loose nut behind the steering wheel.

 

What he said!😁

 

I didn't see any notifications on the packaging that says, "Not for medical use"...

 

Open wide.....bit more...that's it. Now - this won't hurt.


Much.