[longboat]

The J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study looks at the number of problems vehicles have had during their first three years. 2021 refers to the year of the study - not the year model of the vehicles.

The J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey looks at the number of problems vehicles have during their first 90 days. Honda does better here, but still below Ford.

View attachment 422155

One could make the argument that a higher percentage of Ford owners (repeat buyers) expect to have a few issues. OTOH, repeat Honda buyers previously had more reliable Hondas because those earlier cars had fewer things (e.g. - safety sensing, keyless entry, backup cameras, other new tech) to go wrong with them.

People expect their new Hondas to be as reliable as their old Hondas, and that ain't happenin' with everyone needing all the latest gadgets nowadays.

Then there are the people who drive Fords, Stellanti, and Hondas back-to-back and then hate the Honda infotainment, and are disappointed by that system. If it doesn't meet their expectations, does that qualify for a negative hit on the survey?

 

[Cabman]

The J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study looks at the number of problems vehicles have had during their first three years. 2021 refers to the year of the study - not the year model of the vehicles.

The J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey looks at the number of problems vehicles have during their first 90 days. Honda does better here, but still below Ford.

View attachment 422155

I'll take a leaky sunroof or door rattle over a failing transmission or faulty wiring harness. I was quite surprised to see CR rate the Ranger so high for 2022. But then the 1986 Ranger was also highly rated. Until you read the fine print which stated 4x4 models were significantly less reliable. I know cause I bought one in 1986 for $12.5k then shelled out more than $12k in repairs over the next 10 years. At 116,000 miles I donated the truck to charity. Every time my thoughts start drifting towards buying a new Ford those bitter memories resurface. Never, ever again.

 

[WaRidgeline]

I have an 11 acre property on a very steep hill that gets a lot of snow. I already have a Honda lawn mower and ordered the beast Honda track snow blower for next year, what would be better than to own another Honda sibling?

I already know it would be a perfect machine for me, but I’m super concerned about the reliability and the general VCM operations. I’ve been seeing a lot of engine light threads lately, even on 2021 and 2022 Ridgelines.

I’ve narrowed it down to three vehicles. The Ford Maverick hybrid, a regular F150 regular cab with the tried and true 3.3, and the other would be the ridgeline. My first preference is of course the Ridgeline. The best ride, the bed, AWD and decent gas mileage. The problem is, Honda is about an hour away, and Ford has many dealers closer by. I can get to 4 Ford dealerships before I get to the first Honda dealer.

And I always keep vehicles stock, I would rather NOT delete the VCM operations. I’m wondering how reliable this system is? Is there any 2nd Gen Ridgeline owners into high mileage yet? I commute a lot, so this truck will be getting a lot of miles. 30-40k a year average.

How is Honda with warranty work? Is there an extended factory warranty up to like 125k?

I think I just want reassurance lol. I love Honda power equipment, and they’re more reliable than the rest, I just want to be sure before I get the Ridgeline. I love the truck.

Well if you have snow and a hill DO NOT GET THE HYBRID Maverick. It ONLY comes in front wheel drive...

 

[WaRidgeline]

View attachment 422164
I'll take a leaky sunroof or door rattle over a failing transmission or faulty wiring harness. I was quite surprised to see CR rate the Ranger so high for 2022. But then the 1986 Ranger was also highly rated. Until you read the fine print which stated 4x4 models were significantly less reliable. I know cause I bought one in 1986 for $12.5k then shelled out more than $12k in repairs over the next 10 years. At 116,000 miles I donated the truck to charity. Every time my thoughts start drifting towards buying a new Ford those bitter memories resurface. Never, ever again.

I am currently in a last gen 2011 Ranger. Before that a Mazda B3000 for 10 years. So 20 years in the 'same' truck. The Mazda was flawless for 100,000 miles. Would probalbly still have it, but in 2011 they announced they were discontinuing the Ranger. So I traded in the Mazda for a shiny new Ranger. I got the last manual transmission in the pacific northwest.
-
My Sonic Grey RTL is supposed to be here in March. I while I'm stoked on it, I will truly miss a manual in my truck.. sigh...

 

[F6Hawk]

are you really trying to compare Honda reliability to Ford? 🤣🤣

What's with all the Ford bashing in this thread? While I have never owned a Ford truck myself, I have friends who have owned them for decades, and love them. My next door neighbor is on his 9th or 10th F-150, and has never traded one due to problems (that I am aware of).

 

[zroger73]

I'm no psychologist, but I think humans tend to bash things they don't have to make them feel better about the things they do have?

Occasionally, you have weird people like me who bash the things they have.

 

[Eviltwin]

What's with all the Ford bashing in this thread? While I have never owned a Ford truck myself, I have friends who have owned them for decades, and love them. My next door neighbor is on his 9th or 10th F-150, and has never traded one due to problems (that I am aware of).

I've had 3, starting with a Ranger in 86 and two F150s both early 2000 models. Given the history I had with those trucks, I would say the bashing isn't entirely unwarranted. I haven't had any recent fords from the last decade and I sure hope they are doing better that what I experienced.

Reliability is both a perception and a hard number. If you gather enough data from as many sources as you can, you can quantify it and compare it across brands. Consumer reports tries to do that. But most folks perception of reliability is from their own experience and you can find folks on either end of that spectrum whether they ever owned one or not for any brand of vehicle.

 

[Otis]

I've had 3, starting with a Ranger in 86 and two F150s both early 2000 models. Given the history I had with those trucks, I would say the bashing isn't entirely unwarranted. I haven't had any recent fords from the last decade and I sure hope they are doing better that what I experienced.

Reliability is both a perception and a hard number. If you gather enough data from as many sources as you can, you can quantify it and compare it across brands. Consumer reports tries to do that. But most folks perception of reliability is from their own experience and you can find folks on either end of that spectrum whether they ever owned one or not for any brand of vehicle.

Definitely, people's perception of quality is like their perception of the economy. A recession is when your neighbor is out of work, a depression is when you are out of work.

 

[Lucky Jack]

A recession is when your neighbor is out of work, a depression is when you are out of work.

So true. Lol.

 

[Solo]

I'm no psychologist, but I think humans tend to bash things they don't have to make them feel better about the things they do have?

Occasionally, you have weird people like me who bash the things they have.

I have also observed some owners that keep their cars for awhile tend to forget the problems. I sometimes ask drivers about their car, has it been any trouble, etc. "Nope," they say. Then I pull the file & see it has had some issues. Pride of ownership, I guess.
Well, except for you, zroger.

 

[zroger73]

Funny you say that... Recently, I received a call from a customer who needed technical support for a piece of equipment we manufactured for him several years ago. The customer gushed about how happy he's been with the machine and how it's never given them "a lick of trouble" until now. When I opened the service history using the serial number he provided, I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw the dozens of entries for warranty and out-of-warranty repairs. Relative to most of the machines we manufacture, I'd label this one "a piece of junk built on a Monday morning or Friday afternoon". On the opposite side of the ring, I've had customers complain about a paint scuff on a piece of industrial machinery that will look a decade old in a matter of weeks after they start using it.

 

[stevem5215]

True that people will call a manufacturer up with the idea "it's better to coat them in honey than complain with vinegar" theory. He's looking for something and if he were to jump in with "it's a piece of junk and has been from day one" how much would you be willing to help him ? People run companies that make products made by people. Quality of the company and it's product are by the employees who do so. If a person sees that the company doesn't care about it's products then they won't care about their job as assembler and builder either.

 

[RidgelineM*17]

I have an 11 acre property on a very steep hill that gets a lot of snow. I already have a Honda lawn mower and ordered the beast Honda track snow blower for next year, what would be better than to own another Honda sibling?

I already know it would be a perfect machine for me, but I’m super concerned about the reliability and the general VCM operations. I’ve been seeing a lot of engine light threads lately, even on 2021 and 2022 Ridgelines.

I’ve narrowed it down to three vehicles. The Ford Maverick hybrid, a regular F150 regular cab with the tried and true 3.3, and the other would be the ridgeline. My first preference is of course the Ridgeline. The best ride, the bed, AWD and decent gas mileage. The problem is, Honda is about an hour away, and Ford has many dealers closer by. I can get to 4 Ford dealerships before I get to the first Honda dealer.

And I always keep vehicles stock, I would rather NOT delete the VCM operations. I’m wondering how reliable this system is? Is there any 2nd Gen Ridgeline owners into high mileage yet? I commute a lot, so this truck will be getting a lot of miles. 30-40k a year average.

How is Honda with warranty work? Is there an extended factory warranty up to like 125k?

I think I just want reassurance lol. I love Honda power equipment, and they’re more reliable than the rest, I just want to be sure before I get the Ridgeline. I love the truck.

We upgraded from a 2005 CRV that had150K with no problems. In 2019 we got a 2017 with 20K miles and so far have replaced the tires and battery plus oil changes every 5K. It now has 47K miles. I did not get an extended warranty, I have just had such good luck with Honda products. First Honda was 1985 Accord that we gave to our kids at 150k, they drove it to about 200 then hubby forgot to keep track of the oil. Daughter bought a 1998 Civic new and drove it to 350K with minimal issues and only sold it because they did not want to move a fourth car to another State.

 

[securityguy]

Thought some may find this interesting...and since it's a FORD...we all knew things like this are inevitable as FORD has massive issues on most all of their new vehicles at launch:

Do Some 2021 Ford Bronco V-6 Engines Have a Fatal Flaw?

A string of engine failures has some Bronco fans fuming.

www.motortrend.com

 

[Otis]

Thought some may find this interesting...and since it's a FORD...we all knew things like this are inevitable as FORD has massive issues on most all of their new vehicles at launch:

Do Some 2021 Ford Bronco V-6 Engines Have a Fatal Flaw?

A string of engine failures has some Bronco fans fuming.

www.motortrend.com

The 2012 model year launch of the Wrangler with the Pentastar had a similar issue with the heads. I think some milling work was a tad off on the head. Jeep ended up giving a 10 year / 100,000 mile warranty on the problem. I have a 2012 Wrangler with only 28k on it. I never had the problem yet, but I guess if it happens after 11 years I can't complain.

I thought about waiting for a new Ridgeline model, but decided they should have all the kinks out of this one by now.

 

[Spazenga]

Love Ridgeline, works well, Radio is TERRIBLE !!!

Test drive it first. The radio is not an accessory, it want to be the center of attention.
Every time you start you have to press something on the screen for it work.
The FM radio sound is noticeably worse than the other inputs.

I am seriously considering getting an aftermarket radio but not sure I want to lose access to vehicle settings....

 

[securityguy]

I don't think the radio or the sound is bad at all (but, I did just upgrade all go my speakers too). Is the head unit dated? Yes. Could it be better? Yes. Would I not buy the truck over it? No. Would I replace with an aftermarket unit? No...I don't want to lose all the capabilities of changing settings, etc. Third-world problems.

 

[193981]

You should never expect great sound from FM or Satellite. This spring mine (if I ever get it) will be going to my Audio guy for an upgrade. Security is right - start with new speakers. If that isn't enough, go see a professional. You have no idea how good they can make the sound.
But yeah...it seems to be the low point for the truck from what I've read here.

 

[securityguy]

You should never expect great sound from FM or Satellite. This spring mine (if I ever get it) will be going to my Audio guy for an upgrade. Security is right - start with new speakers. If that isn't enough, go see a professional. You have no idea how good they can make the sound.
But yeah...it seems to be the low point for the truck from what I've read here.

Low point indeed! If it had a real 2022 level infotainment system, the driving experience would be night and day. Thank Honda for getting rid of a ton of 3+ year old radios they had in inventory and dumping them into the newest version of their RL

 

[Lexridge]

Low point indeed! If it had a real 2022 level infotainment system, the driving experience would be night and day. Thank Honda for getting rid of a ton of 3+ year old radios they had in inventory and dumping them into the newest version of their RL

I, fortunately was able to change out my head unit. Being stuck with the factory HU does not have to be a terrible thing. Upgrading the speakers really does do wonders, and at a fraction of the cost of adding an external amp and/or DSP. Just start there and work up if needed.