Thanks Mike

 

@Wisconsin_Mike, your neighbors must love you.

 

Thx Mike...

My '24 RL, got it in February '24, has just over 5K miles. There's no MM message about the rear differential fluid change as of yet. This February, the oil had been changed at ~3K miles and it had been reset for the oil. I doubt that would effect the differential MM....

 

That reset absolutely affects the rear differential Maintenance Minder.

ALL Maintenance Minder codes are tied to oil changes - meaning that the only time that the Maintenance Minder will ever automatically pop up a message is when you are coming up due for an oil change. This is why you should never reset the Maintenance Minder until it has automatically popped up a message. If you ALWAYS reset the Maintenance Minder before it automatically pops up, then you will NEVER get an automatic pop-up.

Now, having said all that, you have a 2024 or newer Ridgeline which lets you manually go into the maintenance menu to see what messages are pending. If you do that now, you will likely see a Code 6 in there, indicating that your rear differential service message is on deck and will automatically pop up the next time your Maintenance Minder oil life falls down to 15% oil life left.

 

@Wisconsin_Mike Thanks for taking all that time and effort to put this together for the community!

 

Thank you for the time and effort devoted to putting the tables together

 

2024+ rear diff question-

Are still trying to nail down the early change timing?

What is the theory regarding a report here of about 5K and 15k? on a 24+ model

 

Vlad mentioned in that other thread that he likely didn't reset the rear diff code when it popped up after 5,000 miles. So it was just sitting in there waiting to pop up again, which it did after 15,000 miles. Now he's up around 18k I think and he checked again and it's STILL in there, which is what makes him think he just forgot to reset it.

 

The MM is just fluff for me. And I said this before here...... I bought a 2024MY in March 2025. According to a VIN search it was on the same dealers lot for 10 months, presumably had a stop sell for the tailgate wiring harness... then I bought it. 15 months go by from build date, no MM came up. So I decided to change the oil cause it had been in there, from my belief, for 15 months. Did the dealer reset the MM back to zero? who knows. I find your charts very useful instead of the MM, and keep a record plus receipts in the glove box.

 

The MM clock may start when the truck is PDI'ed and the 2 fuses are put in by the tech.

Thanks for talking about fact your truck is at 15 months from the build date with no prompt for an oil change.

 

Should the first rear differential fluid replacement be at 5,000 or 15,000 for 2024+ models? Which is correct?

 

7500 miles

 

Thank you for putting these PDFs together and sharing them.

 

I find it odd the first coolant flush interval is after replacing the timing belt rather than at the same time.

I understand it says to “inspect the water pump,” but everyone knows you never keep the existing water pump when replacing the timing belt during a major service like that. Doesn’t matter if the water pump is “good.” Replace it while you’re there every time, and since the coolant is drained anyway, replace it all.

 

"Everyone Knows"? I don't know. In fact, when I had timing belt on Subaru changed they left the waterpump and coolant intact. I asked about this.... to the specific shop and another indy shop. They said the same thing. Water pumps don't go bad at 100K miles. And I find this to be true. I get 160K miles out of an American car V8 motor. Honda waterpumps could go 200k. Besides, they don't go dramatically, they start leaking from the bearing first, and you notice it. So, just like an early oil change where people say you are wasting money, why waste your money on replacing parts when it's not time.
Afraid it's going to hurt your beloved?
We have choices.

 

Wife's oe TPMS started to fail this past spring, going since November 2008 on her Accord.

 

That is impressive.

How many miles on the car?

 

I understand what ya'll are saying.

 

As others have said, and you as well, customers have options, and we all should have those options. My mind is towards being practical, and possibly saving time, and money in the long run.

For something like a water pump, and/or pulleys? It is cheap insurance to replace while you’re there.

I’m making a similar choice on new tires tomorrow. I’ve had my Firestone Destination AT/2’s for two years, and have over 55k miles on them. I’d probably be fine to keep them thru the winter, but I’m getting some uneven wear, plus some cracking that is getting worse, and they’re now out of warranty. I’m replacing them, and trying out the new Bridgestone Dueler AT Ascent, which is over a grand with installation/balancing at Discount Tire, so not cheap. But say we get a proper WI winter this year, and I don’t get the tires replaced? That could potentially bite me in the butt.

 

As others have said, and you as well, customers have options, and we all should have those options. My mind is towards being practical, and possibly saving time, and money in the long run.

For something like a water pump, and/or pulleys? It is cheap insurance to replace while you’re there.

I’m making a similar choice on new tires tomorrow. I’ve had my Firestone Destination AT/2’s for two years, and have over 55k miles on them. I’d probably be fine to keep them thru the winter, but I’m getting some uneven wear, plus some cracking that is getting worse, and they’re now out of warranty. I’m replacing them, and trying out the new Bridgestone Dueler AT Ascent, which is over a grand with installation/balancing at Discount Tire, so not cheap. But say we get a proper WI winter this year, and I don’t get the tires replaced? That could potentially bite me in the butt.

As others have said, and you as well, customers have options, and we all should have those options. My mind is towards being practical, and possibly saving time, and money in the long run.

Over the years, this forum has hosted long arguments between different expectations and risk. You are spot on - it is nice to have choices.

In that regard, I agree with your approach to tires in rural country with four full seasons. We didn’t always have the money to make it an easy call, but the call was made.

 

Nice work! I just had the transmission fluid changed at 80K miles on my 2020 and for some reason I thought it would have called for an earlier service but apparently not. The shop said the fluid was "black" however I was not noticing any issues in the shifting prior to the change, I was just following the MM. On another note...I got free oil changes because it was a certified pre-owned purchase. The tech suggested I change the transmission fluid at that time around 60K miles but I didnt want to pay them $500 to do it there so I waited. Im glad I did as I paid $160 to a local shop I trust. Its been doing great since the change and seems to be right on schedule with the MM. I still need to get the transfer case fluid changed.

 

Like several here who own vehicles a long time, and in my case operate under 'harsh' conditions, I do most all the fluids earlier than the MM. I DIY them all, and its not very expensive insurance. I do have the TPMS service done whenever I do tires. My tires (other than on the trailer) never 'age out' , the tread wears out first. When I do the timing belt I will dang sure do everything associated with it as the labor is already mostly done. Just replaced the 5yr old OE battery as I noticed it was cranking slower than normal after sitting a couple days...