[hbjones65]

Just stopping in to introduce my wife and I; we live in Phx, AZ. :act030: We just purchased a 2011 Ridgeline RT ***CORRECTED (crystal black pearl) ***CORRECTED from Tempe Honda, and are excited to part of this owners-group and forum. Our Ridgeline had one-owner before us; I understand she just traded it in through Tempe Honda this past weekend...not sure why though.

We are first-time Honda owners. To paraphrase my 17-yo on FB, he believes this may be an indication that Hell has frozen-over and that pigs fly with the help of jet-packs(???) because I sort of live/bleed Ford blue. After much research, test-drives, and comparison shopping, we focused-in on the Ridgeline series...can't beat it for so many reasons. Prior to this purchase, our all-purpose vehicle was a 2005 Ford Excape XLT...absolutely nothing but great things to say about that vehicle.

I already know what our first modification will be; we will be doing a mtrotman-style bike rack installation in the bed to haul my road-bike and our MTB-bikes. I anticipate this rig will see much use hauling bikes, pulling our sail-boat in/out of Lake Pleasant, camping, and doing the daily-grind.

Anyway, I have many threads to dig through on here before asking any dumb questions, and we look forward to getting to know you all here or out on the road.

v/r,
Harold Jones (hbjones65) & Angie Jones (legalbeagle)
Phoenix, AZ

 

[bluewater1]

Congratulations and enjoy!

 

[Car Compulsive]

Congrats & enjoy! It sounds like a nice, low-mileage unit.

I'll be in your area later today as my girlfriend and I are flying out to visit my sister & brother-in-law in SCW.

 

[speedlever]

Welcome to the ROC, Harold and Angie.

I note that you have an RT trim. Although that comes with a hitch, it lacks a wiring harness to complete the towing package (dumb Honda move in my view). Unless the previous owner installed the wiring harness, you are not set electrically for any towing.

If this is important to you, I strongly suggest the OEM wiring harness which will isolate the truck's electrical system from the trailer electrical system (3rd party harnesses, while cheaper, won't do that).

If you are DIY inclined, you can install it in 90 minutes or so as long as you are reasonably comfy being a contortionist. There are plenty of guides here to help you in the process.

Let us know if you have any questions.

And post up some pics of your new acquisition.

FYI, colors are Dark Cherry Pearl and Crystal Black Pearl. You seem to have a mix of both.

 

[loginfailed]

Cool deal. Welcome to the club. This thread is useless without pics.

 

[coolbob]

Welcome to the ROC and to your first Honda!

 

[hbjones65]

Welcome to the ROC, Harold and Angie.

I note that you have an RT trim. Although that comes with a hitch, it lacks a wiring harness to complete the towing package (dumb Honda move in my view). Unless the previous owner installed the wiring harness, you are not set electrically for any towing.

If this is important to you, I strongly suggest the OEM wiring harness which will isolate the truck's electrical system from the trailer electrical system (3rd party harnesses, while cheaper, won't do that).

If you are DIY inclined, you can install it in 90 minutes or so as long as you are reasonably comfy being a contortionist. There are plenty of guides here to help you in the process.

Let us know if you have any questions.

And post up some pics of your new acquisition.

FYI, colors are Dark Cherry Pearl and Crystal Black Pearl. You seem to have a mix of both.

Speedlever,

Thanks for the info on the trailer wiring harness; I had not even noticed that yet. Yep. Just a hitch and no harness, so I will need to sort out that issue before going over-the-road. Fortunately, our boat is in dry-storage at the lake (about 1/8-mile from the ramp and no public roads), so it probably isn't critical yet. I will definitely check-out the DIY articles on the OEM wiring harness.

Thanks for catching my paint mistake (typo); yep, definitely Crystal Black Pearl and not some variation of that.

We will get some pictures later today.

 

[hbjones65]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and "patience with the newbies". I corrected my original post to read, "crystal black pearl". Doh! :homer:

We will get some pictures posted up here shortly.

-Harold

 

[speedlever]

Harold, are you a DIYer? If so, at 12k miles or shortly thereafter, you are going to be due some routine maintenance on the rear diff. The rear diff on the RL is unlike any conventional pumpkin. There is a maintenance minder on the RL that will tell you what maintenance is due.

Here's a good overview of the MM (if you are unfamiliar):
http://www.rbhonda.com/maintenance-minder-system.htm

Your RL is new enough that it has probably only had one, maybe two oil changes. The Honda MM is geared around OCIs (oil change intervals). Many people (including me) are geared to maintenance schedules, and the conversion to the MM system was... challenging.

The MM system groups associated maintenance with OCIs. The rear diff, for example, is due by 15k miles. The MM system sees the style of driving, knows how far it will go between oil changes, and will typically call for the rear diff service on the OCI just prior to reaching 15k miles.

In practical terms, using myself as an example, I typically get around 6500 mile OCIs. Initially, I was in a hurry to change out the factory fill oil (not knowing any better at the time) and got my first OCI alert (code A at 15%) at around 5500 miles or so, and changed the oil right away (I should have let it run to at least the <5% alert or 0%).

So when I got my 2nd alert (B alert), I was around 11 or 12k miles... and also got the associated alert for the rear diff (-6 code). Here's the thing, if you don't let the MM system run until you get the 15% alert, you won't see the associated codes unless you know to look for them during the oil life reset process (also known as the force retrieve process). If you miss them, you won't get another alert until the next time they're due. That would not be good.

Depending on your knowledge, this may be more than you wanted to know. If so, apologies. But unless the dealer changed the oil (and rear diff) as part of your purchase (which seems a common practice), I wanted you to know that you should have had or may be due a rear diff fluid change very shortly. If you do it or have it done, use only OEM fluids... VTM-4 fluid in this case.

BTW, the only non-OEM fluids suggested would be engine oil and transfer assembly hypoid gear oil of your choice that meets the spec. (although many of us use Mobil 1 75w-90 gear oil instead of 80w-90 in the spec).

 

[hbjones65]

Harold, are you a DIYer?

SpeedLever: Guilty as charged, I am a bit of a DIYer or at least hard-headed enough to try most things at least once or twice before I wisen-up. Thanks for all that information on routine maintenance and fluids. I have a lot to learn about Honda and Ridgelines for sure; only really wrenched on Fords, a little Dodge, and a little Mitsubishi to this point in my life. Our "new" Ridgeline RT supposedly had every fluid changed-out on Saturday when we bought it. It had just been traded-in and Tempe Honda put it through the "certified pre-owned" procedures before we took possession.

BTW, I went back into my original post and tried to insert an image off of +Google that is shared in a public folder. Please let me know if the image cannot be seen.

Thanks again,
Harold

 

[loginfailed]

BTW, I went back into my original post and tried to insert an image

Nice looking rig!

 

[speedlever]

Looks good Harold.

I suggest you get the maintenance records from the dealership so you can know exactly what's been done thus far and whether or not you need to do the rear diff anytime soon. Just because a dealership says they changed all the fluids doesn't really provide much on detail, ya know.

The good news about the RL is that the routine maintenance is pretty simple such that even a shadetree mech like me can do it. And unless you're pretty large, you only have to lift the RL to rotate the tires and service the brakes. (although it does provide some nice working room underneath when it's up on 4 jackstands).

Some of us are pretty anal (yeah, me included) about this maintenance thing. But I tend to buy and hold for the long haul and my background is heavy in preventative maintenance, so I'm a believer in PM.

 

[Ourfarm09]

Welcome to the club...

 

[jeb]

Nice Truck! looks like mine!

 

[spook45]

Congratulations on your new RL and welcome to the ROC.

 

[Spoot]

Welcome to Honda.
You'll be here a while