[tbl01]

So I just purchased a nice 2012 RTL. This is my second Ridgeline and I had it back at the dealer for vibration at idle, which was a bad motor mount, and the wind at the windshield issue.

My question is some of the vibration is gone, but it is still present. I opened the engine compartment with the truck running, and the engine is excessive rocking/shaking. Its idilling fine, just the engine is shaking way more then normal. We took a look at my wifes 07 odyssey, and a newer pilot , and you can barely tell the engine is running.

Can someone confirm that the engine should barely be shaking. Could multiple mounts be bad, tranny and motor.

The other issue is the windshield its is better, but its more pronounced at the drivers pillar then it was before or the same. Kind of hard to tell. Although on portions of the ride it seemed much more quiet? My question is will it be a bigger problem if they try to fix it with a windshield replacement. I feel they should be able to eliminate the noise to a lesser degree.

Enjoying the truck and really like it but the vibration in the steering wheel is unaccetable and I feel it can be fixed. the wind noise I'm still wondering about that issue. Any thoughts.

This is my second Ridgeline, and I never had any vibration or wind issues on my 2008.

 

[25 Year Honda Owner]

So I just purchased a nice 2012 RTL. This is my second Ridgeline and I had it back at the dealer for vibration at idle, which was a bad motor mount, and the wind at the windshield issue.

My question is some of the vibration is gone, but it is still present. I opened the engine compartment with the truck running, and the engine is excessive rocking/shaking. Its idilling fine, just the engine is shaking way more then normal. We took a look at my wifes 07 odyssey, and a newer pilot , and you can barely tell the engine is running.

Can someone confirm that the engine should barely be shaking. Could multiple mounts be bad, tranny and motor.

The other issue is the windshield its is better, but its more pronounced at the drivers pillar then it was before or the same. Kind of hard to tell. Although on portions of the ride it seemed much more quiet? My question is will it be a bigger problem if they try to fix it with a windshield replacement. I feel they should be able to eliminate the noise to a lesser degree.

Enjoying the truck and really like it but the vibration in the steering wheel is unaccetable and I feel it can be fixed. the wind noise I'm still wondering about that issue. Any thoughts.

This is my second Ridgeline, and I never had any vibration or wind issues on my 2008.

Ridgelines for 10 years and never noticed any vibrations. Did you not notice this when test driving? Sounds like motor mount(s) to me.

 

[eurban]

Could well be motor mounts. You can also consider the possibility that the engine isn't running smoothly. . Many things could cause a rough idle: consider checking valve clearances and using a obd reader to look for codes, unusual fuel trims etc. Not all codes will set off a CEL.

For your windshield, you can experiment a bit for yourself to see where the problem might be coming from. Try taping (clean the surfaces first) suspect parts (or perhaps the entire perimeter to start with) of the windshield perimeter with a quality painter's tape. If it is from the windshield the noise should disappear until the tape starts to lift off.

 

[Dnick]

To answer your question: Yes, it could be another mount... or it could be an issue with the engine not really running smooth (even if it 'sounds' like the idle is OK, it might not be); OR it could be a matter of another part of the drive train being somehow out of whack (any rotating member can set up a vibration that could shake the engine). You can obviously rule out drive & propeller shafts since it does it while not driving, but it could be internal to either the engine or transmission.
Personally, I expect it's either coming from your engine (injectors, valve adjustment, vacuum issue, etc.) or the mounts as you suspect.

ESPECIALLY given you already had one known-bad mount, you should look there first, since the other mounts will take an even greater load when one of them goes bad.

It occurs to me that you could narrow this down yourself if you are a DIY guy & given to bold, unorthodox methods:
If you were to get yourself a long sturdy beam of some kind (2x4 maybe).... and IF you can find a good leverage point where you can stabilize the engine (against the frame maybe?) safely enough & w/o causing damage to surrounding components... (lots of IFs here).... then you should be able to eliminate the "free" movement potentially being allowed by a bad mount and causing the "rocking" you are talking about. If at that point the engine sits quiet & smooth..... then you know it's a mount problem. I'm not recommending you do this... just pointing it out as a possibility. Use your own best judgement.... safety first.

P.S. I have no experience with the windshield noise issue, but if it's notably worse than other "typical" RLs, then they should fix it by whatever means.

 

[S.T.U.V]

Motor should be idling pretty smooth. Never mentioned mileage?

Have someone get in the ridge and put solid pressure on brake pedal. You are standing outside vehicle on the side(drivers side would be better) watching motor. Have the person inside shift to D(still solid pressure on brake) and smoothly apply about half throttle and quickly release. If you notice excessive movement and/clunking. More then likely motor mounts. Do the same procedure in reverse as well.

"ESPECIALLY given you already had one known-bad mount, you should look there first, since the other mounts will take an even greater load when one of them goes bad"

This is completely true. And depending on how long it was driven the forces just keep going through the mounts.

 

[Dnick]

Motor should be idling pretty smooth. Never mentioned mileage?

Have someone get in the ridge and put solid pressure on brake pedal. You are standing outside vehicle on the side(drivers side would be better) watching motor. Have the person inside shift to D(still solid pressure on brake) and smoothly apply about half throttle and quickly release. If you notice excessive movement and/clunking. More then likely motor mounts. Do the same procedure in reverse as well.

"ESPECIALLY given you already had one known-bad mount, you should look there first, since the other mounts will take an even greater load when one of them goes bad"

This is completely true. And depending on how long it was driven the forces just keep going through the mounts.

^^^^^^^^^^
What HE said.... a lot more sane!

 

[tbl01]

I will try the motor mount suggestions ( without the 2x4). I have been tracking the vibration, and it seems to be a cyclical vibration in part, and I have noticed if I turn the wheels while sstationary the vibration will go away most of the time. So it makes me wonder if the PS is part of problem or its putting a load on the engine which tempoarily secures another bad motor mount.

I will also try the tape.windsheild tip. It appears most of the noise is right at drivers side a pillar top. I notieced the weatherstripping piece on the roof that runs front to back is loose, and I am wondering if this is part of the problem. I can easily see air getting into that area at speed. The tape tip might solve that portion of it.

The new key they cut starts the car, but none of the security features( unlock lock, and panic work) :act002: , I now smell antifreeze in front of car ocasionally which makes me think when they did the motor mount they either missed tightening a clamp or they cracked a fitting on the radiator.

They had one of there best guys working on the car. Makes you wonder.

 

[Dnick]

You're taking it back for the coolant problem, right?

 

[tbl01]

You're taking it back for the coolant problem, right?

Yes, for everything listed. I have an appointment for the 28th of March

 

[tbl01]

So I finally got the truck back. They had to order a new fan heater motor, bad bearing. Wind noise seems to be greatly reduced, I can hear it some noise, on a windy day, but on the way home, very little. ( I have to put some more highway mileage on to confirm) noise at 35 mph is slightly featherd rear tire. I figured it was the tire, but I wanted them to check it anyway. Key was fixed, however it seems to not turn in some situations( have to pull out the key and reinsert it) so that has to be checked. Coolant smell was left over coolant. They washed out the front, and I no longer smell the coolant.

What was not fixed is the vibration in drive at stop light, they say its normal.
Not a chance in hell its normal. They said when heater motor is in they will have a tech drive with me to confirm vibration. I still am leaning towards issue with power steering. I can get it to go away if I turn the sterering wheel and it powers up the pump a bit. I might have to trouble shoot it myself to see if I can find the cause before the part comes in.

Anyway I have been enjoying the truck that rides like a car and the bed has come in handy quite a few times already.

 

[Heli ATP]

I had a Honda Tech tell me that they were not allowed to mend a windshield that had wind noise. It should be replaced. There is a TSB listed in the following thread for wind noise in earlier RL's. A fix should have been in place when your 2012 was built but many have had the wind noise problem after having a replacement windshield installed in later models.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20581&page=3

 

[woodco]

Could be a transmission mount???

 

[woodco]

Transmission mount...

 

[tbl01]

So after screwing around with this vibration in the steering in drive at idle, American Honda sent out a factory rep for the area and tells me that it is"inherent" to the design of the truck. So Honda designed a truck that the steering wheel vibrates while in drive at a light.

That is a pile of crap. Now what do I do? I either get rid of the truck or solve the problem myself. I cant believe that's the answer they gave me. :act047:

 

[mikes4wdridgeline]

How many miles on it

 

[tbl01]

48 k miles. Actually the vibration can be frlt in seat and center arm rest, and if door is open the vibration is bad enough that the door shakes?

 

[IanRTL]

I have the same vibration you're talking about. I have an 07 with 146,000 miles on it. It used to be very smooth with no vibration. I had the timing belt changed at 111k miles, and that's when the vibration started. I took it to my local dealer to have them check the mounts and ensure that the timing belt had been installed properly. They said the mounts appeared to be fine and the new belt was good. I also had the valves adjusted in hopes that would help. It lessened the vibration a little bit, but it's certainly still there. I'm at a loss for what it could possibly be. It's been doing it for over three years now and I've seen no negative consequences from it. I may just have all of the mounts replaced at some point, but I really wish I knew that spending that $500+ would fix it. It's literally one of the only things that's not been right about my truck.

 

[tbl01]

Ian,
oddly enough after monitoring this issue for a while now. The severity of the vibration comes and goes, usually gets better after the car has been running and lessons as the idle increases.

This leads me to believe that it is not a mount.

I am still leaning towards an accessory issue, power steering, ac, belt or something. They did replace the main Motor mount in the front.

It all comes down to being able to put aside some time to actually spend some and trouble shoot the problem.

With three young girls, sports etc, there is just not alot of time to waste trying to figure out the problem.
My first step is going to be flushing power steering fluid, and will go from there.

I do like the truck alot, but pissed at the fact that Honda feels this is normal and is washing there hands of it.

Coming from a Honda Family, 07 Oddy, 2006 250 ATV,1990 H3011 lawn tractor and some other two stroke honda powered machines, its a shame that they wont lift a finger and deny that there is something not right with the truck.

I am going to call America Honda one last time to see if they will make an effort to correct the vibration.

to be continued.

 

[Dnick]

It occurs to me this could be a minor problem with fuel injectors; especially since it is amplified at idle. Not an easy thing to 'validate', and probably pretty expensive to 'fix'.... especially if it turns out to NOT be the problem.
But I would suspect this to be a fuel management/delivery issue, if it's not mechanical (belt/wheel, etc.). You may be able to do a "cheapo" assessment by overloading with fuel system cleaners (at least double the recommended dose) and running @ high speed for a couple of hundred miles, just to see what happens. I'd include a good long stretch in 3rd gear if necessary (flat ground only) to boost rpms to 4000-ish as well (only for a while... but enough to get things humming). That's about the only thing I can think of that won't cost a bunch to possibly gain nothing (if it's not a fuel problem). But IF it's your injectors, you may notice a partial improvement after this run. In which case, I'd consider fitting with new injectors (or getting your old ones professionally cleaned/serviced).

I have read of issues with torque converter as well.... also difficult/expensive to validate/correct....

Unfortunately, life sometimes dishes us unwanted mysteries. You might just stop around different independent garages in town (including transmission shops) to let them listen & give their opinions? Can't hurt to see if you get some consensus (or to just laugh at some of the goofy ones you get).

One last thing to try would be to disconnect the accessory (serpentine) belt & start up the truck for a few minutes..... see if the vibration goes away. If it does, then you've narrowed your problem to something in that drive-belt chain (A/C, Alternator, etc.). Just one more source area to rule out.

Good Luck..........

 

[IanRTL]

I have also wondered if it's fuel injector related being that it goes away entirely when I hit the accelerator pedal. However, my truck has had a steady diet of 89 octane since I bought it and 93 octane for the last two years. I found it strange that this started right after I had the timing belt changed and swapped out the spark plugs. I checked everything I could think of including spark plug torque, but it hasn't "fixed" this issue. As tbl01 said, it does seem to be of varying severity. Some days, it's barely noticeable. Other days, it's pretty darn shaky. It's been doing this for three years now and has not gotten any better or worse. I've never had any sort of fuel cleaner in my truck, but a few bottles of Seafoam or Techron couldn't hurt, I guess. I'm going on a long trip next week to Michigan, so it'd be the perfect time to run a few tanks through quickly.