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Have you found moisture under your rear flooring in your 2017+ Ridgeline?

POLL: Have you found water under the carpet in your 2017+ Ridgeline?

139419 Views 1027 Replies 143 Participants Last post by  stevem5215
This is my first posting but have been lurking for a couple of years. I had a 2008 RTX that I traded in for a 2021 Ridgeline Sport back in March. After reading a post on the water intrusion problem I decided to check mine by pulling up the sill plate and checking under the carpeting and found the foam under the carpet soaked on the rear seat on the passenger side. I have it at the dealer at the present time and they’ve ordered new carpeting and removing the rear seats, etc., to try and locate the leak. They claim that they have not seen this problem before on the 2021 Ridgelines and I believe that the reason is because owners don’t realize it’s leaking because you can’t tell by just feeling the top of the carpet, you have to check underneath. I love this truck and it’s my second Ridgeline and feel the dealer will make this right but want to get the word out to other owners of 2021 Ridgelines that aren’t aware of this problem . Hopefully Honda will be made aware of this issue and correct it. My build date by the way is 2/21. Good luck, it’s still a great truck in spite of certain build problems.
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After a couple of car washes and some time parked out in the rain, I checked my padding on both sides today: dry. Thankfully. I'll be keeping an eye on it.

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Decided to do some digging to further check for water leaks in my RL today, since we've had a rainy week.

  • First, pulled the rear sill covers and felt under the carpet on each side: Dry.
  • Next, pulled the plastic covers off under the folded rear seats, and looked at the various penetrations through the rear wall of the cab. Grommets and seams appeared sealed. No sign of water intrusion.
  • Finally, I laid on my back under the rear of the cab, and did my best to take some pictures of the suspected problem areas, by snaking my arm up around the fuel tank and using my phone camera.
Here are some pics of the upper seam/pinch weld area, first from the driver's side, where it is very narrow and hard to hold the camera at the correct angle:

Tire Automotive tire Automotive lighting Fixture Window
Automotive design Automotive tire Rim Material property Automotive exterior
Sleeve Automotive design Hood Grey Automotive exterior


Again, not a great angle, but the seam sealer looks pretty evenly and thoroughly applied here.

Here's a shot that really shows that the forward bed drains literally dump directly into this area. Each of the little white lights in the black strip running down the center of the picture are drains:

Material property Gas Tints and shades Bumper Automotive exterior


Now, the lower seam area, from the driver's side:

Liquid Fluid Window Glass Automotive exterior
Hood Automotive lighting Automotive tire Automotive exterior Motor vehicle


Wide open. Not even an attempt at closing those openings with something, so either Honda a) made a mistake and forgot to seal this seam, or b) they intentionally did not seal it, because it doesn't need to be sealed. However, it sounds like someone was able to show that water, flowed directly into these openings does indeed run into the cab under the carpet, so it would seem that they should be sealed.

OK, to the passenger side, where there's a lot more room to operate. First, the upper seam area; these pictures pan from left to right:

Automotive tire Hood Grille Automotive lighting Bumper
Automotive tire Rectangle Wood Chair Grey
Window Automotive exterior Vehicle door Wood Chair
Textile Grey Tints and shades Beige Auto part


Continued...
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And the last pic of the upper seam area:

Automotive tire Hood Motor vehicle Automotive design Automotive exterior


Again, looks like the seam is well-sealed here.

And the lower seam, from the passenger side:

Automotive lighting Hood Automotive design Motor vehicle Grille


No surprise, wide open.

I'll continue to monitor my interior for signs of water intrusion, but so far I'm good, even with that lower seam wide open.
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Those flashing tape products are amazing. However, the ones I've used can't be exposed to sunlight so I use gutter seal tape products that can be exposed to sunlight. Came in handy for filling gaps where insects or water could enter. For all you folks that sealed you cabs if the results hold up after a winter of freezing and thawing you should be golden.
Good point. Shopping those tapes I found several that are only rated for adhesion down to about 15F. The tape selected for mine is slightly more expensive but rated to -20F. I'm optimistic that it holds. Figured if it gets that cold, I'm not going anywhere except some place warmer.

Some thought was also given to open exposure. Was considering top-coating with an elastomeric roof coating commonly used on mobile home roofs. However, getting painting tools into that area would be a greater challenge. Concerning sunlight exposure, suppose it's possible. Where this tape is placed, a much bigger problem is happening if that ever occurs.
According to the Technical Specs of the tape RogersRTS linked to, at -20F the tape's "low temperature flexibility" rated "excellent." And the "UV resistance" rated "no degradation/no loss of peel adhesion."
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