OE battery is covered under the 3/36 new vehicle limited warranty.

The new vehicle warranty does not specifically exclude brake rotors. This is a gray area - sometimes they're covered and sometimes they're not. "Disc brake rotors" are specifically excluded by Honda Care.

Rotor-related pulsations and vibrations are been a trouble spot with 2017-current Ridgelines. Two of mine had "brake judder" despite gentle braking and no towing on flat roads. On my 2019, I bought new rotors from AutoZone at 12K miles.

 

I wonder if they actually used a micrometer/dial indicator to check the rotors.

I had a vibration in the early life of my truck (maybe at the 6000 to 10,000 mile range???) after many months of very gentle braking.

Before I brought it in, the service advisor told me to take the truck out and (safely) apply the brakes Hard a few times.

I did that .....and of course all the loose stuff in the cab went flying around.....but my vibration went away.

Try it....you have nothing to loose.....I went from about 60 down to about 5 mph a few times back to back.

I did not come to a stop...... and I did allow time for a little cool down between stops.

(and any passenger would not have liked the experience)

Now....about once a month.....I make sure I hit the brakes hard and I am at 16,000 milers with no issues.

It seems a little build up on the surfaces was causing my issue.

My SA said they have had to do this to many cars over the years for (my words) "gentle braking drivers".

 

When I had my Jeep, I would replace my rotors and pads with Powerstop, and they provide a specific break-in procedure when they're new:

What is the Break-In Procedure? - PowerStop

The break-in procedure is crucial to making sure your break upgrade performs optimally.

www.powerstop.com

You probably could do something similar if you’re experiencing this pulsing/juddering feel if you're starting to get this same feeling. The thing is, with my Jeep, it would use a Brake-Torque system for gauging wheel slippage, so I would notice after maybe 20-03k miles, I’d get warped rotors, possibly due to this system in the 4WD.

I have 55k miles on my RL with the original brakes, and overall do not notice much in terms of pulsing or juddering. Though there's nothing wrong with doing a few hard braking events. It probably ends up helping the brakes over the long term.

 

I had some braking judder and ultimately we had them resurfaced the first time. It was less than $25 per rotor at the auto parts store. And why replace the pads if the rotors just need to be turned? I'm on my OEM braking stuff and last I checked in the summer of 2023 with pics, and this past summer (no pics) lots of life left on pads. I can't imainge your rear pads needing replacement already, unless the piston is stuck and there is some sort of premature wear?

 

Dunno, i had to replace the rotors on my 2013 lightly used Tundra at about 22,000 miles....seemed premature to me but I guess it happens... I would try to get a cheaper price at an independent shop as its a pretty routine job.

 

Did your battery fail a test or is it a preventative maintenance thing? If it failed a test I would think it would be under some warranty or portion thereof.

As far as the brakes go, it's well known that the braking system is undersized so heat and warping could be an issue. I'd feel better about new rotors and pads but odds are it will happen again. I haven't had rotors warp on any car since my 87 Mustang GT so I do believe the way you drive has a lot do with it.

 

In my experience, rebedding the brakes, as described above, fixes a lot of "warped" rotors. It's also one of the few low cost/no cost solutions.

 

My 90,000 mike 2016 Durango is on its ORIGINAL brake rotors and pads, I even have my mechanic go behind me and double check them regularly and he is amazed too...they are STILL in spec.

 

Thanks for all the input. Ironically, I took the truck in for the tailgate camera wiring harness recall, (NHTSA 24V-231, SB 24-083), and mentioned that the auto idle stop wasn't working lately, as well as the shudder. I'm guessing the battery replacement is what they are calling the root cause of the idle stop malfunction, which seems premature to me, but as I said, I reside in FL heat, so that may explain the early demise.

I haven't turned rotors in many a year. My 2005 RL went 88k and aa years with OEM brakes, so this kind of surprises me. But if others have been having issues since 2017, that may be a manufacturing issue that affects us all. 99% of my braking is gentle (I like to coast to stops, trying to see how high I can get that MPG meter up).

But $990 for a battery, two turned rotors, two sets of pads, an after-market cabin air filter ($89.50) and an after-market engine air filter ($78.50)??? No thanks. I'll do it myself. There's a machine shop just down the road that turns for $15 each. I'll run them over there and verify they NEED resurfacing first, and go from there.

I still find it hard to believe they would warp, given my driving habits and the fact that EVERY time a wheel is put back on, I always torque it myself, twice. (Had one shop put the lugs on with an air gun, and it took 150+ pounds to break the torque, YIKES!!!)

If my SA says the battery is bad and that's what's affecting the auto idle stop, I'll press the 3/36 warranty thing, thanks @zroger73.

 

Your story reconfirms to me you need to jam on those brakes a few times......and may be the last part....from about 25mph down to 5 mph that scrubs the most junk off the surfaces......the part from 55 down to 25 builds up the heat you need to do it.

 

@F6Hawk

Wow...list price on a Honda engine AF is only about 28 bucks

Cabin filter is 25 buck list

You could buy it over the parts counter and install it yourself in the parking lot!

 

Oh, I will if needed. But I doubt that they are even needed, as I replaced them earlier this year. Have spares in the shed.

 

I have been in the Florida "heat" since 1998 and typically get 7 years out of a battery, with the RL I'm looking for at least 3-5 years.

 

In Florida you will get 3 years out of the original battery

 

I would definitely do the bedding process again to see if that solves the issue. Certainly rear rotors can warp, but it is much more common on the front since the front brakes to the majority of braking and work much harder than the rears. It isn't unusual to only have to replace the rears once for every two or three + times for the fronts. We have a van with 170K miles and the rear brakes have been done once (checked on every tire rotation).

 

Sounds like the dealer wanted to make their recall work "worth their time".

I'm also a fairly light user of my brakes so I bet yours is some sort of pad deposit vs actual warpage as @ATL RL speculates. (I'm so light on the brakes that I'm on OEM pads all around at 185k.)

@p220sigman It seems the RL is designed to where the fronts and backs wear very evenly. At least mine are. This is quite unlike the miscalculated adjustments on our 2016 Subaru, which has rears that wear about 2x as fast as the fronts.

 

Sounds like the dealer wanted to make their recall work "worth their time".

@p220sigman It seems the RL is designed to where the fronts and backs wear very evenly. At least mine are. This is quite unlike the miscalculated adjustments on our 2016 Subaru, which has rears that wear about 2x as fast as the fronts.

That is interesting. This is my first RL so I will be interested to see what kind of wear I get. We bought used with about 35K miles and all four corners have plenty of pad remaining.

 

I understand that the latest discovery is that the rotors may not always be at fault (not warped)... but have an uneven deposit "transfer layer of pad material on the rotor surface. "

If it's the latter, what type (composition) of pads are least likely to create this issue?

*Ceramic
*Semi metallic
*Low-Metallic NAO
*Non-Asbestos Organic

 

@p220sigman It's my first as well. And everything is lasting a lot longer than I thought it would! Except the transmission... LOL.

 

Except the transmission... LOL.

Well hopefully we don't have any transmission issues. That is why we decided to buy something else. The transmission in our van is starting to go out so it will be an around town only vehicle until it dies completely and then it will likely get sold for scrap value. The van simply isn't worth spending 7-8K on a new/rebuilt transmission with some other issues it has.

 

With the battery, I'd probably go in and say something like, "I just wanted to confirm that you determined the battery is bad and needs to be replaced." When they confirm it, then break our the warranty info and tell them you are so glad they found the problem and are replacing under the terms of the warranty and then watch the back-pedaling. Of course, I'm easily amused too.

 

My SA texted me today and told me they "got permission" to do the recall for the harness, but IDK if that will result in new wires or just an inspection and "close 'er up, Jim!"

He told me the person telling him the battery wasn't under warranty was wrong, that they are taking care of it, so that's good.

When I get back in the country in another week or so, I'll apply the hard-braking technique (though a visual inspection didn't reveal any visible spots on the rotor), and if still pulsing I will pull the rotors and check the runout with the local machine shop.

 

I got the official 'Safety Recall Notice' from Honda this past Wednesday saying that they have the parts and I should make an appointment to bring my truck in to get the harness replaced...

 

I got the official 'Safety Recall Notice' from Honda this past Wednesday saying that they have the parts and I should make an appointment to bring my truck in to get the harness replaced...

View attachment 459267

I got the official 'Safety Recall Notice' from Honda this past Wednesday saying that they have the parts and I should make an appointment to bring my truck in to get the harness replaced...

View attachment 459267

Me too. I got my notice yesterday. Last year I asked about this issue and was told my VIN # was not affected. I guess they have expanded the recall.

 

Just replaced OEM 3.5yr battery @40% always parked outside in Florida with auto start/stop disabled since new. Interstate from Costco was $170+tax. Wife’s garaged battery usually last 5-7 yrs. Like my 97 yr young widowed friend/ neighbor always says “ if you’re unfortunate or too lazy not to be able to do some things yourself, you had better be rich” Ain’t that the truth…

 

Sounds about like mine, except 2 years 10 months. And it only sat a the dealer's for four days before I picked it up.

 

For the brakes, find a deserted highway sometime at night. Go from a high rate of speed to around 15 to 20 mph multiple times WITHOUT fully stopping. Let the brakes cool, then drive normally and then report back. Im pretty sure that most modern cases of warped rotors arent actually warped per se but have pad build up on them.

Have 70k on mine with lots of towing. Original rotors and this has made them feel brand new multiple times. YMMV.

 

From one Hawk to another:
My front rotors warped early, too. Around the the same mileage as your Ridge. The Honda dealership I took it to machined the rotors under warranty. I thought it was very young to have that issue, too. My 2019 Mazda CX-5 went almost 60K before I had any brake service at all. I am surprised about your rear pads needing replacing at that mileage. Did your rear rotors needed machining, too?

A truck that is made for towing and hauling having any brake rotors warpage that soon speaks of cheap rotors. Oh well, nature of the beast, I guess. I'm at 16K now, my battery appears in good condition.

Best wishes going forward.

 

If the rotors are poor quality or defective so as to warp that soon, I'd want new rotors. New rotors are probably a good idea anyway as they aren't real expensive and should last longer than turned rotors. Turned rotors are also thinner so they could overheat more easily--and warp again.

 

Yes, I know about everything you said. Honda service wasn't going to budge. At that moment, I was happier getting rid of the pulsating sensation when braking. I want to replace with better quality rotors. I don't know a shop outside of Honda to have them working on my truck confidently. Who would trust to put better rotors on your truck?

 

We have several local shops with reasonable prices for brake work. Honestly, having done a ton of this work myself its one of the more routine jobs for a shop. More exotic stuff, like timing belt replacement I'd check around pretty thoroughly for an outside third party.

 

Thanks much for the information. What brand of rotors would you think are better than stock for the Ridge? My driving style is easy going, but I do occasionally drive in bumper to bumper traffic on unpredictable I-95 going to visit my Dad in the Wash, DC, metro region. Also, would consider replacing your rear rotors, too? I would greatly appreciate your assistance.

 

These have been talked about in several threads for something that would give excellent braking. I just ordered these for my truck and have them in the garage, waiting for me to replace. Hope to get to it this weekend or maybe next week. These are powerstop rotors and pads. If you were to purchase the kit for front and rear, there is a $110 rebate currently being offered by Powerstop. The rebate is good till the end of December , but must be purchased between October 31st and December 31st. Maybe someone else will chime in about these rotors and pads. I ordered them since I live up in the mountains and occasionally tow and felt I needed a little more braking capability.

More Information for POWER STOP K757636

 

That's even faster and easier than changing the engine air filter.

Replacing the rear differential fluid is also faster and easier than changing the engine oil and filter.