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Honda has continued to confuse the issue. It began with the G1 when the hitch and harness were all accessories except for 2007-2008 when the RTX came from the factory with the full hitch and wiring harness. Then in 2009, Honda put the hitch on ALL RL trims, but only included the full wiring harness on the RTS and RTL trims.

That continued as Honda made the Sport (hitch but no harness) and the SE (full hitch and harness).

Look Honda. It's a truck. Put the full tow kit on all trims. Don't confuse the customer and the issue. You really need to be clear about this.

I don't blame people for being upset.

For those of you stuck with a RL trim without the harness, do yourself a favor and put the OEM harness on it if you're going to use it. Do NOT use an aftermarket kit. (assuming the G2 RL harness is similar to the G1 harness with associated relays, etc.)

 

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While I can appreciate your aggravation with this whole scenario Jim_bo, I suggest you back off for a bit and look at it again in a week or so. I suspect you might have a bit different perspective. At least you're not dealing with frame rot or other insidious issue that cropped up after buying the vehicle.

At this point, I'd ask Honda for reimbursement for the harness and/or installation you paid for. If they do so, they'll probably send you a letter of credit or some such rather useless reimbursement that you have to use at your dealer. But at least you can use it to pay for parts/fluids/service which is actually worth something.

Honda definitely does not have their customer service ducks in a row. But they appear to be trying... sorta.

 

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But, but if the hitch wiring system was included with the hitch, as anyone would expect...You could use the $200. gift card for nitrogen, and pin stripe tape...:smile:

I've always thought Honda was mistaken in making the tow package semi-complete in some trims and complete it others. I say make it all in on all trims. But what do I know.

 

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Dean, other than the RTX model in 2007-08, Honda only did pre-wire on all models until year 2009. In 2009-2014, Honda installed hitches on all trims, but only did the full wiring harness on RTS and up trim lines. Otherwise, lower trims only had the pre-wire.

It appears that Honda has continued this practice with the G2 RL, but I do not know the trim line demarcation line between the have and the have-nots when it comes to the full wiring harness.

I'm sure a knowledgeable G2 RL owner will step in here and correct my information if any part is in error, but I suspect your dealer is correct that you will need the full harness. Hopefully he will be negotiable on the price of the part and will work with you on the cost to install.

 

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No, that is simply the pre-wire.

If the G2 is like the G1 in this regard (and I have no reason to think Honda changed their approach in the G2), here's a G1 definition of pre-wire.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/590172-post5.html

Using this tool:
Compare Vehicles - Official Honda Web Site

I compared various models and trim lines and discovered that ALL 2wd models are pre-wired and ALL AWD models have the complete wiring harness. Interesting move on Honda's part, and a change from their prior way of doing business. Actually, I have no problem with this approach as I have to wonder how many owners will tow with a 2wd version compared to an AWD version.

For example, the RT/2WD is on the left, the RT/AWD is on the right:

Again, any knowledgeable G2 owner, please jump in and correct me if I have anything wrong with the G2 info.

 

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I'm not sure of the practical difference for towing in a FWD vs a RWD truck. I've heard it can be interesting at the boat ramp pulling out a heavy boat with FWD only. But yeah, for general usage, I can see it would be useful even with a FWD only truck.

I agree Honda should include the full wiring package.. especially when they include the hitch on all trims. Go figure.

In the past (on the G1 RL), tapping into the brake light circuit to power the hitch wiring has proven to be a bad idea. The Honda wiring harness includes relays and is designed to keep the truck electrics separate from the trailer electrics such that a failure of one won't affect the other

There have been too many instances of owners asking for help with their electrics that have been traced back to the 3rd party harness they (or someone) installed by tapping into the circuits. If the G2 is anything like the G1 in this area, using a 3rd party harness is a good way to insure electronic gremlin issues down the road. Ergo, I would caution against using a 3rd party harness.

If you are DIY inclined, you can get the wiring harness for ~$175 online. For example:
https://www.collegehillshondaparts....yMDE3JnQ9cnQtMndkJmU9Ni1zcGVlZC1hdXRvbWF0aWM=

However, I just checked the Honda estore (which has installation instructions for various accessories) and the procedure to install the wiring harness is entirely different from the G1.
http://techinfo.honda.com/********/pubs/AI/AH/AII02857-24/enu/AII02857-24.pdf

If that link doesn't work, look for the 2017 Ridgeline trailer harness here:
https://estore.honda.com/honda/acce...year=2017&model=Ridgeline&modelName=Ridgeline

Honda definitely should have included the full wiring harness on all trucks imo.

 

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Dean,

If your even slightly inclined, you should be able to do it yourself, and more than likely in under 2hrs.

And if the dealer won't match the online pricing, I'd call another. My local dealer wanted $139 or $149 for a new (1) 2006 Remote Key, I called several within an hour, I got one to match the price I had found and clear the lost key, reprogram all the existing keys, cut me an additional replacement Valet Key for $119, so I now have 3 remote keys and a Valet key. (just an example of calling around to get better service)

YMMV

While that was true of the G1 RL harness installation, I'm not sure about the G2. Did you review the instructions I linked upthread? Maybe it's simpler than it looks on first glance. I dunno.