[MarkCobra]

I'm starting to wonder if my ridge is worth the aggrevation anymore. Since I bought the truck in August I have had the following issues:

Rear Bumper Peeling
White dots throughout entire paint
Water leaking in passenger side front and rear
Creeky steering wheel
driver side interior door handle snapped

The truck was totally re painted and looks great. Driver side door handle I fixed myself after I got a new clip from dealer. Steering wheel is noisy but not a big issue right now for me.

The water leak is though. The first dealer I went to where I bought the truck didn't know anything about the leak. They had the truck for 4 days and claimed they fixed it. They vacuumed the rugs and cleaned them. The truck still leaks. The carpets are always wet because even the water that forms on the car overnight gets in. When I called the dealer back they said they talked to the honda rep and he said that they will now replace the carpets the next time I bring it in to fix the leak. This dealer is 30 minutes away. I'm taking the truck in Monday for the water leak to a different dealer which is only 5 minutes away. They say they have dealt with water leaking into Pilots in the past but not ridgelines. They are aware of the TSB I just hope they will replace the carpets, I'm going to demand that they do. The other thing that pisses me off is that this closer dealer to me won't give me a loaner they say I have to pay for it and that the service I'm getting doesn't allow for them to give me a free loaner. It's not a big deal I have a spare truck to drive but still it's the principle that matters. The other dealer gave me a loaner no questions ask. I can't wait till Monday I'm ready for battle.

The bottom line is my neighbor told me not to buy a first year car. I should have listened to him. But I feel like I have invested so much with the re paint and the pure joy I get from driving the Ridge. Whose to say if I get another Ridge through the dealer because of these problems that a new one won't do the same. I'm worried about resale value too how long will a fix hold up?

I'm really at a crossroads right now. Are people who had the leak and gotten it fixed, is it really fixed? I'd like to hear from all of you.

Mark

 

[Truckin']

Mark, that is quite a list and I can see why you feel discouraged. I don't know what to say except good luck getting the issues resolved for good. It's clear that you love your truck in spite of the problems.

 

[Long Gone]

Hey Mark..I had the water leak. I too was very frustrated because it was very early in April I found it and I bought her in March. They did find a fix AFTER they took it to a body shop for tear down. The dealer was clueless. I would go with a dealer who knows about the issue. I understand about the loaner. I worked for the dealer I bought her from and we had 20 loaners on sight and they said Honda would not pay for it so for a week I was hitching rides.
The end result. I love my truck and anything I have to do to make it right I did. They DID replace my carpet. I insisted.
Read this thread carefully and find a dealer who knows the fix and call them.
Good luck and don't give up on your Ridgeline.
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=693&highlight=trouble+paradise

 

[GaryP]

I have been either very fortunate or I suspect just quite average in that I haven't had any problems. My biggest beef is the easily scratched box. Not much of a list. I am sorry to hear of all your problems.

I know Honda is one of the few companies that will replace a vehicle outright. They did it for me, one of the reasons I am now such a Honda fan

Gary P

 

[JungleJim]

The truck was totally re painted and looks great.

I'm worried about resale value too how long will a fix hold up?


Mark

The re-painting just by itself really lowered your resale value, unless you find an unknowledgable buyer. If you do a trade-in at a dealership, you will not get full value.

Honda really let you down on this one...

 

[SmokyMtnRidger]

I am not very familiar with the Lemon Law, but would that possibly apply with your vehicle? Have you spoken with American Honda about your troubles?

I am sorry about your problems. Not that this is of any help, but I think that your experiences have been the exception.

 

[captmiddy]

Lemon Laws generally deal with repeated identical problems over an extended period of time and you have to be without the vehicle for an amount of time for it to meet the requirements. Sounds like this one may be getting close to that for the water leak problem. Unfortunately, if you are not willing to live with the problems that are bound to come up with being an early adopter, then your friends may be right and you shouldn't have purchased a Ridgeline. This isn't to excuse the major problems you are having though and I would certainly start getting after AHM to help make it right. And certainly insist on replacement carpet.

 

[Tex's Ridge]

Hi Mark. Have you heard back from the dealer who is working on your truck (water leak)?

 

[MarkCobra]

Hey guys. Thanks for responding in my time of need.

The dealer has been water testing the car since Monday.

I heard from the them a little while ago and they said that they have found the leak. They have 23 hours on the ticket so far. Today they told me at first that it didn't look good that they were able to fix the leak and that an engineer from Honda was going to have to come out and help fix it. After a couple of hours the service director called me back and said that they found where the problem is after talking to tech support. He also said that when he talked to Honda that it was a problem that alot of Ridgelines all over are having...of course we all knew that. They filled the seam up where the water was leaking and they need to keep it overnight to water test in the morning. He said that now they are very confident that the problem is solved. Once we know it doesn't leak they said that they will replace my carpets.

The dealer said that my leak was coming from the middle pillar right behind the front door that was why it was going into the front and rear. I will let everyone know for sure when I pickup the truck and read the receipt.

Mark

 

[kbird]

I have been either very fortunate or I suspect just quite average in that I haven't had any problems. My biggest beef is the easily scratched box. Not much of a list. I am sorry to hear of all your problems.


Gary P

Hmmm...Apart from the re lube of a suspension piece, like you, I haven't had a single other problem...Any Canadian RLs with the water/windshield/noise/etc. problems out there?

 

[mayfielh]

Excellent news. Glad they offered the new carpet without extreme headaches and debating over what is right in this case.

 

[captmiddy]

This is really good news. Hopefully the water problems are gone and you will have nice new carpets shortly and that will give you back that almost new car smell.

 

[mitek]

Mine has windshield noise and several squeaks in Canada. Still waiting for my first service. Love the truck though.

 

[dbb]

Mine has windshield noise and several squeaks in Canada.

Move to the U.S.

 

[fatboy]

Just curious. Is there some sort of correlation regarding the leak in the center pillar between the doors and people with a roof rack? ie: only people that have the roof rack are having this issue.

 

[captmiddy]

Just curious. Is there some sort of correlation regarding the leak in the center pillar between the doors and people with a roof rack? ie: only people that have the roof rack are having this issue.

There was a poll done somewhere on the site, and I believe the conclusion was that there wasn't a correlation between the two. I have a roof rack and haven't had any leak problems at all. I keep running out to check my floors just to be sure but no water yet.

 

[shovelhd]

Me too. And mine is a (HORRORS!!!!) early build.

 

[flymuck]

Just curious. Is there some sort of correlation regarding the leak in the center pillar between the doors and people with a roof rack? ie: only people that have the roof rack are having this issue.

Yeah, I ran a poll based on a theory someone had presented about the gaskets used in installing the roof rack potentially leading to this rear-area leak... as far as I can tell from the results of the poll, many people have the rear-area leak and *don't* have roof racks... that being said, I'm not sure that people were able to narrow down the source of the leak (in other words, whether or not they saw water coming down the center pillar, etc.).

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3202&highlight=poll

Sorry I can't be of more help... I want to know the answer to this too, since I have the roof racks (dealer-installed)... unfortunately, we haven't had enough rain to test it out... just sunny days, one after the next... living in SoCal is awful!! LOL

 

[MarkCobra]

Just wanted to keep everyone up to date. The Line is doing good. Alot of heavy rain and bone dry. They also fixed the steering wheel creek and I spoke with American Honda and they are reimbursing me a truck payment for all my troubles, which I think is pretty cool.

Mark

 

[Truckin']

Thanks for coming back to post the update. That is a fabulous report. I'm glad you've gotten your troubles resolved and got such a strong response from Honda. Now that builds customer loyalty!