[maybearidge]

I git a call back from Honda... finally... about 2 major issues effecting many Ridgeline owners.

Here is what I heard.


-There is no info at all on any wind noise reported to them...not true.
-The trip computer can not be just turned on by software ...as reported on ROC- I find that hard to believe.

I really got 0 satisfaction out of talking with them. They do not say anything about others problems reported.

 

[Long Gone]

Hi gang!! Here is a few of the posts I thought were important to post together. I did some editing and some SPELL check!! Maybe it will help someone else who has this/these issues to expidite repairs. I printed them out and gave them to my dealer. If they can't fix the pond on the floor of my truck with this information, there is a problem in Houston.


The following paragraphs are from previous posts:

I just talked to my dealer about the leak under the dash. They say there is a leak around the windshield and a new windshield will need to be installed. They are ordering a new honda windshield which is expected Thursday and have a special team coming in to install it. They have really worked hard to find the leak so I've been really happy with them. They want to keep it until the repair is complete to prevent any damage from the water but they provided a rental.

Update On Soggy Carpets,just Returned From My Honda Dealer,the Leak Is Due To An Open Seam On The Passenger's Side "a" Pillar.the Service Advisor Said Honda Is Aware Of The Problem.the Right Front Fender Has To Be Removed To Effect The Repair.

After Finding The Leak In The Front Passenger Side,the Interior Trim Was Removed And Water Was Directed Down The "a"pillar Along The Windshield Seam.the Pillar Is Tack Welded But Not Sealed And The Water Leaked Through The Holes That The Wiring Bundle Clamps Are Attached To.the Dealership Is:

Love Honda
#352-628-9444
Ron Rowles Is The Service Advisor.



After 3 days my Service Department found 2 leaks, one on their own and one via chasam's/Tech Line's help.
They found the 1st leak behind the dash on the driver's side, much lower than the A-Pillar repair as noted above. Then today Tech Line called them to advise completing the repair above as well. I should have my RL back tomorrow. I will post anything they give me on my Invoice as to exact locations and solutions also a TSB if they have one.



My Service Department did the A Pillar repair on both the Driver and Passenger sides but the water was still coming in. They found 2 clips behind the dash that don't appear to be sealed when they sealed these the water stopped invading the interior of the truck

They took a bunch of pictures and sent them to tech line.

My Service Department asked to keep my RL over the weekend to make sure everything is dried out before replacing the carpet.

Just an update on my repairs. Both the passenger and driver's sides have been resealed. A hole on the passenger's side was also sealed. could be the cause of some wind noise complaints, leak tested ok, just waiting for the firewall carpet to come in. The Tech performing the fix is replacing all the carpeting. I can hardly wait to get my truck back.

As for the customer relations people they were more helpful and courteous than the district case manager who was a day late and a dollar short, definitely not impressed with his grasp of the situation. Will let you know when were up and running.
I got my RL back today. They sealed the snot out of the front end. Both A pillar joints were resealed as well as 2 clips that are near the bottom of the A pillar run-off area.

Unfortunately, both are inaccessible to me and my camera as they both under the fender well which needed to be taken off to seal these areas up. Honda has some very nice pictures of what needs to be repaired (I saw them today). I think they used chasam and my RLs as the models for the TSB, chasam's RL to find the A pillar leak and mine for the clips and pictures (my RL is very photogenic)

My dealer was Hyannis Honda 508-778-7878. The Tech Line Ref # on my receipt is 1560783. I took my car to the car wash today and not a drop of water came in. Wiring under the dash was very dry, so I think the windshield and gasket replacement worked. I'm still a bit uneasy as everyone keeps posting these dramatic repairs, but my problem seems fixed. Hopefully it will rain soon for a driving test. Rain is predicted tomorrow, so we'll see.
I brought the ridgeline in on Monday. They confirmed that it was leaking and gave me a 05 civic to drive. Tuesday they found the leak in the windshield gasket which they said was deformed. They ordered a windshield and gasket which came in Thursday. They kept the RL since it was raining and they didn't want any damage. Thursday afternoon I picked it up. From what the service manager said, this looks like it is a production issue, so I wouldn't be surprised if dealers start keeping the windshield gaskets in stock. It is not a windshield issue, but the gasket. Apparently the windshield usually breaks with removal so they replace both. Hope this is helpful. I've been thrilled with how my dealer approached this. I'm still a little worried that there is more to come given the posts by others, but if just replacing a windshield will correct it I am all for it. By the way, I didn't have wind noise.

 

[Ultra-HOG]

Mayberidge:
WOW! THAT IS VERY DISAPPOINTING AND DISCOURAGING! I really thought that Honda was more in touch with their customers concerns than that. What was the point of the call? I am very concerned that my ordered RTL-Navi that should be arriving at my dealer and day now will have the same wind noise and WATER LEAKS that many owners have been experiencing for the past month or more. Most owners that have experienced these problems seem to indicate that their dealers, and perhaps the local Honda zone reps, have been very good about trying to resolve the problems. If Honda Customer Relations position on the known issues, especially with a new model, is to deny that they exist at all, it certainly does not give me confidence in them. Frankly, I would have expected them to acknowledge the problems and be honest with you as to the current status of the corrective actions that are being taken. My confidence in Honda has been good enough that Honda is the only vehicle manufacturer that I would consider buying a first year model from. Now my confidence is not quite so high... I will be watching very carefully over the next week or so.

My wife drives an Accord that we love. We just bought an Element for our youngest daughter (great vehicle!). Our oldest daughter just had her third child so she now needs a mini van. (That makes my wife a grandmother for the fourth time - I am too young to be a grandfather! Ha Ha!) We are in the market for an Ody for her, but, sadly, that too could change.

 

[maybearidge]

Don't get me wrong...I love my Ridgeline. I can accept certain issues as an early buyer of a product, but I would like an eventual fix. The two issues I mentioned were treated as if they were the first they have ever heard of them. Maybe the Ridgeline manufacturing issues should be brought to a different source that would get Honda's attention? I bet one published article about problems with the Ridge would do the trick. Someone else had said that Honda was looking in to the problem....Honda needs their staff to have a united message. All I wanted to hear was that Honda was working on the issues.

 

[Ridge]

Honda corp. told me they are aware and are working on a resolution. The best thing is just test drive off the lot and not order one. It's the shortest path to Ridgeline bliss.

 

[Long Gone]

Honda corp. told me they are aware and are working on a resolution. The best thing is just test drive off the lot and not order one. It's the shortest path to Ridgeline bliss.

I don't know what to think.
When I spoke to Teresa yesterday, she gave me no indication whatsoever that they had a clue about all the issues here.

Honda..if you are listening...

WE NEED POSITIVE RESULTS!! HONEST ANSWERS!! STRAIGHT FORWARDNESS!! KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU KNOW OF THESE PROBLEMS AND INTEND TO REMEDY THEM!! INFORM ALL YOUR CALLERS REGARDING SAID ISSUES THAT YOU ARE AWARE!!
WE are the reason your Ridgeline will succeed or fail!! This club is your BEST resource to the information highway of your buyers!!
LISTEN UP!!


Have a nice day!!

 

[csimo]

I don't own a Ridgeline yet, but here's my take on the trip computer issue. If it is in fact listed in the manual that the Ridgeline has a trip computer I feel Honda has the obligation to provide that product. I have no knowledge of the actual manual, just what others have posted.

Secondly I have it on very good authority that it is nothing more than a software issue to enable the trip computer. A good friend of mine works for NavTeq. He called someone he knows at Alpine. NavTeq provides the map data to Alpine. Alpine builds the Honda navigation systems.

The Alpine friend of a friend claims it was requested by Honda to disable the trip computer. The functions are there and operable, just disabled via software. The actual navigation unit is identical to the Acura MDX which has the trip computer enabled.

If I were a Ridgeline owner and had this problem, and the manual did list the trip computer I would have both Honda and the dealer in front of a judge to explain why it isn't in the vehicle. I would ask the court for specific performance (enable the trip computer) rather than monetary damages. Not likely but possible. That's just me. In any case I believe I would get the $2000 back that the navi costs.

If just one of you took this action... even in small claims court it would open the floodgates and Honda would enable the trip computer. Bet ya.

 

[vertrkr]

Here's the deal with the trip computer. Indeed it's all there just software disabled. Honda did this because of bad JD Powers reviews from MDX owners who did not understand how to interpret the mpg the trip computer showed properly. They'd drive a couple a miles and see low mpg numbers and freak out on their new car and report as such to JD power when questioned. Many consumers take JD powers as the holy grail so Honda takes it very seriously. With the Ridgeline being the lowest mpg car Honda has ever made they did not want to take a chance with another lousy JD Powers review from ignorant owners so they simply disabled the trip computer. Sad but true. Management is taking a pretty firm stance on this so I doubt we'll ever get be able to get it re-enabled no matter how much we bitch, still can't hurt to call and complain though.

 

[Whaleya]

What about if you could enable it with a certain button combination and post that Easter Egg online?

That way the car nerds could have the computer but it wouldn't affect the JD Powers ratings?

 

[vertrkr]

What about if you could enable it with a certain button combination and post that Easter Egg online?
That way the car nerds could have the computer but it wouldn't affect the JD Powers ratings?

I've gone into the diagnostic screen and tried every trick I know, no luck. It does make mention of the trip computer and A/C functions in the lower levels so I know it's there but just can't activate it. Hopefully someone much smarter than me can maybe write some code we can transfer to a PC card and upload it into our systems. If you didn't know the DVD play has a PC card slot used for down/uploading data.

 

[Featser]

To me, the wind noise issue (which I don't have) seems the only serious problem to date. Perhaps if this site compiled a list VINs with the problem some common thread will appear.

 

[3yrRidge]

I don't own a Ridgeline yet, but here's my take on the trip computer issue. If it is in fact listed in the manual that the Ridgeline has a trip computer I feel Honda has the obligation to provide that product. I have no knowledge of the actual manual, just what others have posted.

Secondly I have it on very good authority that it is nothing more than a software issue to enable the trip computer. A good friend of mine works for NavTeq. He called someone he knows at Alpine. NavTeq provides the map data to Alpine. Alpine builds the Honda navigation systems.

The Alpine friend of a friend claims it was requested by Honda to disable the trip computer. The functions are there and operable, just disabled via software. The actual navigation unit is identical to the Acura MDX which has the trip computer enabled.

If I were a Ridgeline owner and had this problem, and the manual did list the trip computer I would have both Honda and the dealer in front of a judge to explain why it isn't in the vehicle. I would ask the court for specific performance (enable the trip computer) rather than monetary damages. Not likely but possible. That's just me. In any case I believe I would get the $2000 back that the navi costs.

If just one of you took this action... even in small claims court it would open the floodgates and Honda would enable the trip computer. Bet ya.

The problem here is that there is no manual that describes a trip computer. Nothing in any sales information, nothing in any Owner's Manuals, nothing on Honda's corporate web site. So this is not a "problem" as you state, it's just a feature that Honda chose to leave out. Maybe if enough people complain, it could be added in the future. But if they didn't promise it, and I can't find anywhere that they did, it's really not an issue.

 

[vertrkr]

The problem here is that there is no manual that describes a trip computer. Nothing in any sales information, nothing in any Owner's Manuals, nothing on Honda's corporate web site. So this is not a "problem" as you state, it's just a feature that Honda chose to leave out. Maybe if enough people complain, it could be added in the future. But if they didn't promise it, and I can't find anywhere that they did, it's really not an issue.

Actually there's a picture of the Trip Computer screen button on the last page or near it in the Quick Start Guide. That's the only mention of it though. Really irks me we got jipped out of the trip computer when it's all there and simply disabled for markenting purposes.

Csimo, any chance you could ask your friend if there's a way for us mere mortal users to turn it back on?

 

[csimo]

Actually there's a picture of the Trip Computer screen button on the last page or near it in the Quick Start Guide. That's the only mention of it though. Really irks me we got jipped out of the trip computer when it's all there and simply disabled for markenting purposes.

Csimo, any chance you could ask your friend if there's a way for us mere mortal users to turn it back on?

Yes, I've already asked that question and he believes that YES there is way to activate the trip computer. Here's the info I was provided.

The Ridgeline uses the EXACT same nav hardware as a 2005 Acura MDX and RL (it is a completely different system than the Accord, Pilot, TL, TSX, and Odyssey have). The current DVD version for the MDX and RL is 4.13a. The Ridgeline uses DVD version 4.20.

If you were to put a Ridgeline DVD into an MDX or RL it would automatically upgrade to version 4.20 and DISABLE the trip computer.

If you put a version 4.13a DVD into a Ridgeline it will tell you "incorrect version" because you can't go backward in versions without getting the service department involved.

You need to have the service department enable the nav unit for a backwards revision. Once the unit is wiped clean you can then load DVD version 4.13a from a MDX or RL and the trip computer SHOULD be enabled.

So the bottom line is that you need a cooperative service department and a DVD from a 2005 (2004 and previous won't work) MDX or RL. Don't count on burning a copy because it just won't work.

If you accomplish this you can't put the Ridgeline 4.20 DVD back in the unit or it will automatically upgrade and disable the trip computer.

 

[vertrkr]

Very interesting. A wrench in the works is my DVD is actually 4.13A. My neighbor has an '05 MDX so I'll give it a shot anyway. Actually this may work in my favor perhaps. I'll let ya know. I'll be forever in your debt in this works

 

[csimo]

I should add that the above is information I was provided. I have no first hand knowledge of these things.

 

[vertrkr]

Hmmm, guess I didn't think this thru the first time. Basically I need a DVD in there so if it did update I still have to put my original DVD back in so either it will reject it because it's a lesser version or update the firmware again disabling the trip computer.

So, then I guess at this point my only option is to fork out $185 and buy a MDX DVD when they release a new version higher than what I got and then I can keep that one in. So I guess I'll wait it out until then. Hopefully Honda will see the light and re-enable on their own otherwise I'll just hold a grudge and fork out the dough so I can get the damn thing.

 

[maybearidge]

I wonder if we all tried to contact JD Power would this help the wind noise issue??

 

[vertrkr]

I wonder if we all tried to contact JD Power would this help the wind noise issue??

Honda would just disable the wind shield on the next model change

Seriously, I have no idea. Honda certainly wouldn't like it but I doubt it would change anything in the short term. I think they are concerned about the issue and trying their best to find a fix it's just one of those really tough gremlins to track down it seems.