Because you shouldn't be messing with it. Only qualified dealer lube technicians with sophisticated equipment should be working under there. /SARCASM....

 

Wait until you have to change the oil filter......

 

I thought he said the "oil fill cap" not the drain plug.

 

At least the engine sits higher up in the RL than in my 11 Pilot. Talk about a pain to add oil. Always needed a funnel. Filter location is a hassle and limits the type of wrench you can get on it. If they over tighten it, have fun getting at it to break it free. One thing that I have done to minimize the mess is to take a section of metal flashing and bend it to make a drain channel. This way when you spin your filter off, the oil hits the flashing and drains in to the catch pan, not all over the cross members. I've also found that removing the front wheel makes it a lot easier to access.

 

You want to complain about the location of the oil filler cap on a G2? Come over and change the oil on my G5 Odyssey. I need to take the passenger wheel off every time I need to drain it and also pop out the engine cover so my funnel can sit properly. The first time I changed the oil, the OEM filter was on there so tight, I had no luck with two of the filter wrenches as one will not fit (clearance issue) and the other was slipping. I had to stab it with a screw driver, only to grab the filter tight with my hand and feel the sharp pain of it stabbing back at me.......... yea, the exit wont on the filter was sharp enough that it gave me a big FU to my finger.

It is still a bitch to change the filter on my Odyssey so count your blessings on the Ridgeline.

 

Once I get the oil filter loosened, I slip a gallon ziplock bag over it and then remove the filter the rest of the way.
My oil filter “condom” works like a charm keeping fluid from going where I don’t want it to go.

 

Is the location on the G2 much different than the G1. I have no issue with the fill/drain/filter locations.
Simple tricks make the oil maintenance a non issue in most vehicles IMHO.

Fill cap too snug - channel locks, open-end wrench, adjustable wrench, for leverage = no problem.
Fill cap location - extended funnel. I always have one in the trunk and at the garage at home.
Oil filter - wheel removal, wrench cap or strap, and Al foil ramp over frame = easy clean-up.

Each vehicle I have had has some kind of quirk. Toyota cartridge filters = plastic panels to remove and little drain tap things provided with filters or pool of oil in cartridge can to slop out. Sure the Toyota fill is on top, but you still would be a fool to not use a funnel and you better pour very slowly. Motorcycle filters over exhaust plumbing. Had a couple early Saturns that had a drip diverter under a side mounted oil filter that still needed wiping or risk stinky oil residue on the header. S-10 with easy access for most things oil, but transmission that would make you loose your mind.

I don't feel too encumbered when it comes to any, just learn/adapt and move on.

 

I was only talking about the oil filler cap. I'm not worried about the rest as Honda will be doing oil changes. I just needed to add a bit of oil and getting that cap on and off is a bit tight and if you drop it? ... well lets just say I got lucky.
The other vehicles I have seen recently have the filler cap on top or barely off to the side of the motor. My guess is it's there because the motor is mounted transversely. Just seemed odd to me.

 

I bought the factory diverter that sits on top of the frame rail and oil filter tool - definitely helps, but still poor design / layout. Almost looking to add a remote filter adapter, and move the filter somewhere else more accessible.

 

Welcome to ROC *wink. I changed a friend's 2018 Pilot oil&filter right before performing the same op on my 2017 RL. I thought I was prepared with a second hand Honda filter wrench. Nope, there was not enough clearance to use the wrench. Fortunately my trusty strap wrench came to the rescue, barely. The pilot filter came off unscathed. The RL filter was dented by the strap wrench. I was 1 attempt away from using a screw driver.

Instead of buying a funnel, I cut the bottom off a Coke bottle & gave it a 2nd life. Yes the grill is higher than a pilot or Odyssey & yes I almost had to use a tool to loosen the oil cap.

I was surprised that 5qt brought the oil level to the bottom of the dipstick. BTW the viscosity of warm 0w-20 was so thin that I had a hard time reading the dipstick. Lightbulb went off after checking oil level early in the morning before a weekend trip. I ended up adding a pint of oil for peace of mind.

I don't know about you guys but the mobil 1 looked muddy at 6k mi. I plan on reducing the oil change interval to 3k mi to see if there is any improvements. I did not use mobil 1 has a 10k mi 0w-20 variant. It does cost 30% more. Has anyone tried it?

Fortunately diff fluid change was a cake walk. Definitely wished the oil drain plug used a 3/8" socket like the tranny & diff. Instead of spending $5 on a pump, I used wine cork & 3/8" tube to transfer the duel pump ii fluid.

Definitely going to use a 1/4" tube to fill tranny fluid via the dipstick tube rather than trying to reach the fill port.

 

Ok. I have a better one for you.
Oil filter in an 06 crv!!!
Back side of the engine, about half way up. Nightmare!
I do the same thing, drape a garbage bag over the drive axle and frame or everything is coated!

 

Why are you adding oil??? Only 4500 miles and it's consumed enough oil for you to need to add a quart? As long as the oil at operating temp is sitting within the hash marks on the dip stick, leave it alone. Humans do more damage than good when they mess with stuff that is in a good place.

 

Oil level was barely touching the bottom line of the minimum mark. I had only checked it twice before and it was always on the low side. I can't imagine it "using" any oil. Checked it a bunch of times and followed the manual's recommendation to let it sit ( level of course) for 3 minutes. It was low. I only added about a half a cup if that. Now reads in the center.

 

When I got home from buying mine i checked the oil after letting it sit overnight and it was just at the lower edge of the low mark. I added a little also because I like it more towards the middle of the marks. Just a habit. And the manufacturer set the upper and lower marks. So anywhere in the middle is good. More people should check their oil and transmission level and not assume it’s right.

A friends dad bought a new truck this year and after driving home found his oil about a quart low. On a 9 quart system. When he talked to the dealer. They said the factory fills them to the min. They can’t afford to top all of the engines off when they get them. Although he agreed that he should add a little to get the oil in the middle of the marks. They weren’t paying for it.
All manufacturers are doing this.
A penny here. A penny there. $

 

Have you noticed those openings at the fenders? Huge potential for a problem there.

 

I have not but thanks for the heads up. Probably won't be an issue as I probably will not need to add oil often and Honda is going to do the changes but my heart sank when I dropped that cap trying to screw it back on and saw it fall into the abyss.. Thankfully it fell to the bottom.

 

I always have taken my brand new vehicles to the dealer for the first oil changes because Gorilla San is the Honda employee of the year that torques on the oil filters. After the first time, I then have done my own oil changes until my Miata and now my Ridgeline. Obviously YMMV.

 

I always have taken my brand new vehicles to the dealer for the first oil changes because Gorilla San is the Honda employee of the year that torques on the oil filters.

That is really funny. Had a good chuckle.

 

Did my first oil change on our 2019 RTL-E I purchased in September and hate the oil fill location and angle! Installed a Stahlbus valve in place of the plug to make future changes easier. First time I've used Stahlbus. All of the others have been Fumoto valves on my other vehicles.

The stahlbus® oil drain valve

 

Anyone have a picture of where the oil filter is located on a 2019? Would like to just change the filter for now, Thanks !

 

Look for the blue can in the right front fender well.

 

I have ramps, but my plan is to get some 2x12s and cut them to different lengths, then stack them to make custom drive-up ramps. I think this will provide a more solid footing for turning the wheel to the right to access the filter, and can get a more custom height on the ramps.

 

No matter how difficult the RL filter is...it will never be the pain in the ### that the CRV filter is!!
Truth! haha

 

I had a 1984 Honda Prelude and a 1986 Accord and on both of them the filter was mounted high up on the back side of the engine. You could not get to it from the top with out removing a lot of stuff and it was a long way up to get it from the bottom. Oh, and there was only about 2 inches between the filter and the firewall!

 

Because you shouldn't be messing with it. Only qualified dealer lube technicians with sophisticated equipment should be working under there. /SARCASM....

View attachment 399540

Yeah

Look for the blue can in the right front fender well.

I trimmed the plastic "splash guard" back 4" for better access.

 

You can definitely do it on ramps, and you don't need to turn the wheels at all if you go from underneath. I changed the filter on my G1 the same way.

 

I got this filter wrench, do you guys think it will work? Amazon.com: KiWAV Oil Filter Wrench Removal tool for Honda Hawk 65 mm x 14 flutes: Automotive

 

I got this filter wrench, do you guys think it will work? Amazon.com: KiWAV Oil Filter Wrench Removal tool for Honda Hawk 65 mm x 14 flutes: Automotive

You need one of these .....

 

I've always liked the K&N oil filters for the welded on nut they have on the bottom.

 

I'm at 1600 miles and my oil life is @ 60%. I would like to change out the filter, add oil to filter, to eliminate a dry start, and top off as necessary, and let it ride until the MM says 20%. I feel that the filter could have the normal, perhaps even more, of the break-in metal shavings, and a new filter is a small investment for the engine. Most of the time I just change the oil at this point, but I like the idea of keeping the 1st factory fill in, because of the extra moly from the engine assembly. Opinions ?

 

Considering that Honda, as well as other mfrs, recommend changing the oil filter EVERY OTHER OIL CHANGE, i think you would be fine leaving the original filter on for the duration of the first go-round. That is my plan.

But if it is worth your peace of mind, feel free to change it. It likely won't hurt anything.

 

That might be a feel good measure to change the filter. I plan on tearing my first ( OE ) filter apart for inspection. A feel good thing.
I took the first filter apart on my Kawasaki & found assembly debris on the element. Didn't seem to matter though, the bike now has about 60 K miles with no issues.