[ezspirit72]

Hello,
This is my first post and I'm hoping to get some purchase advice. I've nailed my search to 2 Ridgelines, a 2020 RTL with 24000 miles, and a 2019 RTL-E with 17500 miles. The asking price for each vehicle is very close, about $34,500. I'm leaning toward the 2019 due to it having blindside monitoring and NAV. Are there any other pro's and con's to each??? Thanks in advance for any input received.

 

[22RTLE]

https://www.cars.com/articles/2020-honda-ridgeline-which-should-you-buy-2019-or-2020-416503/

 

[Cbayman]

I would choose the 2020 based on it having the 9 speed AT vs the less durable 6 speed AT in the 2019 (see below). But the major con of the RTL is headlight performance (halogen vs LED in RTL-E). Maybe keep shopping for a 2020 RTL-E? For any MY be sure to check for wet carpet in the rear seat area. Need to pull up the sill trim and reach under the carpet to check for dampness.
List of 6-speed transmission failures
List of 9-speed transmission failures
POLL: Have you found water under the carpet in your 2017+ Ridgeline?

 

[ezspirit72]

Thank You so much… great info which I didn’t consider.

 

[17BE]

Nothing wrong with RTL headlights when you change bulbs for aftermarket.

 

[wjfyfe]

Hello,
This is my first post and I'm hoping to get some purchase advice. I've nailed my search to 2 Ridgelines, a 2020 RTL with 24000 miles, and a 2019 RTL-E with 17500 miles. The asking price for each vehicle is very close, about $34,500. I'm leaning toward the 2019 due to it having blindside monitoring and NAV. Are there any other pro's and con's to each??? Thanks in advance for any input received.

My take is, why pay more for a used 2019 than we paid for ours new? Personally, I would be patient and not purchase any Ridgeline with the current inflated prices.
Bill

 

[ryanmenke14]

You need to be very careful, right now there is a huge amount of scammers out there. If you go to look at it and they changer place time be leary. Force them to let your mechanic look at it. If your in california get ahold of me ill gladly help. I got sorta screwed, and I regret it. Been alot of work.

 

[Cbayman]

Nothing wrong with RTL headlights when you change bulbs for aftermarket.

Which is illegal…

 

[17BE]

Which is illegal…

Lots of things are illegal. Doing 51 mph in a 50 zone being another. Doesn't make it unsafe.

 

[Cbayman]

It’s illegal because it’s unsafe for other drivers

 

[ToyTruck]

Which is illegal…

Not necessarily. My wife’s G1 factory halogens were less than desired so I replaced them with Sylvania Silverstars, bulbs designed for that headlight housing. 25% brighter and within safety standards. LED bulbs in a halogen housing is another matter.

 

[Cbayman]

I stand corrected. By “aftermarket” I assumed @17BE was referring to LED aftermarket headlight bulbs.

 

[SEW]

The transmission difference is significant! Honda didn’t abandon their own transmission and put another company’s transmission just for no reason. The 6-sp would be enough for me to not buy any ‘17-‘19.
I had a ‘17RTL-E and now a ‘22 RTL-E. The user control of the 9-sp is much better. Also, the piece of mind with the 9-sp is significant.
Factory nav? We rarely ever use it. Just our iPhone “maps”.
I do not like the macho image of PU trucks - my physics/math/pilot background causes me to gravitate towards aerodynamic efficiency. The 17-20 looks more aerodynamically efficient than the 21-23. I taught bombing and aerodynamics in the USAF. Can’t get away from pursuing efficiency .

Back to the transmission. The ability to control what gear you want/need can be very important. The ability to do this is a major upgrade. I’m 75 & have owned Hondas since 1975. Other vehicles since 1963. My ‘17 RL (79K miles) was the first vehicle that needed a transmission replaced. It had 3 drain & fills and was 1K miles from its 4th. Very little towing, and light at that. Avoid a 6-sp!!!

 

[wjfyfe]

The transmission difference is significant! Honda didn’t abandon their own transmission and put another company’s transmission just for no reason. The 6-sp would be enough for me to not buy any ‘17-‘……………..
…..,,,,,,,Back to the transmission………. Avoid a 6-sp!!!

But yet our ScanGuage monitored, with on going fluid analysis, 6-speed has shown itself to be nothing but totally reliable, even after enduring some relatively punishing towing events. Just because a few 6-speeds have failed does not mean that the remaining majority will necessarily suffer the same fate.
Bill

 

[17BE]

The 6-sp would be enough for me to not buy any ‘17-‘19. I had a ‘17RTL-E and now a ‘22 RTL-E.

How many miles did you have on the '17 when the transmission failed? Was it the transmission itself or the torque converter? And did it have the software upgrade?

 

[Hleau]

Consult with the forum and do your research, the 2020 with the 9 spd is less fussy when it comes to the transmission and does also have the door open larger in the rear something people will have to do in the 2017-19 models. The 6spd is fine the issue is that the parallel shaft automatic tends to be much more fussy when it comes to transmission fluid quality and in the earlier models like the 2017 suffered the most and software updates have "slowed" the shifting logic to prevent ATF fluid deteriorations( just change it often its really easy)

all i have to say is the 2020 and present have more robust transmissions and the ablilty to choose gears, but also have things like start stop and much more involved ( and expensive transmission ) fuild change sequence.

the 2019 6 spd is fine you will need to change the fluid more often every 30k or yearly some even do it every other oil change because where you stand on DW1 the formulation is different than every other automatic fluid; plenty of people have switch to Valvoline Max Life but i wont get into that debate. Plus it is very easy to DIY even comes with a dipstick.

if you are simply looking at ridgeline and the prices as you say are super close within 1k or 2 go for the 2020

if you can talk down the the 2019 a few grand and the service history shows it has been maintained you cant go wrong; just crossed 165,000 miles on my 2017 just change the Oil, ATF, and Diff fluid often

 

[wjfyfe]

The 2019 6 spd is fine you will need to change the fluid more often every 30k or yearly some even do it every other oil change because where you stand on DW1 the formulation is different than every other automatic fluid; plenty of people have switch to Valvoline Max Life but i wont get into that debate. Plus it is very easy to DIY even comes with a dipstick.

I am not disputing, just trying to add some clarification, where this thread appears to support that with the 2019, doing a transmission fluid change before Honda's initial approximate 45,000 mile recommendation, (per the MM), does not appear to be especially helpful. And then after that initial change, Honda's recommendation is already doing future changes at approximately 30,000 mile intervals. Also, I do not believe that I have read where altering the fluid change interval for the engine oil and differential, outside of the MM recommendations, has proven to be particularly useful?

Like I mentioned, I am simply trying to add some clarity, not to dispute what has been said.

Bill

 

[cruise_carter]

I just picked up my 1st Ridgeline so here is just my opinion.
I drove a few and narrowed down to 2020 model year for the 9 speed over the 6 speed.
I went further to 2 2020 vehicles.
The touring I bought was discounted by the dealer from a prior price.
The other one was the next level down from the touring and I like the extra features of the touring.
The touring was at a Honda dealer and was a ‘Honda certified pre-owned’ vehicle. Honda Canada extends the powertrain warranty an extra 2 years to 7 years total. The one I bought was very clean inside, outside and underside. The one I bought has no rust underneath. The other one was from an independent dealer, lot of surface rust underneath.
Very close to same price for both.
Bought the one from the Honda dealer.

Having mothership Honda backing my touring model was a deciding factor also.

 

[ezspirit72]

Consult with the forum and do your research, the 2020 with the 9 spd is less fussy when it comes to the transmission and does also have the door open larger in the rear something people will have to do in the 2017-19 models. The 6spd is fine the issue is that the parallel shaft automatic tends to be much more fussy when it comes to transmission fluid quality and in the earlier models like the 2017 suffered the most and software updates have "slowed" the shifting logic to prevent ATF fluid deteriorations( just change it often its really easy)

all i have to say is the 2020 and present have more robust transmissions and the ablilty to choose gears, but also have things like start stop and much more involved ( and expensive transmission ) fuild change sequence.

the 2019 6 spd is fine you will need to change the fluid more often every 30k or yearly some even do it every other oil change because where you stand on DW1 the formulation is different than every other automatic fluid; plenty of people have switch to Valvoline Max Life but i wont get into that debate. Plus it is very easy to DIY even comes with a dipstick.

if you are simply looking at ridgeline and the prices as you say are super close within 1k or 2 go for the 2020

if you can talk down the the 2019 a few grand and the service history shows it has been maintained you cant go wrong; just crossed 165,000 miles on my 2017 just change the Oil, ATF, and Diff fluid often

Thank You 😊

 

[Pleease]

But yet our ScanGuage monitored, with on going fluid analysis, 6-speed has shown itself to be nothing but totally reliable, even after enduring some relatively punishing towing events. Just because a few 6-speeds have failed does not mean that the remaining majority will necessarily suffer the same fate.
Bill

ZRoger has been collecting the 6-speed transmission failure data, and if I remember correctly (I assume he'll jump in if I'm mis-quoting), he concluded that with the six-speed tranny you either have a good one or a bad one; i.e. there's no apparent logic, rhyme or reason to help us predict if a particular unit will go bad.

Personally I'm at 39k on my 2019 RTL, and since I've had no trouble so far (hope I didn't just jinx myself ) I've decided not to worry about it until I get to the 60k power train warranty deadline. So far I'd describe its operation as strong and smooth; I like the feel of it.