[stevem5215]

For those of you who think the judder isn't a problem and doesn't cause transmission failures. You should look at the oil analysis sheets that those of us have done. What is happening is that the fluid viscosity levels are dropping quickly. Even after a 3x change they can drop quickly. Even with a better base stock fluid like AMSOIL it seems to drop quickly. A good change interval will keep the judder at bay and also keep your viscosity levels up high enough to PREVENT the judder problem (which is a side effect of worn out fluid). Sure, Honda may say that it won't cause problems (and sure, changing the fluid helps of course) but long term I think we are seeing the failures occurring in higher mileages now that the Ridgeline has been in operation for a while. Back when these were new there were early premature trans failures but they could have been for low quality parts issues. With mileage on them now the thing we will see is mileage failures from use and time. Keeping up on the fluid is now more important than ever. Keep the viscosity levels up there and it'll protect the moving parts in the transmissions and will prevent metal on metal wear. That's one of it's important purposes. Reduced long term wear.

 

[stevem5215]

I've said it all along, if you read any of the car groups that you might be considering buying a car in, you won't buy any car. They are all JUNK on the groups. And it's been like that since we had USENET before forum software. It doesn't matter. Everyone who has issues post things up. Those who don't never reply. Me included. My Ridgeline has never been repaired for anything. New tires yes, alignment that was off from factory done for new tires but that's preventative maint and not really broken. All my broken stuff has "fixed" itself for some odd reason. Yeah, I had the gas tank cover recall done but that was painless and took about an hour at the dealer. They didn't try to hit me for anything else to repair or work on. All cars show up on the forums as junk. What we need to look for is overwhelming problems that occur in the groups. That can help to sway a decision on whether or not a car is worth taking a risk on. With used cars it's easy as you see the problems. With new cars not so easy as no one has experienced the problems yet. Risks both ways. And warranties are only as good as the dealer and manufacturer fixing them long term.