# 2007 Honda Ridgeline RTL



## zannej (Apr 27, 2017)

Since my brother gave up on his hunk of junk chevy that kept having problems, he ended up replacing it with a 2007 Honda Ridgeline RTL with navigation. It's nimbus grey metallic color and has many of the same features as the 2013 RTL we got last year.

The front grille is a bit different but the body is generally the same as the 2013. 

Here's a picture of it from the dealership's website:






The 2013 has more chrome on the grille/front than this one.















The navigation feature wasn't advertised so it was a pleasant surprise that it has it.

My brother has already added some thing so that when he opens his doors in the dark, it projects the Punisher symbol on the ground. He wants to get a Punisher decal for the hood and put on Punisher valve caps and stuff.

He'll probably add the rear mud guards since it only came with front ones.

The RTL comes with leather seats, moon roof, and heated front seats. It's AWD so it handles the road well. My brother put heated seat covers on the back seat for his passengers. He also got custom fit Weathertech floor mats.

So far he's very happy with it.

Oops. I typod the title of this. It's supposed to be 2007. Any admins able to fix that for me?


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## Chris (Apr 27, 2017)

Thats a nice looking car. Looks like a little Chevy Avalanche.


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## Rusty (Apr 27, 2017)

I like that.


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## zannej (Apr 28, 2017)

My bro really liked it when I first sent him the link. He liked it even more in person. The seats are very comfortable for him. He's already installed his floor mats and he's ordered LED headlights and some other accessories for it.

Got the airbag recall taken care of on it. Called up the dealership and they said "bring it in today" so we did. Although, for the first time they pulled the thing where they said it needed a ton of work. Like $4k worth of work. LOL. I believe them about the timing belt and stuff and we are scheduled for that. But we're going to have someone else check out the other stuff they claimed needed to be replaced. I told them I have someone who can do that stuff for us and they were like "make sure you buy the parts from us!" and I sort of chuckled. Nope. Buying the parts somewhere that won't charge up the wazoo. They said something about catalytic converter, struts, brakes, etc. I have a friend who knows where to get the parts at a decent price and who can install the stuff for free. The labor was like 3x the price of the parts. 

This is what they said needed to be done and their prices. 





Any idea WTF compliance bushings are?

They never pulled that with us with any other vehicles before though. I wonder if it actually needs all that work done.

When my bro went to look at the engine, a piece of plastic for the hood release broke off. The dealership was all "Oh, you NEED to get that replaced! It will be $21!" and my brother said "Nah, I can still pull the lever, I don't need it". LOL.


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## havasu (Apr 28, 2017)

Compliance bushing is just control arm bushings. You need the bushing remover kit, but otherwise, seems pretty straight forward to install.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYjP9kYLdLQ[/ame]


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## Chris (Apr 28, 2017)

That and they are the dealer so anything not in brand new condition they will call out. I needed new rear brakes for my diesel, they lasted three years from when they said they were toast.


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## havasu (Apr 28, 2017)

This is what happens when the service writers work on commission.


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## Chris (Apr 28, 2017)

How did they know the CAT was bad? does it have a check engine light on? Or did they pull the "I can smell it" routine?


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## zannej (Apr 28, 2017)

Chris said:


> How did they know the CAT was bad? does it have a check engine light on? Or did they pull the "I can smell it" routine?



Check engine light was on.

I talked to other ridgeline owners and they said the price for several of the items was massively inflated. like, the nearly $600 one is for a $13 part. I'm pretty sure my friends have the tool. They said the strut assembly needs to be done, but the truck isn't showing any symptoms. I think someone said there would be a clunking noise but we didn't hear anything.

I'm going to talk to the dealership on monday and get the specific part #s for all of the things needed so I know what they claim needs to be ordered and then find the parts online (after having my friends check out the vehicle to see whether or not the dealership is BSing).


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## Rusty (Apr 28, 2017)

I have never had the cat converter changed on a vehicle in my life. It is almost impossible for one to go bad.


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## Chris (Apr 29, 2017)

I have but we also have crappy California fuel with a bunch of additives to make your car run horrible


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## zannej (Apr 30, 2017)

I don't know what kind of fuel the previous owners were using, but my mechanic friend said to use about 2 bottles of SeaFoam to see if it clears it and makes the "check engine" light go away.

He also said that the bushings are a complete p.i.t.a. to install so it would be easier to just get the whole control arm assembly with the bushings already in them. Official parts store wanted like $324 for each arm. I found both arms with bushings for $168 on Amazon and my friend can install them for free.

Everyone I talked to recommended getting the water pump replaced while the timing belts were being done (since the pump hasn't been replaced and it's got nearly 186k miles on it). Said it will save on labor costs in the long run.

Other Ridgeline owners also called BS on the strut mounts and told me that unless the truck is showing symptoms of a problem (such as making a clunking noise) then they are probably fine. Although if they really do need to be replaced, another ridgeline owner found the KYB front strut mounting kit for me at carid for about $38. The Ridgeline owners on Facebook and the official forums are a helpful group.

Only other thing that the dealership didn't mention but that we noticed while driving is that it sounds like a wheelbearing on the front driver wheel is loose or something-- keeps making a high-pitched squealing sound that is almost a whistle that we only hear when the truck is moving and mostly when it is going faster.

I almost forgot about the brakes. But my friend said that will be easy for him to replace for us. I told him I'd let my brother handle finding and ordering the parts, but he's worse at procrastinating than I am and I'm a bit of a control freak so I can't help it and I've been looking stuff up to help him find the best prices and make sure he gets things ordered.


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## Rusty (Apr 30, 2017)

Chris said:


> I have but we also have crappy California fuel with a bunch of additives to make your car run horrible



When I was a Toyota mechanic, many, many years ago, we carried a little hammer. When the new vehicles came in, they were set to California specs. First thing we did was smack the distributor and speed up the timing so they would run.


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## zannej (Apr 30, 2017)

Rusty said:


> When I was a Toyota mechanic, many, many years ago, we carried a little hammer. When the new vehicles came in, they were set to California specs. First thing we did was smack the distributor and speed up the timing so they would run.



LOL. I can just imagine someone seeing that happening and not knowing WTF was going on.


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## havasu (Apr 30, 2017)

Seafoam is used alot on old, non-electronic type of jeeps. With all the computer processing in that Honda, I personally would not use Seafoam, or would not expect any good results with it.


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## Chris (May 1, 2017)

Once a CAT is toast it is usually toast. I always thought they were only put on for California to fail your test. It has gotten so bad you can not even buy an aftermarket CAT in CA, it has to be a factory original or you fail the visual test whether it works or not.


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## Rusty (May 1, 2017)

Chris said:


> Once a CAT is toast it is usually toast. I always thought they were only put on for California to fail your test. It has gotten so bad you can not even buy an aftermarket CAT in CA, it has to be a factory original or you fail the visual test whether it works or not.



Here, if the exhaust doesn't leak, it all passes.


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## zannej (May 5, 2017)

Chris, it really is a shame how California became so tightly regulated and expensive. At least you will be away from that now.

My brother went ahead and put some SeaFoam in the gas tank and will see if it does anything. Not sure if the catalytic converter is actually bad or if they are just BSing to try to get $. They don't do emissions tests here as far as I know. Louisiana is one of the states with the least restrictions and protections for the environment. Probably like what Rusty says-- if it's not leaking, it won't be considered a problem.

So far my bro has been enjoying it. I don't know if it was modified by one of the owners or if the 07s were just built higher-- but his sits about an inch higher than mine and we have the same size tires.

Anyway, this is mine next to his in sidebyside comparison.


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## Chris (May 5, 2017)

Are you sure it's not just a bad 02 sensor? What exact code was turning the engine light on?


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## havasu (May 5, 2017)

Yep, go to a local Midas Muffler or Autozone Auto Parts (and many others). They will run the faulty codes, decipher for you, all for free.


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## Rusty (May 5, 2017)

havasu said:


> Yep, go to a local Midas Muffler or Autozone Auto Parts (and many others). They will run the faulty codes, decipher for you, all for free.



Anything but a '95. You can buy a code reader on Amazon for about $50. I have both 
OBD 1 and OBD 2.


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## zannej (May 6, 2017)

Chris said:


> Are you sure it's not just a bad 02 sensor? What exact code was turning the engine light on?


I have absolutely no idea. I just know that the check engine light was on and the Honda dealership was eager to say it needed the new catalytic converter. The place that sold it didn't know what was wrong but they were willing to fix it without charge once they figured it out-- if we'd been able to bring it back another day-- but it's 4 hours away from us. 



havasu said:


> Yep, go to a local Midas Muffler or Autozone Auto Parts (and many others). They will run the faulty codes, decipher for you, all for free.


I think my bro took it to an Autozone before buying it but I don't know what the code said. Our friend moved from working at Autozone to O'Reilly's but they still have a computer checker thing there. Right now he's having a problem with the air conditioning. It wasn't working before he bought it but they fixed it at the sales place so it was working great but now it just went out again. It only blows hot air.



Rusty said:


> Anything but a '95. You can buy a code reader on Amazon for about $50. I have both
> OBD 1 and OBD 2.


Yeah. I remember my friend complaining that they don't have any that read '95 and he has a '95 chevy. My bro still needs to sell that hunk of junk 95 chevy he has sitting in front of the car port. We still need to get that thing fixed (the car port).
I'd like to get another one closer to the house that covers the sidewalk but my mother thinks it would look too ugly-- quite frankly, the house isn't all that pretty to begin with so I don't see why it would matter. LOL.


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## Rusty (May 6, 2017)

No one seems to know why the OBD1 stopped at 94 and the OBD2 started with 96. I have a 95 and will drive it as/is until it quits. The dealer wants $100 just to scan it.


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## havasu (May 6, 2017)

Speaking of Ridgeline, have you seen the 2017's? They look just like a pick up truck and no longer have the sloped sides. I kinda like it. How about you folks?


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## zannej (May 7, 2017)

havasu said:


> Speaking of Ridgeline, have you seen the 2017's? They look just like a pick up truck and no longer have the sloped sides. I kinda like it. How about you folks?



They look very pretty. They have the front that looks more like the Gen2 (or are they gen3?) CR-Vs. They have a lot of features I like-- including the flatter sides on the pickup bed. But I don't like the center console & shift mechanism and the trunk has less capacity than the Gen1. Considering that the trunk was the main selling point (although safety and how they handled on the road was also high on the list), I wouldn't want a smaller one. There are more options for tonneau covers though. But they still did not come with a locking tailgate so you'd have to go out and buy a pop&lock or DIY your own tailgate lock for it.
They already have some recalls with some mechanical issues from what I've heard. Problems with the keyless start ones not turning off when the button is pushed and things from what I recall.
On the ridgeline owners' Facebook page I saw an amusing post from someone. Her husband wanted a hard tri-fold tonneau cover and the wife pretended not to realize how awesome it was. Her husband apparently spent a lot of money on accessories and was going to wait on the tonneau cover. So the wife went ahead and bought it-- only she decided to play a little trick on him. She made a card with a picture of what was essentially a tarp for a cover. She wrote in how excited she was that the tarp came with it's own bag for storage and how she had ordered it for him since she knew he wanted a cover. She also wrote a very nice note on the other side of the card. She said her husband was very gracious about it, but that he would read a few words of the card then flip it back over to look at the picture. When they got home she showed him the real cover and he was ecstatic-- although he couldn't get over how she had pretended to be excited about the other one because it came with it's own bag. LOL.


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## zannej (May 22, 2017)

So, because the dumbass didn't ever get in touch with anyone in the town where he got an illegible traffic ticket, he found out his license was suspended. He never received any notice in the mail about it, but the DMV told him when he went to register his truck.
He had previously tried calling to find out the information on how much the ticket was, how to pay it, when the court date was, etc but nobody ever answered the phone. He called for 3 hours today getting busy signals until someone finally answered. They told him they don't have an answering machine or call waiting. The lady who answered said all she does is answer phones and to call back _next week_ when someone will be in who *might* be able to answer his questions.


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## zannej (Jun 4, 2017)

The instruction to call back on the next Monday turned out to not work because Monday was a holiday-- but Tuesday morning I called and got the info he needed and drove him there so he could pay his ticket and then off to the DMV so he could get his license reinstated. He had to hit the ATM because the little dinky station only took cash but the DMV only takes cards (and charges a 3% transaction fee) for reinstatement. But, he's got it taken care of. Good thing because he got pulled over the next day (well, at night) because his new headlight bulbs are too bright. Oncoming driver kept flashing highbeams and he flashed back but there was no visible difference to the driver-- who turned out to be a cop. 
Turns out it was an old friend of my brother's from middle school so the guy was cool about it. Just said he needs to do something so the lights aren't that bright. Hoping there's a way he can adjust them.

But Honda did this weird thing where instead of having different bulbs or having bulbs that dim, they use the same bulbs for highbeam and lowbeam and there is some sort of deflector inside that moves to angle the light up more. 

He's trying to figure out if adjusting the angle of the bulbs down more would help or if the deflector would nullify that. 

These are the bulbs he got: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JYC0NPG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## zannej (Jun 14, 2017)

He got the Punisher decal on the hood and little Punisher thingies on the center of the wheels.


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## Chris (Jun 14, 2017)

I bought a vinyl cutter to make decals like that one, I just need to learn how to use it.


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## zannej (Jun 17, 2017)

Chris said:


> I bought a vinyl cutter to make decals like that one, I just need to learn how to use it.



That would be really cool. My bro had to buy the deal twice. I think it was $30 for it and the first time he was about to put it on and a huge gust of wind came through and made it fold up on itself and stick to itself so he couldn't get it untangled. Second one he had two friends help him with it and it still has some bubbles. It didn't turn out quite the way he'd hoped, but it still looks neat.

He wanted a black truck but he ended up with the grey but he loves it. He's very happy with how it handles the road. Too bad the headlights they have in it aren't like the new Gen2 Ridgeline headlights. Gen2 was the only truck that had headlights that passed muster on some test. 

His tastes in decorations are different from mine. I fully admit I'm tacky enough to want to deck things out in chrome. LOL.


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## zannej (Jun 27, 2017)

The pot holes on the road have gotten really bad and with the shadows from the trees and lack of lighting on the road at night it is hard to see them an some of them can't be avoided.

Almost every time my bro hits a large pot hole, his transmission slips and shifts from Drive to Neutral. He has to shift back and it really pisses him off. Other Ridgeline owners say it doesn't happen to them (and it doesn't happen to the one I drive).

Any idea what the problem is?


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## Chris (Jun 27, 2017)

Your brother driving to fast?

Does the shifter itself come out of drive or is it just the transmission shifting on its own?


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## Rusty (Jun 27, 2017)

Bad tranny mount?


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## Chris (Jun 28, 2017)

Rusty said:


> Bad tranny mount?



That makes sense especially if they have linkage for the shifter.


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## zannej (Jul 4, 2017)

He's going speed limit and sometimes slower when it happens. The lever actually shifts to neutral when he hits the pot holes. So, it's not just the transmission, the whole thing just shifts.

I know he needs new control bushings (and he got the whole control arms because its easier to change out the arms than just the bushings). But he hasn't gotten them replaced yet. That might help with stabilizing the vehicle a bit more. But I don't know if it would affect the transmission.

He wasted his money on decorative stuff for the vehicle and hasn't sold his old truck and now he doesn't have $ to get some things fixed that need to be fixed.


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## zannej (Oct 25, 2017)

It's still running fine, but it needs a few repairs. Some jackhole ripped some of the trim off the top of the vehicle for no apparent reason. So, he needs to get it replaced. He wants to plasti-dip some of the trim pieces in white and get white side molding.

Also, he thought the front reveal trim was missing because there is tape over it, but found out it's there but not in right. So, he might be able to just get it re-attached.


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## zannej (Mar 16, 2018)

So, the Honda dealership failed to look at his transmission fluid (or did and just didn't mention it). It was black and ashy. His transmission went out while he was driving in to town. We conveniently found a transmission shop where a car dealership used to be while taking my friend around to find a "new" truck. Tow truck guy from town said he'd heard it was a good place. We got an estimate, they don't touch anything without confirming price and they honor their quotes-- even if it costs them more $ to do.
They noticed his brakes and rotors needed to be replaced. His AC compressor had gone out (he asked them to check it and they inspected it for no extra $). They even put in the new control arms and bushings at a discounted price since they were already taking stuff apart. So they rebuilt the tranny and did the other work for a good price. They said that he really needs the front struts replaced (honda dealership had noted that as well) and offered to do it at a discounted price because we reminded them they forgot to add in the charges for the AC, brakes, & rotors and made sure they got paid the right amount.
They told him he could find the strut assemblies on rockauto and have them pricematched by autozone. So my bro got a huge discount and ordered left and right front strut assemblies, picked them up from autozone, and brought them over. Mechanic got the old ones out quickly and then discovered that the new ones wouldn't line up. I've since been told by other people who have worked on their own trucks that the top of the strut can be turned to line up (they said to bolt it in from the top first and then turn it to attach it at the bottom). But we found that out after my brother returned them and found less expensive ones on Amazon.

I really suck at the whole car parts things bc I get confused at things having different part numbers (due to different manufacturers). Carparts website listed two different categories for the struts: Replacement and Performance. Under "replacement" the part numbers were 51601-SJC-A06 and 51602-SJC-A06 (left and right). On the hondaparts website those were under "shock absorber" but I read that vehicles have either shocks OR struts and never both. So, Ridgeline has struts but for some reason they were calling it shocks. Anyway, under the "performance" tab they had part numbers 11505 and 11506 (left and right). So it confused me further.

Not sure if "performance" is just a fancy term or if they are better struts or what. Found some Oredy brand ones on amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQQ73EU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
But I don't know anything about the brand. The ones at Autozone are a lot more expensive. I'm not even sure which brand my brother got from Autozone though-- since he returned them. They thought that maybe the parts might be defective so they ordered another set for him just in case. If those don't work he's thinking of getting the Oredy ones.

Any thoughts/suggestions?


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## tuffy (Mar 17, 2018)

Id go with the oredy ones I bought some last summer fit like a dream rides good too.


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## zannej (Mar 17, 2018)

Testing for admin.


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## Sparky617 (Mar 18, 2018)

Rusty said:


> I have never had the cat converter changed on a vehicle in my life. It is almost impossible for one to go bad.



I had a Mazda 6 Sportwagen, a friend had one just like it.  His check engine light came on and it needed $3500 worth of new catalytic converters (it had 2 of them).  I got rid of mine before I hit the same mileage as he had on his.  The cats on those are good for 120-140K miles.  

I like the new Ridgeline, not a fan of the older ones.  The new one is a very capable truck and will meet the needs of most suburban truck owners with a much better ride and mileage.  I wouldn't get one if I was going to tow a lot though.  I'm torn when I replace my 1999 F-150, I'd love a new Lariet but their $50K - 65k a fully loaded 4AWD Ridgeline caps out at about $42K.


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## zannej (Mar 23, 2018)

Not all of the Gen2 Ridgelines have AWD, the trunks are smaller (although the bed is more accommodating for a tonneau cover), and they haven't worked out the kings in mechanical and build issues. There are reports of computer issues where things don't shut off properly, leaks, and other problems. I'd wait on pulling the trigger on a Gen2 until they work out those kinks. 
Gen1 Ridgelines (particularly 2013 model) had very good ratings on consumer reports, edmunds, etc. Plus, there's that large trunk. There are some things that it could use improvement on, but it's still a solid vehicle.

My brother had a friend put his struts on and his truck is running smoothly now.


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## zannej (Apr 15, 2018)

So far the truck has had new tires put on, new control arms w/ bushings, new front struts, rebuilt transmission, new AC compressor, and new brakes/rotors (front & back). Tire shop didn't know how to do alignment on this truck bc they've never worked on one before.
He's still having some electrical issues with power not going to a front left map light and the rear right brake light.
He's getting error messages & the cruise control won't work. Only the dealership would know how to fix it, but he's still mad at them for not reporting issues with his transmission when they did the first inspection. As far as he can tell, there's nothing wrong with the catalytic converter. And he may still have a leak somewhere in his AC system.
I feel kind of bad that it has so many problems, but his other truck was much worse.

I'm going to knock on wood and be happy that my Ridgeline has been ok thus far.


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## Krich (Aug 10, 2018)

I'd have a muffler shop install a universal aftermarket converter and save lots of $$$

The Chevy would have been cheaper to work on and maintain.  I've never had any serious issues with the Chevys I drive.

These little import jobs are more expensive to repair and few mechanics know how to work on them so folks have to go to the dealer which costs big buxx


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## Sparky617 (Aug 10, 2018)

Krich said:


> I'd have a muffler shop install a universal aftermarket converter and save lots of $$$
> 
> The Chevy would have been cheaper to work on and maintain.  I've never had any serious issues with the Chevys I drive.
> 
> These little import jobs are more expensive to repair and few mechanics know how to work on them so folks have to go to the dealer which costs big buxx



The Ridgeline is not an import and would be considered a mid-sized truck.  It is built in the USA and has a higher domestic content than many "American" cars and trucks.   The Ridgeline is a good truck for the average suburban homeowner who wants to be able to haul stuff and have a comfortable cab for 5 passengers and a car like ride.  If you want to tow a lot you'd want to go with a Ford, Chevy or Ram full-size truck.  For occasional towing of up to 5000 lbs, the Ridgeline will do.   For what I need a truck for a Ridgeline would be a good truck.  If I replace my 1999 F-150 I'd consider a Ridgeline but I'd also look at a new F-150.  A fully loaded Ridgeline is about $20K less than an F-150 Lariat.   The Lariat will have more bells and whistles for that extra $20K though.  Though the Honda will be very well equipped.


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## zannej (Aug 17, 2018)

I don't think I would ever consider an F-150 considering how many I see for sale or broken down. LOL.

Update on my bro's truck. Whoever vandalized it (pulling trim off) also did something to the sun roof which caused the screws to come out. My bro got another speeding ticket in the aforementioned dinky town with illegible tickets. On the way to court (or what we thought would be court bc they do not actually have a courthouse or way to contest tickets) the sun roof started to fly off. I had to grab it and hold it on & talked him in to going to the Honda Collision Center to see if they could pop it back in place & order the replacement screws. Female employee said we'd have to get an official estimate & wait a few hours, etc. Male employee inside took pity on us and went out to see. Popped it back in to place & put a temporary screw in (with instructions not to use the sun roof). Said they could fix it properly once the screws were ordered but suggested getting them online bc it would be cheaper. Bro hasn't followed up on that bc his COPD is acting up.

His VTM still won't work & he can't get cruise control to turn on. check engine light is still on. He tried to get the tires balanced/aligned but they said they couldn't figure out how to do something. Not sure what is wrong. He's still refusing to take it to the dealership even though it has an airbag recall. So, he's been pestering me for lifts.

It's still better than his p.o.s. first truck though.


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## Sparky617 (Aug 17, 2018)

To compare an F-150 to a Ridgeline isn't a fair fight.  The Ridgeline is a nice truck-like vehicle but you'll never see it being used by contractors.  That domain is the realm of F-150, F-250, F-350 and their Chevy, GMC, and Ram competitors.    My 1999 F-150 has been broken once, the fuel pump went bad at about 15 years.  I had one recall for the cruise control.  It has been a solid truck with minimal maintenance.  There are so many more F-150s out there (and Chevy's, GMCs) that you're going to see a lot of them for sale.  There are more F-series trucks sold than any other vehicle in the USA.  They also get used hard by contractors and governments.

If I replace my F-150 I will consider the Ridgeline because I'm not a contractor.  Though I wouldn't consider any of the first gen Ridgelines.  They are FUGLY.  I'm a suburban homeowner that does volunteer work repairing homes.  The Ridgeline can handle most of my tasks unless I start towing trailers.  If I plan on doing that, I'll get the F-150.   Also, my Honda Accord requires more routine maintenance than my Ford Edge.  I just replaced my rear brakes (fronts are still original) at 73K miles.  My Honda is on its third set of front brakes/rotors with 125K.  I've had to replace the timing belt on the Honda along with a preventative replacement of the water pump and the idler pulley (twice).  The Ford has a timing chain that should last the life of the car.  On the Honda, if you don't replace the timing belt and it breaks, your valves are toast leading to a very expensive repair.

That said, the Accord is my second Honda and my son has a Fit.  They make good cars, and I would buy another.


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## zannej (Aug 18, 2018)

I do think the climate does matter for the durability of the vehicles. The Fords I've dealt with don't seem to deal well with the humidity here. Most of the people here prefer GMC or Chevy. All kinds of jokes are made about Chevys having to tow Fords.
My first vehicle was a Ford Escort & it was pretty crappy, although it was pretty. The Ford Ranger we got later was even worse-- but then, the sellers lied about everything from the year to the condition. (Told us it was 2001 but found out it was a '99 when we went to register it & found out it had been in a flood-- not buying from private sellers again).

When we got the ranger, I'd been researching which vehicles were good & at that time, I was told the F150s were terrible. Had all sorts of mechanical problems & scored low for safety. But, I know some model years are better than others.

I think that the availability of specific dealerships is important when choosing a vehicle. There are probably tons of Ford repair places. There are fewer Honda repair places where I live. I don't get the Honda oil filters bc they are garbage, I go for higher quality ones from other manufacturers.

I like my 2013 Gen1 Ridgeline-- it handles my road just fine, fits plywood, has a nice large trunk, and handles very well.

But, each person has their own criteria for a vehicle & if you don't like the Gen1 then it isn't for you. I'd wait to get a slightly later Gen2 Ridgeline once they have worked out some of the kinks/problems or even consider a Tacoma (even though Taco & Ridge owners seem to tease each other a lot). For me, the trunk was probably the major selling point for me. I use it every time I go to the grocery store & I can fit my stuff in the trunk where it is safe while still transporting my friends in the back seat. I've also hauled plywood, lumber, & appliances in it.


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