Thinking about a Ridgeline.. 2024 edition. A learn-me thread.

I searched google and on site for "Ridgeline" and it's been a suprising number of years since we directly discussed these.  

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/thinking-about-a-ridgeline/128998/page1/

I have been looking at 10-30K miles off lease Used things to solve my towing and general life needs.   I have a family of 4 and the kids are now 11 and 14 and in the next 4 years will become full size.  I tow a 3400lb gross weight open trailer with my race car on it + haul about 300lbs of extra stuff when I do that.  Currently I am using my wife's Santa Fe but it is getting up there in miles and I am very close to the payload limit when towing and cannot actually haul the race car with the whole family in the SantaFe.  I would love to be able to haul all 4 of our family and tow the Racecar.  To do this I need

-1350lbs payload People plus luggage plus tongue weight 

-4000lbs towing (the more the merrier here but that's the minimum for some extra margin) 

This will also be my Daily Driver. Taking kids to school, getting groceries, parking in 74" clearance parking garages.

Most if not all Midsize SUVs miss on payload.  Most Midsize Trucks don't have 1300lbs payload in configurations you actually find used.  MANY full size trucks don't have 1350lbs payload.  

So enter the Ridgeline.  It's basically the Honda Santa Fe Equivalent SUV in a handy truck form factor.  

1475-1509 Lbs Payload depending on trim package.  All AWD models are tow rated to 5000lbs.

I am looking at 2021+ only because 9 speed and Volume Knob.  I also want the Adaptive Cruise etc. which doesn't seem to be standard until 2020.   

What is the current word on them?  I can find one for about $31-33K for something still covered under factory warranty.  That's expensive..  I guess but looking at the market of "midsize thing that can haul 1200+ lbs and tow >4000lbs" it's just kinda right there on value.   

I've spoken to two current owners (Both semi-active forum members) who enjoy them and use them to pull various sized items and both have indicated they would and plan to buy another when the time comes.  Fuel Economy seems to be right in the range that we are used to with the Santa Fe, 21ish combined and 25ish Highway.  

The Ridgeline meets my current and planned towing needs (by GVWR/GCWR) and even has about 1500lbs of overhead on my actual weighed trailer.   Obviously for the $$ or close to the $$ I can buy things that can tow more or haul more, but they are unlikely to be in as liveable of a vehicle for Daily use.  Mostly I am hoping for feedback from people that have miles on them.  Experience with 4 adults in the cab, that sort of thing.

Honda service advisor here, this may not apply to all model years/trims.

Fuel injector issues

Frozen starters if driving in rain/snow

Phantom misfire issue after driving several hours in the cold

9 speed trans fluid changes are expensive (470 at my dealer)

Get a lot of complaints about jerking/hesitation on 9/10 speed trans vehicles

Issues with the idle start/stop system (not restarting at lights).

Again, some of these may have been remedied in the more newer models, all stuff I've seen on the newer body style 2016+

2017 RTL-T owner here. Bought in 2020 with ~45k. 4 years and 50k mi later still very happy with it. I tow an open trailer 5-10 times per year, about 4500lbs all loaded up. All in the Midwest so no real elevation changes but power has been sufficient. I do use a WDH. Rear seats are pretty good even for adults. I drive it daily and it's been a nice place to be. 
 

CarPlay can be glitchy at times but generally doesn't give too many problems. A couple pretty minor recalls. Only unplanned, non-recall services so far are the push button for the ignition and a cracked fog lamp. 
 

I was comparing to other mid-sized trucks and the combination of price, features, and ride quality pushed it to the top of the list. If you want SUV over a truck bed, might consider a 2020+ explorer with tow package.

Maybe I'm not the best person to answer as I only drove a 2018 Ridgeline for a photoshoot, but my biggest positive takeaways were that it felt the right size (I wouldn't want anything bigger), drove entirely like a car and wasn't trying to be anything more than a really useful truck.

Good luck in your search. I don't think you can go wrong with a Ridgeline.

I have spent a lot of time behind the wheel of the project Ridgeline and I have to say its a really nice truck. It has all the comfort of an SUV, great gas mileage and still can do truck stuff. One thing that should be noted is that if you are in the backseat behind a tall driver there is not much legroom. I would have bought one over my Nissan Frontier except for how much more expensive they were versus what I got in the Nissan. 

Bump.  Appreciate the feedback.  Any other experiences?  I test drove one of these and it is a truly nice place to spend time.   

I studied them a lot last summer.  IMHO the best of class.  So comfy as a daily driver, yet still can do some work.  Owners I talked to in our town love them.   

When my work truck (200,000 miles) is done i might pull the trigger.   If all I was towing was the family boat occasionally it would be an easy choice.  But, right now i'm pulling some trailers daily that are 3 to 4K lb.   A daily workout like that may not be the right fit.  The loaded race trailer scaled out at 5,100 lb last time I weighed it.  I guess i could leave the pit scooter at home.   LOL

Not Ridgeline specific, but luggage in the bed of a truck, even with a cover, will likely get wet in a rainstorm. Ours always did. YMMV 

In reply to llysgennad :

Ridgeline has a trunk in the bed,game changer.

I had a 06 for a number of years and really liked it except for one thing. It sucked at towing. 

I don't know about the new ones but the 06 didn't have enough torque to tow much. An empty 6 x 12 enclosed trailer had it doing the 4-5 shift every 30 seconds on flat ground. The engine just didn't have enough low-end torque. The only option for a lower gear was 3rd which left it screaming its guts out at 55. 

Poor towing is why I sold it to my son and moved on to a Touareg. If that hasn't been fixed on the newer versions and you are planning on doing much towing, I'd look for something else. 

In reply to Toyman! :

I tow my 4000+ lb camper with my 2019 fairly regularly without issue. The only gear limiting you can do in the 2019 is 'L' and 'D4', which keeps it in 4th gear. I usually keep it around 65 mph in'D4' when towing and the engine isn't screaming so I think the 2nd gen probably improved the towing capabilities. I imagine the 9-speed in the 2020+ trucks would be even better.

Do the current Ridgelines include a trailer brake controller option? I'm starting to shop for a replacement pickup and am contemplating downsizing a little, either to a Colorado/Ranger or perhaps a Ridgeline. I tow an open (Trailex) car trailer to track days, so 5000lbs would cover it. I probably do 3 "longer distance" (200-300 mile) trips plus a bunch of 30 mins trips to my local track.

The only main strike against the current generation is the fact that the next generation has to be getting a hybrid version at this point, doesn't it? 

I rented one a year ago in Minneapolis and drove north 3 hours to Bemidji on snowy roads.  The roads were bad and I felt the truck ran well and was decent.  

My problem is my wife has a Honda Pilot and from the seats forward it's identical so I felt it was lame.  I call her Pilot a minivan and we argue it out.  

The bed had external speakers and a cool trunk so I believe I could grow to like it and I DD a Silverado.   

In reply to glyn ellis :

My 2019 included a harness that I was able to wire directly to my brake controller and plug in under the dash. Ridiculously easy install.

In reply to karplus2 :

That's good to hear. I really liked the truck as a daily. All the advantages of a truck and none of the disadvantages.