VTEC with a bed

[.RJ]

There is so much interior space & trunk storage but maybe with a kid and your giant dog that runs out quickly.... I'm not a fan of them. Get a cap if you must.

[Sijray21]

There is so much interior space & trunk storage but maybe with a kid and your giant dog that runs out quickly....  I'm not a fan of them.  Get a cap if you must.

just thinking of trips where all seats are taken and cargo would be needed. a cap is definitely a no-go since if i want to take something oversized in the bed as it caps the height and overall dimensions for larger items. at least a tonneau can be rolled or folded up to allow for bigger items. I keep forgetting how big the trunk is and that bags can also go under the rear seats. i may not need the cover even on those trips...

[WRXtranceformed]

I loved my tri fold tonneau cover, it was amazing. You could remove the one I bought in less than 5 minutes if you needed to, or you could open it up and still throw your bike in the back. It also held a ton of value, I sold it for almost what I paid for it after I sold my truck.

Don't get a cap. Caps are for old people man and they're pretty impractical

[Sijray21]

Installed the extended rear door checkers. Why didn't Honda do this from the start? Makes a big difference. Took $30 and 20 minutes.

After is on the right on the comparison shots.

#minivanlyfe

Pic aligned with the angle of the door because I was too lazy to move my wife's car


View from the back

[Senor_Taylor]

Why put after on the left????

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Apoc]

Asians read right to left.

[Sijray21]

Why put after on the left????

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

OK, I had to redo them. Not sure what I was actually thinking and it started to bother me, ha.

[JPolen01]

What am I looking at? The door opens sightly wider now?

I'm guessing it's not like the from the factor because the first time your kid swings own the door it's going right into the car in the spot next to you.

[Sijray21]

What am I looking at? The door opens sightly wider now?

I'm guessing it's not like the from the factor because the first time your kid swings own the door it's going right into the car in the spot next to you.

Yes, if you saw it in-person it would make more sense. Before it was a noticeably narrow opening. Aside from the styling it was one of my only gripes I really had with the ridgeline when I first saw the gen2s in 2017. Others found a simple fix by putting these honda oem door checkers (from i believe the front) in the back and it made a fairly large difference for usability. For the cost ($30 shipped) and time (actually 15-20 minutes) I'd say it's worth it. Removing the door card was incredibly easy.

I don't think I'd be as motivated to get it done this soon, but I already felt annoyed with loading the kiddo in her seat.

[Apoc]

Can she climb in herself from the ground? Looks like she could?

Friends gave us a hard time because a wagon meant you had to bend down to load them. The good news is he's big enough that's he's been climbing in on his own for awhile now. They're now lifting a toddler into their SUV.

[Sijray21]

Can she climb in herself from the ground? Looks like she could?

Friends gave us a hard time because a wagon meant you had to bend down to load them. The good news is he's big enough that's he's been climbing in on his own for awhile now. They're now lifting a toddler into their SUV.

Yeah, she actually likes scaling up to climb in and gets mad when I help her. She does grab the hinge to climb up and was getting pinched a little (squeezing herself) between the door and the car seat, so this extra room should help. It helps that she has the height of a 5 y/o. A smaller car seat could've also done the trick for a lot more money.

People said that a 2 door was difficult with a car seat, but I find that I actually get more leverage buckling her in (and shelter in the rain) when I loaded her in the 2 door gti.

[Sijray21]

1790 miles

Welp, just a short update because who really cares about a Ridgeline in a Motorsports forum, right?

Added the Rocky Mounts bike rail/rack for the bed, yellow led fog lights, and an Aukey Dashcam for the front (under $40,thanks for the tip Evan). Decided against the rear camera and hard wiring it into the fuse box because hiding the power cable was so easy and didn't think the other cameras and extra effort wiring it all was worth it.

Able to haul away our old backyard fence in 2 loads, moved a table/chairs from our in-laws, and enjoying the comfy ride so far. I've grown to use the adaptive cruise control although if I consider this feature in future vehicles I would want it to go down to 0 mph. The lane keep assist is wonky, but neat on the highway. Kind of gimmicky for Honda and hard to believe that this setup is classified as level 3 autonomy.

I really don't like the lack of auto-up/down for the rear windows or rear glass. The heated steering wheel is really nice. The sound system has been used for plenty of bass-filled music and I actually used the truck bed audio party trick thing while unloading and for cul de sac fun.

I'm also surprised that the insurance on the Ridgeline is cheaper ($120/yr cheaper) than our 2017 golf Sportwagen. I guess it's all the safety tech?

Driving the Ridgeline has made me appreciate the z3 a lot more though.

[JPolen01]

Did you replace the fog LEDs with yellow LEDs or just a film? I have read mixed reviews with yellow film creating a more green look.

My ACC brings the car to 0mph in traffic. If you're sitting more than a minute or two it turns off though. It did go to 0 and then start moving again.

[Sijray21]

Did you replace the fog LEDs with yellow LEDs or just a film? I have read mixed reviews with yellow film creating a more green look.

My ACC brings the car to 0mph in traffic. If you're sitting more than a minute or two it turns off though. It did go to 0 and then start moving again.

The fogs on my Ridgeline were halogen bulbs. The LED Headlight color already differed greatly from the halogen fogs, so I replaced them with yellow led bulbs and ballasts/resistors. I find yellow fogs with led/hid headlights appealing visually and the headlight/fog light color difference bothers me unless a contrasting color is used. I read about the film and other yellow leds having a green tinge, but these are pretty yellow. I'll take pictures at night sometime.

My ACC cuts out at 20 or so mph, so it's likely an older version. I was reading about the MB variant that went down to 0mph and I may stay tuned for any software updates for the ridgeline for ACC since I can see that happening. Good to know that a honda ACC can go down to 0mph. I hope it's not a hardware restriction. If it is a hardware issue, then I can live with the ACC as-is since I don't really like using it in heavy traffic.

[JPolen01]

Ahh didn't realize you had halogen fogs. That is weird about the ACC. Both of us have 2019 models so I wonder why mine differs from yours.

[Sijray21]

Ahh didn't realize you had halogen fogs. That is weird about the ACC. Both of us have 2019 models so I wonder why mine differs from yours.

The Ridgeline tends to have older trickle down tech, so I'm not too surprised. The Pilot, Odyssey, and Passport all have the newer, latest tech and hardware, but I'm happy with what the Ridgeline has.

[Sijray21]

Small Update (close to 3k miles)

Overall Driving
I've still been getting used to the wider steering radius after driving small cars for so long. It's still really easy to drive and the cab is really quiet. I've pushed it a few times merging with traffic and the engine power and throttle response is nice. The older 6-spd transmission shifts well. Since it's been getting colder the remote start, heated steering wheel, and heated seat toggle have been greatly appreciated. The first longer trip of 2.5 hours left a nice fuel economy without putting it in 'eco' mode and left us with about 24mpg. The seats are very comfortable.

Sound System / Infotainment
The sound system has been really nice. The smaller cab with the high-watt sound system with sub are really nice to have. I still don't really like the busy infotainment UIX compared to the MK7 Golf Sportwagen or even my MK6 GTI. The Garmin-based navigation is ok, but i hate the cartoon-y look. I noticed that the volume change response from the steering wheel specifically isn't nearly as good as responsive as the VW systems, which i don't like. I didn't use the volume knob on the GTI because my preference for how the I/O icon is placed, so the lack of volume knob hasn't been a big deal for me; it's actually a lot easier to clean without the knob.

Rear Camera and Backing up/parking
It's off-center (annoying to use the projection lines when parking) and it's exposed to the elements. When you drive in inclement weather the camera lens gets covered. I've been getting used to the smart rear camera setup of the VW Sportwagen where it's hidden until you use it, protecting it from the elements. I wish more manufacturers hid the rear camera. The side mirror adjustment is nice since when you reverse and switch it to the driver or passenger side mirror flips down to assist you parking and i use this quite a bit.

2-person memory seating/mirrors/keys
having a memory seating associated with different keys is really nice. the wife drives the Ridgeline occasionally and her seating/mirror position being associated with the key she uses is nice; neither of us really have to think about adjusting the positions when we get in the Ridgeline.

I helped a person in my work garage jump her car the other day. i noticed that half of the battery is under the intake piping (negative terminal). Luckily the positive terminal wasn't difficult to get to, but if i ever need a jump in the Ridgeline it could get interesting... [wrong - I should've said if I were jumping again]

I still enjoy the comfort and ease of the Ridgeline and the driving experience excitement is still non-existent. I enjoy driving the z3 more, but if/when i ever get rid of the z3 i'll reconsider Ridgeline ownership.

[ViPER1313]

Read where to hook up the jumper cables in the manual. A lot of times manufacturers recommend placing the negative cable on an engine-block mounting point, not the terminal on the battery. Doesn't make a lot of difference but might make it easier to hook up the cables.

[JPolen01]

Can you jump a dead better using only the positive terminal?

[Sijray21]

I should've clarified/corrected myself. Jumping another vehicle is difficult. The negative end of the support vehicle needs both terminals connected. Helping that person jump their car was just a pain to get the negative clamp on the Ridgeline's negative terminal.

The vehicle getting jumped needs to just have the negative end clamped to a ground away from the alternator. That won't be a problem on the ridgeline since the positive is easy to get to.