Originally Posted by flipside909

Wow how ironic. I handled a claim for one of my insureds for this EXACT same scenario. My insured was driving his Ridgeline on a smooth road going about 40mph and the side airbags just deployed for no reason. He didn't hit anything, there were no road hazards (potholes, bumps, etc), and it was a clear day. He took his Ridgeline back to the Honda dealership he purchased it, left it in service and as soon as the tech's looked at it, they told him "this is definitely an insurance claim, go file it with your company". I end up getting the claim and find out whats happening. In the mean time, American Honda sent one of their regional reps to inspect the vehicle. They put it on a lift and went over it with my colleague and the Honda factory rep said to him, "Yep, there is evidence of dirt and mud under here showing that this car has been offroading and there is a small bend in the exhaust heat shield, so we are not responsible for your airbags deploying prematurely". Needless to say, my insured was pissed, I did advise him there was no claim because it wasn't classified a collision or a comprehensive claim and he was pretty sure it wasn't an insurance company situation. I told my insured to file a report with NHTSA, BBB. He ended up seeking an attorney's guidance the next day.

As for my opinion on the Ridgeline and the Honda Service and Honda Factory Rep's attitude when inspecting the vehicle....it's beyond acceptable. It was funny because my insured bought the Honda Ridgeline coming from a history of F150's and Silverados. He decided to give Honda a try this time around because he has had a good history with Honda cars in the past. He mentioned to me how misleading Honda's commercials showing the Ridgeline in offroad situations, but their service dept and factory reps are saying the airbags deployed because there is evidence of dirt/mud in the undercarriage implying my insured took his truck off roading. Shame on Honda.

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Did you or your colleague point out to the Honda rep that the Ridgeline, like the Element and CR-V, is rated by Honda ITSELF for a limited amount of off-roading? ( as long as you don't try and turn it into a mountain goat, of course ). That's the very first thing I would have told him....and showed it to him in Honda's literature. Sounds to me like this guy was walking around with his head in the sand like an ostrich.

Originally Posted by flipside909

Yup, both my collegue and I talked to both service advisor and Honda factory rep. We knew for a fact their only excuse was the kicked up traces of mud in the undercarriage, but it was pretty clear that was the only alibi they had and they kept reiterating it too. We also argued with them saying, "What kind of commercials and literature are you guys portraying with this truck, it's light dirt trails. Don't you think this is false advertising?" The 2 Honda guys just stared with a puzzled look on their faces.