Honda Ridgeline Problems — All Years, Common Issues & Reliability
Year-by-year breakdown of safety recalls, NHTSA owner complaints, reported deaths, injuries, crashes, and worst problem areas. Updated daily from federal databases.
Recent Safety Incidents — Last 5 Model Years
Own a Honda Ridgeline? Check your specific VIN for a full history report.
Honda Ridgeline — Year-by-Year Problem Comparison
| Year | Verdict | Recalls | Complaints | Crashes | Injuries | Deaths | Top Issue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026Best | Excellent | — | 5 | 3 | 3 | — | Exterior Lighting | Full report → |
| 2025 | Good | — | 34 | 4 | 3 | — | Exterior Lighting | Full report → |
| 2024 | Good | — | 29 | — | — | — | Exterior Lighting | Full report → |
| 2023 | Good | 1 | 53 | 1 | — | — | Exterior Lighting | Full report → |
| 2022 | Caution | — | 82 | — | 1 | — | Exterior Lighting | Full report → |
| 2021 | Good | 2 | 58 | 1 | 1 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2020 | Caution | 3 | 119 | 2 | 2 | — | Electrical System | Full report → |
| 2019 | Avoid | 5 | 134 | 12 | 9 | — | Power Train | Full report → |
| 2018 | Caution | 3 | 107 | 4 | 2 | — | Electrical System | Full report → |
| 2017Worst | Avoid | 4 | 208 | 2 | — | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2014 | Good | 4 | 16 | — | — | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2013 | Good | 5 | 27 | 3 | 1 | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2012 | Good | 8 | 18 | — | — | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2011 | Good | 7 | 17 | 1 | — | 1 | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2010 | Good | 4 | 26 | 2 | — | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2009 | Good | 4 | 16 | — | — | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2008 | Caution | 4 | 80 | 2 | 2 | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2007 | Caution | 5 | 103 | 3 | 4 | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2006 | Avoid | 8 | 123 | 4 | 6 | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
19 model years shown. Crashes, injuries, and deaths from NHTSA complaint filings. Click any year for full details.
Most Common Honda Ridgeline Problems
Based on 1,255 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across all model years.
Recent Safety Recalls — Honda Ridgeline (2022–2026)
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Civic, 2020-2023 Ridgeline, 2021-2023 Passport, 2021-2022 Pilot, and 2020 Acura MDX vehicles. The tie rod fastener that connects the brake booster and the brake master cylinder may have been improperly assembled during manufacturing, which can cause the brake master cylinder to separate from the booster assembly.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and repair the brake booster assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 7, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are VEU, AEV, and ZET.
Honda (America Honda Motor Co) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Ridgeline vehicles. The rearview camera (RVC) tailgate wire harness may fatigue and break, which can prevent the rearview camera image from displaying.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the RVC tailgate wire harness, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed November 8, 2024. Owners may contact Honda service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is YI7.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2023 Passport and Ridgeline vehicles. The inner ball joint housing in the steering gearbox assembly may loosen and detach from the steering rack and result in a loss of steering control.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the steering gearbox as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 11, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is LHY.
Showing 3 recalls from 2022–2026 model years. See the full year-specific pages for older recalls.
Recent Owner Complaints
Direct reports filed with NHTSA by Honda Ridgeline owners — 2022–2026 model years.
Over the past several months, the auto idle stop on my 2025 new honda ridgeline has been acting up, not always kicking off timely when lifting my foot off the gas pedal. It also completely failed to restart twice, disabling the car completely while at a traffic light until I could restart it. The first incident was late last year. The most recent one this past Thursday.
Auto idle start stop feature malfunction during a stop. Struggles to restart. Battery is new but still have issue with idle start stop. Multiple events. Almost no restart. Temporary fix is to turn off the feature manually before driving. Vehicle starts normally from off engine. Problem only happens with idle stops.
Car was on the highway braking hard with the ACC even if the vehicle in front was atleast 4/5 car lengths away. Moved to the right lane to stop it and came up to a box truck and the car automatically broke very hard and LKA started jerking the wheel to the left lane causing the rear bumper to collide with the cars in the next lanes front bumper. My vehicle pit maneuvered into the median ditch and flipped once.
The contact owns a 2023 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving or while stopped at a stop light, the Auto Idle Stop system activated, and the vehicle hesitated to respond. The message "Auto Idle Stop Temporarily Unavailable" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 53,000.
The auto idle stop system is not operating correctly when at a light or stopped it tends to go into neutral it has done it to me several times leaving me stranded at the light , for about month and now I’m at the dealer
I recently purchased a certified pre-owned 2025 Honda Ridgeline with 5000 miles, and within just one week of ownership, The carpet under the rear seat is completely soaked with water, clearly indicating an active leak inside the cabin. After looking into it further, I’ve also seen that water intrusion has been reported as a recurring issue with Ridgelines.
My husband was driving the vehicle to school with the sunroof shade closed. Without any impact or anything hitting the sunroof, it shattered. I tried filing a warranty claim with Honda, and they denied the claim without requesting any evidence.
Similar to NHTSA Case #11713532 and 11657197. The idle stop system (AIS) does not always restart causing safety risk. I have been stranded multiple times now where the Ridgeline shuts off while waiting to turn on a highway and then will not restart. Today the dash lights would go out as if the battery was completely dead. I just had this in a few weeks ago for the same issue and the dealership replaced the battery. This was only a temporary fix. It is sitting at the dealership now and they are working with Honda. Please help.
the auto high beam system is overly sensitive. lights flicker when a street sign is detected. dealer checked this issue and said the door switch was bad and replaced it. problem still exists. this makes night driving distracting and dangerous. no warning lamps or messages are shown on instrument panel.
Driving down the highway and the sunroof shattered for no reason. Was not hit by anything. Dealer says this is not a known problem. My safety would have been put at risk from flying glass if I had not had the sunroof cover closed
Auto Idle Stop not working. By default it should be on and driver must actively turn it off. Mine does not/not come on. This problem appears different from the numerous other problems reported with the Auto Idle Stop but it still is a problem and indicates the system may have a number of related defects and that its may be just be a metter of time until I experience other more serious problems.
Auto high beams are not working
324 total complaints retrieved from NHTSA for 2022–2026. For older model years, see individual year pages.
Ridgeline Years to Avoid
Best Ridgeline Years to Buy
Honda Ridgeline Problems by Year
Frequently Asked Questions — Honda Ridgeline Reliability
What year Ridgeline has the most problems?
Based on NHTSA data, the 2017 Honda Ridgeline had the highest combined complaint and recall count — 208 complaints and 4 safety recalls. See the full 2017 report for specific defects.
Is the Honda Ridgeline reliable?
The Honda Ridgeline has accumulated 1,255 owner-filed complaints and 67 safety recalls across all model years in NHTSA's database. There have been 1 reported deaths associated with complaints. The 2026 model year shows the fewest reported issues. Always run a VIN check before purchasing any used Ridgeline.
What are the most common Ridgeline problems?
The most frequently cited problem areas are: Electrical System (190 reports), Air Bags (168 reports), Engine (142 reports), Unknown Or Other (119 reports). Based on NHTSA complaints across all model years.
How do I check if my Ridgeline has an open recall?
Use the vehicle's 17-character VIN at VinCheckEngine.com. Our free VIN report pulls the latest NHTSA recall data along with auction history, odometer records, and 30+ intelligence signals.
Check a Specific Honda Ridgeline VIN
Model-level data shows what can go wrong. A VIN-specific report shows what has gone wrong with a particular vehicle — including auction history, odometer discrepancies, open recalls, accident records, and 30+ intelligence signals.
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