10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
0 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2020 Honda Ridgeline:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

Get free help with your lemon!
close ad
problem #9

Nov 052022

Ridgeline

  • miles
Condition: truck is stopped, the auto engine idle is on Action: release the brake to press the accelerator Result: the truck fails to restart, shuts off the engine completely, puts itself in Neutral, and all the lights in the dash illuminate I have to place the truck in Park and restart the engine. Sometimes the engine is difficult to restart, and I have to try several times. This has happened 3 times since November, and 3 other times the truck has almost stalled when restarting.

- Broadway, NC, USA

problem #8

Oct 122022

Ridgeline

  • miles
Engine fails to restart after Idle Stop engaged. Engine stops normally when brake pedal is pressed and vehicle comes to full stop. Brake pedal is then released to restart engine but the engine does not start. Dashboard says "Shift to Park". The transmission is shifted to Park and then Start button is pushed to restart engine. Sometimes the Start button has to be pushed multiple times to restart engine. This is a safety issue because the vehicle cannot move in traffic, crossing an intersection, etc. It is equivalent to an engine stall. This happens approximately 10% of the time when the Idle Stop is engaged. Also, sometimes the engine will start but after a hesitation or a struggle to start. In this situation, "Collision Mitigation System Warning" displays on the dashboard. This happens probably 25% of the time. Battery and starter have no problem starting the vehicle outside of these conditions.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #7

Oct 102022

Ridgeline

  • miles
Several times over the past two months, I started having issues with the auto engine idle stop. I'm at about 25,000 miles and my vehicle has completely stalled out 4 times in two months. This is due to a failure of the auto engine idle stop system to restart the engine after I take my foot off the brake pedal. This has put my safety and others at risk in all of these incidents, all happened in busy, high traffic areas. In one instance it took a full minute to be able to turn my car back on. One time it triggered the collision system, and I couldn't restart my car for several minutes. After looking up this issue, I know there is an ongoing NHTSA investigation into the Honda Pilot models, but this needs to be expanded to the Ridge line models.

- Henrico, VA, USA

problem #6

Oct 042022

Ridgeline

  • miles
STOPPING AT A STOP LIGHT ON 10/4 & 09/27 ENGINE SHUT DOWN AND WOULDN'T START. pEOPLE BEHIND ME HONKING THEIR HORNS FOR ME TO GO. ENGINEWOULDN'T START AND HAD GONE FROMDR TO PARK. DASH SAID SOMETHINGLIKE PRESS BRAKE AND START BUTTON.THE WHOLE TIME THE LIGHT WAS GREEN, IR WOULDN'T START. THE 1ST TIME IT HAPPENED I THOUGHT IT WAS THE ECON ON BUT THE 2NDTIME IT WASN'T ON. I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY AT ESKRIDGE IN OKC. THIS IS SO SCARRY, ITHOUGHT I NEEDED TO REPORT IT. I AM SCARRED THAT ENGINE AND EVERYTHING WILL SHUT DOWN AGAIN.

- Fletcher, OK, USA

problem #5

Jun 232022

Ridgeline

  • miles
Beginning about 3 months ago the Automatic Idle Stop (AIS) would randomly not function at start-up during the length of a drive though there was no indication of any issue on the dash. Shutting off and restarting would allow usually allow it to function normally. About 6 weeks ago the AIS stopped the engine at a red light, and when I removed my foot to accelerate the engine did not start, the car shut off. It took a couple of seconds to realize the vehicle was down, I had to shut the car completely off and restart to get moving almost getting rear-ended since I did not move when the light changed even though my brake lights went off, confusing the driver behind me. AIS failing to start has become more frequent and now happens at least every other day. In traffic this is a safety issue for sure. Additionally, the LKAS system randomly displays a new message on the dash that it is disabled for a few seconds while driving on the freeway and then clears itself. Other seemingly related electrical issues started at the same time. On several of the occasions that the AIS failed to restart, All dash lights flickered rapidly, and the speedometer needle bounced wildly. after shutting down and restarting the A and B Trim computers had been zeroed as well as the MPG average being zeroed, and the Economy mode had been switched of. These nuisance electrical issues are not a safety concern themselves but may help point to a common failure which does cause the safety issues of the AIS and the LKAS systems. I believe you are investigating similar AIS issues on the Honda Pilot which shares many of the electrical and drive train components with the Ridgeline.

- Clermont, FL, USA

problem #4

Jun 272022

Ridgeline

  • miles
No restart after engine auto start/stop engages. Multiple times when the engine auto stop is engaged engine has to crank for multiple seconds to restart or won-€™t restart at all. This creates an unsafe condition when trying to make a turn at an intersection or when trying to turn onto a road from a parking lot.

- Vancouver, WA, USA

problem #3

Nov 052021

Ridgeline

  • miles
On numerous occasions (at least 5 times) the following occurred: Upon exiting the highway after approximately 90+ minutes of driving, the truck's check engine light starts flashing and the vehicle goes into "limp mode" and will barely accelerate to avoid oncoming traffic from behind. The vehicle must be stopped and turned off to clear the engine light and return to normal performance. The on-board computer does not store any diagnostic codes when this occurs. There are numerous documented incidents exactly like this one on the Honda Ridgeline Owners forum. I have taken my truck to the dealer three times with no resolution. The dealer consults with Honda Tech support, who is unsure how to solve this issue. Assorted repairs have been documented on the aforementioned Honda forum, to no avail. This is definitely a safety issue when the truck loses power in traffic. I have almost been hit from behind while the vehicle is in limp mode. The initial occurence happened in November 2021 and most recently again April 16, 2022. Essentially for a year and a half Honda has done nothing to fix this problem.

- Menomonee Falls, WI, USA

problem #2

Feb 122021

Ridgeline

  • miles
Strong engine oil odor after driving and then parking vehicle. Also checked engine oil, has a very strong gasoline smell to engine oil. Dealer claims unable to replicate, however I pointed out the smell to them once I arrived. Dealer mentioned that the smell was normal. They took the vehicle in anyway and claim again that the smell is normal. There are no warning lights or anything to indicate a problem. Smell first noticed around 5600 miles. Vehicle now at 16000 miles and still getting the same result with odor and fuel smell in the oil.

- Austell, GA, USA

problem #1

Sep 152021

Ridgeline

  • miles
I understand my vehicle has a start and stop function. It does not work as it-€™s intended per Honda dealership and page 400s of the owners manual. My car is been shutting off randomly as I-€™m giving it gas moving forward ( 1 time) and we-€™ll over 10 times as I-€™m backing up into my driveway. When I am backing up, it-€™s normal and out of no where, my vehicle shuts off and it shifts back to neutral then starts to roll forward. When my truck shuts off as I-€™m in reverse, my reverse camera becomes audio or audio off when it-€™s suppose to show the rear camera back up. And my dash board, the oil light and battery comes on. I-€™ve brought it up to Honda dealership and I keep getting the run around. This is a safety concern! It-€™s a safety concern for myself, family and also the people around me driving if this happens to shut off on the freeway or even on the city road. I have my kids in the car and I could get crush from all directions if my car shuts off randomly. What do Honda need in order to fix this" My car getting crushed in an accident? Honda states they could not replicated it so I provided dash cam footage, live video footage. And still I-€™m getting the run around. Please help. Honda stated my after market parts caused this issue. But could not explain to me why and how it caused it?" I have a carb legal intake and an LED light strip. Nothing fancy! No harness no nothing! Just simple fuse power and ground. I-€™ve brought my vehicle in before for this issue ( with my carb legal intake) and Honda deemed it -€œsafe and could not replicate it-€ so I carried on and installed my LED light strip properly. They could not explain it to me how my parts caused the issue. So I put my car back to stock specs as they recommended. And immediately my car shuts off like I stated in this. I did not buy a Honda to have issues. At this point I-€™m over owning this car. It-€™s brand new! There is a bigger issue. And I feel like I am wasting my time. At this point- I need more help.

- Roseville, CA, USA