FaultScore

FaultScore report

2025 Honda Ridgeline problems

Owners have filed 117 complaints about the 2025 Honda Ridgeline with NHTSA between 2024 and 2026. The largest single group is the lights. Across this model's run it ranks 14 of 19 worst.

B

FaultScore 39/100

Higher is worse. Measured against the other years of the Honda Ridgeline.

How this is worked out

The numbers

117

Complaints

4

Crashes reported

1

Fires reported

3

Injuries reported

NHTSA overall crash rating

From the agency's own crash tests

What kind of bad

The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.

Complaint volume 41 vs 50 Severity 35 vs 50 Early failure not reported
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 41
Against the median year of the Honda Ridgeline. 50 means typical for this model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 35
6.8% of these complaints involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of 9.7%.
Early failure — not reported
Too few complaints recorded a mileage to measure this.

How 2025 compares with every other Honda Ridgeline

Click any bar to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks on a 2025 Honda Ridgeline

Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.

Lights 23 19.7%

Median failure at 299 miles

1 crashes, 0 fires · median 99 mi

Engine & Cooling 19 16.2%

1 crashes, 1 fires · median 1,300 mi

Brakes 7 6.0%
Acceleration & Cruise Control 4 3.4%

1 crashes, 0 fires

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 2 1.7%
Body & Structure 2 1.7%
Transmission & Drivetrain 2 1.7%
Fuel & Propulsion 1 0.9%
Steering 1 0.9%
Airbags 1 0.9%

1 crashes, 0 fires

Exactly what failed

NHTSA files every complaint against a named sub-assembly, not just a system. This is the difference between knowing it was "the engine" and knowing which part of it — the list to hand a mechanic.

Warnings 8 36.4%
Adaptive Cruise Control 4 18.2%
Automatic Emergency Braking 3 13.6%
Blind Spot Detection 2 9.1%
Body 2 9.1%
Warning 1 4.5%
Assist 1 4.5%
Headlights 1 4.5%

NHTSA crash tests

The agency crash-tested this model year itself. These are its own photographs and star ratings.

Frontal crash test of a 2025 Honda RIDGELINE PU/CC AWD

Frontal crash test

Side barrier crash test of a 2025 Honda RIDGELINE PU/CC AWD

Side barrier crash test

Side pole crash test of a 2025 Honda RIDGELINE PU/CC AWD

Side pole crash test

Photographs taken by NHTSA during its own New Car Assessment Program crash tests of this model year. Public domain.
Configuration Overall Front Side Rollover
2025 Honda RIDGELINE PU/CC AWD
16.9% risk
2025 Honda RIDGELINE PU/CC FWD
16.4% risk

When owners complained

A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single owner can see from inside their own car.

May 2024 peak 18 Aug 2026

NHTSA investigations into the 2025 Honda Ridgeline

An investigation is the step before a recall: the agency has seen enough complaints to look into a pattern itself. An open one means it thinks something may be wrong and nothing has been fixed yet.

1 investigation is still open.

EA25004 Opened 26 Mar 2025 Still open ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:CRANK/CAMSHAFT POSITION SENSOR

No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages

On June 3, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 after the agency received VOQs and several field reports concerning the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) feature on 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the AIS function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5L engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On January 6, 2023, Honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to r...

Recalls on the 2025 Honda Ridgeline

A complaint is one owner's allegation. A recall is the point at which the manufacturer or a regulator agreed the defect is real and dangerous enough to fix for free — however old the car is.

United States — NHTSA

26V332000

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.

Risk: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.

24V321000

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

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.

Risk: A rearview camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.

Recalls cover specific build ranges, so check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls or, in Canada, Transport Canada.

Complaints that involved harm

Reports where the owner recorded a crash, a fire, an injury or a death.

Santa Maria, CA Crash 1 injured

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

My Honda ridgeline had 7,590 miles when it started failing all the dash board lights turned on the engine decelerated I then tried to accelerate it rapidly accelerated my steering wheel vibrated I could not turn or slow down witch caused for me to crash

NHTSA complaint #11721115 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Santa Maria, CA Crash 1 injured

ENGINE

My Honda ridgeline had 7,590 miles when it started failing all the dash board lights turned on the engine decelerated I then tried to accelerate it rapidly accelerated my steering wheel vibrated I could not turn or slow down witch caused for me to crash

NHTSA complaint #11721115 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Santa Maria, CA Crash 1 injured

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

My Honda ridgeline had 7,590 miles when it started failing all the dash board lights turned on the engine decelerated I then tried to accelerate it rapidly accelerated my steering wheel vibrated I could not turn or slow down witch caused for me to crash

NHTSA complaint #11721115 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Gloucester, MA Fire

ENGINE

New 2025 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition with under 4k miles on it. Driving one day (10/30/25), smoke started to bellow out from the sides. Nothing on the dashboard indicated a problem. Everyone jumped out and was safe from injury. The truck went up in flames and literally blew up. We have a video of the incident. The truck was a complete loss, and it was difficult to deal with Honda, so we decided settle with the insurance company. Honda after a while stopped taking my calls and would put me on hold indefinitely if I call in. They were given permission to inspect the vehicle from the insurance agency but to my knowledge have not.

NHTSA complaint #11705807 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Nashville, TN Crash

AIR BAGS

While turning left on a snowcovered road, my passenger airbags deployed when I slid into the curb. The only damage was to my rear passenger wheel. The force to the vehicle should not have been hard enough for the airbags to deploy. No warning lights prior to the accident.

NHTSA complaint #11635603 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

The most recent complaints

In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.

Madison, AL, AL

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

When stopping with the auto idle stop system engaged, the vehicle failed to auto restart after letting off the brake pedal. This has happened three times with the last two occurrence less than a week apart. The first two times I was in a queue at a stop light and was able to shift into park and manually restart the car and proceed on the road without further incident. The third time in particular I observed that the manual start did not work on the first attempt but did on the second attempt. There were no warning indicators or messages prior to the auto restart failure. There is some risk of safety when a vehicle remains unexpectedly stopped in the road while surrounding traffic is moving. I plan to take the vehicle to the dealer for evaluation.

NHTSA complaint #11757560 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

New Braunfels, TX

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Multiple failures of the Auto Start Stop system to restart the vehicle. This has happened several times in an intersection creating a safety hazard.

NHTSA complaint #11757328 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Mechanicville, NY

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

I was driving in a stop and go traffic due to a traffic accident ahead of me. One of the times I stopped it seemed like it stalled but it was still on and the dashboard told me to put it in park so I did and then I was unable to do anything with the truck the brake seized I couldn’t shut off the truck or change gears and I sat like that for 5-8 minutes. Then after that I was finally able to hit the brake and restart it then I brought it to Saratoga Honda and they didn’t have an appointment until Wednesday of the following week due to me needing a loaner vehicle.

NHTSA complaint #11756804 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Jacksonville, FL

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

On two occasions, immediately after re-fueling the vehicle, the engine auto idle stop failed to restart the vehicle. Both times this happened at busy intersections. A series of messages appeared on the display. I was flustered because cars behind me were honking as I was blocking traffic so I don’t exactly remember the error messages. One message said to put the transmission in park. Another said to hold the brake and the engine start button. Eventually the engine did re-start by holding the start button down.

NHTSA complaint #11755798 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Jacksonville, FL

ENGINE

On two occasions, immediately after re-fueling the vehicle, the engine auto idle stop failed to restart the vehicle. Both times this happened at busy intersections. A series of messages appeared on the display. I was flustered because cars behind me were honking as I was blocking traffic so I don’t exactly remember the error messages. One message said to put the transmission in park. Another said to hold the brake and the engine start button. Eventually the engine did re-start by holding the start button down.

NHTSA complaint #11755798 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Lynnwood, WA

SERVICE BRAKES

2025 Ridgeline. Brake pedal sinks when engine started. Brake pedal sinks below the footrest. When applying brake pedal in an emergency stop my left foot contacts footrest causing me to have to release then re-apply the brakes increasing stopping distance. And then Re-applying the mushy brakes causes me to push too hard resulting in erratic braking. Took it to Lynnwood Honda who inspected and bled the brakes but would not confirm any problem. There are no warning lights. The sinking mushy brakes have not caused an accident yet.

NHTSA complaint #11755721 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Berwick, ME

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

While sitting in traffic with my 2025 Honda Ridgeline, with the engine stopped as the brake had been fully applied, when I released pressure off the brake, my vehicle would not restart as it normally would in this situation, thereby stranding me in a serious traffic situation. I notified the police and my vehicle was eventually towed to the nearest Honda dealer to try to determine what the issue was . Scary situation since my vehicle only has approximately 25K miles on it.

NHTSA complaint #11755532 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Provincetown, MA

ENGINE

My Honda Ridgeline has experienced a dangerous malfunction involving the Auto Idle Stop system. When the vehicle comes to a stop, the system automatically shuts off the engine as designed to conserve fuel. Normally, the engine should restart when the brake pedal is released. On multiple occasions, however, the engine has failed to restart when the brake pedal is released. A warning appears on the dashboard, and the vehicle becomes difficult to restart. This has left me unexpectedly unable to move the vehicle while stopped in traffic. This creates a serious safety hazard because the failure can occur at an intersection or in an active traffic lane. When traffic begins moving, the vehicle may remain stalled while surrounding drivers expect it to accelerate normally, creating a risk of a rear-end or other collision. The problem is unpredictable, and I am concerned that the Auto Idle Stop system can disable the vehicle during normal operation without adequate warning. I believe this condition should be investigated as a potential safety defect.

NHTSA complaint #11755400 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Berwick, ME

ENGINE

While sitting in traffic with my 2025 Honda Ridgeline, with the engine stopped as the brake had been fully applied, when I released pressure off the brake, my vehicle would not restart as it normally would in this situation, thereby stranding me in a serious traffic situation. I notified the police and my vehicle was eventually towed to the nearest Honda dealer to try to determine what the issue was . Scary situation since my vehicle only has approximately 25K miles on it.

NHTSA complaint #11755532 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Mcadoo, PA

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Vehicle horns are non-operational; 7/6/2026; no answer from corporate.

NHTSA complaint #11754942 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Pooler ga, GA

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

since I purchased this truck brand new from the dealer, the brakes always had air in the lines. No matter how many times I bleed the brakes, there is still air in the line. From my understanding, previous years of this truck had master cylinder issues. I went to the dealer and they refused to fix the issue, because I already attempted to fix the problem. Also, the car doesn't start when shut off during hot weather and you want to start the car again. You have to wait and try again. The car is laboring to start again. This vehicle is also known for slow starts.I hope you take this matter seriously. This is the issue with every brand new ridgline. Take your pick. I paid over 50k for a new truck and have to deal with these issues.

NHTSA complaint #11755067 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Pooler ga, GA

ENGINE

since I purchased this truck brand new from the dealer, the brakes always had air in the lines. No matter how many times I bleed the brakes, there is still air in the line. From my understanding, previous years of this truck had master cylinder issues. I went to the dealer and they refused to fix the issue, because I already attempted to fix the problem. Also, the car doesn't start when shut off during hot weather and you want to start the car again. You have to wait and try again. The car is laboring to start again. This vehicle is also known for slow starts.I hope you take this matter seriously. This is the issue with every brand new ridgline. Take your pick. I paid over 50k for a new truck and have to deal with these issues.

NHTSA complaint #11755067 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Pooler ga, GA

SERVICE BRAKES

since I purchased this truck brand new from the dealer, the brakes always had air in the lines. No matter how many times I bleed the brakes, there is still air in the line. From my understanding, previous years of this truck had master cylinder issues. I went to the dealer and they refused to fix the issue, because I already attempted to fix the problem. Also, the car doesn't start when shut off during hot weather and you want to start the car again. You have to wait and try again. The car is laboring to start again. This vehicle is also known for slow starts.I hope you take this matter seriously. This is the issue with every brand new ridgline. Take your pick. I paid over 50k for a new truck and have to deal with these issues.

NHTSA complaint #11755067 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Joplin, MO

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Start stop has failed to restart engine on several occasions.

NHTSA complaint #11754660 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Fort Myers, FL

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Car just shut off while I was driving. There was no power. It would not start. At first it sounded like it wanted to start and then it just made no sound at all. The brake was hard as well. I put the hazards on but was in the fast lane on Cleveland Avenue in Fort Myers. I believe there are traffic cameras that will show the car sitting while cars were trying to get through the traffic light. The car finally started however I have no idea why it happened. We could have been killed sitting in the fast lane of a three lane road. There were three of us in the car.

NHTSA complaint #11754845 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Joplin, MO

ENGINE

Start stop has failed to restart engine on several occasions.

NHTSA complaint #11754660 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Fort Myers, FL

ENGINE

Car just shut off while I was driving. There was no power. It would not start. At first it sounded like it wanted to start and then it just made no sound at all. The brake was hard as well. I put the hazards on but was in the fast lane on Cleveland Avenue in Fort Myers. I believe there are traffic cameras that will show the car sitting while cars were trying to get through the traffic light. The car finally started however I have no idea why it happened. We could have been killed sitting in the fast lane of a three lane road. There were three of us in the car.

NHTSA complaint #11754845 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Fort Myers, FL

SERVICE BRAKES

Car just shut off while I was driving. There was no power. It would not start. At first it sounded like it wanted to start and then it just made no sound at all. The brake was hard as well. I put the hazards on but was in the fast lane on Cleveland Avenue in Fort Myers. I believe there are traffic cameras that will show the car sitting while cars were trying to get through the traffic light. The car finally started however I have no idea why it happened. We could have been killed sitting in the fast lane of a three lane road. There were three of us in the car.

NHTSA complaint #11754845 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Greenville, SC

ENGINE

Engine idle start/stop feature shut off the engine while I was waiting to turn at a busy intersection. When I took my foot off the brake, the engine did not restart and all the lights in the dashboard came on. Multiple attempts to get the engine to re-start failed. Police had to block traffic while we waited for a tow truck. After about 15 minutes the system finally allowed the engine to start again, but the tow truck was already there so the car was towed to a local dealership. Problem was diagnosed as a starter pulling excessive voltage causing hard starts and failure of the auto start/stop system. The starter was replaced under warranty. Vehicle is just over a year old with 10k miles. I was lucky there wasn't an accident or any injuries but with cars swerving by me while I blocked the intersection before the police arrived, it could easily have been much worse. Even after the system was repaired, I do not feel safe driving with the automatic start/stop feature engaged. I know I can turn it off every time I get in the car, but it is too easy to forget to do that. I would like for Honda to reprogram the system to allow the driver to permanently disengage the auto stop feature, but I'm told that is not currently an option.

NHTSA complaint #11753947 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

San Antonio, TX

ENGINE

This is a followup to a complaint that I submitted on July 10, 2026 at 10:19:37 AM, tracking #11749522. The incident that I am reporting today occurred on July 7, 2026 when my son was driving my 2025 Ridgeline alone. I was not aware of this incident until I happened to mention to him what I had experienced with the auto stop re-start failure (no restart after auto start/stop engages). He then reported to me that on July 7th while he was driving the Ridgeline he experienced a similar incident. When he pulled up to a busy intersection the vehicle failed to re-start after shutting off at the intersection. He said he did not know what was happening and panicked a bit. Until I brought up my incident to him he said that he thought he had done something wrong when operating the Ridgeline because he does not drive the vehicle very often. He said that he placed the vehicle in park and opened the door, similar to what I had done. He said that after he did this the vehicle did re-start which is exactly what I experienced. This is two failures with same vehicle within the same week. I called the Honda Service Department on Friday, July 10, 2026 and have scheduled an appointment for Tuesday, July 14, 2026. When I mentioned NHTSA ODI had launched new Investigation on March 26, 2026 and mentioned Service Bulletins 23-008 and 23-099 to the Service Advisor he told me that they did not apply to my model year including 10-year extended warranty with unlimited mileage also did not apply. He said that my vehicle was still under factory warranty and to bring it in so that they can complete an analysis and order parts if needed. The Service Advisor said "full disclosure, Honda has not developed or provided the updated part needed to fix the problem." Those were his words. I have read that SB 23-008 and 23-099 do not fix this problem and if not completed correctly can create additional problems making me very concerned with what the dealer will propose to fix this problem.

NHTSA complaint #11749818 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Land O Lakes, FL

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

When stopped in heavy traffic, the auto idle engaged. I got a "System problem detected. Shift to Park." warning. When I shifted to park the vehicle experienced a total electrical blackout, including a loss of hazard lights. It took several minutes for the modules to reboot. This happened 3 times in 20 minutes as I attempted to find a safe place to pull over. My life was put in danger because it was dark, raining heavily, and my hazard lights were inoperative. It happened a few hours after I bought the car at the dealership. I am waiting for a tow truck now. It is available for inspection.

NHTSA complaint #11749696 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Macomb, MI

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The auto stop start shuts off and does not always restart. While in traffic at a light multiple times it has shut off and not restarted .I have to turn off the vehicle and put it in park and restart the vehicle!

NHTSA complaint #11749576 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

San Antonio, TX

ENGINE

No restart after auto start/stop engaged. The engine failed to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light and road intersection with the auto start/stop function engaged. This occurred at a very busy intersection on a road under construction. I had passengers in the truck with outside temperatures above 100 degrees. Traffic was extremely heavy and other vehicles were honking heavily. The vehicle would not re-start even after many attempts to push the ignition re-start button. At first I thought it was a battery issue but when pushing the ignition button there was absolutely no response by the starter. I was in a panic so I did not take a photo of the dash but everything seemed to go dead. I opened the door, got out and popped the hood. I checked the battery terminals. They seemed tight. I got back in the truck and pushed the starter button and the engine started like nothing was wrong and worked fine the rest of the day. This is the only the next morning so I have not driven the vehicle today or contacted the dealer service department yet. I intend to do so. I believe my truck experienced an Auto Idle Stop Restart Failure. I have read that opening and closing the door resets the vehicle's electrical system, allowing the push-button start to engage again. It seems this might be what happened when I got out to check the battery and then re-entered the vehicle. This situation left me and my passengers in a very dangerous situation. There were no warning lamps, messages or symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. I have read that this exact situation is a reoccurring issue with my model and year Honda Ridgeline and that Honda has not been able to effectively resolve this problem. This is a very serious problem and now I am almost afraid to drive my Honda truck which is almost new. Please help to correct this problem quickly as it creates very dangerous situations. I will be contacting the dealer service department today.

NHTSA complaint #11749522 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Olathe, KS

ENGINE

After braking to a stop, the default setting of the start stop system randomly fails at intersections and requires a complete restart of the vehicle. Has happened multiple times over the past two months. Dealer has checked all systems and can find no problems with battery or the system itself. Very hazardous when at a ramp end or a turn lane. The dealer recommended that the driver switch off the start stop system manually every time after starting.

NHTSA complaint #11749191 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Tampa, FL

ENGINE

The Auto Idle Stop system in the truck has become an issue with the vehicle stalling out (sometimes) when I hold the brake pedal. I have to then put the car into Park to restart the engine. This has been a safety issue when I'm driving in heavy traffic and the truck stalls and I can't move forward with the other vehicles. I have taken my truck to the Honda dealer and they could not reproduce the issue at that time. They inspected the vehicle, confirmed the battery is fine, etc. They did mention the vehicle seemed slow to start. I have experienced this as well. At this time, Honda says there is nothing they can do to help me. My truck is only a year old and still under warranty. But this is a serious safety issue and I've experienced some frightening conditions on the road because of it.

NHTSA complaint #11748746 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.