413 of the
2,729 complaints filed about the Honda Ridgeline
are about the electrical system —
15% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2017.
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.
After coming to a stop and the idle stop feature engages, the vehicle does not automatically restart. I am presented with a message that says "system problem detected. shift to park". After shifting to park, I am presented with another message that says ""to continue to drive, depress the brake pedal and push switch." I then have to completely shut off the engine by pushing the "stop button". Then, I have to do a full restart before the vehicle starts again. This has happened 5 times in the last month. Here is a video of one incident - [XXX].[XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11756706 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2024 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while stopping at a red light, the Auto START feature failed to restart the vehicle, and the vehicle started rolling backwards. The brake pedal was depressed, and the PUSH to START button was depressed, and the vehicle was restarted. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,200.
NHTSA complaint #11756498 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This has happened for the last 2.5 years and has happened between 5 and 10 times. While stopped at a traffic light the Auto-Stop feature activates. When the light changes and I attempt to move, the vehicle enters "cuts off" and the dash board directs me to shift to Park or to step on the brake to restart the engine. It take multiple attempts but then it switches to Accessory Mode after which it generally starts. - Two pictures have been included. The one at night was in [XXX] and the other during the day, was taken on the corner of [XXX] and [XXX] in [XXX]. I also have a short video clip of the [XXX] incident which occurred about two days before the [XXX] incident. Once this begins I put on my hazards to direct other vehicles to drive around. I have reported it to the dealer. The dealer assured me it was the battery and they tested the battery but the battery was fine. The issue is similar to other 2023 and is covered by TSB 23-008/23-010 (Video Link: [XXX] ) INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11755943 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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.
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.
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.
The vehicle's Auto-Idle Stop (AIS) feature is defective and creates a severe safety hazard. While stopped at a busy road intersection, the feature engaged and shut the engine off normally. However, when releasing the brake pedal to proceed, the engine glitched and completely failed to restart, leaving the vehicle completely stalled, unpowered, and stranded in live traffic. The vehicle became a sitting duck in the intersection. This is a recurring issue that requires a complete ignition power cycle to recover, posing an immediate risk of a rear-end or side-impact collision. It happens most often under heavy load. Hot day with AC on, or Cold day with Heater on and seat warmers. Dealer ignored or failed to re-create at first because it was intermittent. I've been through SOFTWARE UPDATE, STARTER, RELAY REPLACEMENT AND VALVE ADJUSTMENTS (twice) and a new BATTERY over several years and it still stalls. It's dangerous and terrifying to be immobilized in traffic when it won't start.
NHTSA complaint #11754865 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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.
2020 Honda Ridgeline-Internal failure, multi purpose camera. Multiple lights on dashboard and codes associated with driving support system, Collision Mitigation, Braking System, Lane keeping assist system, Road departure mitigation, Transmission System error. All these are showing up because of the front camera going out due to overheating. Dealership quoted $1197.20 for replacement. Multiple safety violations making vehicle unsafe to drive. Extended warranty will not cover.
NHTSA complaint #11751289 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2024 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle with the Push-To-Start feature, the vehicle failed to start. No warning light was illuminated. Additionally, while idling in traffic, the vehicle lost automotive power and failed to accelerate as intended while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle was restarted as a temporary fix. Upon further inspection, the contact became aware of an abnormal electrical burning odor entering the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.
NHTSA complaint #11751077 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I OWN A 2024 HONDA RIDGELINE TRAILSPORT. THE AUTOMATIC IDLE IS CONTINUOUSLY DRAINING THE BATTERY, MAKING IT HARD FOR THE TRUCK TO START. I HAVE PURCHASED 2 BATTERIES SINCE MAY 2024, WHEN I PURCHASED THE TRUCK. IT APPEARS THAT THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE AUTOMATIC IDLE ON THE TRUCK, BUT HONDA TELLS ME THERE IS NOTHING WRONG. WHEN ACTIVATED, THE AUTOMATIC IDLE WILL SHUT DOWN THE VEHICLE IN TRAFFIC, CAUSING A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION BECAUSE THE BATTERY DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO START THE VEHICLE WHENIT STALLS.
NHTSA complaint #11750927 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My 2021 Honda Ridgeline Sport experienced failure of the forward-facing Honda Sensing camera system. This camera controls safety features including Collision Mitigation Braking, Lane Keeping Assist, and Adaptive Cruise Control. The failure disables safety assistance features. Honda acknowledged the issue but refused to provide full repair coverage and only offered $941 toward a repair costing significantly more. I believe a safety-related camera failure should be investigated as a potential defect
NHTSA complaint #11750429 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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.
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.
Driving approximately 15mph on a gravel road in my subdivision I noticed smoke or steam coming from under the hood. The time was approximately 10: 30 am on June 4,2026 the 2023 Honda Ridgeline with 41,000 miles was immediately stopped and put in park. I exited the vehicle and started to open the hood and fire streamed out from the front of the vehicle. I backed up and went to the rear door and retrieved my dog from the back seat. The vehicle is a total loss as the fire spread incredibly fast. I’m lucky to be alive today. There were no warnings or messages.
NHTSA complaint #11746777 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Auto Idle Stop fails to restart the engine quickly, causing delays or stalling resulting in a delayed response, hesitation, or the vehicle stalling completely in the middle of traffic, leaving me stranded until jump-start or fully cycle the ignition.
NHTSA complaint #11746258 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
BCM module failure. Keyless entry error. Vehicle dashboard lit up with many errors. Car alarm went on and off. Car will not start . Disconnect battery toe reset. Drove home and the car doesn’t want to stop running or idling. Disconnect battery till it turns off.
NHTSA complaint #11745207 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.