422 of the
2,769 complaints filed about the Honda Ridgeline
are about the electrical system —
100% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2017.
2024 Honda Ridgeline, VIN [XXX], approximately 21,000 miles. The vehicle has repeatedly failed to restart in traffic after the Auto Idle Stop system automatically shut off the engine. Failures occurred XXX. During one occurrence, I was nearly rear-ended when the vehicle failed to restart as traffic began moving. The vehicle also intermittently cranks abnormally slowly when hot. The starter will crank, pause, then crank noticeably slower. I can intermittently reproduce the fail to start problem by driving until the vehicle is hot, shutting it off, and immediately restarting it. I have two videos of this condition. Honda replaced the battery, but the problem continues. The dealer reports that the battery, alternator, and starter pass diagnostic testing. I provided video documenting the abnormal slow cranking and failure to start, but no repair has been made. My primary safety concern is that Auto Idle Stop automatically shuts off the engine while stopped in active traffic, but the vehicle may then fail to restart, leaving it disabled in a traffic lane. The vehicle has already experienced this failure three times. NHTSA is currently investigating Auto Start/Stop no-restart complaints involving 2020–2025 Honda Ridgelines under EA25-004. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11764098 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Auto Idle Stop/Start feature has malfunctioned multiple times, leaving me stalled out at a green light in traffic. Sometimes the system hesitates to restart and shows a warning message on the dash that is too long to read for the split second that it shows, and other times it requires a full manual restart of the vehicle. The feature works to shut the engine off, but intermittently does not start back up when taking foot off the brake, and requires a few shut off instructions that are complicated to follow when sitting in a parked vehicle in moving traffic. This is highly unsafe. The hesitation warnings were visible on my maintenance report, but nothing was said about them at the service center, so I did not think they were an issue. I will be taking the vehicle back to Honda to address this auto start failure, but I am aware that there is currently not a recall for this Auto Idle Stop/Start feature, despite it being well documented by other Honda vehicle owners.
NHTSA complaint #11763839 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The auto idle function- the car engine doesn't restart. This has happened in a busy intersection and won't restart until you have made several attempts to restart. I have brought this to the attention of Honda certified techs.
NHTSA complaint #11763064 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I am reporting a recurring Auto Idle Stop no-restart and starting-system failure in a 2024 Honda Ridgeline. At approximately 35,072 miles, while stopped at a traffic light with Auto Idle Stop engaged, the engine shut off but failed to restart when the brake pedal was released. The vehicle remained disabled in the intersection until it was manually restarted, creating a risk of a collision. An authorized Honda dealer found both positive and negative battery terminals loose, tightened them, reported that the battery passed a load test, found no diagnostic trouble codes, and returned the vehicle. The battery had already been replaced at approximately 30,238 miles after a slow-start complaint and a failed battery test. The condition recurred at approximately 42,563 miles. After the engine shut off at a light, the vehicle displayed an orange “P” and “System Problem Detected - Shift to Park,” went into Neutral, and required a manual restart before Drive could be restored. The dealer later reported that the replacement battery tested at approximately 197 CCA against its 650 CCA rating, but no root cause for the rapid deterioration or the shutdown/no-restart condition has been identified. The vehicle now intermittently cranks slowly and appears strained while starting. No permanent repair has been completed. The vehicle is available for inspection. The condition creates a safety risk because the vehicle can fail to restart or move from an intersection and may enter Neutral unexpectedly.
NHTSA complaint #11762606 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When stopped at a stop light the auto start feature sometimes - more often than not- fails to start back and the truck is stuck at the intersection. After putting it in park it will start after several tries. My dealership tells me there is nothing wrong with it even though it’s still under warranty. This has happened over 10 times to me
NHTSA complaint #11761891 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Receiving pop up faults on instrument panel. ie battery low voltage, adaptive cruise sys problem, road departure mitigation sys problem, Sys problem detected shift to park, to start engine brake and push start, idle stop engine will not restart all of these issue donot throw codes to the main ECM or BCM so dealer can't trace the problem. This has been going on since march 2025
NHTSA complaint #11761732 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
From researching this, my Honda 2018 Ridgeline is having a problem with the Keyless Access/TPMS Control Unit, causing the vehicle security alarm to go off when the vehicle is idol which could result in a dead battery if not attended. Honda referenced this manufacturing defect in its Service Bulletin 21-055 dated XXX. I have attached a copy of the Service Bulletin. Since this problem is affecting a number of different Honda models, my question is if this admitted manufacting problem is under consideration for a recall by NHTSA. Honda dealers are changing upwards of $800-$1,000 to replace and program the unit. Thank you. [XXX], [XXX] or [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11760566 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Ridgeline Failures! 1st Failure, XXX, ridgeline failed to start. AAA could not jump the vehicle because the vehicle had zero charge. It was towed to Autofair Honda, in [XXX] 85 miles away. They replaced the battery. (See attachment) Mileage 2827 2nd Failure [XXX] Completely Dead truck. Honda roadside assistance was called. The tow vehicle was unable to start the truck after the jump attempt. Truck towed to Honda Ecodrive of [XXX]. They stated to me that they have never seen a truck with such a severe battery drain. They recharged my battery. I was located 165 miles from home and the dealership did not provide me with a loaner vehicle. Instead they charged me $342 dollars for a rental and $84.00 for a diagnostic fee. This service should have been charged to Honda as the vehicle only had 10,842 miles on it. Why is the NHTSA not filing a recall on this vehicle? Being stranded for 5 hours in the middle of nowhere, waiting for a service vehicle places occupants at risk! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11760314 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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.