Honda Ridgeline engine problems

ENGINE

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.

ENGINE

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.

ENGINE

VEHICLE SHUTS DOWN WHILE IN IDLE AT STOP LIGHT

NHTSA complaint #11762483 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

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.

ENGINE

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.

ENGINE

My vehicle is currently sitting at a Honda dealership with a broken crankshaft counterweight and seized bearing. The engine needs to be replaced but Honda has refused to conduct the dealership warranty and blame shift it to a cracked oil pan that had happened in November of last year that was quickly addressed. Since then I have gone to [XXX] and back to [XXX] showing the vehicle was fine and operating. It is to my understanding that my 2024 Ridgeline has a 3.5L J-Series V6 engine. The NHTSA is actively investigating over 1.4 million Honda V6 engines for this exact connecting rod bearing seizure defect. I feel it is wrong for the dealership to pin a known defect on something unrelated and have insurance pay and avoid conducting the warranty repair. My vehicle is sitting at 39,000 miles and I was on a normal commute to work when the incident occurred and still covered under factory warranty. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11761193 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, an abnormal knocking sound was heard, and smoke emerged from under the hood. No warning lights illuminated, and the engine failed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, but was not inspected. The vehicle was then towed to another dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failed engine. The dealer informed the contact that a piston went through the engine and advised that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with a recall related to the failure. The dealer offered to replace the engine with a salvaged engine and cover the repair under warranty; however, the contact declined the repair and requested a new engine, which was denied. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA complaint #11759933 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

The vehicle was being driven under normal highway conditions while towing a boat within the vehicle's rated towing capacity. The driver observed the oil pressure warning light illuminate and continued driving normally for approximately 20-30 minutes, at which point the engine lost power and stalled. The vehicle would not restart. Upon inspection, engine oil and transmission fluid were both found at proper levels with no signs of contamination, and the crankshaft was confirmed to be fully seized (will not rotate by hand). There was no prior knocking noise or warning sign before the oil light illuminated. The safety of the driver was put at risk due to the possibility the bearings could eject from the engine. The engine seizure has been confirmed by Right Honda, 7875 E Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85254. The vehicle was inspected by them and they produced a diagnostic.

NHTSA complaint #11758596 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

The contact owns a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started shuddering and vibrating before becoming inoperable. The check engine warning light illuminated, and five seconds later the "Low Oil Pressure" warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed with a spun rod bearing and engine knock. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 152,000.

NHTSA complaint #11756965 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

The contact owns a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started shuddering and vibrating before becoming inoperable. The check engine warning light illuminated, and five seconds later the "Low Oil Pressure" warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed with a spun rod bearing and engine knock. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 152,000.

NHTSA complaint #11756965 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

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.

ENGINE

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.

ENGINE

This involves the paddle shift operation on the steering wheel. There are two paddles, one at 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock where the hands come into contact with the steering wheel. On four separate occasions, while driving at a relatively high rate of speed, my hands accidentally activated the gear mode by lightly touching one or both of the paddles. Very little pressure is needed to activate the gears. When this occurs, the vehicle shifts to a lower gear, and the vehicle rapidly decelerates from a high rate of speed to a low rate of speed while traveling. In addition to the unexpected and dangerous change in speed while in traffic, the shift into low gear causes the engine to rev and the noise from this caused me to panic while in traffic. On one occasion this occurred when I was trying to cross a road with oncoming traffic. The paddles are very close to where the hands come into contact with the steering wheel and very little pressure, only a tap, will activate the paddles and switch the vehicle into low gear. I have contacted Honda and there is no way to deactivate the paddles.

NHTSA complaint #11756223 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

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.

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.

ENGINE

ENGINE SHUTS OFF TOTALLY IN AUTO IDLE AND MUST BE RESTARTED.

NHTSA complaint #11755479 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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.

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.

ENGINE

I am submitting a safety complaint regarding my 2023 Honda Ridgeline with approximately 23,995 miles. My primary concern is an intermittent transmission/powertrain malfunction. While driving on the highway, the vehicle unexpectedly entered limp/fail-safe mode and experienced a significant loss of power and acceleration. This created a potentially dangerous situation because I was unable to accelerate normally while traveling with highway traffic. I am concerned that this could happen again without warning while merging, changing lanes, crossing an intersection, or attempting to avoid another vehicle. The electronic transmission selector has also intermittently stuck or failed to operate smoothly. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether other 2023 Honda Ridgeline owners have reported similar transmission warnings, limp-mode events, loss of propulsion, reduced acceleration, transmission-selector malfunctions, or related powertrain problems. The vehicle also has premature deterioration of both headlamp lenses, including fading, hazing, and cloudiness. I am concerned this may reduce nighttime light output and roadway visibility. Additionally, the engine produces an abnormal rattling noise during cold starts. Rust/corrosion is developing beneath the door weather seals, and the exterior window/pillar trim is prematurely fading and deteriorating. My most serious concern is the unexpected transmission malfunction and loss of power at highway speed. At only approximately 23,995 miles, I believe this condition warrants investigation because an unexpected reduction in propulsion can increase the risk of a collision.

NHTSA complaint #11755379 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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.