NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Honda Ridgeline. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Rear view camera ceased to display picture. Screen black except for yellow guidelines and view options. inspection of rear tailgate wiring found 3-4 wires in wiring harness corroded/broken. This is similar to known issue with 17-19 ridglines which have a TBS out for same issue.
Sudden spontaneous moonroof explosion. Traveling at approximately 60mph I experienced a spontaneous explosion of the moonroof while it was closed and the headliner was closed. Glass flew into following traffic. There was no oncoming traffic and we were not following anyone. Sky’s were clear and the road was dry and paved. This was a loud and distracting event and if the headliner cover wasn’t closed it could have been much more serious. This happened around 10am MDT yesterday June 25 2023. The vehicle had about 20300 miles on the odometer.
This a transmission and auto idle shut off issue. The condition has happened 8-11 times over the 80K miles I have owned this vehicle. It happened today Sunday 6/18/2023 at 12:13pm. With the auto idle shut off engauged, at a stop light, foot on the brake and waiting for the light to change to green, the transmission will shift from drive to neutral, without touching anything. I will get a notification on the dashboard " that I need to put my foot on the brake to start the car", but my foot is on the brake already, waiting for the light to change. The vehicle will not start in neutral, I have to put the vehicle into park to start the vehicle. If I don't see the notification on the dashboard, focused on watching the light change, when the light turns green, take my foot off the brake, the next thing I know, I am rolling backwards towards a vehicle behind me. When the light turns green, the vehicle behind me thinks I am going to move forward, instead I am rolling backwards towards them, before I reapplied the brakes. Twice the vehicle behind me looked like they were going to hit, but stopped short. I have been the two dealerships with my concerns and one did a software update, but the problem continues to persist. One dealer recommended notifying Honda of America and I have done this. 6/12/2023 case 13880068, no response yet and 6/17/2023 second request case 13893182. At first I thought I was doing something with my hand, but I now drive with my right hand on the passenger armrest to make sure I have no involvement in the condition I have describe.
The contact owns a 2020 Honda Ridgeline. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V174000 (Visibility) however, following the completion of the repair, the contact became aware that the replacement side-view mirrors reflected a severely distorted image, compromising the side-view visibility. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the request to replace the mirrors with the previous side-view mirrors was refused. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 37,000.
As I was backing out of the garage, the backup camera failed to show video on my display. I almost ran over toys, and the safety failure of this feature is essential. The video has failed to show on the display, although no damage has occurred to the vehicle. It seems that there must be a failure in the wiring.
On May 31, 2023, my wife and I were in our Honda ridgeline when attempting to back up into a parking spot. We noticed the instrument cluster went dark with only a "P" flashing. There were no alarms or indications of any fault. We shut down the truck. After trying to restart there was no instrument cluster along with the shifter locked in park. On this current model their is no emergency override out of park as on other vehicles. We had traffic backed up for hours as we called a tow truck to move the vehicle from the main street. Upon the ridgeline being towed to the local Honda dealer. They scanned for codes, U0103, U0155, u0404, U12AA. Checked Diag Tree and confirmed system test and found SBW control module and gauge control module didn't communication. They ended up finding a fuse had blown. My question is why no override out of park on this model? Safety issue.
Backup camera stopped working.
Unkown - backup camera failure.
I have a recall for PGM-FI and Honda said they won’t honor it due to salvage title.I am concerned that it could be a safety hazard due to vehicle not restarting after idle stop engages when stopping on the road.
Rear camera has stopped working. There was a recall for 2017 - 2019 Honda Ridgelines, currently does not include 2020. My mileage is 39600 and was told not covered. They apparently have not fixed the problem and it needs to include 2020’s as well.
Back up camera is black with yellow lines
Rear back up camera stopped working. When putting the truck in reverse the video display only shows the yellow grid lines. The camera video is black. I saw on line that this is caused by a faulty wire harness. There’s a you tube video showing where the problem is and how to fix it so this must be a common issue. I followed the instructions from YouTube and I took the tailgate apart and found that the camera wire was broken. I spliced the wire back together and now it works again.
The rear opening and closing of the tailgate caused a break in the wiring harness, causing the rearview camera to fail. This is due to a design flaw and identical to what has happened in the 2017-2019 models.
Rear backup camera is not working
Rear back up camera show black screen when put into reverse. Honda has recalled the 2017-2019 ridgelines which includes 117,445 trucks. 2020 has not been included. Purchased in July of 2020 camera went out in march of 2023. The ridgeline behind the tailgate is a massive blind spot so without the camera even if you turn your head around you can not see anyone shorter than the tailgate standing at least 6 feet behind the truck and can cause an accident by accidentally running over someone or backing into another vehicle when backing into cross traffic.
The contact owns a 2020 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated while stopped, the automatic STOP/START feature intermittently failed to operate as needed after the vehicle had shut off. The contact stated that the vehicle would independently shift to neutral(N) during the failure. The contact called the dealer and was asked to bring the vehicle in for a diagnostic test. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and referred the contact back to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000. The VIN was not available.
The back up camera failed. I can't see what is behind me when backing up.
The window pillar is made of cheap thin plastic that melts easy and I believe is a fire danger. I have had two incidents, the first in July of 2021 shortly after I purchased my vehicle and I reported it to Honda product complaint 12387373. Honda replaced the molding with the same exact part. I have had another issue on the same side with the same part in a different location in the middle of February in 40 degree temperatures in front of an office building. Honda is saying there is no issue. I believe that since this has happened twice now it is a fire hazard.
Back up camera has stopped working. When the vehicle is put in Reverse the guide lines continue to appear, while there is no video of what is behind the vehicle. I looked up recalls on 2020 Ridgeline, and there are no reports. 2017-19 backup camera recall for similar problem. Honda dealer appointment to confirm is 3 days from today. There were no warning signs of failure.
This complaint is about Tesla vehicles that I passed or passed me yesterday in Southern California on the 15 and 210 freeways. The conditions were treacherous with low visibility and rain. At least one dozen Tesla vehicles were encountered and none had their lights on although it was raining and visibility was low. They did have front “driving lights” illuminated but no rear lights were visible. In California, it is the law to have your lights on if it’s raining. The lack of rear lights presented a dangerous situation in foggy and damp conditions even though it was not nighttime. These observations were made between 10 AM and noon as well as 3:30 PM and 5 PM. My Honda Ridgeline had its lights set on automatic and they were illuminated the entire time. I can’t understand why the Tesla vehicles didn’t have any lights displayed in the rear of the car unless they were breaking. It must be a software oversight because I observed various models and production years. This needs to be rectified for all our safety.
Backup camera stopped working. Possible electrical wiring harness defective and severed prematurely. This was a safety feature that stopped working on a vehicle that’s not even 3 year old.
The plastic fuel line coming from the gas tank cracked and there is no way to replace a small hose and Honda make me purchase a brand new tank for a repair of $2000 that should have been covered under warranty. The line failed at 25,000 miles
Wire harness for back up camera needed to be replaced. Dealer said not covered by current recall, ie 2020's are not covered
Auto high beam feature fails to go to dim quickly enough when on coming traffic appears. Yet it will dim for white or yellow road sign reflections. The system is very unpredictable and causes people to flash me often. Recurring problem since new.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The backup camera stopped working. The wires to the camera broke. This is the same issue as the 2017 - 2019 Ridgeline recall. When will the 2020 models be recalled?
Warning light keeps coming on in my 202 Honda Ridgeline: "Emission Systems Problem" the first time I took it in they indicated there was no problem charged me $168.00. Second through forth time it went in they replaced the "Evap Canister Vent Valve" problem comes back within 2 weeks. The light has tripped a fifth time but went out on it's own, Honda dealer said the light needs to be on in order to trouble shoot. This was a issue on 2017 - 2019 Ridgelines blogs indicate repair was replacement of injectors. Just looking for help to get my issue resolved once and for all.
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.
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.
The 2020 Ridgeline has a feature that turns off the ignition when stopped for more than a couple of seconds. It then automatically restarts when you move your foot off the brake to the accelerator. On several occasions the car does not automatically, and displays a message on the dashboard that you need to shift to park and restart it. This process, shifting to park and attempting to restart, does not work for some time though. There was a recall notice on it, which I had completed by the dealer. When it happens, it produces a very dangerous situation where the car is stalled in traffic with other lanes moving and we are not able to move. The car has been into the dealer on three occasions and I received a letter from Honda, stating that once the recall on the issue was completed, if the situation persisted, they would replace the unit. I just brought it back to the dealer because the recall did not fix it and they stated that they knew nothing about the letter from Honda.
I received a Recall Notice #21V-932 per Honda Service Bulletin 21-086 and took my 2020 Honda Ridgeline in on March 22, 2022. The recall notice specifies that gaps between Hood Seal and Grill allow for air entry that leads to hood vibration allowing the hood latch to break loose and hood to open while driving. I have such an air gap and to make matters worse this gap also allows elements to enter my engine compartment getting everything wet/soiled- including electricals. After the recall repair was competed, I still had a sizable air gap between the hood seal and the grill. The Dealer Service Department Manager said it was operating according to Honda Specifications and that’s all he could do. I complained and he said he would contact Honda Motors of America. He received a reply from Honda Motors that ignored my complaint. My complaint is that Page 15 of this Honda Service Bulletin 21-086 recall notice specifies “Inspect the resting position of the hood seal. Ensure that the hood seal is making contact along the front grill”. After repair, my vehicle still has a good size air gap between the Hood Seal and Grill which does not meet the repair requirements of the Recall Notice. Not only that, the repair on my vehicle did not address the Root Cause of the problem which is to prevent air from entering and causing vibration. And this could be on many Honda vehicles! I tried to attach a Word Document with additional information but your system would not allow. Please contact me using email because I have hearing loss from Vietnam War and communicating over the phone is very difficult for me!!!!
Like other Honda models being investigated, this 2020 Ridgeline also applies the automatic braking system with on vehicle directly ahead (nearest vehicle is 2 lanes over). The date below is today, but events were in the past
The February 2022 edition of Consumer Reports, page 19, identifies 2017-2020 Honda Ridgeline (and others) as having a faulty Hood Latch that could release as the vehicle is in motion thereby blocking the driver's view of the road. I cannot find any evidence on your website or that of Honda's about a recall or a fix for this issue. Please look into this matter and get back to me as soon as possible. Thanks [XXX] email: [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The contact's son owns a 2020 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while her son was reversing, the vehicle shifted to neutral independently. The warning message "Stop. Driving when Safe. Transmission Problem, See Manual." Was illuminated. The contact's son shifted to reverse and continued to drive the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred twice the next day while reversing. The contact's son turned off and parked the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the failure could not be replicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The contact was awaiting a call back from the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approximately 11,721. Consumer traded in this truck on 2/14/2022 and traded up to a 2022 Ridgeline. Consumer had the truck for a week and it did the same thing.
In winter weather driving the LED headlights become covered in snow and ice. I have to keep finding a safe place to pull over and manually clear the snow and ice off the headlights so I can see properly without dazzling other drivers.
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.
Driving up a grade my small dog move forward onto forward part of console and steped on gearshift buttons and vehicle shifted in to neutral. Engine rev. Up to 5000 RPM. Had to remove dog from gear shift panel slow down engine and vehicle back in gear and excelerate away from large truck approaching the rear of my vehicle. Vary scary, why does Honda put a push button transmission controls on a console between the seats.
1st time we were driving on a mountain highway at 70 mph, when the truck self applied the brakes and we were nearly rear ended by another truck, there was no vehicle directly in front of our car to cause this to happen. I took the truck to the dealer as soon as we returned home, they found nothing wrong! A few weeks later this happened again for no apparent reason however thus time no other car was near enough to cause a incident. I returned the truck to Honda Service after 1st calling Honda USA and having them document our concerns. Once more they could offer no reason or correction. This continues to randomly happen to thus day. I have 2 service documents to back up both times I returned to the dealer.
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 “safe 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.
Sunroof spontaneously shattered while driving. Sunroof is not safety glass and shattered into thousands of shards. If the inner cover had been open the driver would have been hit in the face with these glass shards while driving at highway speed. There was nothing on the roadway that could have caused this explosion. Smooth paved road and no close traffic. We believe it is a defect and the type of glass is inherently dangerous to be used in a motor vehicle.
Honda Ridgeline's "Auto High-Beam Headlights" do not work as advertised. They do not automatically engage high-beam headlights when appropriate. When this features rarely engages, the high-beams often disengage quickly - which distracts the driver and creates a temporary dangerous situation. I believe that this can be fixed with software.
ON 12 OR MORE OCCASIONS THE TRUCK BRAKED FOR NO REASON. NOTHING IN FRONT OF ME. IT'S BEEN TO THE SHOP 3 TIMES FOR THIS. I HAVE DONE RESEARCH ON THIS PROBLEM AND FOUND OUT HONDA HAS SEVERAL LAW SUITES ON THEIR CMBS SYSTEM GOING BACK TO 2015. SO WHY HAVE THEY BEEN ALOUD TO KEEP THIS SYSTEM IN CARS AND TRUCKS.
I've had the start stop issue not function multiple times. I had to replace the battery did the software update for it and it still does not start occasionally. I have to restart the vehicle like if it was parked. Stalling on a light is why I no longer use this feature, I just press on the start stop button every single time I start the engine. This has happened multiple times throughout the years.
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.
ON TWO OCCASIONS, I WAS DRIVING AT FREEWAY SPEEDS IN A COLD CLIMATE FOR ABOUT AN HOUR. I DECELERATED ONTO AN OFF RAMP. UPON ACCELERATION, I RECEIVED A FLASHING CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND REDUCED POWER. I WAS ABLE TO LIMP HOME AT DECREASED SPEEDS. I WAS ABLE TO PULL CODES P0304 - CYLINDER 4 MISFIRE, P0305 - CYLINDER 5 MISFIRE, C342D - MANUFACTURER CONTROL. THE PROBLEM WENT AWAY AFTER RESTARTING THE VEHICLE. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO SEE ANY CODES OR REPRODUCE THE ISSUE.
THE BRAKES ARE SOFT IF YOU HIT THE BRAKES OUT OF THE "CLEAR BLUE". IF YOU RECENTLY PRESSED THEM WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE OF SECONDS, THE PEDAL HAS A MUCH FIRMER AND GRABBIER PERCEPTION. THE BRAKES FUNCTION NICELY, BUT THE VARIANCE IN BRAKE FEEL COULD BE DETRIMENTAL WHERE FRACTIONS OF A SECOND MATTER. THE VEHICLE DOES IT ALL THE TIME REGARDLESS OF TERRAIN OR TEMPERATURE.
WHEN DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY, THE AUTO DIMMING HIGH BEAM HEADLIGHT SYSTEM OFTEN FAILS TO DIM THE HIGH BEAMS WHEN AN ONCOMING VEHICLE IS APPROACHING - OFTEN CAUSING THE ONCOMING DRIVER TO "FLASH" HIS HIGH BEAMS IN ANGER. THE SYSTEM WILL ALSO DIM THE HIGH BEAMS WHEN IT SHOULDN'T.- WHEN THERE'S NO VEHICLE AHEAD OF YOU AT ALL. THE DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN UNABLE TO FIND A FIX FOR THE PROBLEM. I FIND OTHER OWNERS COMPLAINING OF THE SAME PROBLEM HERE... HTTPS://WWW.RIDGELINEOWNERSCLUB.COM/THREADS/AUTO-HIGH-BEAM-COOL-MAYBE-NOT.215738
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026