2006-2026 Honda Ridgeline Problems: 21 Known Issues

Owners of the 2006-2010 Ridgeline's 3.5L J35 V6 have reported spark plugs that loosened and blew out of the aluminum cylinder head while driving. One 2007 owner reported that at 67,442 miles, on the highway at 70 mph, "the spark plug blew out of the engine head in two pieces" and took the ignition coil with it. They said no check engine light came on first, and they were quoted $12,048.85 for the repairs. In another 2007 report, at 124,000 miles, the engine made an abnormal noise at about 55 mph. A technician then found that a spark plug had fractured and fallen into the engine, and the engine had to be replaced. Honda's specified spark plug torque for this engine is 18 N·m (13 lb-ft). We found no Honda service bulletin or recall for this problem.

The 2006-2014 Ridgeline's J35A9 uses a belt-driven cam system with a hydraulic (oil-filled) timing belt tensioner rather than a spring tensioner. The tensioner seal weeps, the damper loses its charge, and belt tension goes slack. Ridgeline Owners Club threads report technicians finding a large share of high-mileage tensioners leaking. A slack belt lets the belt jump a tooth on a cam sprocket - first showing up as a random misfire under load - and if it skips far enough or shears, the J35 is an interference design and bends valves. The water pump is driven off the same belt and is a common co-failure, so a leaking tensioner discovered late often means the whole front of the engine.

After the truck stops and Auto Idle Stop shuts the engine off, the engine may not restart on its own. Honda says the driver can typically restart it immediately by selecting Park and pressing the ENGINE START/STOP button. Honda attributes it to excessive cylinder pressure and/or low cranking torque, and says idle stop was allowed to engage while battery health is low. It affects 2020-2023 Honda Ridgeline trucks with the 9-speed automatic and Idle Stop (Honda bulletin 23-008 for the software update; warranty-extension bulletins 23-009 for 2020-2021 Ridgeline and 23-010 for 2021-2023 Ridgeline). NHTSA Engineering Analysis EA25-004, opened March 26, 2025 and still open, covers 2020-2025 Ridgeline along with Pilot, Passport, Odyssey, MDX and TLX models; it has not produced a recall. Only a Honda dealer can confirm by VIN whether a truck is eligible.

On first-generation (YK1) Ridgelines, road salt, mud and debris pack into the boxed rear frame rails around the fuel tank strap mounts and the forward rear-subframe mounting points. Because the area holds moisture and was inadequately protected from the factory, the metal corrodes from the inside out. In advanced cases the frame mounting surface for the fuel tank straps can corrode and separate from the frame, leaving the tank unsecured so it can be damaged from undercarriage impact and leak fuel - a fire risk. Honda recalled about 112,000 trucks (later expanded to about 133,000) sold or registered in 22 salt-belt states and DC (22V-430). Owners on the Ridgeline Owners Club recall thread report dealers finding perforation well beyond what the inspection procedure anticipated, and the repair procedure itself (cutting, welding reinforcement plates, cleaning and waxing the rails) is extremely labor-intensive.

The Ridgeline's unique in-bed trunk has drainage holes and weep holes designed to channel water out. These drainage holes frequently clog with leaves, pine straw, tree debris, pollen, and mildew. When clogged, rainwater and vehicle washing accumulate inside the trunk, causing rust, odor, and rendering storage unusable. The trunk gutter channel and lower perimeter drain holes require periodic cleaning. Some cases involve improper latch alignment or twisted weatherstripping seals.

Owners report water dripping from the headliner around the overhead console onto the cup-holder area, or dripping in at the moonroof, after rain. Where the water gets in varies: in one report the owner suspected the windshield, and in another the leak continued after the dealer replaced the moonroof unit. It affects second-generation Ridgelines with a moonroof (2017-2023). Owner reports come from a 2022 Ridgeline with under 5,000 miles and a 2020 Ridgeline RTL on the Ridgeline Owners Club, plus a drain-cleaning thread that does not state the model year. No Honda bulletin for this condition on the Ridgeline was found.

The Ridgeline's signature dual-action tailgate uses two separate latch mechanisms linked by internal rods (2020 and later trucks also power-lock the tailgate with the doors), and the swing-open function fails far more often than the fold-down one. The usual failure is in the latch linkage: the internal latch and sensing rods bind, wear or corrode so the side latch never fully disengages, and on early 2017 trucks Honda traced the swing-open failure to the left upper latch sensing rod (bulletin 16-077). Owners of both YK1 and 2G trucks report the tailgate folding down normally while refusing to swing, which also blocks access to the in-bed trunk. Salt-belt trucks add latch corrosion on top.

Owners report cracks that start at the bottom edge of the windshield and run across the glass with no stone chip found, in one case after freezing weather. It affects second-generation Ridgelines (2017-2024). Owner reports come from a 2017 Ridgeline and a 2018 Ridgeline Sport on the Ridgeline Owners Club. No cause has been established for these trucks, and no Honda bulletin for this condition was found.

On the Ridgeline's automatic transmission, the fluid (ATF) cooler sits inside the radiator, and the transmission cooler lines connect to it at threaded fittings. Owners report that these fittings or the cooler inside the radiator corrode and fail. Several owners blame corrosion between dissimilar metals, often a steel washer or spacer at the cooler-line fitting on the radiator. Once it fails, engine coolant and transmission fluid mix, and owners find milky, strawberry-colored fluid in the radiator or overflow tank. Some trucks lose ATF quickly and the transmission runs dry. In other cases coolant gets into the transmission and it begins to slip, flare to high RPM, or stop engaging drive and reverse, sometimes with no warning light. Owner reports on CarComplaints for the 2006-2008 model years put the failure between about 80,000 and 197,000 miles. Several owners had to replace or rebuild the transmission, or scrapped the truck. We found no recall, service bulletin, or warranty extension for this failure. One owner said Honda declined to help because the truck was out of warranty.

AWD Ridgelines experience noise and juddering from the rear differential, particularly when turning. The differential fluid breaks down prematurely due to contamination from clutch wear debris, condensation, or water intrusion. Water can enter through the breather tube vent in the rear subframe, especially after launching boats or driving through deep water. Low or contaminated differential fluid causes clutch noise and binding on turns.

Every 2006-2014 Ridgeline is covered by the Takata ammonium-nitrate inflator recall campaigns. The propellant degrades with age and with cycles of heat and humidity; a degraded inflator can over-pressurize and burst its metal housing during deployment, firing shrapnel into the cabin. NHTSA and Honda have repeatedly warned that the oldest inflators carry the highest rupture risk; Ridgeline inflators are covered under Honda recalls including 15V-320 (2006), 16V-061, 16V-344, 17V-029, 19V-182, 19V-500 and 19V-501, and Honda has told owners of the worst-risk vehicles to drive them only to the dealer. Because these trucks are now on second and third owners, the completion rate on the oldest campaigns remains the problem: many are still unrepaired.

Owners report the Collision Mitigation Braking System flashing BRAKE warnings when nothing is in the truck's path, most often on curves with oncoming traffic, when passing a car slowing into a turn lane, or when turning left across traffic. Some owners report the system also applied the brakes in these situations. It affects second-generation Ridgelines (2017-2023) with Honda Sensing. Owner reports come from a 2021 RTL owner and from a 2017 Collision Mitigation Braking System thread on the Ridgeline Owners Club; a third thread describes the same left-turn and winding-road false alarms. No NHTSA investigation or Honda bulletin naming the Ridgeline for this condition was found; NHTSA PE22-003 covered only the CR-V and Accord.

Rear subframes made with improper coating specifications may lose paint near the arm bracket weld area, and where de-icing salt is heavily used the exposed metal can corrode prematurely at the rear subframe suspension mounting points. As the metal thins, the mounting points for the rear control arm or lower arm can fracture, letting the rear wheel become misaligned or inadequately retained, which could affect handling, stability and braking and increase the risk of a crash or injury. It affects certain 2017-2023 Honda Ridgeline trucks built from April 5, 2016 to January 10, 2023 and sold in the salt-belt states Honda lists: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin (NHTSA recall 26V365, Honda recalls AOU and AOT; 110,070 Ridgelines potentially involved). A 2023 Ridgeline is included only if it was built by January 10, 2023. Honda says it has no reports of the problem on US vehicles sold outside the salt belt. Only a Honda dealer can confirm by VIN whether a truck is included.

The Ridgeline's front lower ball joint is pressed into the lower control arm and is not serviceable separately, so normal wear condemns the whole arm. Owners club threads on 1G trucks describe a clunk or knock from the front end over expansion joints and driveway lips, often misdiagnosed as struts. Because the truck carries a heavier front end than the Pilot it shares suspension architecture with, the lower arms, the rear compliance bushings in those arms, and the sway bar end links all wear early - and multiple owners report chasing the clunk through struts and end links before the ball joint or a loose subframe/arm fastener turned out to be the source.

NHTSA recall 23V-858 affects 2.5+ million Honda and Acura vehicles including 2017-2020 Ridgelines. The Denso-branded fuel pump impeller was improperly molded with low-density material that deforms over time and interferes with the fuel pump body. The pump can become inoperative, causing difficulty starting, engine stalling while driving (safety hazard), or complete no-start. This is an expansion of earlier recalls 20V-314 and 21V-215.

The nuts that hold the brake master cylinder to the brake booster may be loose or missing from the factory. When the brake pedal is applied, the booster tie rod studs can break and the master cylinder can separate from the booster, reducing or removing brake function and increasing the risk of a crash. It affects certain 2020-2023 Honda Ridgeline trucks built from October 8, 2020 to March 21, 2023 (NHTSA recall 23V458). The same recall covers some 2020-2021 Civic, 2021-2023 Passport, 2021-2022 Pilot and 2020 Acura MDX. Honda estimates about 1% of the 124,077 recalled vehicles have the defect; only a Honda dealer can confirm by VIN whether a truck is included.

Second-generation Ridgelines with the 6-speed automatic (2017-2019, and the same 6AT family used in the Pilot and Odyssey) develop a shudder or judder that feels like driving over rumble strips during light-throttle cruise, typically 20-60 MPH when the torque converter clutch is slipping in its controlled-lockup mode. Honda's own TSBs 17-025 and 17-026, written for the 2017 Ridgeline, attribute it to ATF that degrades faster than expected because of intermittent high heat loads on the converter clutch. Owners report the judder returning after the first software-only attempt, which is why Honda issued the second bulletin covering vehicles that still judder after the update.

Owners report the 9-speed automatic hesitating, shifting at random and decelerating abruptly when they lift off the accelerator, most noticeably when coasting on downhill roads, and hunting or lugging at about 1,700-2,000 rpm on inclines. It affects 2020-2026 Ridgelines with the J35Y6 V6 and the ZF 9HP-based 9-speed automatic (the 2017-2019 trucks use a 6-speed). Owner reports come from a 2021 RTL owner and a 9-speed gear-hunting thread on the Ridgeline Owners Club; forum replies attribute part of the behavior to the transmission's dog clutches and to Econ mode. No Honda bulletin for this condition on the Ridgeline appears in NHTSA's bulletin listings.

In low temperatures where road salt is present, the wiring in the rear-view camera tailgate harness may fatigue and break as the tailgate is repeatedly opened and closed. Broken wiring can stop the rear-view camera image from displaying, which may affect the driver's view and increase the risk of a back-up collision or injury. It affects certain 2020-2024 Honda Ridgeline trucks built from November 8, 2019 to April 24, 2024 (NHTSA recall 24V321, Honda recall YI7); Honda counts 187,290 trucks potentially involved and estimates 3% have the defect. Honda says the tailgate lock/unlock function and/or the alarm system may malfunction as a warning. Only a Honda dealer can confirm by VIN whether a truck is included.

Owners report the Display Audio touchscreen freezing, rebooting on its own while driving, or going black or very faint. When the screen fails, owners report losing audio, navigation, the backup camera image and the wireless charger until it comes back. It affects second-generation Ridgelines with the Display Audio touchscreen (2017-2023; the 2024 model year changed to a 9-inch touchscreen). Owner reports come from a 2021 Black Edition, a 2020 RTL-E and 2022 RTL-E owners on the Ridgeline Owners Club. No Honda bulletin for this condition on the 2021-2023 Ridgeline appears in NHTSA's bulletin listings. One 2022 owner reports it at 10,400 miles.

First-generation Ridgelines whine loudly from the power steering pump on cold mornings, quieting as the engine warms. The cause is not usually the pump: the O-ring on the low-pressure supply hose at the pump contracts and hardens with age, letting the pump draw air past it and aerate the fluid. Honda bulletin 07-086 documents this same inlet O-ring cause on the 2003-2008 Accord V6, and Ridgeline owners apply the same fix. Ridgeline Owners Club members have repeatedly traced the whine to that single flattened O-ring, to a loose return-hose bolt, or to a clogged fine screen in the reservoir; separately, the high-pressure hose and the pump shaft seal are common age-related leak points on higher-mileage trucks.