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Honda · NHTSA safety record

2020 Honda Ridgeline

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

167

Complaints

1

Crashes

0

Fires

1

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2020 Honda Ridgeline have filed 167 safety complaints with NHTSA between July 2020 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 48 of them (29%). The typical failure was reported at 16,500 miles, the median across the 24 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints fell 30% year on year: 31 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 44 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 8 recalls covering this vehicle. A further 1 defect investigation is open and unresolved.

Recalls (8)

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS

26V365000 · June 4, 2026

The defect
American Honda Motor Company (Honda) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Honda Pilot, 2017-2023 Ridgeline, 2019-2023 Passport, and 2014-2020 Acura MDX vehicles that were sold in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. The rear subframe may corrode at the suspension mounting points, which can result in rear suspension component failure.
The risk
Failure of rear suspension components, such as the rear control arm, can cause a loss of vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect the rear subframe and install a rear subframe reinforcement kit and, as necessary, repair or replace the rear subframe components, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed July 27, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated in the fall of 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are AOU and AOT. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning June 10, 2026.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 880,514 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

26V332000 · May 21, 2026

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
The risk
Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 98,892 vehicles across all model years covered

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

24V321000 · May 9, 2024

The defect
Honda (America Honda Motor Co) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Ridgeline vehicles. The rearview camera (RVC) tailgate wire harness may fatigue and break, which can prevent the rearview camera image from displaying.
The risk
A rearview camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the RVC tailgate wire harness, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed November 8, 2024. Owners may contact Honda service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is YI7.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 187,290 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

24V064000 · February 1, 2024

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.
The risk
An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 750,114 vehicles across all model years covered

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

23V858000 · December 18, 2023

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
The risk
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 2,490,460 vehicles across all model years covered

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDER

23V458000 · June 29, 2023

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Civic, 2020-2023 Ridgeline, 2021-2023 Passport, 2021-2022 Pilot, and 2020 Acura MDX vehicles. The tie rod fastener that connects the brake booster and the brake master cylinder may have been improperly assembled during manufacturing, which can cause the brake master cylinder to separate from the booster assembly.
The risk
Brake master cylinder separation can cause a loss of brake function and increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and repair the brake booster assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 7, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are VEU, AEV, and ZET.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 124,077 vehicles across all model years covered

VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES:EXTERIOR

23V174000 · March 16, 2023

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2020-2022 Passport and Odyssey vehicles. The heating pads behind both side-view mirrors may not be bonded properly, allowing the mirror glass to detach. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
Detached mirror glass can reduce driver visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace both left and right side-view mirrors, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed January 17, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is FE5.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 339,404 vehicles across all model years covered

STRUCTURE:BODY:HOOD

21V932000 · November 29, 2021

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019 Passport, 2016-2019 Pilot, and 2017-2020 Ridgeline vehicles. The hood latch striker may become damaged and separate from the hood, which can result in the hood opening while driving.
The risk
A hood that opens while driving can obstruct the driver's view and increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will either repair the hood latch striker, or replace the hood if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 18, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is PBV.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 724,826 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (2)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages

EA25004

Still open engineering analysis · opened March 26, 2025

the engine and its cooling

On June 3, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 after the agency received VOQs and several field reports concerning the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) feature on 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the AIS function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5L engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On January 6, 2023, Honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2019-2022 Honda Passport, and 2020-2023 Honda Ridgeline vehicles. The repair outlined in the service bulletins is a two-stage countermeasure to remedy the issue. The first stage is a Programmed Fuel Injection (“PGM-FI”) software update. The second stage is only deployed if the software update fails to remedy the issue. The second stage, depending on the model and model year, consists of replacement of the starter assembly, starter relays, and a valve adjustment. Additionally, Honda extended the warranty coverage to 10 years with unlimited mileage for vehicles requiring the second stage component replacement. ODI continues to receive complaints of the AIS failure to restart, with many complainants alleging the campaign countermeasures had been completed.NHTSA has reviewed Honda's Information Request Letter responses involving warranty claims, lawsuits, and consumer complaints in addition to ODI's own data. This Engineering Analysis is being opened to further consider the potential safety defect, including gathering additional data regarding Honda’s service campaign efficacy. ODI is additionally expanding the scope to encompass all vehicles addressed in Honda’s service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009 as well as newer model year vehicles, which are substantially similar to the vehicles covered by the service campaign. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

Rear-View Camera Failure

PE24004

Closed preliminary evaluation · opened February 13, 2024 · closed August 5, 2024 · led to recall 24V321

back-over prevention

On February 13, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE24004 to assess alleged failures of the rear-view camera (RVC) in 2020-2023 Model Year (MY) Honda Ridgeline vehicles. At this time, ODI has received a total of 50 complaints with allegations of the RVC image failing to display when the vehicle was in reverse. The RVC wire harness is routed near the hinge in the tailgate, in a location where frequent opening and closing of the tailgate causes bending stress on the harness. Honda determined the wire harness was manufactured with a material which is permeable to water and salt, which when it freezes and thaws, combined with tailgate usage, ultimately leads to breakage of the wiring in the tailgate harness. This results in a failure to display the RVC image. On May 9, 2024, Honda filed a Part 573 Safety Recall Report recalling all 2020-2024 MY Honda Ridgeline vehicles. The dealer will replace the RVC tailgate harness with a wire harness that is manufactured by a new supplier and has improved material properties to withstand wear from bending. In view of Honda filing recall 24V-321 addressing the subject of this investigation, ODI is closing this Preliminary Evaluation. NHTSA reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 167.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 48 29%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 41 25%
ENGINE 36 22%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 14 8%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 14 8%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 12 7%
AIR BAGS 10 6%
LANE DEPARTURE 9 5%
POWER TRAIN 9 5%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 8 5%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 7 4%
SERVICE BRAKES 4 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 53.

2020 2024 2026
2020 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · 65,000 miles

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, a large sheep ran out of a yard and crashed into her vehicle with its head and horns on the driver's side front end near the bumper. The contact stated that the impact moved the vehicle to the right side of the road. The contact stated that she was lifted out of the seat and forward by the impact. The contact hit her head on the roof of the vehicle. The contact stated that her abdomen and left knee hit the steering wheel, and her right knee hit the dashboard. The contact stated that the air bag had not deployed, and the seat belt had not restrained her. The contact stopped the vehicle and

NHTSA complaint 11680951, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

towed · 11,721 miles

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

NHTSA complaint 11451509, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
When driving normally, oncominng traffic is triggering the frontal collision warning system. Is some cases long enough to start the emergency braking procedure if I do not engage the brakes manually preventing the automatic emergency braking. This usually happens on curves in the road in typically right hand curves. This is happening on 2 lane roads at between 45 and 55 mph. Initiating and emergency braking at this speed could send my car into the oncoming traffic. I am concerned for my safety if I do not hit the brakes manually.

NHTSA complaint 11757268. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
The vehicle's front-facing monocular camera experienced an internal component failure that triggered a permanent error code U3000-49. This hardware failure instantly disabled multiple core safety features simultaneously, including the Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS), Road Departure Mitigation, and Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) ABS Braking and High Beam Support with all dash lights remaining on. The sudden, unexpected loss of automatic safety braking and driver-assist features while moving poses an immediate highway safety risk.

NHTSA complaint 11754863. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
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

NHTSA complaint 11754865, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

118,000 miles

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, there was a misfire coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and, upon inspection, the contact determined that one of the ignition coils had failed. The contact purchased a new ignition coil, replaced the part, and resumed driving; however, the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine had failed due to a loosened connecting rod and needed to be replaced. The contact ordered a new engine. The vehicle was not yet

NHTSA complaint 11752401, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
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. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
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. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Honda Ridgeline

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 80 2
2024 50 1
2023 126 5
2022 112 3
2021 98 7
2019 232 11
2018 157 7
2017 337 8
2014 34 6
2013 45 7
2012 24 11
2011 39 10 1
2010 42 9

Other 2020 Honda models

Every Honda on this site — 187 vehicles, 362 recall campaigns and 10 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst