2021 HONDA RIDGELINE Complaints

When driving at 70mph for a couple of hours and exiting the freeway, the truck will go into limp mode and won’t accelerate. This only happens when it’s very cold, less than 10 degrees Fahrenheit both times it happened to me. The engine service light will start to flash. You need to park and restart in order to clear the issue. The last time it happened, I needed to merge onto a busy freeway with very little room to pull over. It was quite dangerous for my family and I. I spoke with Burnsville Honda in MN when I was there for service this summer and Honda is aware, but there is currently no known fix. It sounds like it’s affecting multiple models of newer Honda vehicles with the v6 engine.

The auto start/stop function fails to restart the truck after stopping. I has in the middle of an intersection waiting to turn left. The auto stop turned off the engine. When I let go of the brake the truck failed to restart. I was stuck in the middle of the intersection when other cars were trying to get around me because the traffic lights changed. I couldn’t restart the truck at first. Had to put it in Park; push the brake down; hit the start button and then the truck finally started. Then had to put it back in Drive. But I was still in danger of getting hit, because it wasn’t my turn to go due to the traffic lights. I’m still under the bumper to bumper warranty and I take the truck to dealership tomorrow. The dashboard reads, “Auto Engine Idle Stop System Problem”

The 'automatic high beam/low beam' function is totally worthless. Any reflective sign along the road turns the high beams off. The system on my earlier 2017 Honda Ridgeline worked almost 100%. This 2021 system basically doesn't work. In addition you must reach 45 mph before it activates. On many of the back roads that I travel on, the speed limit is less than 45 mph. I have heard that Honda changed the system on the 2021 model. Bring back the older system (my 2017), or don't feature it all. It's non-functional and Honda should not be allowed to advertise it!

1) The automatic high beam functionality, and it is available for inspection 2) Safety of others is out at risk, as the automatic high beams will turn on even if an incoming car is detected, and in most cases will flash off and on automatically with oncoming traffic, resulting in the oncoming driver being blinded and unable to operate their vehicle safely. 3) It’s been inspected by the dealer, who determined this is proper functionality despite the safety concern. 4) No warning lamps or messages whatsoever.

Auto Engine Idle shut off engages when the vehicle comes to a stop. Upon releasing my foot from the brake pedal, the truck shifts into park as the engine restarts. This happens about 75% of the time when engaged. If I turn this feature off, I experience no issue. This is a government mandated feature that appears to be a problem. I need support in making sure that Honda takes responsibility for this issue.

Automatic high beam lights system is terribly dangerous! Not even close to working as advertised. They do not drop to low beam with virtually all oncoming traffic. They are constantly tricked and flicker when looking at reflective signage. They create confusion and very dangerous distraction. This is a well known design flaw with these late model Ridgelines and the dealers can’t do anything to correct. Please convince Honda Motors to correct this dangerous situation soon.

Vehicle is equipped with automatic high-beam headlights. The feature has not worked properly since I bought the truck new in April 2021. Hi-beam lights will activate for a few seconds and then turn off for about 10 seconds and continually repeat the sequence regardless of road specifics. A few times, the headlights have flashed oncoming vehicles less than 100 feet away. I have taken the vehicle in for repair three times to two different dealers and contacted Honda Customer Assistance for advice. The dealers have the same response after each repair: We have no guidance from Honda how to fix and cannot do anything. Honda Customer Service has no provided any solutions so I am forced to disable the feature to avoid the issue of flashing oncoming vehicles. I have also posted You Tube videos of the behavior hoping that it would help the service folks. They acknowledge the behavior but cannot fix: https://youtu.be/Zmv23FX4R20 https://youtu.be/Kp623lKKAXs https://youtu.be/W3Tfnh1MNeY https://youtu.be/JyGZx13JjX4 https://youtu.be/8sfLcZWPwec

I will be filing a issue with our 21 Honda Pilot too as the same problem has occurred in both vehicles with the same engine and transmission. This has happened a total of 3 different times. When I drive the Ridgeline for a long time (over 4 hours)on the expressway and then pull off on a ramp and turn left the vehicle will go into safe mode. The engine light will start flashing and you can not drive over 30 mph. The engine runs rough and idles hard. I have contacted Honda and the dealership I purchased it from. Honda has acknowledged this is a problem and has occurred multiples with many different vehicles. The dealership I work with has acknowledged the same thing as they have several vehicles that have been brought in with this problem. I have waited several months for Honda to come up with a solution, so far they have not. This is a safety concern because what would happen if this same situation came up when I'm pulling my trailer or on the expressway at higher speeds. This could cause an accident. This first started on my Ridgeline in November of 2021. It has happened several times since then. Every time there is no code the computer keeps, even though each time the engine light is flashing. What I have been told is the computer thinks the engine has backfired and goes into safe mode, but Honda doesn't know why it does this. If you turn the vehicle off and restart it, the problem goes away. When the dealership has run a diagnosis off the computer, there are no codes the computer throws. Even though the check engine light is flashing when this occurs.

Automatic emergency braking has engaged on a two way highway curve a couple times until I disabled it for the remainder of the trip. The “Brake” forward collision warning screen and alarm sounds frequently on 4-lane 2-way 30 mph road with a slight curve which it mistakes car in adjacent oncoming lane as a car it may collide with, I was able to eliminate it from applying brakes be adjusting sensitivity to low but the warning still pops up. Additionally, the automatic brights feature is inadequate resulting in flashing/blinding oncoming drivers, I have resulted in turning the feature off which process is more complicated than it should be.

The auto-dimming headlights on my 2021 Honda Ridgeline do not work properly. They don’t engage high beams when they are supposed to, and when they do come on the flash on and immediately turn off. It has gone off and on on dark roads and is very distracting and dangerous. Sometimes they flash other drivers causing angry responses from other drivers. I brought my vehicle in to the Honda dealership and they told me it is working properly. This is not true, because I previously owned a 2019 Honda Ridgeline and the Auto-dimming headlights worked perfectly. My wife also owns a Honda CRV that has the feature and it also works correctly. I feel this problem should be addressed before someone gets injured due to distraction from the lightning going of and on and possible road rage from other drivers thinking your flashing them. This problem has been ongoing since I purchased my new vehicle. I also found many others complaining on Honda Ridgeline Facebook groups. So it’s not an isolated incident.