Complaint volume
160 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2020 Honda Ridgeline Complaints
160 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Honda Ridgeline, grouped by component category.
160 Total complaints
1 Crash reports
0 Fire reports
1 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are unknown or other, electrical system, engine. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 1 crash report, 0 fire reports, 1 injury report, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 23 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 27,551 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to unknown or other, electrical system, engine?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2020 Honda Ridgeline?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2020 Honda Ridgeline
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2020 Honda Ridgeline complaints?
1 Crash
0 Fire
1 Injury
0 Fatality
1 Towed
1 Medical attention
What are the most common 2020 Honda Ridgeline complaint categories?
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 28
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 24
ENGINE 21
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 10
BACK OVER PREVENTION 6
POWER TRAIN 5
VISIBILITY/WIPER 5
AIR BAGS 4
AIR BAGS,BACK OVER PREVENTION 4
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 4
160 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2023 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | Since this vehicle was purchased new the automatic high beams have not worked correctly and will often stay on for incoming traffic. There is no fix for this issue at the moment. Mentioned this issue to Honda Corp and dealership and never heard a response from over two years ago. Brought vehicle recently to other dealer and mentioned my vehicle still has this issue. They completed an unrelated software update. Needless to say my Ridgeline is still having this issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Since new vehicle''s Forward Collision warning stating "BRAKE" will occasionally appear for oncoming traffic. Vehicle has attempted to brake as well. There is no fix from Honda Motor Co. Vehicle also has an issue with automatic high beams (which has no current fix) which has been filed separately. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 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 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Wire harness for back up camera needed to be replaced. Dealer said not covered by current recall, ie 2020's are not covered | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,LANE DEPARTURE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | STRUCTURE | 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!!!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 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 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 11,721 |
| Jan 2022 | STRUCTURE | 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). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | The Automatic High Beams on my 2020 rarely activate and when they do, they dim almost immediately after seeing their own reflection even on tiny road markers. Occasionally, they'll activate or flash oncoming traffic which creates a hazard to their visibility and my safety. I alerted my local Honda Dealership at a scheduled service but they stated their were no service bulletins in effect for the Automatic High Beam system, and therefore nothing they would do. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |