2018 Honda Ridgeline problems & reliability
160 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2018 Honda Ridgeline, alongside 7 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 21, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several components.
1 complaint report injuries (1 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2018 Honda Ridgeline vehicles were involved in 8 fatal crashes with 3 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System → | 49 | 31% |
| Back Over Prevention → | 31 | 19% |
| Engine → | 22 | 14% |
| Fuel/propulsion System → | 17 | 11% |
| Unknown / Other | 17 | 11% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline → | 13 | 8% |
| Structure | 9 | 6% |
| Power Train | 8 | 5% |
| Visibility/wiper | 7 | 4% |
| Lane Departure | 6 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 19 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 45 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 28,000 miles (middle 50% between 3,700 and 50,000 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“From researching this, my Honda 2018 Ridgeline is having a problem with the Keyless Access/TPMS Control Unit, causing the vehicle security alarm to go off when the vehicle is idol which could result in a dead battery if not attended. Honda referenced this manufacturing defect in its Service Bulletin 21-055 dated XXX…”
Electrical System · filed Aug 29, 2026
“I have had the vehcile in traffic when it can cause banging sounds, have transmission slippage, and not allow the transmission to shift into higher gears, other occurences include transmission shudder. I was told the reset would be to change the transmission fluid with a 3 flush process at the dealership with a cost…”
Lane Departure · filed Aug 26, 2026
“The vehicle was being driven under normal highway conditions while towing a boat within the vehicle's rated towing capacity. The driver observed the oil pressure warning light illuminate and continued driving normally for approximately 20-30 minutes, at which point the engine lost power and stalled. The vehicle would…”
Engine · filed Aug 21, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Engine failure
Preliminary Evaluation PE25008 · opened Aug 20, 2025 · open
- Rear-View Camera Failure
Engineering Analysis EA25003 · opened Feb 11, 2025 · closed Sep 18, 2026
- Engine failure
Recall Query RQ24013 · opened Nov 8, 2024 · closed Aug 20, 2025
- Rear-View Camera Failure
Recall Query RQ24011 · opened Jun 26, 2024 · closed Feb 11, 2025
- Rear-View Camera Failure
Preliminary Evaluation PE22001 · opened Feb 7, 2022 · closed Dec 19, 2022 · led to recall 22V867000
Technical service bulletins
113 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2018 Honda Ridgeline. The 10 most recent:
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2017-2019 Ridgelines with a customer complaint of the rearview camera inoperable. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM…
ATI&03262026905 · Other · issued Mar 26, 2026
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2017-2019 Ridgelines with a customer complaint of the rearview camera inoperable. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM…
ATI&03112026902 · Other · issued Mar 11, 2026
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2017-2019 Ridgelines with a customer complaint of the rearview camera inoperable. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM…
ATI&02242026902 · Other · issued Feb 24, 2026
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2017-2019 Ridgelines with a customer complaint of the rearview camera inoperable. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM…
ATI&01202026901 · Other · issued Jan 21, 2026
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2017-2019 Ridgelines with a customer complaint of the rearview camera inoperable. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM…
ATI&01052026901 · Other · issued Jan 5, 2026
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2017-2019 Ridgelines with a customer complaint of the rearview camera inoperable. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM…
ATI&10232025902 · Other · issued Oct 23, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2017-2019 Ridgelines with a customer complaint of the rearview camera inoperable. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM…
ATI&10142025904 · Other · issued Oct 14, 2025
Service Bulletin - Torque converters may not have been manufactured to proper specifications. As a result, the torque converter lock-up clutch cannot provide adequate holding force due to pressure bleeding down through…
A23-078 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2025
Service Bulletin - Torque converters may not have been manufactured to proper specifications. As a result, the torque converter lock-up clutch cannot provide adequate holding force due to pressure bleeding down through…
A23-078 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2025
Service Bulletin - Torque converters may not have been manufactured to proper specifications. As a result, the lock-up clutch cannot provide adequate holding force due to pressure bleeding down through a crack in the…
A23-078 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 18, 2025
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2018 Honda Ridgeline has 7 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2018 Honda Ridgeline?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 28,000 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.