10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
0 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2021 Honda Ridgeline drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2021 Honda Ridgeline Owner Comments

problem #10

Nov 032023

Ridgeline

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

1. Vehicle shift to neutral while driving. 2. Shift vehicle from park to drive, but vehicle shift to neutral and alert for transmission failure comes on. 3. While waiting at a stop light in drive and on brake, vehicle shift to neutral and alert for transmission failure comes on.

- Whittier, CA, USA

problem #9

Dec 182022

Ridgeline

  • miles
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.

- Excelsior, MN, USA

problem #8

Nov 192021

Ridgeline

  • miles
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.

- Richmond, IL, USA

problem #7

Dec 192021

Ridgeline

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

After driving for long distance (over 200 miles) in cold weather at highway speeds, and then making a slow right-hand turn, the Check Engine light came on and vehicle went into 'limp' mode. This happened twice, 2 weeks apart. Vehicle has less than 8,000 miles on it.

- Hartford, WI, USA

problem #6

Jan 172022

Ridgeline

  • miles
Vehicle went into "limp mode" after exiting a freeway. When attempting to merge into roadway, vehicle flashed CEL for engine. Vehicle shut down 3 cylinders giving very little power to merge into traffic. Unable to get vehicle over 30 mph on a busy road. Honda dealer said no codes were stored and haven't heard of the complaint previously. Vehicle had no issues previously. 6,000 miles on a new vehicle.

- Rochester, MN, USA

problem #5

Dec 072021

Ridgeline

  • miles
This is an unsafe vehicle to drive and can cause injury or DEATH. I along with many others have been having problems with the CEL flashing and engine running properly. The dealers can't find a cause because the code deletes itself and the problem temporary goes away when you shut the engine off and is NOT saved in the computer. It has been a complete waste of time going to the dealer only to find no codes stored. I am not alone in this, as many others are starting to have this exact same problem during the exact same driving conditions. See the forum below: https://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/threads/2021-check-engine-light-flashing.229929/#post-3220773 Here is the first time it happened. (THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES ALREADY) (DEC 7, 2021) Hello all, I have a 2021 RTL-E. After driving on highway for an hour and a half at 80mph, I exited the highway and as soon as I pulled onto a secondary road the check engine light started flashing and the engine was hesitating with little to no power and poor shifting. I limped it to safe place to pull over (aprox 3 miles) and shut the truck off. I checked under the hood and didn't see anything and after approximately two minutes I restarted the truck and the light was gone and it drove fine after that. (It was 15?F with 10,250 miles at the time and not towing or hauling anything) I drove it the next day 4 hours on Highway without any issues. Has anybody else experienced this issue on the 2021's? There's not enough room to type the other times this problem occurred!!! This is an unsafe vehicle to drive and can cause injury or DEATH. The 2021 Honda Ridgeline is no longer the dependable vehicle that I was hoping to have when I purchased it NEW in June of 2021. I live in a rural area and do not have a dealer that is close by which is why I bought a Honda in the first place because it was Supposed to be a dependable vehicle. This needs to get resolved and I would appreciate any help on how to resolve this.

- Pearl City, IL, USA

problem #4

Dec 312021

Ridgeline

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Drove the pickup 3 hours in 10 degree weather at 60-70 mph. Exited the freeway, stopped at light, went through the intersection and truck began to bog down. Engine light started flashing and truck wouldn-??t go over 35 mph. Pulled off road, shut down the engine for 5 minutes, started truck up and drove like normal the 3 miles home. Could have been dangerous at the intersection as the truck wouldn-??t accelerate as normal and I had very little power to the wheels.

- Rochester, MN, USA

problem #3

Oct 222021

Ridgeline

  • miles
On this model of vehicle, if the vehicle dies and cannot be restarted, as an example if you are on a busy highway or intersection, there is no way to get the vehicle in Neutral so it can safely be moved WITHOUT having a special tool, Honda part #07AAA-TZ3A100. This tool is currently not available to purchase from any Honda dealer. This tool has to be used with the front hood open and reaching down and turning a bolt & manually locking the transmission in Neutral. The location of this bolt outside the truck & under the hood is also a hazard for the vehicle rolling and not being able to easily disengage it from neutral by having to get back out of the truck again and get under the hood. It is also a hazard to have to get out of the vehicle, on a highway or busy intersection or other hazardous area. In prior models of this vehicle, there was a method to manually put the vehicle in neutral while seated in the drivers seat, minimizing the risk of injury by having to get out of the truck and pop the hood. This is a very hazardous design flaw that should be remedied by Honda immediately. Honda should provide remedy to all vehicle owners and provide the method for manually putting the vehicle in neutral back inside the vehicle as it was in prior models as it is a safety hazard as it is designed now with the manual release under the front hood.

- None, CO, USA

problem #2

Jun 122021

Ridgeline

  • miles
When vehicle is in drive, stopped on a steep hill, and allowed to slip backward the software puts the transmission in neutral and shuts of the engine off. This leaves the vehicle coasting backwards with very little steering or brakes. This happened to me and I coasted backward across a street. If a car had been coming it would have hit me sideways. I can reproduce this in drive forward or in reverse, and I reproduced this in a second 2021 Ridge Line truck. There is no warning or message.

- Chilmark , MA, USA

problem #1

Jun 162021

Ridgeline

  • miles
When the vehicle is in drive, stopped on a steep hill, and allowed to slip backward the software puts the transmission in neutral and shuts of the engine off. This leaves the vehicle coasting backwards with very little steering or brakes. This happened to me and I coasted backward across a street before I could get it stopped. If a car had been coming it would have hit me sideways. I can reproduce this in drive forward or in reverse, and I reproduced this in a second 2021 Ridge Line truck. There is no warning or message.

- Bourne, MA, USA

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