general problems of the 2017 Honda Ridgeline - part 1

On 5/11/25 the vehicle mid display showed keyless start system problem error message with a scan gage dtc12c5 stored. This made the vehicle hard to start requiring multiple actuation of the start/stop switch. The vehicle milage was 56404 miles. The start/stop switch needed to be replaced.

My vehicle has less than 95k miles on it. Purchased it brand new from the dealer in 2016. It was one of the first few Ridgelines in the state. I've always had it serviced on time at the dealer, and kept up with its maintenance and care. The engine started to fail out of nowhere - making a weird tapping/knocking noise. I made an appointment to have it checked out by the dealership, and that same day my check engine light came on while I was on the freeway going 70mph. It began shaking at an idle. I got off the freeway, and parked. I was afraid to turn the car back on. The check engine light listed off numerous warnings of failed systems. Since my appointment wasn't until the next day, I left my car near the dealership overnight, instead of driving it back home for fear of causing an accident, or having my engine overheat or explode. I brought it to the dealership the next day, and they confirmed that I had a fuel injector issue, consistent with a known issue, for which I had an extended warranty letter the mil warnings. However, they also noted a possible connection rod issue in the engine, and said the engine would have to be completely replaced or rebuilt. I have read and heard from many other people with a 2017 Honda Ridgeline that they have experienced this issue with their engines failing well before they should - at 90k miles, 140k miles, etc. There is a known issue with many of the 2017 Honda Ridgelines - and a recall did occur, but my VIN says my vehicle is not part of this recall - however, clearly my engine had the problem that Honda was aware of. My whole family was in the car when the check engine light came on, and the sound got worse - we could have been injured in an accident on the freeway, or had the engine overheat/explode while we were in the car. The issue was reproduced and confirmed by the dealer service center, and has been inspected by them. No warnings or symptoms before the failure - just complete shutdown out of nowhere.

My 2017 Honda Ridgeline started making loud noises coming from the engine. I took it to autozone and they used there diagnostic tool and all that came up was an issue with the oxygen getting into the fuel due to an issue with the fuel injector. On my way home it stopped running as I was making a turn. Mechanic confirmed engine failure. I did research and typed my VIN into kelly blue book recall section and 7 recalls came up, including the engine. But when I called Honda they said only 2 recalls were associated with my VIN. I take good care of my truck and there is not reason why my engine would fail unless there was an issue with manufacturing, or one of the other recalls caused the engine to fail. I purchased my truck for $30k a few years ago and I can’t afford for it to completely inoperable and am certain the engine seized because of a manufacturing issue.

I was in line waiting for a pick up order when all of a sudden my Ridgeline just stopped - engine kicked off - no warning lights came on ahead of this incident - there were no noises from the truck beforehand - no early indication that something like this was going to happen - thank g. . I was in line at macdonald's and not on the highway. Engine just seized. I have taken my Ridgeline to Honda - and they have said that they can't figure out why this happened - surprised for a Ridgeline with 100,000 miles - it's been serviced at appropriate times. There were some recalls on it, but not one that would cause this issue - however , we did see if the NHTSA site that many 2017 Ridgelines are being recalls due to manufacturing errors - we feel that Honda should assume some responsibility.

I purchased the Ridgeline in 2017 and am the sole owner. I have never towed anything with the truck. The mileage is high currently at 129,000. In the beginning of July the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The way it failed caused a dramatic shifting and of gears and the inability for the transmission to change gears without jerking or banging of the gears. The transmission fluid was recently changed and the vehicle has been regularly serviced by Honda dealerships only. Luckily this happened at a low rate of speed and I am a cautious, experienced, driver. This vehicle is driven by my children and has carried passengers from toddlers to the elderly. It is obvious and foreseeable that this will happen to other vehicles at higher speeds and will be the proximate cause of injury to drivers and passengers. I had my vehicle towed to the Honda dealer coggin Honda in fort pierce, florida. They told me that the failure of the transmission is a known problem with the 2017 Ridgeline model. The transmission was replaced. Unfortunately, this was not under warranty. After searches on the internet it is obvious that this model's transmission has an inherent defect known by Honda motors. The reports go back to 2017-2018 and continue. Honda should recall this model and repair the transmission to avoid consumers being injured by this obvious, known defect that impacts the safety of consumers.

- door actuators - specifically back door actuators. Both back door actuators are failing, one almost never works (sometimes locks, never unlocks) and the other one is more sporadic. The front passenger door also went a week a few months ago that it was not consistently working. - safety - 1- the actuators inconsistently work and either leave the car unsecured while moving/parked. 2- because the doors at times only manually lock my 3 year old can open the door. I have changed the side of the car I have her car seat on so I can reach behind me if it does not lock. 3- a younger kid cannot unlock the doors because they are much harder to push after they malfunctioned. Sometimes they become completely jammed and I have to push on it really hard while operating the handle. . . It is challenging for an adult, let alone a child. I really can't live with not fixing them as my kids would be trapped in an emergency situation. - yes, dealer confirmed it was the actuator, but could only get back passenger door to fail during the visit. - no, just the dealer who gave me a quote to fix it. Quote was for almost $800 for both back doors, plus $80 to "diagnose" what I already told them which was the actuators did not work. I have it scheduled to be replaced for half that price at a different shop next week. This seemed like a crazy price to not have my kids trapped in the car. This sounds like a common issue in forums and since both of mine have failed (plus maybe the front passenger door too) it doesn't seem like bad luck of 1 part. - no I am not exactly sure when it started. I think the back passenger door has been awhile, my auto-start stopped working but the door awhile ago and I think this was the reason. I didn't realize it until last summer when I went to open the door when someone opened my door when I knew the truck was locked.

Honda has been unable to correct the following recalls on my vehicle. For recall #1, my vehicle does not have (nor has it ever had) a tonneau cover. My first attempt to clear this recall through Honda was on 17 may 23. They have not cleared it. For recall #2, I took the vehicle to a Honda dealership on 24 Apr 23 (see attached documentation). The recall is not yet cleared, yet the system works fine. Recall #1 NHTSA recall number: 20e-068 mfr campaign f8m campaign description: 2017-20 Ridgeline tonneau cvr accsry recall recall date: 09/17/2020 recall #2: NHTSA recall number: 22v-867 mfr campaign kck campaign description: 2017-19 Ridgeline tailgate harness safety recall recall date: 11/23/2022.

Lost brakes as I was trying to decelerate to make a left turn on fm 1472, still managed to come to a stop before hitting the traffic ahead of me that was also waiting to make a left turn. Smoke started to come out from the wheel wells. Put vehicle on parking, shut off engine, opened hood and found fire coming out from the back of the engine bay. Extinguished fire with a fire extinguisher, and a few minutes later, a fire dept truck arrived to hose it just to make sure it was properly extinguished. Waiting for cause and origin investigator from the insurance to inspect the vehicle.

Ridgeline backup camera wire harness gets pinched/cut from tailgate. Many others reported but no recall. Paid $472. 19 to repair. 2017-2019 have reported same issue.

Backup camera wire hardness broken due to open and close the trunk tail gate.

The back up camera failed to work. We either had a blank screen or a screen with a grid but no picture of what was behind the truck when going in reverse. The truck was taken in for service and found to have broken wiring in the camera harness. This was found to be at the area the tailgate opens and closes. The tailgate harness was replaced by the service center and the camera now functions properly. We have the old harness that was damaged in our possession. This was a safety issue to not be able to see what was behind you when backing up. There has been complaints filed about this problem on 2017 Honda Ridgeline in the past by others owners but no recall has been issued.

Wiring for the back-up camera running between tailgate and body on drivers side has been pinched with opening and closing of the tailgate, which has caused the wires to be broken apart, thus making the back-up camera unfunctional.

Rear view camera failure I opened and closed the rear tailgate a couple days ago, and the rear view camera stopped displaying when the vehicle is in reverse. Just a black screen for a while, then, the guidance lines show up, still with no picture. I have not taken this to the dealer yet, but on Ridgelineownersclub. Com, this appears to be a common problem, caused by a broken wire harness near the tail gate hinge.

Rear back up camera is failing, camera view is going in and out. Upon inspection of the rear tailgate it is clear the wiring going from the main body of the truck to the tailgate is exposed from the plastic casing and some of the wires are breaking themselves causing the malfunction. This truck only has ~43k miles on it and the tailgate gets used semi-frequently, by no means is it used excessively. It is ridiculous that such an important piece of safety equipment would not be better made to withstand the normal wear and tear of use and fail at such low mileage. This failure has caused a massive blind spot when reversing and could put pedestrians or other vehicles in harms way. No I have not taken this into the manufacturer nor has it been confirmed by the dealer. No warning lights have gone off, the only way to know there is something wrong is when in reverse the backup screen is black with no video.

- backup camera failed - specifically the wiring harness that goes to the tailgate. It can be inspected by others until it is replaced. - yes, it is a large vehicle manufactured when it was required to have a backup camera, I back out of my driveway onto a small private street that always has lots of little kids playing. - the dealer confirmed the issue, they have ordered the part and it is $350 to fix a $30 wiring harness because the whole bed and tailgate has to be taken apart. - it has not been inspected by manufacturer (though I read online that Honda has a note in the system to send them the replaced harnesses) or insurance. - there were no warning lights; however, at first the backup camera would only work in one position that did not align with the parking guides for a few months until it finally went black. It also quickly flipped between views when the problem first arose. To better describe the issue, I wanted to report a safety issue with my 2017 Honda Ridgeline black edition. I saw that an investigation was already opened and there is a class action lawsuit from last year, but I wanted to formally add my truck to the ones affected by the same backup camera issue. Mine appears to be typical to the many photos I saw online, it appears the harness that allows the tailgate to swing both ways gets abruptly folded over the bottom edge of the tailgate when it is folded down during normal use, this has resulted in snapping the harness/wires at this flex/pinch point. It is clearly a design flaw and the issue occurs under normal use. I do not use my truck for work and I would say the tailgate is moderately used. My dealership called Honda and they said nothing regarding a recall, or even the first stages of that, are in the works. My wife won't drive my truck without the camera and I back out of my driveway onto a street that always has lots of kids playing so I really have no choice but to fix it. . . Which was quoted at $350 and they ordered the parts.

Back up camera harness is cracked exposing wires and breaking others camera not working . Blind spot behind vehicle.

The capless fuel tank freezes and you are unable to fill the car with gas because of the block of ice that forms not allowing you to insert the gas filling hose.

The rear backup camera has failed at 31,000 miles. The cause of the failure is appears to be a severed wiring harness going from the main body of the vehicle into the tailgate, where the camera is located. The harness design or routing of the wires is clearly defective.

Broken tailgate harness causing the backup camera to no longer work. My vehicle is available for inspection, at this time. I can no longer see behind my vehicle and may injure animals, children, or damage property when driving in reverse. This is no longer covered by warranty, but is a poor design where the tailgate itself clamps and eventually cuts the wiring harness. I have confirmed this issue with dozens of other 2017-2018 Ridgeline owners. There was no warning other than my screen going black one day after using the vertical hinge on the tailgate.

Opening and closing the tailgate has resulted in the wires breaking that go to the backup camera. Needless to say you need to be able to open and close tailgate on a truck.

The back up camera has ceased working due to the wiring harness being cut and crimped in the tailgate assembly. It appears to be a example of a poor design that could be a safety issue. The constant opening and closing of the gate and the choice of poor materials does not protect the wiring. I noticed it when attempting to leave a parking lot. Through my research it is a common occurrence on these models.

Wiring harness for the rear backup camera split/cut from routine opening and closing of the tailgate. Camera totally useless, black screen. Camera was working one minute, put the vehicle in reverse and stopped working.

The contact owns a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: (20e068000 (equipment) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were contacted.

Rearview camera did not work. Wiring was broken between body and tailgate where it flexes.

The backup camera is not working. "blinked/flashed" a few times while backing out of the garage and then quit working. Major safety concern. I called Honda to report this in February 2020, but they said there were no open recalls and there was nothing they could do; however, it appears there are many other Honda owners experiencing this problem.

Alarm system goes off every 20 minutes. This just started to happen. In California. Vehicle is parked stationary. The lights come on and stay on then the alarm goes off. But internal then external lights come on first, then the alarm goes off. It is dry no rain exists. When this condition occured.

Alarm goes off every 30-60 min.

Fuel tank neckline freezes in cold weather, and you can't put fuel in the tank. This is very dangerous in the cold, the neckline freezes and you cannot knock it lose etc to get fuel. . . Someone could potentially freeze to death!!.

Diameter of safety bar for child seat hook to big to attach hook on a 2017 Honda Ridgeline.

My problem was with the right rear window glass. The other morning I started my car and drove about half a block. I thought that I heard a slight air noise like the rear window may have been slightly open. When I touched the raise function for the rear windows the right rear window exploded inward making a loud noise throwing glass fragments across the back seat, I was driving straight at about 15 mph on a city street. It was about 9 am with temps in upper 60's. I had driven the car the day before and did not look at the window before it burst. I cleaned up most of the glass and there was no stone or object in the car that may have been thrown at the window. It was Sunday and I was able to drop the car at my Honda dealer. I wish I had taken photos but did not think of it.

My Honda Ridgeline starts to do a rare things : like warning lights on the vehicle dashboard,the alarm actived many times and a week later there were water under the back seats. I took it to the deler and they took the alarm out and didn't find the leak so my Ridgeline still there for almost one month and l didn't receive any response. . . L don't not what to do . . . Thank you.

At the precise moment the odometer hit 12000 miles, the vehicle lost power, all the warning lights lit up and rolling list of problems, involving, hill control, power steering, etc. . Came on. Even after shutting it off and turning it back on multiple times the condition did not change. Honda had it towed to the dealer. After a day they could not find the problem except to say it was a low voltage issue. . Seemed to coincidental that it happened at exactly 12000 miles and I stated as much. They reset everything and it has been ok for last 150 miles.

Lack of information and action regarding the degradation of soy based wiring insulation from rodents.

The vehicle applies the back brakes and jerks the passenger and driver into the dash board. He's a very quick brakes which happen at speeds ranging from 35 miles an hour to 60 miles an hour it happened four times in a 20 minute timeframe. This was on October 12, 2017 it was lightly raining at the time. It is currently at the dealership where they're telling me they can find no issue. They are keeping it for one more day as to drive in the rain.

I was stopped at a busy intersection with a vehicle in front of mine signalling to turn right. When the light changed the forward vehicle turned right and as I proceeded to accelerate to go thru the intersection my cms braking system apparently deployed, slamming on my brakes and bringing me to a jarring stop. I paused and then accelerated on thru intersection with no problem. There were no vehicles in front of me or turning in front of me when the brakes deployed suddenly on their own. This was a busy intersection of two state highways in a small city.