Table 1 shows one common vehicle speed control related problems of the 2021 Honda Ridgeline.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Vehicle Speed Control problems |
This involves the paddle shift operation on the steering wheel. There are two paddles, one at 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock where the hands come into contact with the steering wheel. On four separate occasions, while driving at a relatively high rate of speed, my hands accidentally activated the gear mode by lightly touching one or both of the paddles. Very little pressure is needed to activate the gears. When this occurs, the vehicle shifts to a lower gear, and the vehicle rapidly decelerates from a high rate of speed to a low rate of speed while traveling. In addition to the unexpected and dangerous change in speed while in traffic, the shift into low gear causes the engine to rev and the noise from this caused me to panic while in traffic. On one occasion this occurred when I was trying to cross a road with oncoming traffic. The paddles are very close to where the hands come into contact with the steering wheel and very little pressure, only a tap, will activate the paddles and switch the vehicle into low gear. I have contacted Honda and there is no way to deactivate the paddles.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 mph and attempting to slow down for slower traffic ahead, the vehicle then failed to accelerate above 30 mph. The vehicle was driven across three lanes of traffic onto the shoulder. After stopping and restarting the vehicle, the failure self-corrected and the vehicle operated normally. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 22,000.
First incident happened 3/10/2022. Went to start my 2021 Ridgeline (12k miles) in the morning, started traveling down my driveway when all warning lights flashed. Truck went into limp mode rendering it unable to drive. Towed it to Honda dealership where I was told a rodent chewed threw my harness wires. Honda repaired it and I went on my way. Second incident happened 4/27/22. I am traveling down i95 going 70mph for about an hour. I exit onto sr 200 and immediately my truck goes into limp mode with the exact same problems that occurred on 3/10/22. I am in rush hour traffic with no warning that my truck was about to go into limp mode. I towed it to my Honda dealership again. They said my harness wires are fine and have no idea what is wrong with my truck. This is a very dangerous safety hazard as my truck without warning will go into limp mode while driving.
This is a general issue that you can find in the forums of the Honda pilot/ridgeline/passport. Is affecting all of them. Very easy to replicate. When using adaptive cruise control and the person in front of you changes lanes. If that person that moved to another lane slows down your vehicle will slow down too, thinking that the car is still in front of you. This is a huge security risk that can cause a rear-end collision if the person behind you is distracted.