Reliable Auto DB

2018 Honda Ridgeline reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2018 Honda Ridgeline has 161 complaints with NHTSA after 9 years, or 11 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Ridgeline years here — under the median of the other years, which is 13. NHTSA has 8 recalls on file, including Frame, Front passenger seat weight sensor, and Fuel pump.

2018 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition
Photo by The original uploader was McChizzle at English Wikipedia ., resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons Public domain
Complaints

161

Per year

11

Recalls

8

Years on the road

9

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (50 of 161), then Back-over prevention (30) and Engine (22). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 22,300 miles, and the middle half falls between 2,000 and 50,000 miles. Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 1 that reports an injury.

Next to 2017 and 2019

The 2017 Ridgeline has 340 complaints, 26 per year, and the 2019 has 235 complaints, 17 per year. The 2018 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017. The 2018 has fewer complaints per year than the 2019.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2018 Honda Ridgeline. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (8)

Recall structure, frame 2026-06-04 · NHTSA campaign 26V365000
Summary American Honda Motor Company (Honda) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Honda Pilot, 2017-2023 Ridgeline, 2019-2023 Passport, and 2014-2020 Acura MDX vehicles that were sold in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. The rear subframe may corrode at the suspension mounting points, which can result in rear suspension component failure.
Remedy Dealers will inspect the rear subframe and install a rear subframe reinforcement kit and, as necessary, repair or replace the rear subframe components, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed July 27, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated in the fall of 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are AOU and AOT. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning June 10, 2026.
Vehicles affected 880,514
Recall Front passenger seat weight sensor 2026-05-21 · NHTSA campaign 26V332000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Remedy Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
Vehicles affected 98,892
Recall Fuel pump 2023-12-18 · NHTSA campaign 23V858000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Remedy Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
Vehicles affected 2,490,460
Recall back-over prevention, sensing system, camera 2022-11-23 · NHTSA campaign 22V867000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Ridgeline vehicles. Opening and closing the tailgate may break the rearview camera wiring harness, causing the rearview camera to fail.
Remedy Dealers will replace the rearview camera wiring harness, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 31, 2023. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is 6RW.
Vehicles affected 117,445
Recall structure, body, hood 2021-11-29 · NHTSA campaign 21V932000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019 Passport, 2016-2019 Pilot, and 2017-2020 Ridgeline vehicles. The hood latch striker may become damaged and separate from the hood, which can result in the hood opening while driving.
Remedy Dealers will either repair the hood latch striker, or replace the hood if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 18, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is PBV.
Vehicles affected 724,826
Recall Equipment 2020-09-17 · NHTSA campaign 20E068000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling all Honda Genuine Accessory Tonneau Covers, part number 08Z07-T6Z-100F, sold for installation on 2017-2020 Ridgeline trucks. If the tonneau cover is not properly secured in the open or closed position, wind resistance may cause the cover to flip and buckle. If this occurs, the hinges between the center and rear panel may deform, possibly allowing the rear panel to separate from the vehicle.
Remedy Honda will notify all registered owners of 2017-2020 Honda Ridgelines, and dealers will install tethers onto any Honda Genuine Accessory Tonneau Cover to prevent panel separation and apply warning labels, free of charge. In addition, an updated accessory user's information manual will be provided. The recall began October 26, 2020. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is F8M.
Vehicles affected 151,343
Recall Fuel pump 2019-01-24 · NHTSA campaign 19V053000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Ridgeline trucks. Exposure to acids, such as from car wash soaps, can result in the fuel pump feed port cracking.
Remedy Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump, if necessary, and install a fuel pump cover, free of charge. The recall began March 14, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. The recall number for this recall is Q3V.
Vehicles affected 106,683
Recall Seats 2018-04-05 · NHTSA campaign 18V221000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018 Honda Pilot and Ridgeline vehicles and 2018 Acura MDX vehicles. The front driver and passenger powered seats in the Honda vehicles and the driver powered seats in the Acura vehicles may have been assembled with improperly manufactured rivets. In the event of a crash, the rivets can break causing the seats not to be secured to the floor. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 207, "Seating Systems," and 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."
Remedy Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver seat frame assembly in Acura MDX vehicles, and replace the driver and front passenger seat slide rail frames in Honda Pilot and Ridgeline vehicles, free of charge. The recall began May 30, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall is D0S, and T0T.
Vehicles affected 5,810

NHTSA's count is every vehicle in that campaign. A campaign can cover other model years and other models.

Complaints by component (161 total)

Electrical system
50
Back-over prevention
30
Engine
22
Fuel and propulsion system
17
Fuel system, gasoline
13
Powertrain
9
Structure
9
Visibility and wipers
7
Lane departure
6
Service brakes
4
Engine and engine cooling
2
Forward collision avoidance
2
Speed control
2
Air bags
1
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
Latches, locks, and linkages
1
Seats
1
Suspension
1
Show 10 more Show less
Crash-flagged

3

Fire-flagged

1

Injury reports

1

Death reports

0

Of the 49 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 22,300 miles. The middle half fall between 2,000 and 50,000 miles.

Complaints filed per year

120171320185201914202013202155202210202321202420202592026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "My 2018 Honda Ridgeline experienced an internal transmission failure June 2026. Local Honda dealership installed a Honda remanufactured transmission under my extended warranty, I picked up the vehicle on July 7, 2026.…"
    Powertrain · filed 2026-09-18
  • "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…"
    Electrical system · filed 2026-08-29
  • "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…"
    Powertrain, Lane departure · filed 2026-08-26
  • "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…"
    Engine · filed 2026-08-21
  • "I had been hearing a ticking or clicking sound from the engine. When I brought it to a Honda dealership that I had used about a year ago for the 100,000 mile maintenance, I was told that the truck had a rod bearing…"
    Unknown or other, Engine · filed 2026-05-14

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2018 Honda Ridgeline PU/CC AWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2018 Honda Ridgeline PU/CC FWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Ridgeline all-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic 6-speed All-wheel drive 18 25 21 MPG $3100
Ridgeline front-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic 6-speed Front-wheel drive 19 26 22 MPG $2950

Specs and fitment

2nd generation, 2017–present
Body styles Pickup truck
Oil 0W-20 , 5.7 qt capacity
Tire size 245/60R18
Towing capacity 5,000 lbs

Known issues for this generation

Honda technical service bulletins 17-025 and 17-026 cover 2017 Ridgeline trucks with a judder felt from the torque converter lock-up clutch between 20 and 60 mph; the symptom is often diagnosed as a failing torque converter, but Honda's investigation found the torque converter undamaged and traced the judder to transmission fluid that deteriorates faster than expected under intermittent high heat loads in certain driving conditions. The remedy applies a software update that keeps transmission fluid temperature within the intended range, and replaces the transmission fluid; bulletin 17-026 covers the vehicles on which the judder is still present after that software update has been done.

Compare

Previous year 2017 Honda Ridgeline Next year 2019 Honda Ridgeline See every Honda Ridgeline model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2018 Honda Ridgeline reliable?

The 2018 Honda Ridgeline has 161 complaints with NHTSA after 9 years, or 11 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Ridgeline years here — under the median of the other years, which is 13. NHTSA has 8 recalls on file, including Frame, Front passenger seat weight sensor, and Fuel pump.

What are common problems with a 2018 Honda Ridgeline?

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (50 of 161), then Back-over prevention (30) and Engine (22). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 22,300 miles, and the middle half falls between 2,000 and 50,000 miles. Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 1 that reports an injury.

Is the 2018 Honda Ridgeline more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2017 Ridgeline has 340 complaints, 26 per year, and the 2019 has 235 complaints, 17 per year. The 2018 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017. The 2018 has fewer complaints per year than the 2019.

Has the 2018 Honda Ridgeline been recalled?

The 2018 Honda Ridgeline has 8 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2018 Honda Ridgeline?

Owners have filed 161 complaints about the 2018 Honda Ridgeline with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2018 Honda Ridgeline get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2018 Honda Ridgeline is 21.5 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

Why isn't there a 2015 or 2016 Honda Ridgeline?

Honda paused Ridgeline production between generations; the first generation ended after 2014 and the redesigned second generation didn't launch until the 2017 model year.

Does the Honda Ridgeline have a frame rust recall?

NHTSA recall 22V-430 covers 2006-2014 Ridgeline trucks for rear-frame corrosion near the fuel tank in salt-belt states.