Reliable Auto DB

2021 Honda Ridgeline reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2021 Honda Ridgeline has 101 complaints with NHTSA after 6 years, or 16 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Ridgeline years here — over the median of the other years, which is 11. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Frame, Front passenger seat weight sensor, and Camera.

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

101

Per year

16

Recalls

7

Years on the road

6

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (28 of 101), then Electrical system (15) and Forward collision avoidance (15). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 21,000 miles, and the middle half falls between 1,625 and 45,446 miles. Those filings include 3 that report a crash and 2 that report an injury.

Next to 2020 and 2022

The 2020 Ridgeline has 169 complaints, 10 per year, and the 2022 has 117 complaints, 26 per year. The 2021 has more complaints per year than the 2020. The 2021 has fewer complaints per year than the 2022.

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 2021 Honda Ridgeline. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (7)

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 back-over prevention, sensing system, camera 2024-05-09 · NHTSA campaign 24V321000
Summary Honda (America Honda Motor Co) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Ridgeline vehicles. The rearview camera (RVC) tailgate wire harness may fatigue and break, which can prevent the rearview camera image from displaying.
Remedy Dealers will replace the RVC tailgate wire harness, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed November 8, 2024. Owners may contact Honda service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is YI7.
Vehicles affected 187,290
Recall Front passenger seat weight sensor 2024-02-01 · NHTSA campaign 24V064000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.
Remedy Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.
Vehicles affected 750,114
Recall Brake master cylinder 2023-06-29 · NHTSA campaign 23V458000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Civic, 2020-2023 Ridgeline, 2021-2023 Passport, 2021-2022 Pilot, and 2020 Acura MDX vehicles. The tie rod fastener that connects the brake booster and the brake master cylinder may have been improperly assembled during manufacturing, which can cause the brake master cylinder to separate from the booster assembly.
Remedy Dealers will inspect and repair the brake booster assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 7, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are VEU, AEV, and ZET.
Vehicles affected 124,077
Recall visibility, rearview mirrors, exterior 2023-03-16 · NHTSA campaign 23V174000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2020-2022 Passport and Odyssey vehicles. The heating pads behind both side-view mirrors may not be bonded properly, allowing the mirror glass to detach. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Remedy Dealers will replace both left and right side-view mirrors, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed January 17, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is FE5.
Vehicles affected 339,404
Recall seat belts, rear or other, retractor 2021-11-18 · NHTSA campaign 21V900000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2021 Accord Sedan, Accord Hybrid, CR-V, Ridgeline, 2022 Insight and CR-V Hybrid vehicles. The automatic locking retractor on the second-row center seat belt assembly may deactivate improperly, which can result in an unsecured child restraint system. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Remedy Dealers will replace the second-row center seat belt assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Vehicles affected 4,346

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

Complaints by component (101 total)

Engine
28
Electrical system
15
Forward collision avoidance
15
Exterior lighting
14
Powertrain
11
Fuel and propulsion system
6
Structure
5
Back-over prevention
4
Lane departure
4
Speed control
4
Visibility and wipers
4
Air bags
3
Engine and engine cooling
3
Service brakes
3
Suspension
2
Wheels
2
Seats
1
Steering
1
Tires
1
Show 11 more Show less
Crash-flagged

3

Fire-flagged

0

Injury reports

2

Death reports

0

Of the 12 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 21,000 miles. The middle half fall between 1,625 and 45,446 miles.

Complaints filed per year

13202127202292023202024182025142026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The auto idle function- the car engine doesn't restart. This has happened in a busy intersection and won't restart until you have made several attempts to restart. I have brought this to the attention of Honda certified…"
    Electrical system, Engine · filed 2026-09-09
  • "The complete Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) has been disabled on my truck and all the warning lights are on. All the safety features ment to keep me safe on the road are no longer working."
    Forward collision avoidance · filed 2026-08-23
  • "1.The rear wheel assembly, lug nuts, and potentially the wheel studs/rear suspension system failed due to improper torque and installation by the dealership. Yes, the vehicle components are available for inspection…"
    Suspension, Wheels · filed 2026-08-22
  • "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…"
    Speed control, Engine · filed 2026-08-11
  • "Auto Idle Stop failed as I was sitting at a red light. As I came to a stop at the light, the truck entered the Auto Idle Stop. When the light turned green and it was time to accelerate, I released my foot off of the…"
    Engine · filed 2026-08-03

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2021 Honda RIDGELINE PU/CC AWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2021 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 (9-speed) All-wheel drive 18 24 21 MPG $3100

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 2020 Honda Ridgeline Next year 2022 Honda Ridgeline See every Honda Ridgeline model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2021 Honda Ridgeline reliable?

The 2021 Honda Ridgeline has 101 complaints with NHTSA after 6 years, or 16 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Ridgeline years here — over the median of the other years, which is 11. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Frame, Front passenger seat weight sensor, and Camera.

What are common problems with a 2021 Honda Ridgeline?

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (28 of 101), then Electrical system (15) and Forward collision avoidance (15). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 21,000 miles, and the middle half falls between 1,625 and 45,446 miles. Those filings include 3 that report a crash and 2 that report an injury.

Is the 2021 Honda Ridgeline more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2020 Ridgeline has 169 complaints, 10 per year, and the 2022 has 117 complaints, 26 per year. The 2021 has more complaints per year than the 2020. The 2021 has fewer complaints per year than the 2022.

Has the 2021 Honda Ridgeline been recalled?

The 2021 Honda Ridgeline has 7 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 2021 Honda Ridgeline?

Owners have filed 101 complaints about the 2021 Honda Ridgeline with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2021 Honda Ridgeline get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2021 Honda Ridgeline is 21 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.