AutoUtility currently tracks 159 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Honda Ridgeline. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 49 complaints (30.8% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 3 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 1 reports one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 159 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (49 reports • 30.8% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (38), Fuel & Propulsion System (30)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 3 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
159
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
3
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
1
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
1
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2018 Honda Ridgeline

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 30.8% of complaints

Electrical System

49 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report
#2 Problem Area 23.9% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

38 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#3 Problem Area 18.9% of complaints

Fuel & Propulsion System

30 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#4 Problem Area 14.5% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

23 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#5 Problem Area 5.7% of complaints

Body & Structure

9 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Honda Ridgeline

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Powertrain & Transmission 4.4% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

7 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Visibility, Wipers & Glass 3.8% of complaints

Rearview Camera / Screen Display Blackout

6 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Honda Ridgeline

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11759800
Filed: 08/26/2026

"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 reset would be to change the transmission fluid with a 3 flush process at the..."

Incident Date: 03/17/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN,LANE DEPARTURE
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11758596
Filed: 08/21/2026

"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 for approximately 20-30 minutes, at which point the engine lost power and..."

Incident Date: 07/18/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11737831
Filed: 05/14/2026

"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 failure and that I needed a new engine. I was told that if I kept driving it as is,..."

Incident Date: 04/03/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11737382
Filed: 05/12/2026

"The contact owns a 2018 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, on the freeway while depressing the accelerator pedal the gear shifts shifted independently. No warning light illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed however the..."

Incident Date: 05/09/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11731559
Filed: 04/16/2026

"Catastrophic Engine Failure. Reported to NHTSA on 10.11.24 for Recall 23.097. Investigation (RQ24013) which no issues were allegedly determined. Now a new investigation has opened PE25008: We had our engine replaced for a used one and are concerned that this engine still has the issues realated to..."

Incident Date: 03/23/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Honda Ridgeline

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2017–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2017 Honda Ridgeline 337 3 9 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Honda Ridgeline Current Page 159 3 8 Current
2019 Honda Ridgeline 232 8 12 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Honda Ridgeline 167 1 9 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Honda Ridgeline 100 3 7 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Honda Ridgeline 113 2 3 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Honda Ridgeline 126 2 5 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Honda Ridgeline 50 0 1 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Honda Ridgeline 80 2 2 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Honda Ridgeline 0 0 0 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Honda Ridgeline

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 35 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 34 1 0 0 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 22 0 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 19 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 17 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 10 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 9 0 1 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 6 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 0 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 2 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 2 1 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 1 0
STRUCTURE,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (159). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (5)

2 OPEN 3 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
OPEN Preliminary Evaluation (PE) ODI Action #PE25008
Opened: 2025-08-20 • Currently Active

Engine failure

Affected Component: ENGINE

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 414 reports of connecting rod bearing failures in the 3.5L V6 engine used in the following vehicles: Model Years (MY) 2018-2020 Acura TLX, MY2016-2020 Acura MDX, MY2016-2020 Honda Pilot, MY2018-2020 Honda Odyssey, and MY2017-2019 Honda Ridgeline.  The subject engine failures were analyzed as part of a Recall Query (RQ24013).  It was determined that these engine failures are outside the scop...

Active federal investigation. Official NHTSA File →
OPEN Engineering Analysis (EA) ODI Action #EA25003
Opened: 2025-02-11 • Currently Active

Rear-View Camera Failure

Affected Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION

On June 26, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Recall Query (RQ24011) to assess the long-term suitability of the remedy for recall 22V-867, which was filed on November 23, 2022 by American Honda Motor Co. (Honda). Recall 22V-867 addressed concerns of a loss of the Rear-View Camera (RVC) function in model year (MY) 2017-2019 Honda Ridgeline vehicles. Recall 22V-867 states that the RVC wire harness was manufactured with a pro...

Active federal investigation. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Recall Query (RQ) ODI Action #RQ24013
Opened: 2024-11-08 • Closed: 2025-08-20

Engine failure

Affected Component: ENGINE

On November 8, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Recall Query RQ24013 to assess the scope of Honda recall 23V-751 after receiving complaints that alleged connecting rod bearing failures in vehicles that were not within the scope of recall 23V-751. In November 2023, Honda recalled 248,999 various Model Year (MY)2016–2020 Honda and Acura vehicles equipped with the 3.5L V6 engine. Honda recalled these vehicles due to a cranksh...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Recall Query (RQ) ODI Action #RQ24011
Opened: 2024-06-26 • Closed: 2025-02-11

Rear-View Camera Failure

Affected Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION

On June 26, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Recall Query (RQ24011) to assess the long-term suitability of the remedy for recall 22V-867, which was filed on November 23, 2022 by American Honda Motor Co. (Honda). Recall 22V-867 addressed concerns of a loss of the Rear-View Camera (RVC) function in model year (MY) 2017-2019 Honda Ridgeline vehicles. Recall 22V-867 states that the RVC wire harness was manufactured with a pro...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Preliminary Evaluation (PE) ODI Action #PE22001
Opened: 2022-02-07 • Closed: 2022-12-19

Rear-View Camera Failure

Affected Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION

On February 7, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE22-001) to assess alleged failures of the rear-view camera (RVC) in 2017-2018 Model Year Honda Ridgeline vehicles. At this time, ODI has received a total of 107 complaints with allegations of the RVC image failing to display when the vehicle was in reverse.The RVC wire harness is manufactured with a protective corrugated tubing and harness guide to hel...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 22V867000 Official NHTSA File →
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.