With no warning engine started making a loud ticking noise and within a couple of days it was a loud knocking noise. Flashing check engine light came on and engine lost power. Shut down and restarted engine, knocking noise still there but check engine light is not flashing. Knocking noise is loud and vehicle cannot be driven. Mileage is around 170000 but has had regular oil changes. Mechanic has confirmed the engine knock and said not to drive it. Can't afford to replace the engine.
The worst 2021 Honda Ridgeline problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine33
- Driver assistance19
- Electrical15
- Lights14
- Transmission11
- Fuel system6
- Body5
- Acceleration4
- Visibility4
- Airbags3
- Brakes3
- Suspension2
- Wheels2
- Seats1
- Steering1
- Tires1
Specific symptoms reported on the 2021 Honda Ridgeline
Check engine light 16Headlights 15Lane assist 8Backup camera 7Collision warning 7Engine failure 7Adaptive cruise 6Knocking 6Won't shift 6Start-stop 5
Recalls 7
Suspension: rear
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- Failure of rear suspension components, such as the rear control arm, can cause a loss of vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
- 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 beginning June 10, 2026.
Recall number 26V365000 · Recall details
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification: front passenger
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
- 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 the federal safety agency recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on beginning May 29, 2026.
Recall number 26V332000 · Recall details
Back over prevention: sensing system: camera
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- A rearview camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
- 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.
Recall number 24V321000 · Recall details
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification: front passenger
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
- 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.
Recall number 24V064000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: master cylinder
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- Brake master cylinder separation can cause a loss of brake function and increase the risk of a crash.
- 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.
Recall number 23V458000 · Recall details
Visibility: rearview mirrors/devices: exterior
- What is wrong
- 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."
- Risk
- Detached mirror glass can reduce driver visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
- 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.
Recall number 23V174000 · Recall details
Seat belts: rear/other: retractor
- What is wrong
- 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."
- Risk
- An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.
- 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.
Recall number 21V900000 · Recall details
See all 7 recalls for the 2021 Honda Ridgeline
Defect investigations
No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
On June 3, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 after the agency received VOQs and several field reports concerning the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) feature on 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the AIS function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5L engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On January 6, 2023, Honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2019-2022 Honda Passport, and 2020-2023 Honda Ridgeline vehicles. The repair outlined in the service bulletins is a two-stage countermeasure to remedy the issue. The first stage is a Programmed Fuel Injection (“PGM-FI”) software update. The second stage is only deployed if the software update fails to remedy the issue. The second stage, depending on the model and model year, consists of replacement of the starter assembly, starter relays, and a valve adjustment. Additionally, Honda extended the warranty coverage to 10 years with unlimited mileage for vehicles requiring the second stage component replacement. ODI continues to receive complaints of the AIS failure to restart, with many complainants alleging the campaign countermeasures had been completed.the federal safety agency has reviewed Honda's Information Request Letter responses involving warranty claims, lawsuits, and consumer complaints in addition to ODI's own data. This Engineering Analysis is being opened to further consider the potential safety defect, including gathering additional data regarding Honda’s service campaign efficacy. ODI is additionally expanding the scope to encompass all vehicles addressed in Honda’s service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009 as well as newer model year vehicles, which are substantially similar to the vehicles covered by the service campaign. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to
EA25004
Rear-View Camera Failure
On February 13, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE24004 to assess alleged failures of the rear-view camera (RVC) in 2020-2023 Model Year (MY) Honda Ridgeline vehicles. At this time, ODI has received a total of 50 complaints with allegations of the RVC image failing to display when the vehicle was in reverse. The RVC wire harness is routed near the hinge in the tailgate, in a location where frequent opening and closing of the tailgate causes bending stress on the harness. Honda determined the wire harness was manufactured with a material which is permeable to water and salt, which when it freezes and thaws, combined with tailgate usage, ultimately leads to breakage of the wiring in the tailgate harness. This results in a failure to display the RVC image. On May 9, 2024, Honda filed a Part 573 Safety Recall Report recalling all 2020-2024 MY Honda Ridgeline vehicles. The dealer will replace the RVC tailgate harness with a wire harness that is manufactured by a new supplier and has improved material properties to withstand wear from bending. In view of Honda filing recall 24V‑321 addressing the subject of this investigation, ODI is closing this Preliminary Evaluation. the federal safety agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to
PE24004
Technical service bulletins for the 2021 Honda Ridgeline 85
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and the auto idle stop feature engages, the vehicle...
- Dealer Message
- The wireless charger starts charging the phone and then stops charging, even when the phone remains in the...
- One or more accessory running board lights are flickering or not working due to a faulty running board...
- Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and engaging idle stop, the vehicle may not restart...
- The AWD warning light is on potentially due to water intrusion into the rear differential pump motor...
- The wireless charger starts charging the phone and then stops charging, even when the phone remains in the...
- Customer complaint of the A/C not blowing cold air due to Oil/Refrigerant leak from the A/C compressor...
- MIL flashes and vehicle will not accelerate, low power
- Customer complaint received regarding the A/C not blowing cold air due to an oil/refrigerant leak from the...
2021 Honda Ridgeline fuel economy
Official EPA estimates in miles per gallon (MPGe for electric). Ranges cover trims that share the same engine.
| Engine | Drive | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5L 6‑cyl | AWD | 18 | 24 | 21 |
What 2021 Honda Ridgeline owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Engine seized Honda dealership found a hole in block. Estimated repair almost $13k for a used motor. Contacted American Honda and after several weeks they refused assistance. I was barely able to exit freeway. I had to walk as area was remote without cell coverage. I understand there is a lawsuit for this issue and an investigation. I feel I have no choice but to pay for the repair as I care for a disabled son. However the evidence is the damaged motor so I am unsure what to do. This could have been a serious safety issue. An others with this motor need protection. Also for my family it’s like vaporizing $13k and going a month without necessary transportation. I am frankly shocked Honda is aware of this potential problem and refused to assist.
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 techs.
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.
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 2.The dealership released my vehicle with completely untorqued lug nuts on the rear wheel assembly. A lug nut physically fell off onto the public street while driving back to the shop. This severe negligence created an immediate, life-threatening risk of the wheel detaching entirely at highway speeds. 3.Yes, the initial loose lug nut failure was witnessed and confirmed on-site by the dealership's staff when I returned. Furthermore, the ongoing mechanical looseness and wobble were confirmed by my own driving experience immediately after their supposed "fix," and an independent shop inspection is scheduled to document the remaining issues. But I couldn't provide the key to the lug nuts because I couldn't find it in my car, after I brought the car to them. 4.It was superficially inspected by the O'Malley Honda service department, who merely rebalanced the tires and claimed nothing was wrong, they said they properly inspect for structural stud or suspension damage and everything seem good, and nothing wrong with it. 5.There were no warning lamps or dashboard messages. The physical symptoms—a heavy clunking noise, severe road wobble, and loose rear wheels—appeared immediately upon driving the vehicle off the dealership lot following their service on July 10th, and the rear end has continued to feel wobbly ever since.
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.
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 brake and the engine stopped. It cut out right there. Warning lights came on and I had to restart the engine by totally shutting down the truck on a busy highway road. It took 2 attempts to get it to start. After this, I turned the Auto Idle Stop OFF using the button located on the lower console. I am taking it to the Honda dealership tomorrow to work on a remedy via the AutoIdleStopSettlement from Honda.
When driving the vehicle suddenly displayed warning and failure lights for the following: Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, Road Departure, High Beam Support, and Collision Mitigation. The vehicle in the past regularly experiences issues with oncoming traffic (especially on 2 lane roads) when it comes to auto braking and forward crash warnings so I immediately brought the vehicle home as I was worried for my safety and the safety of others on the road that if these systems were now warning of malfunction the vehicle might auto brake in traffic for no reason and cause a crash. I took the vehicle in following this as I looked online and discovered there were multiple recalls on this vehicle for other various issues and I wanted the dealer to fix those in addition to determining if this was part of one of the recalls also. The dealership has diagnosed the issue as the forward multi-purpose camera and is stating it needs to be replaced to correct the safety issues of the vehicle. I reviewed online and found that just a coupe years ago this part was approx $800 and the dealer is not charging over $1600 for the part. The other issue is that I paid for the part and the dealer claims this part will not even ship until August 26 (over a month away). Additionally I have further researched this issue and found that it is a common failure on Honda and Acura vehicles and creates a major safety concern, yet Honda Motors has refused to address the issue and handle this as a recall as it should be done. New vehicles should not be regularly experiencing catastrophic safety system failures regularly and the manufacture not be held liable for the damages and not be able to fix the part or car in a timely manner. The fact the parts are in such short supply and backorder further attests to the common failure of this part. I would appreciate your immediate review and action of this matter to ensure that Honda is held accountable for the major safety failures they have created.
My 2021 Honda Ridgeline Sport experienced failure of the forward-facing Honda Sensing camera system. This camera controls safety features including Collision Mitigation Braking, Lane Keeping Assist, and Adaptive Cruise Control. The failure disables safety assistance features. Honda acknowledged the issue but refused to provide full repair coverage and only offered $941 toward a repair costing significantly more. I believe a safety-related camera failure should be investigated as a potential defect
Front camera system failed lights that are on are brake system, Lane assist lkas and acc
Compare the 2021 Honda Ridgeline
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Other model years
20062007200820092010201120122013201420152017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Questions about the 2021 Honda Ridgeline
Is the 2021 Honda Ridgeline reliable?
Owners have filed 103 complaints about the 2021 Honda Ridgeline, close to a typical Ridgeline model year.
What is the 2021 Honda Ridgeline year score?
The 2021 Honda Ridgeline scores 73 out of 100 (average). The score compares it with the other model years of the Honda Ridgeline: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.
What is the most common problem with the 2021 Honda Ridgeline?
Engine and cooling, with 33 complaints, typically around 50,000 miles. Next is driver assistance (19).
How many recalls does the 2021 Honda Ridgeline have?
7 recalls, covering suspension, air bags and back over prevention.
What year does the Honda Ridgeline have bad engine?
The Honda Ridgeline model years with the most engine complaints are 2017 (99 complaints), 2019 (44 complaints) and 2020 (39 complaints).
What gas mileage does the 2021 Honda Ridgeline get?
Official estimates for the 2021 Honda Ridgeline range from 21 mpg combined. The most efficient version (3.5L 6-cyl, AWD) gets 18 city and 24 highway.
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