Honda Ridgeline hesitation problems

Filed Oct 17, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · CA

Initial Mechanical Issues – September 2026 In September, while slowing down at a traffic light, my Ridgeline unexpectedly shifted into Park on its own. I was forced to turn the vehicle completely off and restart it before I could continue driving. In addition to this dangerous incident, I experienced several other electrical and mechanical problems: •The high beams would activate unexpectedly, even when another vehicle was directly in front of me. •The driver's side window would move up and down without being prompted. •The vehicle began hesitating when starting in the mornings, behaving as though it had an aging or failing engine. Second Dangerous Incident – October 13, 2026 Approximately one month later, the vehicle again began experiencing difficulty starting and shifting gears roughly. On October 13, while slowing down at a traffic light, my Ridgeline unexpectedly shifted into Neutral on its own. A message appeared on the dashboard instructing me to press the brake pedal and shift into Park. My vehicle became disabled in the middle of the roadway, leaving me in an extremely dangerous situation. I was nearly struck by a semi-truck while sitting helplessly in traffic. The vehicle displayed a dead battery warning, despite the battery having been replaced only one month earlier. I repeatedly attempted to restart the vehicle using the push-button ignition. After approximately ten frightening minutes stranded in the roadway, the vehicle finally restarted. This incident could have resulted in serious injury or even the loss of my life.

Filed Oct 1, 2026 · Transmission · HI

My truck has a persistent driveline vibration, judder, and hesitation issue. This condition creates sudden, unexpected driveline surge and power-delivery hesitation, which poses a distinct safety concern. Honda TSB 23-078 (Warranty Extension for Torque Converter), acknowledges a manufacturing defect in the torque converter lock-up piston. Moreover, failure of the torque converter may also compromise my truck's transmission and cause a significant safety risk to myself as well as other vehicles and persons in them. The problems with my truck have been documented by local dealer Island Honda during a recent recent service visit. The dealer invoice explicitly states: "While driving recorded snapshot when judder happened, verified spike seen on data snapshot." Despite the technician capturing real-time diagnostic evidence of the torque converter lock-up clutch slipping and surging, the dealership refused to perform the warranty repair because the vehicle’s computer had not yet stored Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) P0741. The condition of my vehicle poses an immediate highway safety hazard. The severe juddering introduces unexpected powertrain vibration, distracting the operator and causing sudden drops in acceleration consistency. Furthermore, the manufacturer American Honda Motor Co. is actively enforcing an unsafe corporate policy regarding this manufacturing defect. Honda denied any assistance (Case #16556664), stating that it will not honor the warranty extension or perform repairs unless the vehicle's onboard computer registers DTC P0741. Honda requiring a vehicle to experience complete mechanical failure or illuminate a specific code while driving in traffic—despite of failure creates an unsafe condition for vehicle occupants and others. By tying safety remediation exclusively to a software flag, Honda is forcing me to drive an actively malfunctioning vehicle. Honda's arbitrary use of codes to deny critical safety and powertrain failures must be stopped.

Filed Sep 12, 2026 · Electrical · FL

The Auto Idle Stop/Start feature has malfunctioned multiple times, leaving me stalled out at a green light in traffic. Sometimes the system hesitates to restart and shows a warning message on the dash that is too long to read for the split second that it shows, and other times it requires a full manual restart of the vehicle. The feature works to shut the engine off, but intermittently does not start back up when taking foot off the brake, and requires a few shut off instructions that are complicated to follow when sitting in a parked vehicle in moving traffic. This is highly unsafe. The hesitation warnings were visible on my maintenance report, but nothing was said about them at the service center, so I did not think they were an issue. I will be taking the vehicle back to Honda to address this auto start failure, but I am aware that there is currently not a recall for this Auto Idle Stop/Start feature, despite it being well documented by other Honda vehicle owners.

Filed Jul 17, 2026 · Fuel system · 46,000 miles · CT

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Ridgeline. While the contact's husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle hesitated and failed to accelerate as intended. The check engine and emissions warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with fuel injector failures. The contact was informed that fuel injectors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, and the contact was informed that the fuel injectors needed to be replaced another time. The vehicle was repaired. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with a recall related to the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.

Filed Jun 24, 2026 · Electrical · OK

Auto Idle Stop fails to restart the engine quickly, causing delays or stalling resulting in a delayed response, hesitation, or the vehicle stalling completely in the middle of traffic, leaving me stranded until jump-start or fully cycle the ignition.

Filed Apr 16, 2026 · Electrical · 53,000 miles · CT

The contact owns a 2023 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving or while stopped at a stop light, the Auto Idle Stop system activated, and the vehicle hesitated to respond. The message "Auto Idle Stop Temporarily Unavailable" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 53,000.

Filed Jan 20, 2026 · Engine · MA

At about 2:30pm Oct 14, 2025 I had a catastrophic engine failure (called the “Connecting Rod Bearings Failure”) while driving my 2017 Honda Ridgeline truck back home from shopping (a 30 minute ride). I was driving on route 95 in Massachusetts about 8 minutes from home when suddenly, out of nowhere, a noise from the front of the truck started making a knocking sound getting progressively louder while the truck was also slowing/ hesitating/seizing-up/jerking while its speed was slowing down. (I could not accelerate, and simultaneously ALL the lights/icons/warnings on the dashboard began blinking on and off). I struggled to get the Honda Ridgeline off the highway onto the ascending exit, and then off the exit, across the bridge to a large parking lot. I was concerned with my safety, worried I might be rear-ended while on RT95 and while ascending the exit I worried about barely making it to the end of the exit. Also, I was relieved and especially grateful to not have my 2 little grandchildren in the truck with me! I usually have 1 or both of them with me in the truck once or twice a week! Later that same afternoon I had AAA come with a flat-bed truck and brought the truck to the nearby Honda dealer. The dealer inspected and confirmed the vehicle and advised that the engine was destroyed,!! ... caused by the “Connecting Rod Bearings Failures" !! My truck only had 96,200 miles on it on October 14, 2025 and it was always serviced regularly by Honda. I've learned there are many Honda 2017 & 2019 Ridgelines that have been re-called for that defect, but for some reason my VIN number was not included by NHSTA. My truck should be included in the re-call category. It has experienced the same engine disaster as other Ridgelines that were included in the re-call. Please help. I hope the new August 25, 2025 probe will include my truck. Thank you.

Filed Dec 23, 2025 · SC

My auto idle start has failed on approximately four occasions, initially on 01/29/25, and on three subsequent occasions. As I went to move forward through the intersection, the auto idle start initially engaged then immediately stopped and the vehicle wouldn't immediately restart. On the other three occasions, the vehicle did restart after stopping. On two occasions, there have been dash messages -- once "Auto High Beam Error" and another time Brake System Problem." The message disappears quickly. Other times there is no message. At other times, there intermittently seems to be some hesitation on auto idle start. I have taken it to the dealer on 02/10/2025 and 02/20/2025 (Hilton Head Honda) and on 12/23/25 (Stokes Honda of Hilton Head). The dealers, in each of three services, were unable to recreate the problem and unable to offer a repair.

Filed Oct 23, 2025 · Engine · 119,000 miles · WI

The contact owns a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle severely hesitated and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to the shoulder of the road. The contact stated that the vehicle was almost rear-ended due to the failure. The vehicle was restarted, and the check engine warning light was no longer illuminated. The vehicle was driven without the failure recurring. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The contact stated that the failure occurred while exiting the granddaughter's school parking lot. In addition, the contact's granddaughter was an occupant in the vehicle at the time of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with moisture in the intake manifold. The contact was informed that an unknown foam substance needed to be installed between the engine and the intake manifold. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact referenced Technical Service Bulletin: 24-085; however, the repair was not covered under the Technical Service Bulletin. The contact was provided with a customer discount to assist with the cost of the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 119,000.

Filed Aug 15, 2025 · Transmission · 61,500 miles · MD

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle hesitated while shifting into gear. While driving at highway speeds, the vehicle hesitated while shifting into gear. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a transmission center, and it was determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but there was no response. The failure mileage was approximately 61,500.