2018 Honda Ridgeline problems: recalls, complaints and whether this is a year to avoid

Is 2018 a good year for the Honda Ridgeline?

Complaint volume is fairly even across this nameplate, so the model year is a weaker signal here than it is on many cars. Read the components below rather than the totals.

Older years have been on the road longer and collect more complaints for that reason alone, and a year that sold in higher volume collects more while being no worse.

This retrieval holds 7 of the nameplate’s model years. 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021 are absent, which means no records came back for them — not that they were clean. The ranking above is among the years shown.

The 2018 accounts for 19% of every complaint filed against the Honda Ridgeline in this retrieval, which works out to 20.2 complaints per year on the road across the 8 years since it was sold new — the figure to compare against other years, because it removes the advantage a newer car gets simply from having had less time to accumulate reports.

Which recalls cover the 2018?

Take the campaign number to any franchised Honda dealer. Recall repairs are free with no mileage or ownership limit, and they follow the car rather than the owner, so a used 2018 with an unrepaired campaign is a free repair you can claim. How recalls work.

Recall text is abridged from the NHTSA record. Search the campaign number at nhtsa.gov/recalls for the full notice and affected VIN ranges.

What do owners report on the Honda Ridgeline?

Across every Honda Ridgeline year, not the 2018 alone — NHTSA does not split component totals by model year.

• Electrical System — 158 reports
• Engine — 98 reports
• Unknown or Other — 88 reports
• Exterior Lighting — 79 reports

If your 2018 is doing something now, these are the guides for that system — each opens with whether it is safe to keep driving:

• Won't start — clicking
• Won't start — silence
• Battery light on

Which other Honda Ridgeline years should you compare?

← 2016 Honda Ridgeline · 2019 Honda Ridgeline → · All Honda Ridgeline years

If you are deciding between years, the table above is the short answer and the Honda Ridgeline page carries the full run with the component breakdown. Before money changes hands, run the VIN for open recalls and read the inspection checklist — ten minutes in the seller’s driveway finds most of what matters.