2019 Honda Ridgeline Electrical System
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
2019 Honda Ridgeline alarm started going off at random times. This is a safety concern because it causes drain on battery and could affect vehicles ability to operate . The part is the keyless entry unit located behind glove box. I had to go out to check the car in the middle of the night several times. This part has been reported and listed here under bulletin SB-21-055. Honda offered extended warranty and fixed some vehicles as reported by some Ridgeline owners. This random alarm was reported by 86 Ridgeline owners according to Ridgeline owners club. The repair cost me $957 including a $287 charge for labor- according to the NHSTA bulletin SB 21-055 labor should be .03 to .08 hours to repair - beware of over charge for labor. Courtesy Honda of Palm Harbor Fl. Offered $100 off when informed of the keyless entry unit history. I escalated to American Honda who offered nothing, not even goodwill discount. This is the keyless entry unit for bind Ridgeline and Pilots. There is a documented issue with this part (SB 21-055) it’s a safety concern considering the draw on battery power not to mention where you are when the alarm starts blaring. This part has a known history of being faulty, has been documented with NHSTA (SB 21-055) Ridgeline Owners Club has 86 different entries for that part alone and could effect lighting and driver assist functions considering the draw on battery power. The alarm goes off without warning or indication and happens randomly.
A failure with the "keyless entry/TPMS control unit" caused my alarm to go off randomly. Alarm would go off at random times, draining the battery & leaving the truck unable to be started. Also, while going off, the truck could not be used/controlled/started. Honda replaced the defective part, at my cost, without a manufacturer discount. This happened randomly from when the vehicle was about 2-3 years old, then reappeared at around 4-5 years. Honda knows about this problem and issues a TSB for it, TSB 21-055.
In a blizzard in the mountains on November 5th/24. Right outside mirror did not heat up, completely iced over and could not see anything out of it. My Parking transmission lights are also not coming on - cant see in the dark.
BACK UP CAMERA STOPPED WORKING A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO. I CURRENTLY HAVE APROX. 56000 MLES AS OF JUNE 30 2024. CANT SEE ANYTHING BACKING UP - CLOUDY PICTURE ON DASHBOARD. I WILL HAVE TO HAVE FIXED SOON-TOO DANGEROUS TRYING TO LOOK THROUGH THE BACK WINDOW.
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the speedometer malfunctioned and failed to provide the proper speed that the vehicle was traveling. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who reset the speedometer software but the failure later reoccurred. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 20,000.
There was a following problem. The car began to turn on the ignition itself. It does not matter if the keys are inside the car or far away from it. This leads to a complete discharge of the battery. May trigger an alarm if the car is closed. Flashing malfunction indicators. A couple of times it was difficult to turn off the car. After pressing the start button to stop the engine, the engine continued to run. After repeating the attempts several times (4-5), the engine stopped. Also had trouble starting the car several times. The starter worked but the car would not start. Disconnecting the battery and connecting it again solved the problem and the car started. The car was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that Keyless access control unit is failing. After replacing the unit and at the moment the car is working as it should.
Back up camera wiring harness failure as a result of routing design within the the double action tailgate. 28,000 miles with camera failure
Back up camera no longer works due to frayed wiring.
Unknown component - on two occasions, the truck's windows were all rolled down and the sunroof was opened - all on their own while the vehicle was parked. Safety issue - should this reoccur during a rainstorm, it will flood the truck. Issue has not been confirmed by dealer or others. Vehicle has not been inspected by manufacturer or others. No symptoms prior to the initial event.
The 2019 Honda Ridgeline truck has a tailgate that opens and closes vertically as well as from right to left with a hinge on the drivers side. The action appears to cause the wire from the back up camera to chafe causing a short circuit. Shortly after my 36,000 mile warranty expired by back up camera began to fail. Now the backup camera does not come on when put into reverse but the whole display screen (GPS, Audio, etc) does not come on unless the tailgate is opened and closed repeatedly. This presents a safety hazard as vision behind the truck is very restricted when backing up. My Honda dealer said that there is a TSB for this problem but no recall has been issued.
Honda dealership told me to bring my vehicle in for NHTSA 22V867. They checked parts department and told me they had ample parts in supply. At the dealership I was told the wiring harness was inspected by them and was fine and would not be replaced. I was provided an invoice that stated “recall performed”. The service manager explained they do what Honda tells them, not what the NHTSA says. I inquired directly to Honda and they verified they do not do what the NHTSA says, only what Honda says. I would like the wiring harness replaced per the recall, per the ample supply Honda told me they have. The dealership verified twice to me they have an ample supply.
Rear camera not working Called for service at dealership told to check wire a tailgate wires are broken
With normal use of the dual action tailgate, the wiring harness for the backup camera becomes pinched repeatedly causing the jackets around the wires, the wires and the wire protection to break, resulting in the backup camera being inoperable. This seems to happen just outside of the warranty and requires that the wires are cut and new wire soldered in or complete replacement of the wiring harness from the tailgate to the cab.
The backup camera stopped functioning due to a wiring defect. The backup camera is installed in the tailgate and wires go between the tailgate and the body on the driver's side. Due to a design defect, these wire are prone to wear, pinching, and being cut during normal operation of the tailgate. The copper in these wires on my truck is exposed and some wires are cut resulting in the backup camera no longer functioning. This creates a safety hazard for both the driver and other people, vehicles, etc. when the car is being backed up. This issue is being investigated on 2017-2018 Honda Ridgelines (NHTSA Action Number: PE22001) but is also occurring on 2019 models which are not currently included in the investigation. This problem first occurred on my truck less than one month and less than 1000 miles after the warranty expired.
While opening the swinging tailgate, I noticed a rubbing sound. I closed the tailgate and opened it the standard method and noticed that the wire harness for the backup camera was out of the plastic holder/elbow and the outer harness shield had separated with the actual wires visible. I searched online and discovered this site: https://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/threads/2017-2020-broken-tailgate-harness-causes-backup-camera-failure.217776/page-10. Apparently this is a known issue and if I had not discovered it, the wires most likely would have been severed rendering the backup camera inoperative. I brought the truck to the dealership and they confirmed the problem and mentioned that they have replaced multiple wire harnesses on other Ridgelines with the same issue. The dealership was unsure why there isn’t a recall or at least a TSB. I noted that the replacement part number is the same as the original and am concerned that this issue will again arise in the future. The truck had just under 28,000 miles when this issue was discovered.
Backup camera has stopped working. I can see cables that have been damaged because of a poorly designed cable harness routing through the Ridgelines 2 way opening tail gate. There are hundreds of posts regarding this defect (https://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/threads/2017-2020-broken-tailgate-harness-causes-backup-camera-failure.217776/page-20) The backup camera is completely useless now and with the Ridgeline's higher truck bed (due to the "trunk" funtion), it is very difficult to see when backing up and makes the vehicle much more likely to be involved in a backing up accident.
Image from rearview camera no longer appears in instrument panel center screen when reverse is selected. It can be clearly seen that the wires connecting the camera are severed where the tailgate hinges on the body.
The backup camera has failed. The issue is wear and tear of an exposed portion of the wiring harness at the left tailgate hinge. The plastic housing containing the wires is exposed, breaks open, and exposing the wires supplying power to the camera and possibly other items. These wires continue to flex and eventually break. This is important because backup cameras are now part of he vehicles safety system. Failure causes the vehicle to become more unsafe. I believe that there should be a recall to inspect the wiring harness and replace if deemed defective.
WHILE DRIVING INFO MANAGEMENT SYSTEM STOPS WORKING, FREEZES THEN GOES BLANK. LOSE ALL DIGITAL INDICATIONS ON DRIVERS DISPLAY AND NAV CUES. WOULD BRIEFLY FLASH EVERY FEW SECONDS AS THOUGH IT WAS TRYING TO RESTART. HAS DONE THIS TWICE NOW IN A NEW TRUCK OF ONLY 26K MILES. THIS OCCURRED IN MOTION AND PERSISTED UNTIL THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. DEALER SAYS WITHOUT A 'CODE' THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LOSS OF INFO WHILE DRIVING.
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2019 Honda Ridgeline has 19 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.