2025 Honda Ridgeline

The numbers

Complaints

29

Received Oct 2025 to Oct 2026

Last 3 months

16

About 4.8 expected from this vehicle's own history

Compared with other vehicles

13.2×

How much more often this vehicle's complaints from the last 24 months are about this problem than other vehicles' complaints are

Estimated recall chance

15%

Model's estimate that a recall covering this problem follows within 24 months (rank 14 of 37,834 vehicle-problem pairs)

Reported in these complaints: 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, 0 deaths. An AI check found 22 of the 29 recent complaints are about this problem on this vehicle.

What owners report

There are 29 complaints about the 2025 Ridgeline in this group, filed between October 2025 and October 2026. Almost all of them describe the same failure. The Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system shuts the engine off as designed when the truck stops at a light or turn lane. When the driver lifts off the brake, the engine does not start again. Owners say they then have to shift to Park and restart the truck by hand, sometimes needing several tries or up to a minute or more. In one case it took about 15 minutes and the truck was towed. Owners describe this as random and repeated, and many say it happened several times. One owner reports that the truck starts normally from fully off, and several report that turning AIS off avoids the failure. Dealers often found nothing. Fixes reported include battery replacements, one throttle body and one starter replaced, and at least one owner says the fault came back after a dealer repair. Only one complaint describes the engine dying while the truck was moving. So the label 'shuts off while driving' mostly describes a failure to restart at a stop, not a stall at speed. Complaints are rising: 16 in the last three months against about 4.8 expected. Other vehicles also have active signals for this engine-stall theme, with no covering recall. The 2024 Ridgeline signal is surging, and the 2022 and 2023 Ridgeline signals are active but not surging. The 2024–2026 Odyssey and 2025 MDX also have surging signals. Whether those complaints describe the same idle-stop restart failure is not established. There are no crashes, fires or injuries. The exact failing part is not established. The evidence points to the restart path (starter or battery/charging) or the AIS control logic.

How it fails

With AIS on, the engine shuts off as designed at a stop. When the driver releases the brake, the engine does not restart, or cranks slowly, lurches and dies. Warning messages appear, including an 'Auto Engine Stop System Problem' message, battery and power-steering lights, and an instruction to put the truck in Park. The driver has to shift to Park and restart by hand, sometimes with repeated attempts. The failure is intermittent and happens again and again on the same truck. One owner says the truck starts normally from fully off, and several say that turning AIS off avoids the problem. Owners note weak or slow cranking. Two owners report the failure after a long highway drive or right after refueling. Reported mileages range from about 10,000 to 24,000 miles.

Safety risk

The truck becomes disabled in active traffic. Owners describe being stuck in intersections while waiting to turn left, at freeway ramp ends, and in multi-lane stop-and-go traffic, with other cars swerving around them and a risk of being hit from behind. In one case police blocked traffic until a tow arrived. One complaint describes a full loss of power while moving, with a hard brake pedal, in the fast lane. No crashes or injuries are reported.

Findings and the complaints behind them

1. Many independent owners describe the same thing: the engine fails to restart after an Auto Idle Stop shutdown at a light or intersection, and the truck has to be put in Park and restarted by hand.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11772614, 11772458, 11771714, 11771258, 11769046, 11768385, 11763839, 11757560, 11757328, 11755400, 11754660, 11749576, 11749191, 11748746, 11746258, 11733733, 11765976

2. Owners describe slow or labored cranking, lurching, or no restart until after several tries or 30 seconds to 15 minutes. Battery, power-steering and AIS warning lights are reported. These details point to the restart and electrical path.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11772614, 11771258, 11765880, 11753947, 11740897, 11737930, 11733175, 11731145, 11693577, 11768385

3. Dealer repairs have not reliably fixed it. One dealer found a starter drawing excessive current and replaced it. Others replaced the battery or throttle body, and the problem came back. Other dealers found no fault and advised turning AIS off on every drive.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11753947, 11772614, 11765880, 11731145, 11749191, 11748746, 11740897, 11769046, 11771714

4. One owner says the truck starts normally from fully off and the problem happens only at idle stops. Other owners say the failure happens when they forget to turn AIS off, which implies that turning it off avoids the problem. This ties the failure to idle-stop restarts specifically.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11733175, 11771714, 11771258

5. Two owners describe conditions that seem to trigger it: right after refueling, and the first stop after about an hour of highway driving.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11755798, 11765801

6. One complaint describes the engine shutting off while driving, with no power and a hard brake pedal, leaving the truck stranded in the fast lane. It is the only complaint describing a stall while moving.

   NHTSA complaint number: 11754845

7. One owner describes a different symptom: the truck goes into neutral at stops. Another complaint is a general summary of AIS problems rather than a specific personal incident. One owner says this was their third occurrence and that they filed an earlier report, so a few complaints may come from the same owner.

   NHTSA complaint numbers: 11731542, 11713532, 11740897

Recalls checked

• 25V031000Similar problem on another vehicle

  FI-ECU software error causing engine stall or loss of power on 2023–2025 Pilot, MDX Type S and TLX Type S. A similar Honda stall theme. It does not include the Ridgeline and does not involve idle-stop restarts.

• 25V785000Similar problem on another vehicle

  Accord Hybrid control-module software reset causing loss of drive power. A Honda loss-of-power precedent on a different vehicle and system.

• 23V858000Looked at, unrelated

  Fuel pump failure recall covering 2017–2020 Ridgeline and many other Hondas. It does not cover the 2025 model year, and its failure is different from the idle-stop restart failure described here.

• 26V332000Looked at, unrelated

  Front passenger seat weight sensor (occupant classification) recall that includes the 2025 Ridgeline. It has nothing to do with engine restart.

• 24V321000Looked at, unrelated

  Rearview camera tailgate harness recall for 2020–2024 Ridgeline.

Open questions

• Which part causes the failure: the starter motor, the 12V battery and charging system, or the AIS control software? One dealer found a starter drawing excessive current, while others found no fault.
• Do the stall-theme complaints on the 2022–2024 Ridgeline, the 2024–2026 Odyssey and the 2025 MDX describe the same idle-stop restart failure, or different stall problems?
• Has Honda issued any technical service bulletin or software update for AIS restart failures on the 2025 Ridgeline?
• Is the one report of the engine dying while moving (with a hard brake pedal) linked to the idle-stop problem, or is it a separate fault?
• How many complaints are repeat filings by the same owners?