Honda Ridgeline reliability by year
42 recall campaigns and 2,135 owner complaints across 19 model years. Best year to buy: 2024. Year to avoid: 2006.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 9 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 . Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 19 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 147, more than the 42 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Ridgeline aggregated across 19 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Honda Ridgeline?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2024 Honda Ridgeline scores 7.8/10 — the strongest in the 2006–2025 range. 54 complaints on file, 1 active recall. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Honda Ridgeline year should I avoid?
The 2006 Honda Ridgeline scores 2.0/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 241 owner complaints with NHTSA, 14 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2006 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Honda Ridgeline should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2008 (avoid — the electrical system — 5 fire-related complaints on the electrical system); 2006 (avoid — the electrical system — 12 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the electrical system); 2019 (high-risk ownership — powertrain: 35 complaints, classified severe); 2013 (high-risk ownership — reliability score 4.2/10 — below the segment average); 2012 (high-risk ownership — reliability score 3.2/10 — below the segment average); 2011 (high-risk ownership — reliability score 2.8/10 — below the segment average). The cleaner years on the data are 2024, 2025, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Honda Ridgeline are tracked?
19 model years (2006 through 2025) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 42 distinct recall campaigns and 2,135 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 147 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Honda Ridgeline?
electrical is the most-reported category — 381 complaints across 13 model years. Average shop repair runs about $850.