Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2018 Honda Ridgeline owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
As I was driving on the freeway, the vehicle lost power completely without any prior warning. All the lights on the dashboard were flashing. The vehicle could not be started again. I was stranded in the middle of the freeway at the very high risk of being rear ended given the relatively lighter traffic at 11pm in Los Angeles. It put other drivers on the freeway at very high risk of running into me as well. The vehicle was towed to the dealership where an inspection was conducted. It concluded a blown-out engine (literally), possibly caused by the piston. A hole was found on the engine cast. The incident was escalated to Honda's corporate customer care department.
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine made abnormal clicking sounds. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with connecting rod bearing wear and it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, several unknown warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the lower connecting rod was causing the rob bearing to fail. After further investigation, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.
Truck only has 40,500 miles. Was driving down road and made a clunk noise and engine seized up and wouldn't start. There were no warning signs. I had it towed to Honda dealership. Their official repair estimate states verbatim "Bearing on a connecting rod went bad and the rod snapped." The bill is $7800 for a remanufactured engine or $13500 for a new one. I had just had the vehicle's 40,000 mile inspection done at the same Honda Dealership 2 months prior, and no issues were found.
The Honda Ridgeline 2018 has an issue that it burns its transmission fluid really fast to the point that the Truck's transmission starts to judder. This causes the truck to have issues accelerating or changing gears. This happened to me in a 70 MPH highway, when the problem starts you see the RPM gauge fluctuating a lot and the Truck has issues accelerating. This problem was present on the 2017 version of the truck and Honda issued a service bulletin (https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10139548-9999.pdf) but this bulletin does not cover any other version of the truck when the same exact problem is still happening. I went to the dealership and they confirmed that the Transmission Judder was there. …
Catastrophic Engine Failure. Reported to NHTSA on 10.11.24 for Recall 23.097. Investigation (RQ24013) which no issues were allegedly determined. Now a new investigation has opened PE25008: We had our engine replaced for a used one and are concerned that this engine still has the issues realated to Recall 23.097. Called Honda to ask if they can confirm whether or not this used/salvaged engine had been checked to see if it has rod bearing issues related to Recall 23.097 or was from a vehicle that was related to the recall. They said they had not. Furthermore, we provided the motor serial number so they can check and they said they were not able to. They have systems in place to quickly cross reference VIN and motor serial numbers, so it was surprising they would not be able to provide this information. …
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request?- Suspected failed crankshaft bearing failure/rod knock. Honda declined request for further troubleshooting and engine was replaced at owner's expense. Failed engine was retained and is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? - Loss of power on highway but no catastrophic failure. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center?- The symptoms were reproduced by dealer. …
In July of 2023, on my way home from a 3 hour. trip, the engine light started flashing on and off and the engine would not exceed 30 mph. Just after my 2018 Honda Ridgeline's warranty expired, it had a catastrophic engine failure. I was told by the Honda Service advisor that it was caused by broken bearings that caused a rod to break. The engine was damaged beyond repair and required replacement. I was devastated. Honda Corporate paid a percentage of the cost of replacement and I paid the lower percentage. The vehicle was at the service department at the Honda dealership for 4 weeks. Interestingly, I later heard through news reports about this being a systemic problem and that there would be a recall. However, when I tried to report it on the NHTSA website, my vehicle is not registered. …
I had been hearing a ticking or clicking sound from the engine. When I brought it to a Honda dealership that I had used about a year ago for the 100,000 mile maintenance, I was told that the truck had a rod bearing failure and that I needed a new engine. I was told that if I kept driving it as is, that I could have catastrophic engine seizure without warning at anytime. This is a disaster waiting to happen. I saw that the same part on both the Ridgeline models of 2017 and 2019 had been recalled in 2023. The truck only has 110k miles and I have faithfully had routine maintenance. For an expensive $9,500 engine to fail at only 110,000 miles is not right. I will try to upload a picture of the invoice in a separate email. …
The vehicle was being driven under normal highway conditions while towing a boat within the vehicle's rated towing capacity. The driver observed the oil pressure warning light illuminate and continued driving normally for approximately 20-30 minutes, at which point the engine lost power and stalled. The vehicle would not restart. Upon inspection, engine oil and transmission fluid were both found at proper levels with no signs of contamination, and the crankshaft was confirmed to be fully seized (will not rotate by hand). There was no prior knocking noise or warning sign before the oil light illuminated. The safety of the driver was put at risk due to the possibility the bearings could eject from the engine. The engine seizure has been confirmed by Right Honda, 7875 E Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85254. The vehicle was inspected by them and they produced a diagnostic.
NHTSA investigations
Engine failure
On November 8, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Recall Query RQ24013 to assess the scope of Honda recall 23V-751 after receiving complaints that alleged connecting rod bearing failures in vehicles that were not within the scope of recall 23V-751. In November 2023, Honda recalled 248,999 various Model Year (MY)2016-2020 Honda and Acura vehicles equipped with the 3.5L V6 engine.
Engine failure
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 414 reports of connecting rod bearing failures in the 3.5L V6 engine used in the following vehicles: Model Years (MY) 2018-2020 Acura TLX, MY2016-2020 Acura MDX, MY2016-2020 Honda Pilot, MY2018-2020 Honda Odyssey, and MY2017-2019 Honda Ridgeline. The subject engine failures were analyzed as part of a Recall Query (RQ24013).
Engine complaints in other Ridgeline years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2018 Honda Ridgeline?
NHTSA has 24 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2018 Honda Ridgeline, 15% of the model year's 162 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2018 Honda Ridgeline engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2018 Honda Ridgeline, though it has 7 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2018 Honda Ridgeline engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 93,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.