2025 Honda Ridgeline Driver assistance Problems

The Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) repeatedly has applied breaks under both highway and non-highwaty road conditions when there was no vehicle or presence of other risk factors that should have caused the system to activate. This continues to occur even after the vehicle indicated a functional issue with the system "CMBS(TM) Problem - The Collision Mitigation Braking System(TM) has a problem. Restart your vehicle. If the indicator remains on, have your vehicle checked by a dealer." on January 2, 2026, that Honda repaired/replaced sensors under warranty work stating the radar failed. The result of this condition has led to a number of false mitigation breaking at highway speeds and on non-highway roads. It has resulted in three near accidents over a period of 5 months. This presents itself every time I do not turn off the system manually. The Forward Collision Warning system presents warning notices when there is oncoming traffic on a two lane road and when there are curves in the road. It has also presented itself on the highway with oncoming traffic on curves in the road and when there is a minimal highway division in the center.

NHTSA ID

11738982

Incident

Jan 2, 2026

The forward collision warning system consistently produces false errors resulting in flashing lights, shaking wheel, and audible alarms causing significant distraction from driver's focus. Daily frequency of alarms creates a false alarm risk as driver has to mentally adjust to ignore the alarm features in order to focus on driving. Primarily occurs on two lane roads where oncoming traffic is regularly misidentified by the system. Roughly 1-3 times per day on a 10 mile commute.

NHTSA ID

11735213

Incident

May 1, 2026

When driving mountain roads I often need to engage the paddle shift to downshift. When I do, the transmission has a lag where it feels like it goes into neutral for a second, the speed increases instead of decreasing, then the gear downshifts, the RPM's go up, but by then, it has defeated the purpose - I have to brake to slow down. Once I do, the lower gear helps me stay off the brakes until the descent is no longer. This is not a new occurrence, rather, it's been operating this way since we purchased the vehicle new.

NHTSA ID

11726148

Incident

Mar 16, 2026

My Honda ridgeline had 7,590 miles when it started failing all the dash board lights turned on the engine decelerated I then tried to accelerate it rapidly accelerated my steering wheel vibrated I could not turn or slow down witch caused for me to crash

NHTSA ID

11721115

Incident

Jul 27, 2025

1) Brakes spongy hard to stop have to pump like old truck to get good pedal. Dangerous almost rear ended vehicle ahead. Family uses caution to drive. Took to Honda world 8-8-25. Tec and sec mgr said nothing wrong w rakes. Ridgeline has 4181 miles on it Cyst num107536 inv # hocs468892 2)blind spot warning light appears in black background near dash. Had to highlight area around it so easier to find. Should b on mirror. Being blind in l eye it is a distraction to observe light. Also warning light is not very bright. If bright sunlight shines thru opposite or vehicle on the light you cannot see it at all Near collision on that

NHTSA ID

11711191

Incident

Aug 8, 2025

Idle stop feature fails to restart. Could possibly leave stranded. The vehicle is new 2025 with less than 15k miles. Auto start feature worked fine for about 10k miles and then started struggling to restart over several weeks. Turned off the idle stop feature. Then took to a parking lot and tested until I got a failure. Very dangerous feature, poorly designed by Honda. I see online that others are reporting the same issue in previous year models. No warning or service lights to indicate a problem or impending problem. I'll be taking to dealer this week for assessment.

NHTSA ID

11693577

Incident

Oct 15, 2025

This is design feedback. When taking curves to the right on 2 lane highways and especially when the oncoming is a truck, and the forward collision warning set on short, the system experiences a spurious event: BRAKE warning and wheel shake. Lane departure is off. Both vehicles in their lanes. Suggest Honda use right curve inputs (camera right curve view) to reduce the radar scan field to avoid these spurious alarms. I've not had this experience with numerous other vehicles by different manufacturers. On a right curve the radar is looking at the oncoming lane. This should be analyzed and corrected.

NHTSA ID

11690731

Incident

Sep 26, 2025

While driving with the Adaptive Cruise Control and the Road Departure Mitigation System engaged, then fails and disengages. The warning system indicates a problem that should be reported to the Dealer. This has happened on multiple occasions and was repaired by the dealer when the car had 254 miles by replacing the tailgate upper wiring harness and the Brake/Cruise Control switch. The part number replaced was 36750-TY0-J11 35350 SW. Since that repair, the problem has resurfaced at 4385 miles multiple times. After stopping and restarting the car multiple times, the systems apparently resets itself, but the problem reoccurs multiple times after that. I have no confidence that the system is consistently reliable. The problem initially occurred on Jan 17 2025 and again Sept 19, 2025

NHTSA ID

11688753

Incident

Jan 17, 2025

Forward collision warning alarms when oncoming vehicle is recognized. This happens at least 3 times every time I drive. Only happens on 2 lane roads, not divided streets or highways. Very annoying and distracting.

NHTSA ID

11686861

Incident

Sep 12, 2025

As I was driving about 25 a 30 mph, I was in a right hand curve. When a vehicle in the opposite lane approached (still on their side of the road) my vehicle braked automatically for 1-2 seconds. This was unexpected and if there was another vehicle behind me then it is possible they may have rear ended my vehicle. The system has warned in similar instances to brake but did not actually apply the brakes automatically. This also happened when a vehicle in front of me was turning and as I had enough room to get by the vehicle again braked momentarily. This happened while going around 5 to 10 miles an hour and was unexpected and unneeded. I have not talked about this to the dealer but there are many complaints on Honda Ridgeline forums about this issue.

NHTSA ID

11684650

Incident

Jul 21, 2025

Collision mitigation brake system vibrates steering wheel,flashes brake, sounds alarm every time a car approaches in opposite lane on curves and often for no traffic at all. It gives so many false alarms I've had to turn it off for safety.

NHTSA ID

11669082

Incident

Jun 24, 2025

This is a brand new 2025 Ridgeline with only 900 miles. The Collision Mitigation Breaking System and the Lane Keeping Assist System does not work properly on my vehicle. The dealer where I bought the vehicle (Dick Brooks Honda in Greer) has insisted there's nothing wrong with the vehicle on two occasions. However, I took the vehicle to another dealer; the master technician said there might be something wrong with the radar system in my vehicle and to take it back to the original dealer. The original dealer won't even acknowledge what the other service department said about the radar system. Honda is just parroting what the original dealer is saying. I have a brand new vehicle that is not safe to drive and nobody is helping me. I have captured video on a GoPro of some incidents when this occurs. These systems go off for no apparent reason. When I manually turn off the CMBS, there's a persistent warning message that appears on the infotainment screen entitled, CMBS Problem. That message says: "The Collision Mitigation Braking System has a problem. Restart your vehicle. If the indicator remains on, have your vehicle checked by a dealer." The CMBS is malfunctioning, but how do I know if the system is off when I turn it off when this message appears? The dealer where I bought the vehicle from says "this is normal", but I know that is not true because I have looked at other 2025 Ridgelines and this message does not appear.

NHTSA ID

11666262

Incident

May 23, 2025

Unsafe auto high beams. They do not come on over 45mph. They have a mind of their own and seem to always come on and off at the wrong time. Also is dangerous to the oncoming vehicles that become impaired due to the high beams coming on when another vehicle is approaching. Especially most dangerous when you are on a 2 lane highway. Also the adaptive cruise control is inconsistent and seems to be very laggy and brakes way too hard.

NHTSA ID

11653024

Incident

Mar 21, 2025

The contact owns a 2025 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that the high beam lights turn on and off while driving 45 MPH or above at night. The contact stated that the headlights were flashing oncoming drivers. The contact had to deactivate the feature. Additionally, while driving on two occasions using the adaptive cruise control, the vehicle was braking hard. The contact was concerned about being rear-ended. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the vertical mounting of the radar sensor was slightly off. The dealer leveled the system. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 99.

NHTSA ID

11629269

Incident

Oct 26, 2024

Mileage

99 mi

I purchased a 2025 Honda Ridgeline and noticed that the turn signal is hardly audible. If you have the radio on or the windows rolled down, you will not hear the warning tone. In the infotainment system there is an adjustment that allows you to raise the volume of the warning indicator and even at the highest volume you can barely hear it. I also found that I am not alone and that this ia a common problem with some Honda models. Every other car I have ever owned made a mechanical or audio tone to warn that the signal light is active. This makes the driver behind you question whether you are taking a turn or not, should they pass you or not? I took it to the service department, and they could not tell me how to increase the volume. I had them go to another 2025 Honda Ridgeline and it had the same problem. I think that it is supposed to work with the infotainment system but even with their settings the issue persisted. Even the blind spot detection is inaudible. I think this is negligence on behalf of Honda. You can search on "Honda turn signal inaudible".

NHTSA ID

11625364

Incident

Nov 14, 2024

The auto dimming is way to sensitive. It turns down on road signs, street lights etc.

NHTSA ID

11587957

Incident

Apr 27, 2024