2026 Honda Ridgeline

forward collision brakes come on when a garbage can in on the curb or going around a curve and a car is coming the opposite way in its lane. Also the automatic high beam goes off if it sees a speed sign or a porch light or other kind of reflection. Sometimes it won't go off when another vehicle comes the opposite way. I wish it would come on at a slower speed instead of 40 mph. It should come on once it senses complete darkness especially on rural roads. It's been doing this since 10-10-26 when I drove it off the lot.

NHTSA ID

11776786

Incident

Oct 10, 2026

The front crash system alerts at least once a day, when there are no vehicles in front of me, or when they vehicles in front of me are more than 10 car lengths. The alert with also come on when a vehicle is coming in the opposite direction. This system has alerted on some day up to six times in a day. This started the day I drive the vehicle off the dealer lot.

NHTSA ID

11774327

Incident

Aug 31, 2026

Honda made a change a couple of years ago from the 2 camera auto dimming of high beams to an all in one camera on the newer models of the Honda Ridgeline. I experienced that the auto dimming of the high beam did not function well on my previous 2024 Honda Ridgeline. And now I have a 2026 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition. It is having the same problem. When driving at night the high beam lights switch on when no on coming traffic. When on coming traffic is seen it is supposed to switch off. I have found that the system switches on and off from road signs and other lights nearby the road traveled. Sometimes it does not switch off with on coming vehicles and they are flashing their headlights at me. It is a safety defect that Honda has known about for a few years, with Ridgeline owners reporting this to them about the malfunction. Honda needs to fix this so that there will not be a safety problem anymore, which could blind on coming drivers to be partially blinded due to the defect. This defect has happened several times when I drive at night.

NHTSA ID

11773042

Incident

Oct 20, 2026

I was driving about 75 miles an hour down the highway, the transmission started slipping and then I started to get warning saying transmission problem, pull over, do not drive, etc. I could not change gears at all, could not accelerate or anything. Had to have the vehicle towed to dealer.

NHTSA ID

11771105

Incident

Oct 14, 2026

The auto high beam system does not function correctly. It turns off with speed limit or warning signs and not consistently with oncoming traffic. It also frequently turns on with oncoming traffic. The poor functionality of this system is a dangerous source of driver distraction.

NHTSA ID

11770776

Incident

Jun 1, 2026

The headlights auto-dimming feature on this vehicle does not work properly. While on during night driving, it will constantly switch from high beam to low beam, back and forth, every few seconds creating a strobe effect. The truck reacts to roadside signs as if they were oncoming cars and sometimes fails to dim light when cars are approaching. I have had it switch from low beam back to high when vehicles are quite close which causes the other driver to switch to high also which means neither of us can see well. Truck was purchased new from Mike Patton Honda, LaGrange, GA in December, 2025. I took it in to see if they could correct the problem and was told by the service guys that I was the only person who had ever complained about such a problem. They checked the truck over and said they could find no problems. A quick search online indicated that this problem began occurring with the 2020 Ridgeline and continues to be unchanged up the present. The puzzling aspect of the problem is that I also purchased a new Honda Accord about a week later and the auto-dimming feature in the Accord works very well with none of the problems that I have in the Ridgeline truck.

NHTSA ID

11753762

Incident

Jan 1, 2026

I am the owner of a 2026 Honda Ridgeline, which I have owned for approximately seven months. Since taking delivery, the vehicle has emitted a persistent, very strong chemical odor consistent with volatile organic compound (VOC) off-gassing. This is distinct from a mildew or air-conditioning-related odor; the smell is present throughout the cabin interior as well as in the truck bed well, and does not correlate with AC use. In an effort to resolve the issue, I have kept the vehicle parked outside (not in an enclosed garage), with the bed well left open and the windows down for extended periods to ventilate the interior. Despite these efforts over the seven-month period, the odor has not diminished to an acceptable level and remains strong. Exposure to the odor causes me to develop headaches and throat irritation. These symptoms occur during normal use of the vehicle and are directly attributable to the smell, not to any other known cause. I am requesting that this be formally investigated and documented as a defect, as the odor appears to stem from an interior or structural material issue rather than routine new-vehicle off-gassing, given that it has not resolved after seven months of ventilation efforts.

NHTSA ID

11751373

Incident

Dec 27, 2025

Car was on the highway braking hard with the ACC even if the vehicle in front was atleast 4/5 car lengths away. Moved to the right lane to stop it and came up to a box truck and the car automatically broke very hard and LKA started jerking the wheel to the left lane causing the rear bumper to collide with the cars in the next lanes front bumper. My vehicle pit maneuvered into the median ditch and flipped once.

NHTSA ID

11733216

Incident

Apr 21, 2026

Service Bulletin - Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and the auto idle stop feature engages, the vehicle may not automatically restart. In other circumstances, vehicles may experience a slow crank or fail to start under hot ambient temperature conditions.

Dealer Message - Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and the idle stop feature engages, the vehicle may not automatically restart. In other circumstances, vehicles may experience a slow crank or fail to start under hot ambient temperature conditions. The customer should be able to restart the vehicle by selecting Park and pushing the ENGINE START/STOP button.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2024-2026 Odysseys & Ridgelines and 2024-2025 Passports with a customer complaint of the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) on with the DTC P0441 (EVAP System Purge Flow Malfunction) stored. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2024-2026 Odysseys & Ridgelines and 2024-2025 Passports with a customer complaint of the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) on with the DTC P0441 (EVAP System Purge Flow Malfunction) stored. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.

Over The Air - This update contains various performance enhancements and UI improvements.