The Ridgeline is the largest unibody truck you can buy in the United States of America. Pricier yet better in terms of towing and payload than its compact-sized peers, the Ridgeline has come under scrutiny over 27 reports of rearview camera failure.
According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Office of Defects Investigation is aware of early warning reports as well. Their number, however, is confidential. Preliminary evaluation PE24-004 concerns the 2020 through 2023 Honda Ridgeline.
If said investigation results in a safety recall, American Honda Motor Co. may have to recall as many as 156,827 units produced for the model years mentioned earlier. The 27 owner complaints, which can be read on the NHTSA's website, report that the infotainment system shows a black screen when shifting into reverse rather than the camera view.
Why, though? Many of the aforementioned complaints report damage to the tailgate wire harness. The damage appears to be caused by normal usage of the tailgate. A damaged wire harness ultimately severs the connection between the rearview camera and touchscreen, therefore resulting in a noncompliance. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 111 section S5.5.3 clearly states that the rearview image shall be displayed within 2 seconds of the start of the backing event.
This isn't the first time the ODI has investigated Ridgeline over backup camera issues. Two years ago, the 2017 through 2018 model year Ridgeline was under investigation following 42 complaints and a confidential number of EWR field reports. Nine months later, Honda finally gave in, recalling 117,445 examples of the 2017 to 2019 model year Ridgeline.
Photo: Honda
Honda determined two causes for the damaged wire harness. First and foremost, the protective corrugated tubing and harness guide was found to be insufficient for optimal protection during the opening and closing of the tailgate. Secondly, the zip tie used to keep the tubing and guide in position wasn't tightened properly. Honda claims the tailgate harness assembly and inspection process had been improved following the November 2022 recall, but given the investigation into 2020 through 2023 models, that may be wishful thinking at best.
The tailgate wiring harness for the 2017 to 2019 Honda Ridgeline comes from APTIV US LLC of Troy, Michigan. As of November 17, 2022, the automaker's American division was aware of 3,437 warranty claims received between December 2017 and October 2022. There were no reports of damage, injuries, or worse related to this condition.
It's not clear whether the 2020 and newer Honda Ridgeline uses the same part, which bears part number 32109-T6Z-A000 in Honda's parts system. If your Ridgeline's infotainment screen goes black when shifting into reverse, you should get in touch with your nearest dealership, citing this preliminary evaluation and the November 2022 safety recall.
The Ridgeline has been assembled in Lincoln, Alabama, since 2008 at Honda Manufacturing Alabama, which employs more than 4,500 associates. In addition to the unibody truck, the Alabama-based plant also makes the Pilot three-row crossover, the two-row Passport, and technically similar Odyssey minivan. All of them pack a 3.5-liter V6, which – surprise, surprise – is produced at Honda's Alabama facility as well.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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