NHTSA Complaint #11654377 — 2017 HONDA RIDGELINE

Recently, while driving approximately an hour and a half from home, traveling at 80–100 km/h, the vehicle suddenly began to shake violently, almost ripping the steering wheel from my hands. I immediately turned down the radio and heard a loud squealing and clacking noise coming from the engine. At that time, no warning lights or codes were present. Moments later, multiple errors appeared on the dashboard, and the engine lost power and shut down completely. With nowhere safe to pull over, I attempted to restart the vehicle just to get it off the roadway into a nearby farm entrance, but it died again shortly after. I had the vehicle towed on a flatbed back home, where I began diagnostics. I initially suspected a timing issue or tensioner failure, so I checked timing components, replaced the spark plugs and swapped coils. A compression test showed over 150 psi across all cylinders. I then brought it into my shop for further inspection. A scan revealed a cylinder #3 misfire, and upon removing the oil pan, I discovered the rod bearing on cylinder #3 had failed catastrophically. When I contacted Honda about the rod bearing recall, I was told that although over 250,000 vehicles were recalled for similar issues, mine did not qualify as it was manufactured in July 2016, just outside the affected range. I was advised to transport the vehicle 2.5 hours to a dealership for a technician inspection, as my diagnosis would not be accepted. This failure was not only unexpected and costly—it was a serious safety concern that could have resulted in injury or worse. Given the severity of the situation and the number of similar cases reported, I respectfully request that Honda cover the repair under warranty or goodwill. This failure should not have happened on a well-maintained engine and is clearly part of a wider issue.