NHTSA Complaint #11690361 — 2023 HONDA RIDGELINE

The rearview camera continues to fail after recall for the issue was completed. Estimate 6 months+ since recall was performed to replace camera tailgate wire harness. It has begun random failures again. There is no indication from the dash of an error. When placed in reverse, the camera display in the dash goes nearly black or totally black; sometimes lane back lines are present, sometimes not. The current problem is entirely consistent with the failure conditions and symptoms prior to the recall update to replace the wire harness. The problem can fairly routinely be triggered by multiple uses of the dual-action tailgate movement. A few flat down and back up, then a few swing-gate actions will generally trigger the failure. When the camera monitor does have a normal picture, it will stay that way indefinitely -until you again have repeated tailgate movements using the dual-action feature. It is generally possible to perform several dual-action movements of the tailgate and restore the camera monitor to a functional view. The recall and replacement with an "improved" wire harness has failed to last; the identical problem is recurring. The vehicle was at a Honda dealer today. They report no error codes, they report no continuity issues with the wire harness. Proposed remedy is to replace the camera unit, despite no error codes. The only basis seems to be that they could not "see" a problem with the harness. Nor can they explain why the circumstances are identical to what caused the initial recall, but still feel it's not the cable. Nor can they explain why my repeated movements of the tailgate can make the display work again. This is a considerable safety issue as it's extremely difficult to back up the vehicle if you can't see behind/below the tailgate. Mirrors are not enough; safe backing requires the use of the rear view camera.