The Honda Ridgeline is a steady seller, but the automaker could temporarily shelve it as it grasps with emissions standards.
As the midsize truck market stands right now, Honda has enjoyed fairly steady sales with its Ridgeline over the years. That said, even though the current generation last saw some updates for the 2024 model year with the addition of the TrailSport, the current-generation truck stretches all the way back to 2017. Its single overhead cam (SOHC), 3.5-liter V6 stretches back even farther, and it’s showing its age. So much so, per a report from Automotive News, that the automaker is pausing production for nearly 18 months as it grapples with tighter upcoming emissions standards.
This report follows revelations concerning Honda’s car lineup in the wake of heavy losses from its EV development program. As a result of nearly $16 billion in losses due to the now-cancelled 0 Series and Acura RSX electric models, the company is extending Accord, Odyssey production for at least a couple more years, as well as the Acura Integra and MDX.
The second-generation Honda Ridgeline uses the J35Y6 engine, a version that’s shared with the Honda Odyssey and saw service in the last Pilot and Passport SUVs. Newer versions of those two SUVs use the J35Y8 engine, which changed to a dual overhead cam (DOHC) valvetrain and no longer has Honda’s beloved i-VTEC system. The changeover to DOHC over the SOHC design helps the new powertrain meet tighter CARB emissions standards moving forward.
While the U.S. federal government moved to revoke California’s ability to set its own emissions standards, which are followed by more than a dozen other states, the state has sued to challenge those actions. It also instituted emergency regulations as a sort of status quo while the legal process plays out, so for the moment, Honda and other automakers still have to comply with the state’s tighter emissions regulations to sell vehicles within California. The latest version of CARB emissions standards, known as LEV IV, take effect with Model Year 2026 and forward vehicles.
For the moment, Honda itself is staying mum on the potential year-and-a-half production pause. In a comment to Car and Driver, the company said that “Ridgeline remains an important model in our lineup and one of our top conquest models with unique appeal within the industry pickup segment. The Ridgeline will continue to play an important role in our product lineup now and in the future.”
There’s not much you can really glean from that statement other than Honda doesn’t want to cancel the Ridgeline. This report from AN doesn’t allude that the automaker is going to walk away from its truck like that, either. Instead, it seems the company is trying to work out a solution and will lean on inventory to carry the Ridgeline through this period until we see a new powertrain.
Now, “new” in this context will probably mean the current truck will get an update to use the J35Y8 in the Pilot and Passport. This would also see the Ridgeline get a new (to it) 10-speed automatic rather than a 9-speed, as well as an ever-so-slight power bump. Honda may well bring a few other changes in another refresh for the 2028 model year.
While we’d love to see a completely new, third-generation Ridgeline emerge by 2028, it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen, given Honda’s current reported trajectory. Again, it appears the company is keeping its current model lines going a little longer, so any new and potentially hybrid trucks may not arrive until 2030 or later.
