Right from day one, the brakes on my 2025 BE have not given me a whole lot of confidence. Initially I thought it might get better with time but that has not been the case. I now have about 7500 km (4700 miles) on the RL and the brakes still feel/operate the same.

When first depressing the brake pedal, the feeling is spongy/soft and it seems that the pedal travel/movement is more than I'm used to. If I release & pump the pedal once, it brings the pedal back up to what I would say is normal and the braking action is much better. I find myself "pumping" the brakes on a regular basis...not looking forward to an emergency braking situation.

Even my wife remarked about how "off" the brakes felt to her, and how much more effort was required the first time she drove the RL, compared to her car (she drives a 2025 VW Jetta). The braking action in her car is way, way better. I have to try & remember this every time I drive the Jetta...otherwise I'll "eat" the steering wheel if I apply the same foot pressure on the brake pedal as I do in my RL.

I will definitely be addressing this with the dealer shortly but was just curious if others had experienced this? Did a quick search but nothing jumped out at me.
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Right from day one, the brakes on my 2025 BE have not given me a whole lot of confidence. Initially I thought it might get better with time but that has not been the case. I now have about 7500 km (4700 miles) on the RL and the brakes still feel/operate the same.

When first depressing the brake pedal, the feeling is spongy/soft and it seems that the pedal travel/movement is more than I'm used to. If I release & pump the pedal once, it brings the pedal back up to what I would say is normal and the braking action is much better. I find myself "pumping" the brakes on a regular basis...not looking forward to an emergency braking situation.

Even my wife remarked about how "off" the brakes felt to her, and how much more effort was required the first time she drove the RL, compared to her car (she drives a 2025 VW Jetta). The braking action in her car is way, way better. I have to try & remember this every time I drive the Jetta...otherwise I'll "eat" the steering wheel if I apply the same foot pressure on the brake pedal as I do in my RL.

I will definitely be addressing this with the dealer shortly but was just curious if others had experienced this? Did a quick search but nothing jumped out at me.

 

Hi Bamatoolman,

Usually, there is one main reason for a spongy break pedal which is air in the brake fluid. You have to bleed the air from the system.

 

I also felt that they are spongy when first depressing the pedal, but found that pressing further did a good job. I had a situation where traffic was slowing down ahead of me and I started to slow down, then cars were pulling off the road to avoid a pile up and I did the same and found the brakes did a very good job. I have not pumped the brakes to see if they feel stronger and will try it. If they do brake better after pumping them, I will take it in. Bleeding brakes is a very simple task and would assume the dealership would do this out of over Abundace of caution. Even if they don’t , I’ll pay for it. It’s not going to be all that expensive.

 

Brakes vs breaks. 😂

 

Funny, even if I make the same spelling errors at times....

 

Definitely sounds like some air in the system. I had the same problem with a Ram, bleeding solved the problem.
My Ridgeline brakes feel fine to me, and my wife never said anything about them.

 

The brake fluid in my RL was five years old, and the color had a consistency not unlike new engine oil. In other words, it was rather dark, and was in need of a refresh. That said, I didn’t exactly notice anything unruly about how it was braking, and felt it was stopping reasonably well, even though my pads and rotors have over 77k miles on them.

After doing an engine oil change, plus cabin air, and engine filters this past weekend, I decided to do a brake flush, removing the old fluid out, and bleeding the new stuff in.

After a little trial and error since I had never used a vacuum pump before for brakes (always did it the old fashioned way with another person on pedal duty), I managed to get the fluid looking much cleaner than before. Now it looks more like someone taking a properly hydrated piss.

I haven’t noticed any sponginess in the brake pedal, and I noticed it grabs sooner than before slightly, so there is an improvement. And just for the record, I used Valvoline’s DOT 3 & DOT 4 fluid for the flush.

As others have said, sponginess usually means air in the system, which thankfully is a relatively easy fix. Why some are having issues with their braking is puzzling to me, and might indicate either a simple flush in the system, or a larger issue at bay.

 

When I test drove my buddy's 2019 Sport, I commented right away about the brakes. He said the dealer just replaced the front pads. For some reason they didn't bother to bleed them while they were in there. I bought it but will bleed the brakes when I rotate the tires. If that doesn't improve I'll go to better pads. My 99 Tacoma with 227,000 miles has much better brakes.

 

I know the feeling, I have a 24 BE. Same feeling, fairly mushy, but they are adequate.

it’s not the vehicle size, my wife has a 25 Grand Cherokee and the brakes on that feel fantastic-she thinks they’re too touchy but coming from a number of VWs and Audis I think they’re perfect

 

I have had so many problems with my 2024 ridgeline braking that i have no confidence in the Brakes, I was towing my small landscape trailer with a riding lawn mower on it went to stop at a stop sign doing about 25 miles an hour and I couldnt stop not matter how hard I pushed, I ended up stopping in the middle of the intersection, I have documented 17 times that my Brakes have not worked as they should, The dealer says it normal and I'm not pushing hard enough, Honda says the dealer can said nothing is wrong, I love my Ridgeline but have no confidence in the Brakes so I'm selling it, Dealer also wanted to give my nothing on trade . I have video of their tech saying he has never seen anything like it , it almost feels like the brake pedal is pushing back. 1 yr old and i only have 3400 miles on it because I'm afraid
of the brakes

 

I have had so many problems with my 2024 ridgeline braking that i have no confidence in the Brakes, I was towing my small landscape trailer with a riding lawn mower on it went to stop at a stop sign doing about 25 miles an hour and I couldnt stop not matter how hard I pushed, I ended up stopping in the middle of the intersection, I have documented 17 times that my Brakes have not worked as they should, The dealer says it normal and I'm not pushing hard enough, Honda says the dealer can said nothing is wrong, I love my Ridgeline but have no confidence in the Brakes so I'm selling it, Dealer also wanted to give my nothing on trade . I have video of their tech saying he has never seen anything like it , it almost feels like the brake pedal is pushing back. 1 yr old and i only have 3400 miles on it because I'm afraid
of the brakes

I would have a good mechanic look at the brakes before taking a loss like that. This isn't normal.

 

That sucks...

 

My 24 RL BE brakes seem a bit spongy as compared to my 21 Rogue which is real grabby. As the manual states the harder you push on the brake pedal the harder they will grab. I would try a different dealer and see if they would bleed the ABS unit. Maybe that’s failing.
Go to parking lot and try normal braking and then harshly push the brake pedal to the floor to see what happens.
If all else fails give Ivan a call @pine hollow auto diagnostics from u tube .

 

I bought a new '21 RTL-E in Sept '21. I thought/felt the same exact thing since day one. I have taken it back several times for that issue, only to be told "they're fine, they're operating as intended".
I've gotten used to "pumping the brake pedal" as others have mentioned.
I do have a service appoint for this Weds, (finally getting the tailgate harness recall resolved) so I'll mention the brakes again.

 

I bought a new '21 RTL-E in Sept '21. I thought/felt the same exact thing since day one. I have taken it back several times for that issue, only to be told "they're fine, they're operating as intended".
I've gotten used to "pumping the brake pedal" as others have mentioned.
I do have a service appoint for this Weds, (finally getting the tailgate harness recall resolved) so I'll mention the brakes again.

I just took my Ridgeline in for oil change and scheduled maintenance. This service advisor (different dealership) said the soft brake pedal was a known issue. They did a brake fluid flush, and guess what... PROBLEM FIXED! And it only took 4 years! Feels like a new vehicle now.

 

I have a 2025 BE also and the brakes are very good. I have several other cars and i like the feel of the Ridgeline brakes much better than most, especially the 2021 Lexus RC i traded in for it. I think you should take it to the dealer and have them bleed out any air and/or check for issues. Most cars call for brake bleeding every couple of years and most people do not do it for some reason. I would not change out the pads to aftermarket in hopes of fixing your problem, but if you do, please send me your OEM pads as they are great!!

 

Changing break pads won't solve the problem. As recommended by all car manufacturers the brake fluid should be replace every two years regardless the mileage. The brake fluid has the property to absorb humidity. The humidity then expands even boiled when the fluid reach a high temperature and translate in a spongy break pedal. Also a defective master cylinder could create such a feeling. As I have said in a previous post start by bleeding the system.

 

I have a 2024 rtl and the brakes act the same as you explain on yours. I took it to the dealer and they bled the brakes . It made know difference. Like you I pump the brake a 2nd time and they are much better. I've seen others on the forums say the same thing about spongy brakes.

 

Hello all,if it may get into your conversation. Yes bleeding brakes will help ,but you have to inspect the brake pads too. Lateral runout happens when the pads don't slide evenly. New vehicles with 12,000 miles should checked too. Caliper pins should be lubricated. This allows you to get good even pressure and stop good...

 

2022 RTL with ~34,000 miles, here. The brakes feel perfect, thus far. I bought the truck with 6,800 miles already on it, so I do not know the original service history. So far, so good.

 

Sounds like your brakes need to be bled. Air in the brake lines can cause this. Air can be compress, brake fluid can not.

 

I have had a 2007, 2018 and a 2025 Ridgeline and the brakes are not as sensitive as the Toyotas we have owned. None of them seemed to be spongy and I like that they are not so sensitive. You probably have an issue with yours though.

 

I have owned BMW, VW, Porsches, an Old Jaguar, FZR Yamaha, Tacoma, etc. and they tend to have a quicker, harder brake feel than the Ridgeline... but, i like the feel of the 2025 Ridgeline brakes. I test drove three of them and they all felt great. The Ridgeline is a heavy and big vehicle vs. all my 33 past vehicles, and the brake pressure and braking ability on all the Ridgelines i drove was fantastic. I think anyone feeling they need to "pump the brakes" to get them to feel right has a defect or air in the system, and they should get the truck fixed before they have an accident....

 

I noticed this immediately when I first drove my new 2024 RTL one year ago. Pumping the brakes didn’t change anything. While it’s definitely a different feel from our other vehicles I don’t feel unsafe after getting use to it. I often trailer a boat with it and feel I still have good emergency braking power. Nevertheless, I plan to ask the service folks about this when I take it in for the B16 service tomorrow.

 

This might not be relevant because I had a 2010 Ridgeline, but I felt that the brakes operated in exactly the same way you described on your 2025 model. In fact when I purchased mine several years ago, the dealer had another 2010 model that I test drove and the brakes acted exactly the same. Perhaps you could test drive another 2025 for comparison?

 

I've written about this since 2017. You will find if you drive other new ones, its almost common. Don't bother with the dealer. They changed everything after doing a couple bleeds, then draining the system, ect. Honda rep got involved, of course he diagnosed as 'normal'. We tried an inline pressure check and it was to standard, yet if after the last application there is time and distance - the pedal is not as hard and brakes not as stellar if you press lightly once and then immediately apply needed pressure. My 2019 - same. None of my '3' Pilots had this issue, but again different because of weight and distribution. I learned - just press twice. It becomes natural after awhile. Dealing with Honda is like trying to damage an anvil with a rubber hammer. Same with my bed discoloration issue.

 

You are correct. The brakes on my 2019 rtl e felt wrong. Took it to the dealer got the old “that is normal for the vehicle speech,”. I took the new vehicle to my mechanic and had him replace the fluid and bleed the brakes. The pedal stayed the same although the mechanic said the pedal did not feel”right.”
I have owned numerous Honda vehicles and I am quickly losing faith in the quality of the vehicles. Too many recalls and an “oh well, they are all like that” attitude. I am now waiting on the fuel pump impeller recall. Normally I would go look at the new models but this time I have no interest.

 

This has been a problem why back from the gen 1 days. When I first bought my 2010 RTL my brake pedal felt like it had a spongy feel. Brakes where flushed and bled multiple times. Then Honda came with a different way of flushing and bleeding with the Honda service computer hooked up to control the process. Had that done twice. Brakes, pedal felt a little better. After a few miles of use the pedal started to feel spongy again. So I got used to it. Did it prevent the truck from multiple frt end crashes. YES. I don't remember the SB #. But maybe your dealer has an updated one. Good luck.

 

I thought my 2018's brakes felt soft when new. The dealer checked them and said it was normal. I didn't like the feel, but they seem to work OK. I haven't thought about since I had the brake fluid flushed, so after reading comments above I'll try to remember to pay attention next time I drive it.

 

Ours is the same. When medium braking, the pedal feels like the actual braking fluctuates. Also in the mornings after a 1/4 mile, our street goes downhill. I have it in S2, and the idle will increase on its own for maybe a 1/4 mile, then it runs normal.

 

I originally posted on the same issue in 2017 when I first got my G2 Ridgeline. No dealer solution except a re-bleed of the braking system under warranty. Over the past 8 years it did not get any worse and maybe improved just a little. Recently acquired a 2025 with much less noticeable sponginess.

 

I have 2022 rtl-e and the brakes felt softer when I bought it, but when I did my own service inspection on brakes I lubricate caliper pins. They were stuck a little and cleaned the hardware were the pads slide on too. I also did a brake flush. The brakes feel a lot better. Now the peddle is higher, more responsive to the touch..i bid this at 12,000 miles.
My assumption is the pads not sliding properly because of caliper pins had no lubricant. These are floating calipers and supposed to center themselves to give you even wear and better stopping...