I Love Everything About My Honda Ridgeline Except for This One Problem

I have owned my 2022 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E for just over a year. In short, I love nearly everything about it. From the color to ride comfort to functionality, it is my first vehicle that I want to drive not just for its utility, but for the enjoyment it brings. I have even gotten over the push-button gear selection (I would have preferred a classic stick), though I know it is all electric now regardless. That the Ridgeline gets looks and, “Hey nice truck!” from automotive aficionado men and thumbs-ups from delivery drivers only reinforces my satisfaction that I made the right choice when I finally decided to get a pickup.

The only knock against the Ridgeline is its wireless charging pad. When I bought the truck in 2022 and for most of that year, I owned my old iPhone XS. Charging on the pad was perfectly fine. I had read about issues charging certain phones at the Honda Ridgeline Owners Club forums, and knew it could be a risk when I upgraded my phone later in the year. When I did upgrade to the iPhone 14 Pro, I began to experience the charging problems I had read many others were having.

I tried everything I could think of and all the suggestions I could find online to keep the charging stable. The charging process would begin, just like any other phone on any other standard charging pad, but after 10-15 seconds, charging would appear to stop, as shown by the phone’s battery icon changing to a standard battery from the charging symbol. Among the multiple of attempts to sustain a charge were removing the phone’s case, rotating the phone, flipping the phone, placing material between the phone and pad (thinking elevation might help), and placing the phone at odd angles and at every corner of the pad. Nothing sustained a charge after around that 15-second mark.

Eventually in late 2022, I simply gave up, acknowledging that, for now, I would have to live without wireless charging. Yes, it is ultimately a minor inconvenience, but still an annoying one. Part of going with the RTL-E trim was for that charging pad, which is effectively dead for my current phone.

Some of the comments online alluded to bringing up the issue at Honda dealerships, to “fix” the pad, but there appears to be no official response or remedy from the Honda automotive parent company. A big question on the problem is “why.” I, like most Ridgeline owners I will assume, believed the problem to be an inadequate or insufficiently-powered charger. Ridgeline Owners Club member Nervey recently posted and created a YouTube video (below) where he appears to have found the culprit, at least for the newer iPhones with “MagSafe.” He took off the charging pad and placed his iPhone 14 directly on the coils, and the phone kept its charge:

So it appears that, for whatever reason, the rubber and/or plastic of the wireless charging pad is interfering with the charging field on newer phones.

I hope that Honda is working on a fix, ideally something that will be covered by warranty. This issue, if not addressed, will likely make the charger more useless over time for more Ridgeline (and assume Pilot) owners as they upgrade to newer phones. Short of that, perhaps an aftermarket innovator will see the opportunity presented here and offer a fix via a redesigned top cover.

This is a convenience matter which should be remedied in some fashion. In the meantime, I will be charging my phone in-house, and plugging it into my Ridgeline only when absolutely required.