Honda Ridgeline Falls Off Lift During Repair Because Everyone Has a Bad Day Sometimes

A Honda Ridgeline fell off a lift while in the shop, but since no one was hurt, it got laughed off.

That’s fine, but we’ll remind you that putting a car on a lift can be dangerous if not done right.

This Falling Honda Ridgeline Led To Laughs

Look, everyone has a bad day some times, and the Facebook user who posted about this incident in Connecticut - it’s unclear if the poster is the Ridgeline owner, shop owner, shop employee, or just a bystander - points out that since no one was hurt, it’s OK to laugh about it.

Even the truck doesn’t seem too damaged, at least from what we can see in the photos.

Let’s hear from the original poster, lightly edited for grammar, clarity, and to make a certain word more family-friendly:

“When you think [you’re] having a bad day... it can always be worse!! Thankfully no one was injured except the vehicle! 👀👀👀🙃💯✔️👌😎 1 light duty wrecker... No ROTATOR needed! Lets f***ing GOOO 😤 🤪 😎 Charlie's Towing Handled the recovery and tow!”

Of course, this being the Internet, wags started cracking jokes. One even mocked the Ridgeline. Here’s a sampling:

“Did the world a favor 1 less ridgeline gunna be on the road lol”

“Damn from the looks of damage you gettin another new car 🥳🥳”

“Daummmm nice insurance check looks like it fell off rafter or someone ooopssss….”

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“Who’s got the insurance for this one.”

“Someone's getting a fat insurance check”

“Bad day for the shop, good day for the owner that gets a new car! Giving "side" work a new image!”

“Can't park there?”

And, of course, the ever-popular:

“It will buff out.”

Safety Tips To Avoid Having A Vehicle Fall Off Of A Lift

All joking aside, one Facebook commenter offered a very astute question:

“How does that happen? Did it fall off the rack?”

The truck appears to have fallen, there’s no doubt. But how does that happen?

We only see the aftermath here, and the lift’s supports are down on the ground. But, assuming that it’s fall - and really, what else could it be - it’s likely that the lift points weren’t secure.

The best way to avoid this is to check to see where the vehicle’s lift points are - you can usually find this in the owner’s manual, and experienced technicians can often tell - and to have a second set of eyes on the vehicle.

One other tip - raise the vehicle just a little bit off the floor and check to make sure it’s secure before lifting it all the way up.

It’s also possible that a tech, for whatever reason, perhaps distraction or being too busy, didn’t place the lifts on the the driver’s side and didn’t realize it until it was too late.

A drive-on lift would’ve solved that problem, but those still require the tech to line the vehicle up correctly. Again, it’s best to have a second set of eyes on the process.

Something like this could’ve been avoided if at least two people were watching. It’s also necessary to double- and triple-check that the lift supports are in the proper position.

Shops get busy and techs get distracted - but that can’t happen when loading a car onto a lift. If you’re a mechanic/technician, don’t try to multitask when putting a car on the lift, even if you’ve done it thousands of times before. Take the time to make sure it’s correct.

And if there’s any doubt, double-, triple-, and quadruple-check before pressing the “up” button,

This also, of course, goes for the car enthusiast or shade-tree mechanic who has a lift in his or her own garage.

The rest of us might not ever have to worry about actually putting our cars of the lift, but we might own a vehicle that falls like this Honda Ridgeline did. If so, the best thing to do is make sure your vehicle is insured, and then work with the shop to address the issue. If the shop has integrity, it will take responsibility (and should, of course, be insured itself). If not, you may have to threaten legal action or actually take legal action.

Let’s hope it never comes to that. Let’s hope that your vehicle never makes like this Honda Ridgeline and falls. And let’s hope that if it does happen, no one gets hurt and everyone involved can laugh about it.

Images via Facebook user

About The Author

Tim Healey is an experienced automotive writer and editor from Chicago. He has covered automotive news at Consumer Guide Automotive, Web2Carz, AutoGuide, and was the managing editor at The Truth About Cars. Tim is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association. You can find him on Facebook, X/Twitter, and on LinkedIn.