2024 Honda Ridgeline: What to check before buying

Automatic high beams switch on and off erratically, often like a strobe. Reflections from road signs and highway markers make them dim on empty dark roads, yet they often stay on or switch on as oncoming cars get close, glaring other drivers. Reports describe the problem from the time of purchase. Turning the feature off is awkward. Dealers find no fault codes and call it normal, and there is no sensitivity adjustment. Several owners say the same feature works properly on their other Honda models.

Losing all power at a stop is the main pattern. After auto start/stop shuts the engine off at a light, the truck goes completely dead. The dashboard, radio and even the hazard lights stop working, and restarting takes many tries. One truck needed a tow. Some of these reports come in under 1,500 miles. Dealers find no codes, and a replaced battery did not fix it. Other reports describe a delay when the engine stops just as the driver accelerates, driver-assist systems shutting off with a brake warning, and a recall delayed by a parts shortage.

Sudden limp mode is the main concern. The truck cuts power without warning and shows a long list of warnings covering the engine, transmission, AWD, brakes, stability and steering assist. Some events happen at red lights and in intersections. Another report describes the transmission dropping into neutral at 40 mph with a do-not-drive message, which left the truck stopped in heavy traffic. Dealers often just clear the codes. One report describes a dealer leasing out a truck with an open safety recall.

Most of these reports are about recall 24V321000, not actual failures. The repair part is unavailable, owners wait well past a reasonable time, and one buyer could not take delivery because the recall was still open. One dealer said the camera had to fail before the remedy would be done. A separate report filed under this heading involves erratic automatic high beams. Replacing the multifunction camera did not fix that problem.

The collision braking system sets off false alarms, mostly from oncoming cars on undivided two-lane roads and from road markers. When it triggers, the steering wheel shakes, a brake warning appears and the truck may brake on its own with nothing ahead, which creates a rear-end risk. Several false events can happen within a few miles. Dealers say the system is within guidelines. An alignment and a factory technician visit did not stop it.

Stalling at idle is one pattern. The engine quits while stopped at red lights, but not every time, and only in idle mode. This lines up with the stop-at-a-light shutdowns described under the electrical system. A separate report describes a low-end knock between 1,000 and 1,400 rpm that sounds like a bearing. Both reports are short and give no repair outcome.

The brakes apply by themselves while the truck is moving. In one pattern, the truck will not accelerate at highway speed, several warning lights come on and the brakes engage, holding the truck under 30 mph. This repeated more than thirty times, starting at 137 miles. Another report describes ongoing false forward collision warnings and automatic emergency braking events. The dealer called them normal and blamed the county and state roads. Both raise a real rear-end collision risk.