Automatic high beam issues are the main cause of complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
Regarded by Honda as being fast and efficient, the Ridgeline has been around for nearly two decades. The automaker states that the 2023 model, available since fall 2022, has enhanced rugged capability and design so that the light pickup truck remains competitive. But a major problem is that consumers are finding the automatic high beam system malfunctions, threatening their safety. They can’t rely on the ruggedness, speed, or efficiency of the vehicle to change this.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2019 2020 2021 2022
The most common problem reported to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) about the 2023 Honda Ridgeline relates to exterior lighting. More specifically, they say that the automatic high beams malfunction, impacting visibility seriously. By early March 2023, just into the new year, there were 7 complaints on file with the NHTSA, and all but one was about the high beam problem.
The seventh is completely unrelated, but also serious. The owner, from California, states that the truck tends to lurch forward about 2 inches for no perceivable reason. Once it did this while the owner was parking the Ridgeline. The other time while using the remote start. “Fortunately it didn’t hit anything or anybody.”
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Exterior Lighting | |
| Engine | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Electrical System | |
| Power Train | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Air Bags | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings | |
| Lane Departure: Assist |
The 2023 Ridgeline LED low-beam headlights come with an advanced auto high-beam feature. When the headlight control is set to ‘auto,’ the high beams turn on automatically if they don’t detect other vehicles in front of the Ridgeline. Then, if they detect another vehicle, the high beams switch back to low beams. Or that’s how they should work!
For several years, owners of Honda Ridgelines have been complaining about high beam issues to the NHTSA and discussing their problems on forums. As a result, Lemberg Law is investigating complaints from 2022 Honda Ridgeline owners relating to this issue. But we have established that the problem has been evident with the 2020 and 2021 models as well.
So, for more than 3 years Honda Ridgeline owners and drivers have been complaining about faulty automatic high beam systems. But dealerships continue to say that because there aren’t any technical service bulletins (TSBs) on the subject, they can’t do anything to help.
Now, 2023 owners are also finding fault with the system.
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The first complaint to the NHTSA was on October 27, 2022. The owner from North Carolina said that auto headlights hadn’t worked since they had owned the vehicle and it was “a real concern at night.” Needless to say, they were surprised when the dealer acknowledged the problem but couldn’t fix it “until Honda issues a repair solution.” At the time, the truck had only 560 miles.
An owner from Oklahoma said he “nearly hit a deer at highway speeds due to failure to operate when (the Ridgeline) should have been in (auto) high beam (mode).” The other problem is that “they go on and off causing blinding to oncoming traffic. This is a well-known problem documented by numerous Honda Ridgeline owners. It needs to be fixed before more people are injured or killed as a result.”
Echoing exactly the same problems, an owner from Alabama adds that the high beams also turn off “when the system sees another light source, such as a pole light, several hundred feet off the road.“
An owner from California terms the fault as the automatic beams not working “fluidly.” He maintains it is “a safety issue because they (the beams) are sensitive to the point where it seems you are ‘high beaming’ oncoming traffic.” The complaint states that all components in this Ridgeline are in working order. “There are no warning lamps as this is the way the vehicle was intended to operate by the manufacturer. Honda let it slip past and it should not have. This problem needs further review by NHTSA for safety purposes.”
There are so many Honda Ridgelines with automatic beam issues, Honda shouldn’t be ignoring them. It often takes continued complaints to persuade automakers to take action. When they don’t, vehicle owners sometimes explore their options in terms of lemon law.
Lemberg Law has been helping vehicle owners who have found themselves with lemons for many years. And we have negotiated many settlements on their behalf. If you’d like us to assess your case, free of charge, contact us by calling our Helpline or filling out a contact form. The law says that Honda must pay the legal fees for lemon law cases, so it’s not going to cost you anything.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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Auto high beams work erratically and the phone charger not only does not charge it causes phone to loose its charge – example. If battery in at 45%, after a couple minutes on the charger, it will be at 43%
Garbage
Phone charger will not charge the phone. Initially hooks up and within 8 to 10 seconds the charger stops charging. Was told it was a compatibility issue?