155 of the
2,729 complaints filed about the Honda Ridgeline
are about the lighting —
6% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2023.
The headlights auto-dimming feature on this vehicle does not work properly. While on during night driving, it will constantly switch from high beam to low beam, back and forth, every few seconds creating a strobe effect. The truck reacts to roadside signs as if they were oncoming cars and sometimes fails to dim light when cars are approaching. I have had it switch from low beam back to high when vehicles are quite close which causes the other driver to switch to high also which means neither of us can see well. Truck was purchased new from Mike Patton Honda, LaGrange, GA in December, 2025. I took it in to see if they could correct the problem and was told by the service guys that I was the only person who had ever complained about such a problem. They checked the truck over and said they could find no problems. A quick search online indicated that this problem began occurring with the 2020 Ridgeline and continues to be unchanged up the present. The puzzling aspect of the problem is that I also purchased a new Honda Accord about a week later and the auto-dimming feature in the Accord works very well with none of the problems that I have in the Ridgeline truck.
NHTSA complaint #11753762 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
BCM module failure. Keyless entry error. Vehicle dashboard lit up with many errors. Car alarm went on and off. Car will not start . Disconnect battery toe reset. Drove home and the car doesn’t want to stop running or idling. Disconnect battery till it turns off.
NHTSA complaint #11745207 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The auto-dimmer function does not work. On high-beam there is no automatic dimming; on low-beam the high beam automatically and randomly flashes on for a couple seconds, then off. In the latter instance, oncoming traffic gets hit with a sudden blinding flash - creating a hazard. My understanding is that this has been a problem for several years even before we bought the vehicle new and the company misled us into believing the function was available on the vehicle. The company also simply ignoring and not trying to fix it. Given the false advertisement of the functionality in the vehicle and hazard to oncoming traffic when it is on, one might reasonably expect a recall to be issued.
NHTSA complaint #11739281 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Automatic high beam headlights fail to work properly most of the time will not go back to low beams when a vehicle is in the opposite lane also will not go to high beams when no vehicles are in sight very frustrating and dangerous
NHTSA complaint #11737119 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
the auto high beam system is overly sensitive. lights flicker when a street sign is detected. dealer checked this issue and said the door switch was bad and replaced it. problem still exists. this makes night driving distracting and dangerous. no warning lamps or messages are shown on instrument panel.
NHTSA complaint #11730631 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
03/09/26 Driver side Headlight assembly filling with a lot of water when driving in wet conditions. Headlight has a significant amount of water and condensation inside. It is very noticeable. I can see a slight difference in positioning of the driver side headlamp vs the passenger side. Driver side looks slightly misaligned on the part closest to the midline of the truck. Available to inspect upon request. Called Dealer to bring it in to inspect immediately. They told me to come in without an appointment bc they said i didnt need one for this issue and I can come right in. I drove all the way there and was told they couldn't help me bc they were to busy now. Scheduled service with Dealer on 3/23/26. They were unable to take me earlier and told me that it's not an emergency and that I can drive the vehicle saftely until the 23rd, in wet or dry conditions. I Inspected light and took photos. Was told by local mechanics that a dealer would need to inspect it for defects / warranty repair. Dealer will be able to see the water and condensation throughoyt the entire headlamp as soon as they look at it. You can't miss it, it looks ridiculous. Ive noticed my day time running lights aren't working consistently since the water has been in the headlamp. Also, they will be able to reproduce the water flooding into the headlamp with no problem. If they run it through a carwash, water will hemorrhage into it. No symptoms or warning indicators / messages prior to part failure. I've attached photos and have more upon request. The photos show the water in the headlamp is now frozen over the inside of the headlight. This is affecting visibility and I am concerned about this damaging other components / electrical systems.
NHTSA complaint #11725431 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Automatic headlights have a delay in turning off the high beams that causes oncoming traffic to be subjected to high beams until they are way too close.
NHTSA complaint #11721757 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2025 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the automatic high beam headlights were activated, but failed to illuminate as needed; however, the high beam headlights illuminated when there was oncoming traffic, affecting the vision of the oncoming driver. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the vehicle was performing as designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 500.
NHTSA complaint #11720894 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The 2025 Honda Ridgeline has an unsafe, faulty, improperly designed auto headlight system. Oncoming headlight detection is delayed by several seconds, or non-responsove at all. This creates s situation where my vehicle's headlights "automatically" blind oncoming traffic with high beams. This causes frustrated oncoming drivers to turn on their high beams, blinding me. This happens every time I turn on my auto headlight feature. I am a member of the Facebook Group "Honda Ridgeline Owners Club", with 18,000 members. Dozens of members there have confirmed that their later model Ridgelines experience the same safety issue. They claim that this started when Honda redesigned their front-facing detection camera a few years ago. Please look into this, and press for a recall. Honda has created a very unsafe situation with their faulty automatic headlight design.
NHTSA complaint #11720635 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving home on 2/21/26 at night in light sleet/snow conditions, I noticed a dramatic decrease in headlight effectiveness in my Honda Ridgeline. When I stopped to check the headlights, they were coated with ice that needed to be scraped off. This is my first vehicle that has LED headlights so this was unexpected. I never had this issue with my previous vehicles that used incandescent /halogen headlights. I suspect this snow/sleet buildup is due to the fact the LED headlights, by their nature, are much more thermally efficient and generate less than 10% of the heat of an incandescent light source. As a result, LED headlamps do not generate enough head to melt any snow/sleet accumulations on the headlight lens. While this might not be an issue in southern states, it is a significant safety and visibility issue in areas where winter snows are the norm. NHTSB should consider requiring a wiping mechanism (as is done on Volvo headlights) or implement a defrost mechanism into the headlamp assembly or lens of vehicles with LED headlamps.
NHTSA complaint #11720528 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
There is constant water intrusion on the driverside headlight causing poor headlamp performance. I have reported the issue to a dealer for a warranty claim and was told that it is normal for water to be inside the headlight housing. If this is the case than I believe there is potential for a safety hazard. Issue was escalated to Honda Customer Service who initially offered to help get the repair done under warranty and then changed their tune and told me they wouldn't intervene and my only other option was to take it to another dealership to get a second opinion. I believe than based on Manufacturer Communications on this website (11000278 & 11000270) that this is a known issue and owners are being gaslighted into thinking its normal.
NHTSA complaint #11719296 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The automatic headlight dimmer feature at times doesn’t dim soon enough or at all for oncoming traffic. It will change to dim back to bright or the other way bright to dim for no apparent reason. On very dark roads they do not change to bright at all. It’s been to the dealer 3 times. On first visit they reported no error codes. On the next visit they said sensitivity was adjusted and said road tested. The did not put any miles on the vehicle and when question about the said road test I was told they tested it in a dark wash bay. The vehicle has only 5017 miles when I first reported but has done it since purchased. The dealer says it doesn’t have a problem and Honda America will not get involved.
NHTSA complaint #11718246 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Auto High Beam features turns on and off indiscriminately, often going off on a dark section of road or staying on with oncoming traffic. This is dangerous as I lose clear vision of the road or the oncoming driver could be blinded by the light. The dealer admits that the feature, which is listed on the car sticker and in the manual, effectively does not work. Honda will say that it works as designed. In which case it is a faulty design. My Subaru Outback has the same feature that works flawlessly, so I do understand what proper operation is. Additionally this and other safety features are suppressed under 45 miles an hour. Typically the safety features are most valuable on single lane roads where the speed is less than 45 MPH.
NHTSA complaint #11716710 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Automatic High Beam system does not work properly and are very inconsistent. When enabled, the high beams often turn on for a brief moment then turn off. Sometimes this occurs when there is a road sign reflection or a light on a home on the side of the road. When the system is enabled, the high beams often fluctuate on and off even when there is no oncoming traffic. What is worse is that the high beams sometimes remain on with oncoming traffic, blinding the oncoming driver. I am reporting that this has occurred ever since I purchased the vehicle in 2024. The dealer indicated this is a known problem and that Honda doesn't seem to be doing anything about it.
NHTSA complaint #11715614 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Auto High Beams (AHB) fail to work correctly. When set to on, they will come on for maybe 3-4 seconds then turn off, and maybe repeat the next time. The bigger issue is they fail to turn off many times when approaching oncoming traffic. The feature is dangerous by not turning on when they should and not turning off when they should. This is a widespread problem reported by many. The Honda dealer said they adjusted the sensitivity of the AHB when in fact there is no such adjustment. There is clearly something wrong with the implementation on the Ridgeline as other same year Honda models (we have a 2924 CRV) do NOT have this problem.
NHTSA complaint #11714527 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Automatic headlight dimming mechanism does not work well. Sometimes they do not dim to oncoming traffic. When they dim, they do not return to high beam even after returning to highway speed and no oncoming traffic.
NHTSA complaint #11714373 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When the automatic dimming headlamp is turned on, the headlamps do not perform as expected. When the bright lights finally did turn on, they didn't dim with an approaching vehicle. I reported it to the dealer, and they told me of a fix but that was for turning the headlamps on at dusk not dimming the headlamps
NHTSA complaint #11712347 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.