Honda Ridgeline Owners Club Forums banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

RTL-E Headlights

Jump to Latest
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
A

Armenia Mountain Guy

· Registered
Joined
·
48 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
As it happened, my first drive at night in my 2021 G2 RTLE was during a hard rain. I could not tell if the headlights were on: I could have held a Bic lighter out the window for all the good the low beams did me. There seemed to be no difference in depth of vision where the lights were aimed and elsewhere. . The high beams were better, but couldn't use them due to oncoming traffic .I had the 'fog' lights on as well.
Is there a fix for this? A better bulb, or auxiliary lights?
 
#2 ·
I can't remember the last time I drove any vehicle during a hard rain at night - certainly not my '21 Ridgeline so I can't comment on that specific scenario. I can, however, state that the 2021 Ridgeline's low beams performed reasonably well in IIHS testing except on gradual left curves while the high beams were poor - the opposite of what you're reporting. You cannot change the low beam "bulb" since the LED is integrated into the headlight assembly and is not designed to be replaced.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
zroger73 said:
I can't remember the last time I drove any vehicle during a hard rain at night - certainly not my '21 Ridgeline so I can't comment on that specific scenario. I can, however, state that the 2021 Ridgeline's low beams performed reasonably well in IIHS testing except on gradual left curves while the high beams were poor - the opposite of what you're reporting. You cannot change the low beam "bulb" since the LED is integrated into the headlight assembly and is not designed to be replaced.
Click to expand...
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
Thanks for the reply. I'll take the Ridgeline out tonite and follow the same road in dry conditions. What concerned me is that this road has 'Traffic Calmer' concrete humps about 10" high spaced out from the right curb. I could not see them at all and had to hug the center line. They're white in color, but not reflectorized. My low beams should have picked them out, I think.
 
#5 ·
Armenia Mountain Guy said:
As it happened, my first drive at night in my 2021 G2 RTLE was during a hard rain. I could not tell if the headlights were on: I could have held a Bic lighter out the window for all the good the low beams did me. There seemed to be no difference in depth of vision where the lights were aimed and elsewhere. . The high beams were better, but couldn't use them due to oncoming traffic .I had the 'fog' lights on as well.
Is there a fix for this? A better bulb, or auxiliary lights?
Click to expand...
Meh, these are better than some, not as good as others. I drove in the rain the other night too. I was able to see fine and I am 58 lol.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
Follow Up: I took the Ridge out onto the same road , but on a dry night. No problem seeing, this trip. The low beams illuminated the right margin quite well. My original difficulty was due to the heavy rain and oncoming traffic causing halos around each drop on the windshield, and my own lousy vision...(near 80). Solution: stay the hell home when it's raining at night. The Ridgeline is fine.
 
#7 ·
I've noticed the LED headlights on my '17 Accord Touring are generally better at night than incandescent/halogen lights, but there are two scenarios where they are actually a bit worse: In foggy conditions and in rain at night. My best guess is that the whiter/bluer color temp of the LEDs tends to reflect more of light things, like heavy fog and rain. I get a lot of reflection in these conditions, whereas the yellower halogen lights would have cut through.
 
#8 ·
No matter what car or how good the lights are, I always struggle to see in a nightime rain. I think the wet dark road just absorbs all the light. Kind of scary to think about something jumping out!

Mike
 
#9 ·
Armenia Mountain Guy said:
Follow Up: I took the Ridge out onto the same road , but on a dry night. No problem seeing, this trip. The low beams illuminated the right margin quite well. My original difficulty was due to the heavy rain and oncoming traffic causing halos around each drop on the windshield, and my own lousy vision...(near 80). Solution: stay the hell home when it's raining at night. The Ridgeline is fine.
Click to expand...
You might want to try cleaning the inside and outside of your windshield. Mine had some clear residue on it that made it hard to see during rain. No problems after I cleaned it.
 
#10 ·
Personally, I find higher temperature lights to be worse on wet roads for reasons I don't understand. But the single most important thing that we do for our rainy season here in the pacific northwest is to clean the inside of the windshield , clean the outside, put a hydrophobic coating on the outside of the windshield (follow manufacturers instructions), and make sure our wiper blades are in good condition. Driving in the rain, especially at night, feels much safer with the greatly improved visibility.
 
#11 ·
royicus said:
Personally, I find higher temperature lights to be worse on wet roads for reasons I don't understand. But the single most important thing that we do for our rainy season here in the pacific northwest is to clean the inside of the windshield , clean the outside, put a hydrophobic coating on the outside of the windshield (follow manufacturers instructions), and make sure our wiper blades are in good condition. Driving in the rain, especially at night, feels much safer with the greatly improved visibility.
Click to expand...
The reason is why amber and yellow are better for fog lights. The whiter the light is, the more it is going to reflect off of rain, snow, fog, water, etc. The more yellower the light is, the less it reflects back at you. Think driving through a snowstorm and hitting your high beams versus low beams. If you had yellow low beams, you would see further in snow, rain etc.
 
#12 ·
Older said:
The reason is why amber and yellow are better for fog lights. The whiter the light is, the more it is going to reflect off of rain, snow, fog, water, etc. The more yellower the light is, the less it reflects back at you. Think driving through a snowstorm and hitting your high beams versus low beams. If you had yellow low beams, you would see further in snow, rain etc.
Click to expand...
Mfrs have pushed higher-temp LEDs because they can get more lumen output per wattage input. More lumens = more sales. There has been relatively little regard for actual light quality vs the output.

I myself prefer 4500k lights, but they are a little harder to find. I'd definitely take the "pee" yellow 3500k lights over the 6500-7000k lights for all-around light quality. Not as bright, but I'm more impressed by quality than raw output.
 
#13 ·
longboat said:
I myself prefer 4500k lights, but they are a little harder to find. I'd definitely take the "pee" yellow 3500k lights over the 6500-7000k lights for all-around light quality. Not as bright, but I'm more impressed by quality than raw output.
Click to expand...
I would also like a temp closer to 45k, as the more blue light can cause eye strain.
 
#15 ·
Yes - the headlights were revised for the 2021 model year.

www.ridgelineownersclub.com

2021 Ridgeline IIHS headlight ratings

The IIHS has completed testing of the 2021 Ridgeline headlights and found them to be inferior to the 2017-2020 RTL-E/BE design. The 2017-2020 RTL-E/BE with LED low beams had some of the highest rated headlights in the industry. Other trims of the 2017-2020 (RT, RTS, Sport, RTL, RTL-T) had some...
www.ridgelineownersclub.com www.ridgelineownersclub.com
 
#16 ·
I recently found a viable upgrade for the halogen high beams. Auto zone has 18w Sylvania plug and play leds with fans and external driver packs install was easy and cutoff is no different then halogen. I’ll post picks tonight.
 
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
About this Discussion
15 Replies
11 Participants
Last post:
Paydirt
Honda Ridgeline Owners Club Forums
posts
1.4M
members
98K
Since
2004
Honda Ridgeline Owners Club, forum community to discuss reviews, accessories, performance, care, mods, and more.
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Second Generation Ridgeline (2G 2017+) 1G Problems & Issues General Honda Ridgeline Discussions Shoppin' and Test Drivin' 2G Problems, Fixes & TSB's