Upgraded audio in the Black Edition is really good, but not excellent, to my ears and can be very loud while distortion free.

Well said, I fully agree. My BIL has a 2024 BMW X5 hybrid EV and IMO the 2024 BE Ridge sounds better. I do not think he liked it when I told him that...

I prefer a decent distance between vehicles so for me [5k miles so far] the ACC works great. I just wish we also had low speed ACC.

It was snowing when I picked up the 24 Ridge and after livimg at 7,000' elevation with lots of snow and several 4wd trucks, IMO the 24 Ridge is superb in the snow; regular Drive mode. Yesterday I had it on bad dirt roads for the first time and it did great there too; regular Drive mode. I drove a bit extra careful due to no skid plates and low ground clearance, but the Ridge drove like it was on smooth pavement.

The dual-opening tailgate and the trunk turn out to be much more real-world useful than they seemed just testing in the dealers' lots.

My previous Honda miles were in an Element, so I still have lots more to learn about the Ridge. Your comments give me some things to look for. But like you said:

Summary
Overall I am very happy with this truck and like driving it...

Edit: The power folding mirrors of the 24 BE are very useful in tight parking garages. They reduce width by 6".

 

Paint is improved slightly - nicer clear coat depth and gloss. Love the metal flake.

@DE BE May I ask what color you bought? Is your G2 the same color as your G1?

use premium fuel of towing greater than 3500 lbs

Regarding towing with premium gas, I am not claiming to be an expert, but I do not think this is a Ridgeline specific suggestion. That when putting an engine under load, whether it is the Honda V6 or a Ford V8, the engine will run harder and begin to build up heat. Using premium fuel will help avoid predetonation caused by this increased engine temperature. If the knock sensor picks up on signs of predetonation the timing is adjusted and power output reduced when it is most needed for towing. Which in turn might cause the driver to rev the engine higher to get the desired torque/hp. So using premium could be thought of as a bit of insurance to keep the engine/ignition system happy when it will be stressed.

 

@DE BE May I ask what color you bought? Is your G2 the same color as your G1?


Regarding towing with premium gas, I am not claiming to be an expert, but I do not think this is a Ridgeline specific suggestion. That when putting an engine under load, whether it is the Honda V6 or a Ford V8, the engine will run harder and begin to build up heat.

Anyone seeing any signs that the cooling system can't keep up when towing?

 

Thorough review 👍

Using the paddles to down shift, which I use for engine braking in the hilly terrain where I mostly drive, is odd. Truck seems to surge initially as if in neutral before engine braking engages. Using the transmission Sport setting helps a bit with engine braking without using paddles. Much preferred the overdrive off (3rd gear) button on G1 truck.

Yes, the rev-matching through the gears that involve the dog clutches is slower than other down-shifts, and can be disconcerting at first. The number of gears and eagerness of the vehicle to up-shift as quickly as possible to keep revs low, doesn't help. If you're coming from an older 5 or 6-speed auto, you think, ok, I'll downshift once or twice, maybe 3 times on steep (and slow) enough hill. On the 9-speed it's like: left-paddle/left-paddle/left-paddle/...unnerving delay and freewheeling sensation.../left-paddle ... "WHY AM I NOT SLOWING DOWN!?" 😨

 

Auto stop start is almost unnoticeable to me and engine restarts instantly when you release the brake nearly before your foot is back on the accelerator. For those that find it annoying you must manually shut it off after every restart with switch near the transmission controls. Many aftermarket ways to over ride this but seems to me the simplest way is to carefully modulate the brake pedal to keep it from killing the engine.
Summary
Overall I am very happy with this truck and like driving it much more than I thought I would.
Pile on with any corrections, observation, criticism folks ;-).

I've only driven mine about a hundred miles but the truck has a thousand on it. I think I drove it in stop and go traffic and haven't noticed so your observation may be correct about the engine restart. I hit the button when I think about it because I don't like the idea of putting excessive wear on the starter. I hear it may be hard to get to, as in, inside the engine. I know about the bypass devices but I'm not sure I want to go that route.

Anybody piling on with corrections or criticisms of your review should be firmly chastised them dang selves unless it's referencing something technical you misstated. Your observations and opinions are your own. Some may disagree and they're entitled to express their contradictory opinions but not argue your impressions as wrong.

I'm relatively new here but It won't stop me from expressing my opinion.

 

I hit the button when I think about it because I don't like the idea of putting excessive wear on the starter.

The starter on these trucks is designed to accommodate the start/stop function. This function will disable itself when the starter has reached something like 275,000 starts. You could own this vehicle a very long time and never get close to that number.

 

Excellent review. Thanks!

 

dGlad you are enjoying. Picking one up with 4k miles and coming from a 2006, should be a solid upgrade. I did love the g1 style though

 

3,500 miles on my 24 black edition and I pretty much agree with your review. A few more negatives for me:
1. Playing USB music works but it is glitchy and has less features than my 2017 base model F150.
2. The Honda help line seems to get you in contact with people who don't know anything that is not in the owners manual. If you want to do a deep dive into technical questions there is no place to go for help from Honda that actually gets you answers. Shop manuals should be available to the public for a reasonable price.
3. Owners manual says use 87 octane or better. Other Honda documentation says use premium for towing, no one can tell you why or what octane rating they mean by 'premium' or why you wouldn't need higher octane for all heavy throttle operations if you need it for towing.

Overall I like the truck but am very much less than thrilled with the American Honda organization. My take is that what the Japanese did was done well and what the Americans do, not so much.

 

The "high octane for towing" is for the G1 Ridgeline. Do you have any documentation where it is recommended for the G2 Ridgeline? I don't recall seeing anything official for the G2.

 

Great review, mostly agree, especially when it comes to the tranny. There's one thing that might be annoying to first time RL owners:

Auto stop start is almost unnoticeable to me and engine restarts instantly when you release the brake nearly before your foot is back on the accelerator. For those that find it annoying you must manually shut it off after every restart with switch near the transmission controls.

For the first 1K miles, I used to disable the auto start, that after a while had became a routine, as in doing it without really looking. That resulted in accidentally pushing the transmission switch and doing so confused me for a minute or so couple of times. If I recall correctly, the first tranny selection is "Snow", or "Sand" after the "Drive". Initially, pushing the gas, the engine would rev up to a certain RPM and was very slow. The first time it happened to me, in the middle of the summer, it was like what the @#$5 happened to my RL? The second time, I've recovered much fester.

Yes, this has been operator error, not paying much attention while pushing buttons, or dash screen, only reading the manual when really confused, etc. Still, the two buttons next to each other can be error prone, especially with fat-fingers....

 

Thoughtful write up.

Thank you for taking the time to compose and post it.

 

In multiple discussions about this over the past 12 months I have posted a segment from the Honda info center regarding my 2023 Ridgeline.

Later on I'll go back and dig it up and post it here again.

The website was the only place that mentioned this.... It said to use premium fuel of towing greater than 3500 lbs.

There's absolutely nothing in the owner's manual that says anything like this whatsoever.

If someone else wants the putz around the website it was at the Honda info center and had to do with towing and capabilities I think.

 

If someone else wants the putz around the website it was at the Honda info center and had to do with towing and capabilities I think.

This might be it: https://www.hondainfocenter.com/2024/Ridgeline/black-edition#feature-guide

 

Thank you guys for the research..... Here's a screenshot from my phone....
This information is repeated several years back into the past.

 

Intro
Thought I’d post my initial impressions for those considering a purchase. Hard to evaluate any vehicle on a 10 minute test drive at the dealership so maybe I can provide some insight. Feel like I should repay a bit for the great information I have gleaned from this website.

As a point of reference this is my 6th Honda, including a 2013 Generation 1 Ridgeline RTL, and 20th vehicle. I have no desire to go off road in this or any other vehicle preferring to do so with my own two feet.

Price and complexity of this truck and cars in general has increased rapidly. Features that were ONLY available on a luxury cars 10 years ago are standard or available in upper trim packages on this not a high end truck.

While I realize much of what’s expressed here is duplicated throughout this website I hope this summarizes some of that in one spot without having to dive into the 575 page Honda owners manual. Suggest downloading the PDF version of that manual to make searching for answers much easier.

G1 2013 versus G2 2024
New truck is MUCH quieter and smoother riding. Drivetrain and ride are nearly older luxury car levels of refinement based on back to back drives of a Lexus LS460 and this new truck. Looks like some refinement was inherited from the Pilot. Reduced dirt and moisture in door jams plus quieter cruising most likely due to better door seals.

Do NOT like the electronic transmission controls. Laggy, slow and imprecise compared to old analog shifter. The dash indicator for selected gear Park - Drive - Neutral - Reverse seems too small. It does free up some space in the console and one would hope is more reliable. Transmission downshifts even on slight grades as did G1. But with 4 more gears and the truck trying to maximize gas mileage - what one would expect. Certainly smoother & less noticeable than G1.

Honda fixed the “clunk” when closing the rearmost window. Also the very annoying warning that the back window is open is now gone. Pay attention people ;-).

Dimensions inside and out feel identical.

Gas mileage it’s greatly improved averaging 19 mpg (G1) vs 23 (G2) mpg so far. Impressive given the greater hp and torque and nearly same weight. I leave it in ECO Mode & drive gently. It did better on long flat interstate trips; saw 26 mpg over 1,000 miles moderately loaded..

Paint is improved slightly - nicer clear coat depth and gloss. Love the metal flake.

Never liked the Maintenance Minder Honda uses and it seems unchanged for G2. I understand the vehicle algorithms & sensors are a better judge of maintenance requirements than simple time and miles but the interface seems inscrutable and probably steers folks to dealer service. Mostly my not deciphering the codes yet.

I can confirm G1 2013 RTL Honda wheels fit fine on my G2. I saved my old wheels that have snows mounted and the old TPMS sensors worked on one test wheel I mounted. Finding replacements for the old sensors that fit the old wheel AND talk to the new trucks electronics is proving to be challenging.

The hood prop has been improved and no longer unscrews from the hinged end as it did in my G1.

My G1 truck was rusting badly, 99% of which was undercarriage - not surface, so I had rust proofing applied (NH Oil). Hopefully preventing corrosion as this will be our go to vehicle in our New England winter storms & aftermath for 10 plus years.

Likes - Dislikes
Great site lines other than the rear. Would be nice to be able to display rear camera ALL the time not just when in reverse. Lawyers probably not allowing this “distraction”.

New engine has a nice snarl when the VTEC kicks in. Love it and this truck moves if you boot it. 0-60 in 6 seconds is outstanding for a truck with real life MPG like this IMHO.

Using the paddles to down shift, which I use for engine braking in the hilly terrain where I mostly drive, is odd. Truck seems to surge initially as if in neutral before engine braking engages. Using the transmission Sport setting helps a bit with engine braking without using paddles. Much preferred the overdrive off (3rd gear) button on G1 truck.

If meticulously installed, within a 1/32”, the Honda tonneau cover is almost completely water tight. Pay close attention to cover gasket alignment & contact with bed top. Interestingly this cover design is nearly identical to a 8 year old after market Tacoma cover I have seen.

Upgraded audio in the Black Edition is really good, but not excellent, to my ears and can be very loud while distortion free.

Ventilation in seats works well but the fan is noisy on highest setting; even louder than the HVAC. Second row HVAC controls from front console are kinda wonky. Seat heaters are faster to warm than G1.

Remote start will be a useful feature on those cold mornings and the seat and steering wheel heaters stay on upon restart.

Seat comfort is much improved & was great on a 10 hour one stop ride. Not that the G1 truck was uncomfortable. Obviously YMMV.

Tech
Wireless phone charger works flawlessly with iPhone 15 - no case. Working with other various iPhones with and without cases - again YMMV.

Blind spot indicator lights are inboard on mirror trim and small. Difficult for me to see compared to other makers in-mirror versions.

Navigation turn direction & distance to turn instructions show up in main dash screen when using Apple Maps - love it & very useful.

Setting to allow auto zeroing of odometer trip mileage after a complete gas tank fill - nice.

The driving aids are clunky and disappoint. Adaptive cruise control is waaaay too cautious not allowing close enough following distance to be usable in anything but very light traffic. Defeat-able to regular cruise functionality.

Collision avoidance has alerted 5 or 10 times, with no auto braking, occasionally accurately and usually not. Lane keeping does not keep the truck in its lane and hilariously warns of lane departure when IT is steering. Useful if you need both hands off the wheel momentarily for a task when traveling is a straight line. Mildly useful. Easy to turn off & on from button on steering wheel.

As in other cars rear parking sensors freak out with a bike rack attached to the hitch with no way to isolate front-side-rear. All these nannies stay off upon restart - bonus.

After 1.5 million miles of near accident free driving I don’t feel like I need any “assistance”. Realize past performance is no guarantee of future success especially as I age but Honda has work to do here.

Dash screen is rather small but totally adequate. If bigger, as in many competing vehicles, you often lose physical switches. So a smaller screen is good by me.

Honda’s software interface is okay. Completely avoiding Honda’s navigation and phone connectivity. Wireless CarPlay has been 95% quick & seamless. If you use CarPlay or Android Auto you’ll probably only need to access it to change vehicle settings. A bug in iPhone software popped up after an Apple software update that temporarily drops phone connection when responding to a text message. It worked fine the first several weeks - annoying. We’ll see what iOS 18 update brings.

Auto stop start is almost unnoticeable to me and engine restarts instantly when you release the brake nearly before your foot is back on the accelerator. For those that find it annoying you must manually shut it off after every restart with switch near the transmission controls. Many aftermarket ways to over ride this but seems to me the simplest way is to carefully modulate the brake pedal to keep it from killing the engine.

Summary
Overall I am very happy with this truck and like driving it much more than I thought I would.

Pile on with any corrections, observation, criticism folks ;-).

I have a 2022 Black Edition. 23 mpg average with eco off. Mine is worse when on.

Intro
Thought I’d post my initial impressions for those considering a purchase. Hard to evaluate any vehicle on a 10 minute test drive at the dealership so maybe I can provide some insight. Feel like I should repay a bit for the great information I have gleaned from this website.

As a point of reference this is my 6th Honda, including a 2013 Generation 1 Ridgeline RTL, and 20th vehicle. I have no desire to go off road in this or any other vehicle preferring to do so with my own two feet.

Price and complexity of this truck and cars in general has increased rapidly. Features that were ONLY available on a luxury cars 10 years ago are standard or available in upper trim packages on this not a high end truck.

While I realize much of what’s expressed here is duplicated throughout this website I hope this summarizes some of that in one spot without having to dive into the 575 page Honda owners manual. Suggest downloading the PDF version of that manual to make searching for answers much easier.

G1 2013 versus G2 2024
New truck is MUCH quieter and smoother riding. Drivetrain and ride are nearly older luxury car levels of refinement based on back to back drives of a Lexus LS460 and this new truck. Looks like some refinement was inherited from the Pilot. Reduced dirt and moisture in door jams plus quieter cruising most likely due to better door seals.

Do NOT like the electronic transmission controls. Laggy, slow and imprecise compared to old analog shifter. The dash indicator for selected gear Park - Drive - Neutral - Reverse seems too small. It does free up some space in the console and one would hope is more reliable. Transmission downshifts even on slight grades as did G1. But with 4 more gears and the truck trying to maximize gas mileage - what one would expect. Certainly smoother & less noticeable than G1.

Honda fixed the “clunk” when closing the rearmost window. Also the very annoying warning that the back window is open is now gone. Pay attention people ;-).

Dimensions inside and out feel identical.

Gas mileage it’s greatly improved averaging 19 mpg (G1) vs 23 (G2) mpg so far. Impressive given the greater hp and torque and nearly same weight. I leave it in ECO Mode & drive gently. It did better on long flat interstate trips; saw 26 mpg over 1,000 miles moderately loaded..

Paint is improved slightly - nicer clear coat depth and gloss. Love the metal flake.

Never liked the Maintenance Minder Honda uses and it seems unchanged for G2. I understand the vehicle algorithms & sensors are a better judge of maintenance requirements than simple time and miles but the interface seems inscrutable and probably steers folks to dealer service. Mostly my not deciphering the codes yet.

I can confirm G1 2013 RTL Honda wheels fit fine on my G2. I saved my old wheels that have snows mounted and the old TPMS sensors worked on one test wheel I mounted. Finding replacements for the old sensors that fit the old wheel AND talk to the new trucks electronics is proving to be challenging.

The hood prop has been improved and no longer unscrews from the hinged end as it did in my G1.

My G1 truck was rusting badly, 99% of which was undercarriage - not surface, so I had rust proofing applied (NH Oil). Hopefully preventing corrosion as this will be our go to vehicle in our New England winter storms & aftermath for 10 plus years.

Likes - Dislikes
Great site lines other than the rear. Would be nice to be able to display rear camera ALL the time not just when in reverse. Lawyers probably not allowing this “distraction”.

New engine has a nice snarl when the VTEC kicks in. Love it and this truck moves if you boot it. 0-60 in 6 seconds is outstanding for a truck with real life MPG like this IMHO.

Using the paddles to down shift, which I use for engine braking in the hilly terrain where I mostly drive, is odd. Truck seems to surge initially as if in neutral before engine braking engages. Using the transmission Sport setting helps a bit with engine braking without using paddles. Much preferred the overdrive off (3rd gear) button on G1 truck.

If meticulously installed, within a 1/32”, the Honda tonneau cover is almost completely water tight. Pay close attention to cover gasket alignment & contact with bed top. Interestingly this cover design is nearly identical to a 8 year old after market Tacoma cover I have seen.

Upgraded audio in the Black Edition is really good, but not excellent, to my ears and can be very loud while distortion free.

Ventilation in seats works well but the fan is noisy on highest setting; even louder than the HVAC. Second row HVAC controls from front console are kinda wonky. Seat heaters are faster to warm than G1.

Remote start will be a useful feature on those cold mornings and the seat and steering wheel heaters stay on upon restart.

Seat comfort is much improved & was great on a 10 hour one stop ride. Not that the G1 truck was uncomfortable. Obviously YMMV.

Tech
Wireless phone charger works flawlessly with iPhone 15 - no case. Working with other various iPhones with and without cases - again YMMV.

Blind spot indicator lights are inboard on mirror trim and small. Difficult for me to see compared to other makers in-mirror versions.

Navigation turn direction & distance to turn instructions show up in main dash screen when using Apple Maps - love it & very useful.

Setting to allow auto zeroing of odometer trip mileage after a complete gas tank fill - nice.

The driving aids are clunky and disappoint. Adaptive cruise control is waaaay too cautious not allowing close enough following distance to be usable in anything but very light traffic. Defeat-able to regular cruise functionality.

Collision avoidance has alerted 5 or 10 times, with no auto braking, occasionally accurately and usually not. Lane keeping does not keep the truck in its lane and hilariously warns of lane departure when IT is steering. Useful if you need both hands off the wheel momentarily for a task when traveling is a straight line. Mildly useful. Easy to turn off & on from button on steering wheel.

As in other cars rear parking sensors freak out with a bike rack attached to the hitch with no way to isolate front-side-rear. All these nannies stay off upon restart - bonus.

After 1.5 million miles of near accident free driving I don’t feel like I need any “assistance”. Realize past performance is no guarantee of future success especially as I age but Honda has work to do here.

Dash screen is rather small but totally adequate. If bigger, as in many competing vehicles, you often lose physical switches. So a smaller screen is good by me.

Honda’s software interface is okay. Completely avoiding Honda’s navigation and phone connectivity. Wireless CarPlay has been 95% quick & seamless. If you use CarPlay or Android Auto you’ll probably only need to access it to change vehicle settings. A bug in iPhone software popped up after an Apple software update that temporarily drops phone connection when responding to a text message. It worked fine the first several weeks - annoying. We’ll see what iOS 18 update brings.

Auto stop start is almost unnoticeable to me and engine restarts instantly when you release the brake nearly before your foot is back on the accelerator. For those that find it annoying you must manually shut it off after every restart with switch near the transmission controls. Many aftermarket ways to over ride this but seems to me the simplest way is to carefully modulate the brake pedal to keep it from killing the engine.

Summary
Overall I am very happy with this truck and like driving it much more than I thought I would.

Pile on with any corrections, observation, criticism folks ;-).

I literally despise the brake warning. I fear it is going to activate and CAUSE an accident. I live on a curvy 2 lane road and it never fails to "alert" in heavy traffic. I tense the wheel in preparation for any action that may occur. It literally hurts my wrist from tension. Now, I am trying to turn the wheel a bit to the right side if traffic is present in a curve. The dealership checked the alignment and claimed it was accurate. Not a good driving experience Honda. I have been driving 36 years and now have this BS to deal with that I never had before.
And yes, the electronic shift seems very slow. The lag concerns me when there is traffic such as a busy parking lot.
Other than that, the Ridgeline has been great so far on this 30k journey. It rides absolutely perfect imo.

 

I have a 2022 Black Edition. 23 mpg average with eco off. Mine is worse when on.


I literally despise the brake warning. I fear it is going to activate and CAUSE an accident. I live on a curvy 2 lane road and it never fails to "alert" in heavy traffic. I tense the wheel in preparation for any action that may occur. It literally hurts my wrist from tension. Now, I am trying to turn the wheel a bit to the right side if traffic is present in a curve. The dealership checked the alignment and claimed it was accurate. Not a good driving experience Honda. I have been driving 36 years and now have this BS to deal with that I never had before.
And yes, the electronic shift seems very slow. The lag concerns me when there is traffic such as a busy parking lot.
Other than that, the Ridgeline has been great so far on this 30k journey. It rides absolutely perfect imo.

I know this is responding to a comment 3 months old, but FYI I have never observed what you describe in 10k+ miles in my 24 BE. I suggest trying a different dealer's service.