I own a 2022 Ridgeline, and living in a fairly hilly area myself, I can tell you that it loses speed on hills - probably as much as 5 to 10 mph. Best to take one for a test drive and try it for yourself.

 

Almost any cruise control function I can recall has a "lag" in response and doesn't hold that precisely in varying terrain - never seen one as much as +/- 10 mph though..

 

My solution for the hill speed loss in cruise control is to either use the paddle shifter and drop one or two gears before the start of the hill or press the accelarator pedal at the start of the hill until the cruise control catches up.

 

The 2017 Ridgeline I owned had perhaps the worst cruise control I have ever owned. It did not lose 5-10 mph, but maybe 4-5 mph. Of course, this all depends on the steepness of the hils and the load on the truck. The RL cruise control was worst when towing a trailer.

Just yesterday I was thinking about my old Honda cruise, as I was driving a gasoline powered motorhome towing a trailer through the Appalachians. The combined weight of my rig was around 16,000 pounds. The Ford cruise control accurately held speed up the hills with a lag of at most 2 mph.

I have a Dodge minivan with the same horsepower as the Ridgeline. The Dodge cruise control holds the speed extremely well towing the same trailer as I’d towed with the Ridgeline.

For the OP I can only suggest you take a test drive in a Ridgeline under the conditions you expect to drive.

 

My solution for the hill speed loss in cruise control is to either use the paddle shifter and drop one or two gears before the start of the hill or press the accelarator pedal at the start of the hill until the cruise control catches up.

This works for my 2021. All vehicles that I have driven have this same problem. The paddle shifter is a nice feature.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'll try to test the cruise before we buy as suggested by you. Using the paddle shifter is a great tip.

 

Our 2019 Ram CC held speed perfectly, uphill or downhill. Even in tow mode with an RV. Modern vehicles have radar for speed sensing and there is really no excuse for them not holding speed on a hill, going up or down. Sad to learn that the Ridgeline does not. Also have come to realize that where the Ram would set CC at lower speeds, the 2023 Ridgeline is still limited to 25 mph, min, like an older vehicle. I feel CC is particularly important where speed limits are very low because without it your attention has to go to controlling speed, rather than watching the surroundings. The saving grace of the Ridgeline is that it has good and easy throttle control, so a 15 mph speed limit is less of a problem than it would be in the Ram.

Using the paddle shifter sounds like the work around.

 

Quote:"
The 2017 Ridgeline I owned had perhaps the worst cruise control I have ever owned. It did not lose 5-10 mph, but maybe 4-5 mph. Of course, this all depends on the steepness of the hils and the load on the truck. The RL cruise control was worst when towing a trailer."

Ditto. ALL my Hondas and Acuras held their speed up and down hills better than the 2017 RL. I've had 2 year olds hold things better.

 

Sounds like it will be better than my wife's Kona at least. I was hoping it would be closer to my Genesis but I can probably live with it.

 

My 23 varies about 4 mph on really large hills. What I hate is going down a large hill where you could coast and save some gas, it keeps slowing you down. I realize it supposed to do this, but I simply shut mine off on hills.

 

I've had several Hondas. None hold the speed well when going up hills.

 

As mentioned above, if you paddle shift to a lower gear the cruise control holds within a few MPH. At least that’s my experience in my ‘21.
For what it’s worth, I’ve manually downshifted most of the vehicles I’ve owned over the last 40 years, when climbing hills.
At least those which could reasonably be.

In my mind it’s always been a part of being a “mechanically sympathetic” driver and understanding what helps your vehicle work best, with least stress, heat buildup, etc.

Now my wife wouldn’t/doesn’t do that and so I understand why the OP was asking about the Ridgeline’s ability to obey instructions.

 

Now my wife wouldn’t/doesn’t do that and so I understand why the OP was asking about the Ridgeline’s ability to obey instructions.

You understand why I was questioning this. I tried to get my wife to do this in her car but she thought it was "stupid" and would rather let it gradually lose speed on hills. Maybe with the paddle shifter she'll be able to do it.

 

Had that problem with my Grand Cherokee.. sometimes, it was so bogged down in the (California) hills, I had to stay in the right-hand, slow lane. My Ridgeline, however, whenever I have traveled across states, has never had any problem maintaining the set speed. Cruise control systems, typically, will not accelerate up to set speed until the PID - Proportional Integral Derivative system, detects an error or difference between set speed and vehicle (actual) speed, of about 10mph.

 

When I am on the Hwy on a 8 hour trip and using the "cruise" control I just leave it and let it cruise.

When I want to do that 8 hour trip in 5 hours I just stay on top of the gas pedal.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I'm looking at buying a RTL-E in the next week or so. Sounds like cruise should not be the issue it is with her car.

 

After reading the comments above mine,

Our 2019 Ram CC held speed perfectly, uphill or downhill. Even in tow mode with an RV. Modern vehicles have radar for speed sensing and there is really no excuse for them not holding speed on a hill, going up or down. Sad to learn that the Ridgeline does not. Also have come to realize that where the Ram would set CC at lower speeds, the 2023 Ridgeline is still limited to 25 mph, min, like an older vehicle. I feel CC is particularly important where speed limits are very low because without it your attention has to go to controlling speed, rather than watching the surroundings. The saving grace of the Ridgeline is that it has good and easy throttle control, so a 15 mph speed limit is less of a problem than it would be in the Ram.

Using the paddle shifter sounds like the work around.

I had concluded that the Ridgeline wasn't doing a good job of this. I had only driven our's a few miles at the time. Today I had to return to the dealer because they gave us a wrong key fob, and that involved some hilly highway driving. I paid particular attention to the cc. The worst case I observed was -3 mph, and that was on entry to a steep hill (climb). The system rapidly, smoothly and unobtrusively downshifted (can see rpm increase) and quickly regained set speed for the climb. I'm very pleased with this implementation.

Actually, very pleased with the vehicle overall.

 

2019 has horrible ACC
Can anybody comment if it improved with the introduction of the new transmission

 

Purchased ours about 3 weeks ago. Testing the cruise on the highway I've been happy so far. It manages to hold speed on hills fairly well. I did have trouble with the LKA on one trip. I believe this to be caused by driving into the setting sun and the lines being poorly painted on the road. It's been adequate at keep pace with the vehicle in front while using ACC. I haven't had the sudden braking that some have reported when encountering traffic on curves. Overall very happy with our purchase.

 

My truck with the ACC turned off holds the speed really well. Around +/- 1mph, but the downside is no auto braking, you have to watch what you are doing a little more.

 

Cruise control on the RL is honestly one of its worst features. Like any other vehicle purchase, go test drive it for yourself. All the reading and research won’t make up for it.

 

2019 RTL without any nannies. We use our cruise control every trip, especially while towing, where it downshifts proficiently going up, and provides reliable braking going down. Overall it helps in making for a relaxing comfortable drive and we have no complaints.
Added note where we live in western Montana. In other words, more ups and downs than flats.
Bill

 

The Ridgeline doesn't lose speed on hills unless it is put into economy mode, then it may lose 2-3 mph. This mode is preferred for interstate driving to keep the transmission from downshifting and improving gas mileage - Honda Owner Manual. However, if you want to maintain speed just leave it in drive w/o economy and bingo!

 

I can tell you that it loses speed on hills - probably as much as 5 to 10 mph. Best to take one for a test drive and try it for yourself.

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Mine doesn't lose any more than 2MPH with the eco on. Something must be wrong with your truck, go see a dealer.

 

The cruise control and the inability to hold a constant speed on any sort of hilly terrain is one of my pet peeves. It seems to be okay-enough on the interstate, but around home in NE TN where flat road does not exist, the cruise control STINKS!!