Honda Ridgeline D4 Button: What It Does and When to Use It

On Ridgeline model years equipped with a D4 button, D4 is a transmission gear-range control—not a four-wheel-drive selector and not a manual four-gear mode. Honda’s 2019 Ridgeline Quick Guide says to press the D4 button while the shift lever is in Drive and identifies it for use when going up or down hills.

What D4 does

D4 changes the automatic transmission’s available operating range while the selector remains in Drive. In practice, it keeps the transmission from using its highest cruising gear so the vehicle can hold a lower range when extra engine braking or less frequent upshifting is useful.

Honda’s own quick guide summarizes the use case simply: D4 is used when going up or down hills.

D4 is not a 4WD button

D4 is not four-wheel drive, 4WD Lock, 4WD Low or 4WD High. The Ridgeline’s traction and AWD systems use separate controls and vary by generation.

Later Ridgelines, for example, use Intelligent Traction Management for Normal, Snow, Mud and Sand conditions. That system is separate from D4.

Can you select individual gears with D4?

No. Pressing D4 does not turn the automatic transmission into a manual four-speed gearbox, and repeatedly pressing the button does not step through first, second, third and fourth gear.

When D4 can be useful

• Long or steep climbs where the transmission would otherwise hunt between gears
• Descents where additional engine braking is useful
• Situations described in the owner’s manual for the exact model year

Do all Ridgelines have a D4 button?

No. Ridgeline transmissions and controls changed over time. Honda’s 2019 Quick Guide documents D4 on that six-speed-automatic generation, while 2020 and newer Ridgelines moved to a 9-speed automatic with different shift-by-wire and paddle-shifter controls.

Related: Ridgeline ECON mode and Ridgeline AWD vs 4WD.

Sources

• Honda — 2019 Ridgeline Quick Guide
• Honda Information Center — Intelligent Traction Management