Great to hear you're getting a Pilot, and even better hearing your got $2064 below MSRP!! You'll be happy with it.
Yes, I'll have to check out those guys for seat heaters and a little foam.
Even with all my nit-picking, I really am happy with the Pilot. I realize how great it is after I spend a day driving my Jeep Wrangler. The Jeep is fine for off-road, which is what I use it for, but it's like stepping back in time every time I drive it.
Also, with some more towing under my belt with the Pilot, it seems to do great just leaving it in D (D5). The torque converter does engage/disengage often while it's in 5th gear, but the Grade Logic keeps it from jumping all over the place when it gets hilly. I'm only pulling about 1000lbs, so results may vary.
When you pick up your Pilot, make sure they do their PDI correctly. My dealer missed the plugs underneath (where they tie-down for shipment), tires left at 50psi (32psi is what's called for) and they didn't follow instructions on the tranny and PS coolers and I lost the PS pump on my first drive home. For more PDI info, you can read the Honda instructions over at honda-pilot.org under Problems/TSB's.
At my wife's behest (most things seem to fall into that category) I am currently shopping for a Pilot EX. Looks like many of you have been able to get prices well below the MSRP. I do most of my car shopping via the internet and usually never fail to get a car for near invoice. I know the Pilot is in high demand but the best quote in this area has been $200 below MSRP. Has anyone dealt with a dealer in NC (VA, SC or GA for that matter) that seemed forthright and honest? I would prefer to pick a vehicle up at the dealership and resolve all issues on the spot, thus the out of state delivery scenario I would not be comfortable with. It really needs to be within a few hours drive of Charlotte, NC. I would appreciate any help publicly posted or to my e-mail.
i felt the same way but bottom line is i save 2400 dollars buying out of state. the name of the game is to keep as much money in your pocket not HONDA'S the only thing you have to worry about is if the pilot is flatbeded to your area and it has scratches on it. isn;t 2400 dollars worth it. no dealer in your area will take care of it unless the dealership calls a local dealer in your area to square it away for them. I THINK YOU COULD EVEN TAKE OUT INS. how it works i dont know but the honda dealer i refered to you will explain everthing to you. honda has to service the pilot at your local dealer if there is something wrong. 3 year bumper to bumper it does not matter where you buy the pilot. good luck on your decision
What state are you guys driving in that get 17 - 18 mpg? I drive in So. Calif. and I'm getting on average only 12 mpg! I have tried different things to see if I could raise it - turned off the auto climate control and a/c, drove no faster than 65 on the fwy (any slower is dangerous), made sure not to zip around town. Even on the longer trips - 100 mile freeway drives I didn't do much better. Maybe it needs to have it's settings checked? Any suggestions anyone? I love my Pilot - I've had it for 6 months and have just under 5000 miles on it now but our 3/4 ton Ford truck loaded down with tools isn't much worse than the Pilot.
The only thing I can think of is that could you be leaving the vehicle idling in parking lots while your significant other makes a quick trip into the store? Our pilot seems to really suck up the gas idling more than other vehicles I've had getting 13-15 mpg when I let my kids watch DVD's in the back while me or my wife jump out to run errands, otherwise I get 18-20 mpg all the time in Indiana, 22mpg on long trips.
hi everyone, can you tell me what should be mileage on the odometer, if I buy a new honda pilot. Mine says 189. is it too high for a new vehicle. thank you for your help.
PS. Do you recall what you paid for your towing package? I was able to get for $750 installed, which still seems like a lot. What could they possible mess up when installing the PS cooler?
Most new cars can be delivered for under 10 miles on the odometer. Much more than this and the car has probably been used for test drives. 200 miles is a lot of test drives (and many of these drivers were surely looking to "see what she can do"), so I'd be looking for a $1K discount to cover the test drive wear and tear, althought many buyers won't pay much attention to it.
PDI = pre-delivery inspection. It is just a misc charge the dealer tacks on (like AMV = adjusted market value) to increase their profit. Everything is negotiable, but the Pilot is very popular, so many are paying over MSRP.
I test drove the Pilot a few days ago for the first time and noticed a lot of road noise on the highway. The vehicle is fairly quiet at low speed around town, however.
I've been tempting to trade in my Subaru 2001 Outback for the Pilot sometime later this year but now I'm not so sure. It's actually louder than my Outback which is not the quietest car around. The higway I took the Pilot to was the same one I use everyday so I'm quite familiar with it. The salesman told me he can spray some "noise insulator" on the bottom of the vehicle to lower the noise level by 3 decibel but I had strong doubt about his claim.
I may have to give the Highlander a test drive next week.
I just bought a Pilot after several hours of test drives. I think the noise you are talking about is tire noise on tar strips (perhaps?). That is the most obvious noise I noticed. It was noiser that Toyota 4Runner, but don't recall the Highlander. I think Honda could have chosen better tires (what brand did your test vehicle have on -- they use Goodyears and Bridgestones to my knowlege). I did not note much body or wind noise however, seemed quiet on those counts to me.
Yes, as markjenn mentioned, it's the Pre-Delivery Inspection, which I feel some dealerships and/or technicians do not take seriously. Some simply do the bare minimum, cosmetic items. Honda published an addendum to their normal PDI check list for Pilots, which my dealer didn't follow. The plugs, are frame plugs (I know, it's not a frame, but looks like the frame) used to plug up tie-down holes used during shipping. If these holes aren't plugged, you can get water, chems, salt, sand, etc. accumulating in this structural member.
The tires are over-inflated to 50 psi for shipping and storage purposes (keeps them from getting out of round), which I didn't catch until 1500 miles later... sure softened the ride went I let them down to 32psi.
The power steering cooler had two problems. One, they didn't top-off the reservoir with fluid to make up for the extra capacity. And two, they didn't get all the hose clamps tight and had a slight leak. Once the reservoir went dry, the pump started squealing and howling - not to mention the steering started to get heavy.
The general manager finally told me that they had let a tech, with no certifications, do the PDI and tow package, and that he shouldn't have been attempting either of these things.
As far as price, I can't give you an accurate price since it was part of the negotiated price. It seemed like they listed it around $1200 and I got a few hundred off. Hindsight being what it is, I should have done it my self.
I did go back for my first oil change, since it was free, but there's no way I'll give them any future business.
Does any one have any experience in buying a new pilot from a dealer, pilot having been test driven previously for about 100 miles. Should the dealer disclose this information before the sale. If the dealer doesnt disclose the information and a contract is signed is the contract then void, because the dealer withheld information. Should the dealer give back the 500 dollars deposit that he took before the deal.thanks for the help in advance.
189 miles isn't a bad thing, i wouldn't purchase one with more than 500 miles on it as a brand new car. I think that once you get up to 300 miles already on it, then you can ask for maybe a dollar discount per mile, but as for your 189, maybe 40 of that is test drive miles, and more than likely the rest is from a dealer trade, which is hwy miles driven by A+ drivers. Most new cars are traded a couple of times between dealers in search for specific cars that other buyers are wanting that aren't on the lot at that time. Hope i helped!
I don't believe there is any hard and fast rule for what is acceptable mileage on a car before purchase. I heard legally that it can be up to several thousand, so I don't think you have any legal recourse. If I'm buying a car and the car is not on the lot, I always discuss with the sales person that if they are getting a car from another dealer, then they should find out from the other dealer how many miles it will have. If the car is coming off the truck, then I expect that it will only have nominal mileage. I add this to the sales contract.
Many states do not allow dealers to keep deposits if the buyer doesn't accept delivery. As well, most dealers don't want to get into a legal issue with a potential buyer.
If you test drove a car with 100 miles, signed a contract, etc. then I don't see you have any beef. If you agreed to have them find you a car and they found one with 100 miles, I'd simply tell them you'd like to wait for another car with lower miles.
You should be able to work out some sort of compromise. This is not an issue I'd got to the matt about. While I'd prefer a car with <10 miles, if the rest of the deal seemed Ok, and I didn't make my expectations clear in the negotiation, I'd probably just accept the car with 100 miles.
I can confirm that the road noise is at the high side, I have the 1st shipment of Pilot, now has 13000 Km (Canada, Toronto). I also tell my wife this is the nosiest car we ever have, may be normal for a SUV. I was hoping in changing into the snow tire of Michelin Alpin 4X4 will be better with the soft compound, but not. The road noise is rougly the same, if not a tag rougher as normal with snow tire. The thunk sound that the Pilot go over each and every joint/crack of the road is muted a little bit better because of the soft compound. So I really do not know what makes the different in term of the noise level, which is better in the MDX. Only thing people notice is MDX has padding under the hood, which Pilot does not have.
My Pilot came with Bridgestones and it is very quiet on the road. What kind of Original Equipment tires do you have? Went from a QX4 to the Pilot and the Pilot has less road noise and engine roar than the QX4. If you want to talk about road noise, take a ride in my 2001 Accord, now that is a good car, but it is noisy.
Have read your posts about getting a Pilot for $2000 - 2500 under MRSP with great interest. Can you please tell me the dealer(s) you went thru? I don't have a problem using an out of state dealer, especially if they are familiar with these types of transactions. I see references that these dealers are in Ohio and Michigan; I make frequent trips to Buffalo, so picking up a Pilot in Ohio wouldn't be out of the question. I live in Massachusetts, where MRSP seems to be the norm. I am interested in an EX or EX-L, and at that price may be able to sway my wife into the EX-L with DVD. Thanks.
can any body in this forum tell me what would be the best rated tire to put on the honda pilot.i would assume they are being del. with bridgestones. i see alot of posting with road noise from the tires. thanks to all who respond.
Pilot is noisier than premium brand SUVs, ie MDX, RX300, etc. But it should not be noisier than your Outback on highway. Was the noise you heard road noise or wind noise? If it's road noise, have you checked tire pressure of the Pilot you drove? Over-inflated tires tend to be noisier and bumpier, but more fuel efficient. If it's wind noise, did you notice DIOed crossbar on roof rails? Adding this option, especially if installed poorly, will add a lot of wind noise.
Besides these, I'm not sure what/where the problem is.
01r1, Would you please let us know where the "frame plugs" are? I'm taking my delivery in a few days. I would really like to give it a thorough inspection before I take delivery, given the built day for my Pilot is between December 31st and January 5th. Thanks in advance.
The holes for that need to be fitted with body plugs are just in front of the rear wheels, near the brake line support. You have to stick your head under the vehicle a little bit to see these holes. There are two per side. Some new owners found these rubber plugs in their "not an ashtray" and others, like me, had none.
Check this link to the TSB, look on page two, they've got a great diagram!
I don't know what kind of tires the Pilot I drove were equipped with, all I know was that the vehicle had quite a bit of road noise. I don't believe it was the wind noise, it was clearly the rumbling sound of road noise.
I'm just disappointed because I've been looking at this vehicle as my next possible purchase and really wish it could be a bit quieter. As I remember after the first year or two, Honda did put more sound deadening material on the MDX due to complaints from owners. Just hope that they may do the same to the Pilot.
Please, I'm not putting the Pilot down. Like I said in the original post, the Pilot is pretty quiet around town, at low speed. But on highway, I still think my Outback is a bit less noisy, subjectively.
No offense taken. Like I said, my Pilot has less road noise than the Infiniti QX4 I had before it. I am not easy to please and I was pleasantly surprised at how quite my Pilot is on the highway. I have the cloth interior, could that make a difference? The cloth feels very thick, maybe it absorbs noise more than leather?
Just took delivery and had to comment on a few things.
Does anyone notice that the radiator is quite exposed? The bumper seems to cover the upper portion but there is still a lot of area that could be vulnerable to rocks and road debris. I almost think I am missing something on mine. Have to check some other Pilots.
The road noise (not wind) was more than I wished but seemed less than comparable non-luxury SUV's. The only model I found quieter was the Lexus RX300. I drove an early production MDX and it had MUCH more wind noise than current Pilots. I believe one of the solutions was installing thicker glass. Something that doesn't seem possible in the Pilot price point.
after four honda I could not take the road noise thing any more. It also gets worse as the cars age. New tires of course help, but marginally.
Those cars were excellent to our family and served well. They held their value nice and have no complaints. I would still be driving a honda or acura product except for one thins. Road Noise.
I think the MDX uses skinny tires to reduce the noise.
Im not saying Hondas need to be buicks, but they could do better and they are losing sales because of it.
The best one we had: That first Odyssey was a great tight little van. A little underpowered it was. Noisy, Yes. Perhaps a killer stereo would have helped, but with babies who could crank it?
each dealer normally only keeps 1 pilot in stock for demo purposes. we have 1 with 1200 miles, and as soon as we get another unsold pilot in stock, this one will go up for sale. almost all of the miles are test-drive miles, but i cant speak for other dealers.
if these extra miles are really that much of an issue, order one. but as we are all impatient beings, we want it NOW! so deal with your decision, move on, and enjoy your pilot.
I just picked up my Pilot EX and am very pleased with its ride. I feel that, dollar for dollar, it is the best value out there and I did my homework.
One thing I noticed when I stop the car is that I can easily hear the liquid in the gas tank settling with a 'glug, glug' type noise. Has anyone else noticed this? Does it seem to happen when the tank is full or due to insufficient insulation? Ive heard this in other cars but not nearly as audibly. Id appreciate any helpful comments. Thanks.
My point was the QX4 is supposedly a "premium" SUV and the Pilot has less road noise. I didn't like the QX4 for a number of reasons other than road noise and sold it to get the Pilot. Believe it or not, the resale value on the QX4 was worse than the road noise. I find the Pilot to be relatively quiet and feel it provides an overall nice driving experience.
I live in Chicago and have been getting 12 mpg in the city and 22 on the highway. I have 6000 miles on it. When I took it in for its first oil change the Honda technician told me if there was something wrong it would show up with warning lights on the dashboard.
His "explanations" were the gas in the winter which is not as good or that we were running the climate control on auto which puts on the AC. I have tried to put it into manual but as far as I can see I just see AC on or nothing, so I don't know if the AC is off or not.
I have kids and do some idling when we are running errands. But it is a mystery to me right now why our city mileage is so poor.
Has anyone had heated seats added to their Pilot EX-L. I was amazed that the dealer said that they were not an option. How can this be if they're offered in the MDX? Aside from the obvious luxury status differnce, when did the heated seat option for leather become a luxury anyway.
...I think next to the Manual button on the EX Climate control system is button labeled A/C...that should toggle the AC On/Off. I think it works in all modes (you will see in the climate control display that a field appears with the AC status after you toggle the button)
Dealer also told me the Day time running light and Twilight sensor are not available in the US. However, it is standard in the Canada. Does anyone have info on the OEM parts or where can I have this option install? I live in Michigan, 30 miles away from Windsor, Canada. Thanks in advance for your input.
The system automatically turns on the headlights as it gets dark and then turns them off when it gets light. Definitely not available in the US. Is it in Canada?
Our Pilot came with Bridgestone all-seasons and was very quiet on the road and drove quite smoothly. We ordered an extra set of wheels with Michelin snow tires over the internet and upon mounting them have found that the road noise has increased a bit and the ride is not quite as smooth. However, with the icy conditions and heavy snow we have here, the snow tires are an extra insurance and well worth a little road noise to me. Besides, even in VT, winter can't last forever -- spring will eventually come and I can put the quiet, smooth Bridgestone all-season tires back on!
Bowke28, I live in Shelby Twp, by Lakeside Mall. I checked with Windsor Honda, and the DIO is 40% higher than U.S.(Side Steps, Backup Camera etc.) I'll check with them again for the price on Day time running light. Docevil, Does the Pilot turn the light on automatically at night? Thanks
The Gas sloshing noise is one of the little nuisences Pilot owners need to get used to.
The headlights do have an auto off feature not auto on/off. If you leave them on and shut off the car they will shut off after a delay and turn back on when you re-unlock the vehicle the next time. There is no light sensor.
The impact of even "a little idling" can be enormous. One way to judge this impact on city driving/errand running is to look at a trip computer, trip odometer or even a portable GPS.
Suppose you are driving on streets with speeds of about 30-35 mph. If you are traveling 10 miles and it takes you 30 minutes of engine runtime your AVERAGE speed drops by over a THIRD to 20 mph! Worse, you had to ACCELERATE many times to get up to 35 mph. Acceleration is bad for your fuel aconomy, but AT LEAST that increases your rate of covering miles. Idling ONLY uses fuel and gets you a big ZERO in the miles side of the MILES (divide by) gallons equation!
I'm seriously considering getting a Pilot or some other "Car Based" SUV, to replace my (loaded) 98 Ram Sport. Don't drive the Ram much, as it has not yet turned 20K. About the heaviest thing I'm likely to tow is the boat at about 2800# total weight. Need the space for people and Dogs, more than the "Coolness" of the Ram.
I've driven the Pilot,Highlander,Murano,and Tribute. I can get the AWD Tribute with an X-Plan for about $23000, with "0" down and "0" interest. Looks like the Pilot is going to be about 10K more, plus interest. Of the above vehicles, I preferred the Pilot.
Has anyone done towing with their Pilot?
What kind of everyday, real world gas mileage are you folks getting from your Pilots. What kind of driving do you do. City, Highway, lead foot, conservative, speed limit, super fast, load weights.
I'd be very concerned about towing a 2800-lb boat with a Tribute. I think a Pilot/Highlander class SUV is about the lowest rung you want to be towing this sort of weight.
Comments
Great to hear you're getting a Pilot, and even better hearing your got $2064 below MSRP!! You'll be happy with it.
Yes, I'll have to check out those guys for seat heaters and a little foam.
Even with all my nit-picking, I really am happy with the Pilot. I realize how great it is after I spend a day driving my Jeep Wrangler. The Jeep is fine for off-road, which is what I use it for, but it's like stepping back in time every time I drive it.
Also, with some more towing under my belt with the Pilot, it seems to do great just leaving it in D (D5). The torque converter does engage/disengage often while it's in 5th gear, but the Grade Logic keeps it from jumping all over the place when it gets hilly. I'm only pulling about 1000lbs, so results may vary.
When you pick up your Pilot, make sure they do their PDI correctly. My dealer missed the plugs underneath (where they tie-down for shipment), tires left at 50psi (32psi is what's called for) and they didn't follow instructions on the tranny and PS coolers and I lost the PS pump on my first drive home. For more PDI info, you can read the Honda instructions over at honda-pilot.org under Problems/TSB's.
Have Fun!
-Pete
23 Telluride SX-P X-Line, 23 Camry XSE
can you tell me what should be mileage on the odometer, if I buy a new honda pilot. Mine says 189. is it too high for a new vehicle.
thank you for your help.
Thanks for the advice (buy the way, what does PDI stand for?). And what plugs are you speaking of?
Thanks,
Mike
PS. Do you recall what you paid for your towing package? I was able to get for $750 installed, which still seems like a lot. What could they possible mess up when installing the PS cooler?
Mike
PDI = pre-delivery inspection. It is just a misc charge the dealer tacks on (like AMV = adjusted market value) to increase their profit. Everything is negotiable, but the Pilot is very popular, so many are paying over MSRP.
- Mark
I've been tempting to trade in my Subaru 2001 Outback for the Pilot sometime later this year but now I'm not so sure. It's actually louder than my Outback which is not the quietest car around. The higway I took the Pilot to was the same one I use everyday so I'm quite familiar with it. The salesman told me he can spray some "noise insulator" on the bottom of the vehicle to lower the noise level by 3 decibel but I had strong doubt about his claim.
I may have to give the Highlander a test drive next week.
Thanks
Mike
Yes, as markjenn mentioned, it's the Pre-Delivery Inspection, which I feel some dealerships and/or technicians do not take seriously. Some simply do the bare minimum, cosmetic items. Honda published an addendum to their normal PDI check list for Pilots, which my dealer didn't follow. The plugs, are frame plugs (I know, it's not a frame, but looks like the frame) used to plug up tie-down holes used during shipping. If these holes aren't plugged, you can get water, chems, salt, sand, etc. accumulating in this structural member.
The tires are over-inflated to 50 psi for shipping and storage purposes (keeps them from getting out of round), which I didn't catch until 1500 miles later... sure softened the ride went I let them down to 32psi.
The power steering cooler had two problems. One, they didn't top-off the reservoir with fluid to make up for the extra capacity. And two, they didn't get all the hose clamps tight and had a slight leak. Once the reservoir went dry, the pump started squealing and howling - not to mention the steering started to get heavy.
The general manager finally told me that they had let a tech, with no certifications, do the PDI and tow package, and that he shouldn't have been attempting either of these things.
As far as price, I can't give you an accurate price since it was part of the negotiated price. It seemed like they listed it around $1200 and I got a few hundred off. Hindsight being what it is, I should have done it my self.
I did go back for my first oil change, since it was free, but there's no way I'll give them any future business.
-Pete
189 miles isn't a bad thing, i wouldn't purchase one with more than 500 miles on it as a brand new car. I think that once you get up to 300 miles already on it, then you can ask for maybe a dollar discount per mile, but as for your 189, maybe 40 of that is test drive miles, and more than likely the rest is from a dealer trade, which is hwy miles driven by A+ drivers. Most new cars are traded a couple of times between dealers in search for specific cars that other buyers are wanting that aren't on the lot at that time. Hope i helped!
Many states do not allow dealers to keep deposits if the buyer doesn't accept delivery. As well, most dealers don't want to get into a legal issue with a potential buyer.
If you test drove a car with 100 miles, signed a contract, etc. then I don't see you have any beef. If you agreed to have them find you a car and they found one with 100 miles, I'd simply tell them you'd like to wait for another car with lower miles.
You should be able to work out some sort of compromise. This is not an issue I'd got to the matt about. While I'd prefer a car with <10 miles, if the rest of the deal seemed Ok, and I didn't make my expectations clear in the negotiation, I'd probably just accept the car with 100 miles.
- Mark
I also tell my wife this is the nosiest car we ever have, may be normal for a SUV.
I was hoping in changing into the snow tire of Michelin Alpin 4X4 will be better with the soft compound, but not. The road noise is rougly the same, if not a tag rougher as normal with snow tire.
The thunk sound that the Pilot go over each and every joint/crack of the road is muted a little bit better because of the soft compound.
So I really do not know what makes the different in term of the noise level, which is better in the MDX. Only thing people notice is MDX has padding under the hood, which Pilot does not have.
23 Telluride SX-P X-Line, 23 Camry XSE
Pilot is noisier than premium brand SUVs, ie MDX, RX300, etc. But it should not be noisier than your Outback on highway. Was the noise you heard road noise or wind noise? If it's road noise, have you checked tire pressure of the Pilot you drove? Over-inflated tires tend to be noisier and bumpier, but more fuel efficient. If it's wind noise, did you notice DIOed crossbar on roof rails? Adding this option, especially if installed poorly, will add a lot of wind noise.
Besides these, I'm not sure what/where the problem is.
Would you please let us know where the "frame plugs" are? I'm taking my delivery in a few days. I would really like to give it a thorough inspection before I take delivery, given the built day for my Pilot is between December 31st and January 5th. Thanks in advance.
Check this link to the TSB, look on page two, they've got a great diagram!
http://www.honda-pilot.org/images/2.pdf
-Pete
I don't know what kind of tires the Pilot I drove were equipped with, all I know was that the vehicle had quite a bit of road noise. I don't believe it was the wind noise, it was clearly the rumbling sound of road noise.
I'm just disappointed because I've been looking at this vehicle as my next possible purchase and really wish it could be a bit quieter. As I remember after the first year or two, Honda did put more sound deadening material on the MDX due to complaints from owners. Just hope that they may do the same to the Pilot.
Please, I'm not putting the Pilot down. Like I said in the original post, the Pilot is pretty quiet around town, at low speed. But on highway, I still think my Outback is a bit less noisy, subjectively.
No offense taken. Like I said, my Pilot has less road noise than the Infiniti QX4 I had before it. I am not easy to please and I was pleasantly surprised at how quite my Pilot is on the highway. I have the cloth interior, could that make a difference? The cloth feels very thick, maybe it absorbs noise more than leather?
Does anyone notice that the radiator is quite exposed? The bumper seems to cover the upper portion but there is still a lot of area that could be vulnerable to rocks and road debris. I almost think I am missing something on mine. Have to check some other Pilots.
The road noise (not wind) was more than I wished but seemed less than comparable non-luxury SUV's. The only model I found quieter was the Lexus RX300. I drove an early production MDX and it had MUCH more wind noise than current Pilots. I believe one of the solutions was installing thicker glass. Something that doesn't seem possible in the Pilot price point.
Those cars were excellent to our family and served well. They held their value nice and have no complaints. I would still be driving a honda or acura product except for one thins. Road Noise.
I think the MDX uses skinny tires to reduce the noise.
Im not saying Hondas need to be buicks, but they could do better and they are losing sales because of it.
The best one we had: That first Odyssey was a great tight little van. A little underpowered it was. Noisy, Yes. Perhaps a killer stereo would have helped, but with babies who could crank it?
if these extra miles are really that much of an issue, order one. but as we are all impatient beings, we want it NOW! so deal with your decision, move on, and enjoy your pilot.
The first time I rode in it, I couldn't believe how much road noise there was!
Saying that the Pilot is quieter isn't saying much.
One thing I noticed when I stop the car is that I can easily hear the liquid in the gas tank settling with a 'glug, glug' type noise. Has anyone else noticed this? Does it seem to happen when the tank is full or due to insufficient insulation? Ive heard this in other cars but not nearly as audibly. Id appreciate any helpful comments. Thanks.
His "explanations" were the gas in the winter which is not as good or that we were running the climate control on auto which puts on the AC. I have tried to put it into manual but as far as I can see I just see AC on or nothing, so I don't know if the AC is off or not.
I have kids and do some idling when we are running errands. But it is a mystery to me right now why our city mileage is so poor.
Steve, Host
BTW...im orig. from lake orion...anywhere close to you?
I live in Shelby Twp, by Lakeside Mall. I checked with Windsor Honda, and the DIO is 40% higher than U.S.(Side Steps, Backup Camera etc.) I'll check with them again for the price on Day time running light.
Docevil,
Does the Pilot turn the light on automatically at night? Thanks
The headlights do have an auto off feature not auto on/off. If you leave them on and shut off the car they will shut off after a delay and turn back on when you re-unlock the vehicle the next time. There is no light sensor.
Suppose you are driving on streets with speeds of about 30-35 mph. If you are traveling 10 miles and it takes you 30 minutes of engine runtime your AVERAGE speed drops by over a THIRD to 20 mph! Worse, you had to ACCELERATE many times to get up to 35 mph. Acceleration is bad for your fuel aconomy, but AT LEAST that increases your rate of covering miles. Idling ONLY uses fuel and gets you a big ZERO in the miles side of the MILES (divide by) gallons equation!
I've driven the Pilot,Highlander,Murano,and Tribute. I can get the AWD Tribute with an X-Plan for about $23000, with "0" down and "0" interest. Looks like the Pilot is going to be about 10K more, plus interest. Of the above vehicles, I preferred the Pilot.
Has anyone done towing with their Pilot?
What kind of everyday, real world gas mileage are you folks getting from your Pilots. What kind of driving do you do. City, Highway, lead foot, conservative, speed limit, super fast, load weights.
Any and all advice and info is appreciated!
Thanks,
kipk
- Mark
peter78 "Honda Pilot Towing" Jun 24, 2002 7:37am