Honda Pilot Accessories and Modifications

cj7

I would like to put on some 18 x 8 rims with 255/55/18 tires on my 2006 2wd pilot and want to know if these wheels would stick out of the front fender. Has anyone put this combination on theirs? If so would you please let me know. Pictures would be great.

jwcosta

Hi. I have a 2005 Pilot and want to tow four bikes. I would like to get a trailer hitch installed, but the Honday towing package costs upward of $600 and I think it's overkill just for bikes. I don't plan on towing trailers or boats,etc. If I get a generic hitch installed, will this negate or affect my Honda warranty in any way? Anyone else done this or have any experiences to share? Thanks.

ty2005

This is just a selector switch so that can switch from listening to XM radio or an auxiliary devices like MP3 player or an i-pod. It's the same thing as your FM/AM button. It allows you to choose AM radio or FM radio.

cjo87

I've got a 2003 EX with the factory roof rack and crossbars. Does anyone know if the 150 lb limit is because of the crossbars or the rails? The factory rack has been fine so far, but I'm considering putting on my Yakima crossbars for when I want to carry pressure treated lumber and other heavy items. The tubes should be stronger than the crossbars, but I don't want to over-stress the rails (will attach the Yakima bars to the rails with their clamp system).

ac2for2

Go here http://www.hondapartsdeals.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_136_139&products_id=103, find the back trey you are requesting.. I have just purchased an 06 EX-L with Navi and will be getting this as well. Hope this helps.

RO

cjo87

Agree. I have this tray for my '03 Pilot and am very happy with it. The material is pliable enough to leave it in place and just bend it over itself when using the third row - leaves a smaller tray in place and provides a makeshift cover for whatever you can still fit back there (wet boots, etc, go back there all the time).

ac2for2

Here it is again, even cheaper... https://halcyon.webair.com/chesrownhonda/product_info.php/cPath/27_92_95/products_id/577

RO

hkeiner

I understand that an AUX button would normally have the function you described (switching between AUX and another mode). I am just not confident that the existence of an AUX button on the face of the audio unit in a Pilot EXL means that there is actually an available AUX plug on the back of the unit for hooking up an iPod or portable MP3 player.

Have you (or anyone) determined that there is an available AUX plug on the back of the audio unit? If so, did you actually see the available AUX plug on the back of the audio unit or see an iPod actually hooked up to the audio unit using an AUX cable?

Sorry for being so "granular" but so far I have not found anyone that can positively confirm or demonstrate this capability and none of the on-line sites that sell AUX cables for iPods seem to have one for the 2006 Pilot.

tsy

Honda is releasing an ipod kit in the next month or so. I'm hoping the AUX button means that the kit will be available for our Pilots. I will ask my dealer tomorrow if they know any more about this.

tom

pilotman1

I've done this. I went to U-haul and had one installed for about $225. I use a four bike rack only. Works great. I don't see how they can negate the warantee. They should have the burden of proof.

ty2005

The AUX connection is on the back of the center console under the AC vents for the passengers. There is a Yellow, Red and White RCA jack.

bahondaguy

This would be true if you have the RES (Rear Entertainment System) only. I believe they are referring to the EXL without the RES.

FYI.

:-)

patrickl

Has anyone replaced their stock headlamps with ones from Sylvania? The stock lamps on my 04 Pilot EX-L seem a bit dim. Also, how difficult a task would this be?

alexasha

Is it true also to EXL with Nav? I just bought it and it does have AUX button. It would be easy to get Ipod cable and to hook up ipod. THe specific Ipod accessory from Honda would be about $200 and will be available in Dec. Even though honda claims that with this accessory we will be able to control ipod through honda's audio system, it is still quite pricey. So, I hope that just using AUX input with standard ipod RCA cables would be a cheaper way.

steve225

i recently bought an 05 pilot and now need to purchase a set of rails for the roof rack. i am looking for some info on do's and don'ts. should i buy from honda or does someone have an aftermarket site that is better.

bahondaguy

Patrickl,

Replacing the bulbs on your 2004 should be pretty simple. The bulbs for yours I believe are H4 bulbs. I got a pair of Superwhite H11 bulbs off eBay for my 06EXL and they are brighter and whiter than the halogen bulbs by far.

It was as easy as removing the wire harness from the bulb, then turning the bulb about a 1/4 turn counterclockwise and they popped out easily. H4's might clip on and even be easier.. just undo the spring clip and they pop out. Just be careful not to touch the bulb with your fingers or you will have to wipe them off with alcohol.

Good luck!

bahondaguy

Steve,

I recommend getting the factory ones. I don't know if aftermarket ones exist that are compatible with the factory rails.

Ebay and some stores like College Hills Honda (link title) and Handa Accessories (link title) will have the Honda factory ones at a reduced price too. Check it out.

Cheers!

tsy

It depends on what you want to do. OEM rails are harder to adjust and are not nearly as strong as getting aftermarket crossbars. I have a set of Yakima crossbars which can hold 150lbs. I believe the stock ones are good for 100lbs. (Not that I would suggest you put so much weight on the roof of your Pilot, but it's good to know whatever's up there is not going to cave in your roof!)

The downside is that they are not as low profile as the factory crossbars (although you might like the rugged look)

tom

cjo87

I've contacted the folks at Honda and Yakima regarding this. My Pilot is a 2003 EX, and the rack that came with it is rated at 150 lbs. The Yakima rack system that clamps on to the existing side rails of the roof rack will allow an increase to 165 lbs. The tower configuration, however, lowers the limit to 125 lbs.
Yakima is a bit slow on their responses, but they provide good details and can answer questions specific to a vehicle model and year as well as a specific rack configuration. Hope this helps.

patrickl

Thanks, bahondaguy! You are right they are pretty easy to install.

bahondaguy

Thought I would post some info on 2006 Pilot Bug Guard/Hood Deflector so people can see what it looks like in real life.

This is the Honda part from the factory. There are no aftermarket ones available yet. I got one from Autoanything.com, but it was the wrong part and I ended up having to ship it back to them (although they were very good about it).

It took about 30 minutes to put it on and it fits perfectly. I love the OEM part!" I ended up ordering the OEM part from handaacessories.com. Great to deal with also.

Front
Back
Side

alexasha

I have Parrot DriveBlue. No installation required. Works so so with Cingular. They have CK 3200 which requires professional installation.

tsy

Thanks for the pics! Do you have any from a little farther away to get perspective?

tom

alexasha

I would like to know that too. I got 06 Pilot with Navi

alexasha

Does anybody know if 06 Pilot with Nav has RCA input on the back of the radio unit? I am strugling to connect ipod. FM transmitters are very poor choice. I am afraid that Honda's option would very expensive

rearea

We had Yakima cross rails put on a couple weeks ago and had them removed last week (for good). Their profile is simply too high. As soon as we hit 55, the wind noise was so bad, we couldn't hear what anyone was saying in the back seat. I assume it also put a drag on the MPGs. The Yakimas were priced about $100 less than the dealer OEMs, but these are available for $139 on eBay if you're comfortable installing them yourself.

05pilot

I suggest you DO NOT buy the factory cross bars. I have an '05 EXL and I bought the facory roof rails..I think they are very cheaply made and poorly designed. the screws that hold the end caps are simply tapped into the aluminum cross bar and stripped immediately. The design of the rack is not compatible with Thule or yakima, so you have to buy honda attachments which are both expensive and flimsy..The arch or curve of the cross bar, while probably making it quieter, prevents you from laying a piece of plywood flat..
bottom line, I sold my factory pilot cross bars and bought a Thule...its a much better rack

tsy

You can wrap a piece of rope or bungee cord spirally around the bars which decreases wind noise. Or just leave the bars off except for when you need them (which is what I do). But the Yakima or Thule bars are much stronger than the OEM bars (and less expensive to boot)

tom

alexasha

What model of Trule roof bars do you use?

05pilot

check out thule.com for fitting info..assuming you have the factory roof rails on your pilot, you'll use the 450 (crossroad) foot which attaches to the rails..then use the appropriate length thule bar..Thule recommends the LB58 bars which I think are 58" long..this is a bit of a preference, but I like 2-3" beyond the 450 clamp on either side..makes a great place to tie things down..I think the 58" accomplishes this, if not you have to get the 65" thule bar which may be too long.

bahondaguy

Here are a couple of other pictures. I hope they help.

From the Pass Side

From the Driver Side

PS. I am still getting used to the new 06 "Bullnose", but it is growing on me! I have considered spray painting the silver bars across the grille to black.

I will be making a couple of clear acrylic stone guards for the foglights soon, but they will be mostly invisible, but I think will save me from buying new foglights anytime soon.

Happy holidays!

tsy

Thanks for the pics. I'm trying to think of how it would look on silver.

Yeah, I'm trying to get used to the nose of this thing. (maybe they were trying to copy Volvo) I certainly didn't buy this SUV for it's looks (although I think it still looks better than the Highlander-my opinion of course)

Maybe a black mesh grill would look better. Or smaller crossbars. Honda is making some 'interesting' looking cars these days. (Ridgeline, Civic)

You can get stoneguards for your headlights- they're pre-cut and sized. I just don't know if they're available yet.

Thanks again

tom

wareagle

I was told that to wire an ipod to my stereo, I need to have auxiliary ports on my factory stereo. Does anyone know if the 03 standard stereo has these ports? If not, I guess a new stereo with ipod adapter is necessary.

jmr4

Hey Wareagle:
My research is based on a few calls to my Honda dealer and some time on google. No need to replace radio head unit in my opinion. If your Pilot's head unit in dash does NOT have nav AND has a "CD/CHG" option button to use a changer then you can do 1 of 2 things.

(1) being cheaper interface does not allow you to control/access the iPod, but gives you two aux inputs for iPod and other device - about $55. The upside is better sound quality into stereo as a digital input. Here is link to one place link title

(2) This $160 solution also lacks charging for iPod, but is same digital audio input WITH control of iPod. The "CD/CHG" buttons on your head unit points to iPod AND the CD buttons 1~6 access up to 6 Playlists on your iPod. In some Pilots, the steering wheel buttons for also control iPod. link title

My local Circuit City guys (Atlanta) have #1 above in stock for $59 and they'll install it too. Try link title (honda and acura parts) a huge group outside atlanta in new and used parts / accessories.

As a side note, I think the Belkin cradle with steel flexi stalk that charges & has cables for audio out would be an elegant solution with either #1 or 2. My wife has a Nano so this may not work for a huge 60 gb music keg.

Let me know how it goes -- I'm building the iPod into home audio network first then coming back on Pilot/Accord project so I'm curious. JR

rico001

I am doing an heas light upgrade using H4's from PIAA Part 15962 a super white bulb. After I find how to access the wiring harness I will let you know if it improves the rig.

dkdriver

We just bought our 06 Pilot EXL-Nav AWD, and I was pleased to find out that we could install a factory aftermarket 7 inch screen DVD, even with our sunroof. Does anyone have one and recommend/not recommend it? Dealer wants $2000. parts and install, but will be covered in the HondaCare warranty, which seems important given the problems these products can have. Thanks for any input.

carbuyer13

I have a 2005 EX-L that originally the dealer forgot to include the stadard cargo net that should come with EX models.

However the net he mailed to me is only big enough to stretch to the 4 anchor notches on the floor near the tailgate (area behind 3rd row roughly 35" x 15"). It is unable to stretch from the tailgate to the notches behind the 2nd row. I think he sent me the wrong net. I believe to mount it in the vertical position, you are suppose to be able to fold it in half to form a pocket. Can someone clarify if the net I'm thinking about is an upgrade? Is the smaller net that I got correct? I just want to make sure the dealer didn't get it mixed up.

Can someone with the standard EX cargo net tell me which one they got for free? Thank you very much.

qbrozen

the one that came with ours was quite small. You could either attach it to the 4 floor points, as you stated, or you could attach it vertically to the 4 rearmost points, basically pinning smaller items to the tailgate.

Sounds like you are trying to attach it diagonally, if i read your description correctly, and I know ours wouldn't do that.

carbuyer13

Thanks qbrozen.

In the cargo area, there are 6 notches on the cargo floor, 2 are closer to the back of the 2nd row and then the other 2 by the tailgaite. It seems as though this standard cargo net for the EX doesn't work with those 4 notches. I guess as owners, we'd have to buy the bigger accessory cargo net to use these notches.

See link:
https://hondacuraworld.hostasaurus.com/Merchant2/instructions/pilot/cargonet.pdf- - -

qbrozen

ah, ok, now i see where you were trying to attach it.

yeah, the net in that PDF would be MUCH more useful! The only use we ever found for the standard net was keeping a few grocery bags from spilling over. And we didn't make it a common habit of using the SUV just to get a few groceries.

gils

I also own a 2005 e-xl with navi. I however have the black exterior with saddle interior. I have recently installed a wood dash kit. I dont know about atlanta prices,but here in NYC,wood and carbon fiber dash kits run about $300 and up(this includes professional installation). However,there is hope for us who are fortunate to have internet access. It is called EBAY MOTORS. I have found that the prices for the kits are at least $100 cheaper than if you go a shop and buy them that way. However,you have to install it yourself. I have to admit that i didn't do that in this case due to the fact that the store that was selling it on ebay was here in nyc,so I went to pick it up and they installed it for $40. I suggest that you check on ebay motors also to see if a shop in atlanta is selling the kits if possible. When i saw how simple that it was to install it,I cursed myself for not having installed it myself. To give you a suggestion, some places that i have seen have a grey wood kit,also with a grey interior i have also seen brushed aluminum,and also in some cases i have seen carbon fiber used. I suggest if you dont use ebay motors,then you go to a shop that has samples that you can take out to your pilot and compare onsite. To answer your question the differece between a flat and molded dash trim kit is that the falt kit,is like a stick on kit. Think of it as like plastic stickers that would cover the dash. A molded kit is a kit where you actually remove pieces of the factory dash and replace them with the new dash trim.

gils

I have a 2005 pilot ex-l 4wd w/navi. I have installed a 10 inch aftermarket dvd for about $1500. I have had absolutely no problems with it. It's important to keep in mind that the honda warranty, at least from my understanding is good for only 1 year after installation if you don't get the accessory installed BEFORE you pick up the vehicle after purchase. If you do get it installed when you purchase the vehicle,then and only then is it beneficial in my opinion only because then,it's covered as long as honda's warranty on the rest of the vehicle. In this case it's better to just go aftermarket,because just about all manufacturers of these products offer the same length of warranty on their products. I wouldn't be surprised if you posted a note here that you spent approx $1200 instead of the absurd price of $2000.

gils

I want to know if anybody can tell me if the tpms sensor that keeps track of the tire pressure in each tire is removeable WITHOUT removing the tire from the rim. The reason that I need to do this is because i have installed 20' chrome rims on my 2005 ex-l pilot w/navi. What this has done is make the yellow tpms light on the dash come on whenever i drive the car a long distance. The honda dealer told me that this isnt a problem,it's just that the engine cpu is reading that the system is disabled because it reads that the sensors aren't there. I drove my pilot like that all last summer but for next year I dont want to see that light anymore. Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

sj1bj1

I'm getting ready to buy a Pilot, where did you get the DVD player and was it installed or did you do it yourself? I'd like both NAV and DVD on a Pilot and it appears best to buy the Pilot with NAV and install a DVD later, but DVD is most important (wife and kids car). We don't want a sloppy job on the DVD player, want it to look like a factory job, i.e. ceiling mounted. What do you think?

yodha_z

It is such a bummer that even the 2006 model doesnt come with a MP3 player ..hope that changes in the next year model!
Mine is a 2006 PILOT 4WD - EXL.

What other options are the folks exercising ?
The below are the three that I can think of:
--------
1. Go for the Honda MP3 player - Does anyone know if this is compatible with the 2006 PILOT-EXL ? The quote that I got for this was 489$ for the accessory and 94$ for the installaiton.

2. If I bought my own after-market MP3 player (like the Dual XDM-6820 200 Watt In-Dash AM/FM/MP3/CD Receiver with iPlug, which is really cool as I can also plug in my iPod), the honda dealers are refusing to install it. Where should I be going to get this installed? Is this suggested at all?

3. The Honda iPod link - part costs $199 per a quote I got but this dealer is unable to give me the installation costs quote at this point, but another dealer says neither the iPod link nor the Honda MP3 player are compatible with the 2006 PILOT, which I refuse to believe.

PRIMARY question: If i get a after-market MP3 player/ or a non-honda iPod link, will that affect the Original or Honda Care warranty in any way?

What are folks doing in this space ?

Awaiting replies

YODHA

nwpilot06

gils,

The tpms sensor replaces the valve stem so it cannot be removed without taking everything apart. I had 20" rims put on my Pilot also (they look great by the way) and they forgot to tell me about the tpms sensors needing to either be removed from the old tires and wheels or buy new ones (or have the light on). So before I had them put on I told them to order all new ones at $58 apiece. That was because I'm keeping the old wheels and tires for winter time and I didn't want to have the light on or not take advantage of the system on those either even if it was only for 3 months out of the year. I haven't had a problem with either set regarding the sensors. What did you do with the old wheels and tires?

dkdriver

Another option we are looking at are Honda crossbars and bicycle rack options. Seems like there have only been negative feedback posts. Is it working for anyone? We do want that warranty coverage if possible. Also, anyone with 4 bikes who has decided what the best bike system is would be great. Thanks!

PS - thanks for the posts on DVD -we verified with dealer who says we'd be covered both for Honda warranty and extended for DVD aftermarket install, so we'll probably do that, as we've had problems with service on aftermarket DVD install(we have to travel 1 hour to get serviced as there is nothing closer).

cdg1

TRYING TO DECIDE BETWEEN BLACK OR CHROME SIDE STEPS?
2006 PILOT STEEL BLUE IN COLOR. HAS ANYONE INSTALLED THIS
OPTION? THANK CDG1

nwpilot06

I have the same color Pilot and I got the chrome ones. They look great! I don't know if the black would look the same with the pretty steel blue color.

cdg1

Thanks.