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You have two issues. The odd failure you had was obviously some kind of loose connection, probably in the head unit since all the speakers went out and returned simultaneously. It might have even been some kind of software glitch - radios these days have a lot of software in them. In any event, I don't think you're going to have much luck getting them to replace the unit if they can't find anything now wrong with it. I'd get it documented on a work order so that if it fails in the future, even after the warranty has expired, you can pressure them to take care of it.
The distortion with high bass is probably normal for this system - most factory OEM stereo system can't play high volumes of music with the bass turned up without distortion, although the Pilot's is particularly bad. I think you're probably simply asking more than the system has to offer. You may have to put in an aftermarket system to get the sound you want.
You might have a defective speaker. Comparing with a car on the dealer's lot would shed some light on this. Unless your car has a defect, you can't get Honda to replace a stereo because it doesn't sound as good as you think it should.
I may try and replace the speakers and see if that improves things. I don't want to get into a new head unit.
Good luck,
- Mark
tom
The only good objective reliability data we have (Consumer Reports) indicates that Pilots are among the most reliable of all the mid-size SUVs. The Toyotas may be slightly better but the difference is small.
There have been several studies that have compared the quality of the same car designs built in different countries and there has never been any correlation between the country of manufacture and the quality of the product. Japanese nameplate vehicles tend to have higher quality no matter where they are built - Japan, Canada, or Alabama. There are some noteable exceptions, but they tend to be associated with joint-ventures such as Ford building Mazdas. Ford-built Mazdas have not matched the reliability of the Mazda-built Mazdas in Japan. But the Honda plants in Canada and Alabama are run by Honda and build only Hondas.
- Mark
I'm guessing he/she is probably referring to issues which have multiple postings here, with many owners making multiple, unsuccessful trips to dealer service bays. There are a few re-occuring themes here (unresolved steering wheel/tire shaking, and excessive wind noise, to name 2 examples) that may or may not fall into the "structural problem" category, but that doesn't make them any less annoying to the owners experiencing them or make potential owners any less wary.
My 2006 Honda Pilot EXL with NAV exhibited the exact same situation. The audio was dead for about 20 minutes after starting the car and then came back with a loud popping sound. This happened only once and we were up in the mountains where the temperature was below freezing. We are normally not in such cold weather (we live near San Francisco) and assumed it was related to the cold and came back after the car warmed up.
Did your audio problem occur under similar weather conditions?
If you get stuck in mud and snow, you can engage the VTM lock which is a pseudo 4WD mode. But since more SUVs never leave the asphalt, I doubt you'll ever need this.
Hope this helps
tom
Is one tire normally spinning up front and if it loses traction, only one rear tire in the back starts spinning? I limited slip or positraction an option? And just exactly how is the VTM work? How many wheels spinning? I remember seeing a Mercedes 430 with one wheel up in the air spinning and the others doing nothing. And all he was trying to do was drive up on a friends lawn-- which by the way, there was already and Accord, Outback, and 323 on the lawn; it was rather embarrassing for him.
4WD & AWD systems explained
Steve, Host
VTM4-lock can be used at low speeds. It locks the rear differential to split power to each wheel equivalently- to help in very low traction conditions. Kind of a pseudo-4WD. But if one front wheel is spinning your only traction is the 2 rear wheels.
It's in this situation where AWD is inferior to 4WD with locking differentials so that all 4 wheels are powered at the same time regardless of traction. Each wheel spins at exactly the same speed. This is what is needed for hard core off roading, but not for most of us who almost never go off road.
Hope this explains things some. I doubt you'll ever get stuck on a lawn in your Pilot (unless it's covered with ice)
tom
Marketing, you know?
tom
As for the roof rack and bike attatchments, you are probably better off getting aftermarket stuff. It's more solid and you have more of a variety of bike mounts available.
Otherwise, good luck!
tom
It is such a bummer that even the 2006 model doesnt come with a MP3 player ..the CD changer with only ordinary CDS is the only joke in this vehicle ..hope that changes in the next year model!
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 ?
Advice please!!
Anyone having the same issues? I there a setting that I need to change on the factory radio to inprove sound quality or is this just how sattelite radio sounds for everyone? Thanks!
1. Are there LATCH child seat anchors and tethers available for the second row middleseat?
2. Is anyone aware of any safety issues with the side curtain airbags when there is a child seat located behind the front passenger seat?
3. Can anyone recommend a particular brand/model of safety seat that works especially well with the Pilot? Any models we should avoid?
Thanks!
2. Not sure.
3. My wife and I have two Brittax Marathons - one in each car. They work very well and are consistently rated the best from Consumer Reports. Just be sure to get a seat protector for any car seat to be sure it does not damage the interior. Leather seats are especially susceptible.
Steve, Host
I also have a Britax Marathon for my youngest child. It is a great car seat. It is fairly expensive and a bit larger than most seats, but it works great. I have found that the less expensive seats I have owned typically get their harness belts all twisted. Britax seems to use a thicker fabric for those belts that does not twist easily. Also, the Britax seats seem to do less damage to my seats than some others I have owned.
Thanks in advance for any replys.
Looking into gettting a 2006 Pilot EXL and wondering what opinions are on the backup sensors (optional). For those who have it, is it worth it? Reliable or Fragile? Useful or annoying? Consistent or not at all?
Thanks.
http://hondapilot.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13013&perpage=15&highlig- ht=ipod&pagenumber=2
I am very happy with it, no background noise at all. I have EXL with Navi, so there is no other solutions, as ipod cable will not work with EXL. Check it out.
The Honda system is well done and well made. I has a 2 tone system, low tones for the 2 inner sensors, high tones for the 2 outer sensors on the corners. The beeping gets progressively faster as you approach an object until you are about 16" away when the beeping is continuous.
When you shift in 'R' you hear one beep to know the system is working, and there is a switch on the rear hatch pillar (to turn the system off in case you are towing something) with a small green light which also turns on.
The system has been very reliable with no false alarms (unlike the system in my Nissan) and allows you to parallel park much easier. Also, unlike the backup camera, it allows you to look back while you are backing up (backup cameras are neat, but it's a little disconcerting to be staring at your center console while backing up)
The system is well integrated into the bumper with body colored sensors. No problems with dirt or rain as of yet.
It's not cheap, but if it saves you from hitting one object (especially another car or a small child) it is well worth it.
Hope this helps
tom
For the record, I have the toddler seat anchored (using LATCH) behind the driver with my other two kids occupying the middle and passenger side seat positions of the second row in Booster seats.
"Pop"-type noise question: I sometimes hear a "pop" from the rear of the vehicle when I start it. Seems to be coming from the right-rear, which is where the sub woofer appears to be. I do hear sound coming from the speaker. I have had no issues with any electronics/radio/navi etc., and no additional "pops" while driving. I agree that the radio quality is not that great. I would like a recommendation on how to proceed - determine exactly which speaker is popping? should this speaker be replaced or could this be coming from the radio itself?
Also, would I notice better sound from the factory radio (XM plus 6-disc) by replacing all of the speakers?
Thanks.
http://www.car-safety.org/faq.html
Q61 states: "Currently, side airbags are generally not considered a risk to children in correctly used child restraints. In fact, children in properly installed and used child restraints should gain a safety benefit from side impact airbags unless otherwise indicated in an owner's manual."
As for the lack of LATCH anchors and tethers in the middle seat position, that's something of a bummer. According to the FAQ, "the center of the rear seat is usually safest since it is farthest from a possible side impact" (Q40). I realize that it's still possible to get a safe installation without LATCH, but it sounds like LATCH makes it easier.
Honda to scale back production of Pilots
Reduction aimed at adjusting inventory
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
MICHAEL TOMBERLIN
News staff writer
Honda said Tuesday it is scaling back SUV production at its Alabama assembly plant by 27,000 vehicles this year in a move that is not expected to affect the plant's 4,500 employees.
Starting in April and continuing through December, Honda plans to reduce the number of vehicles it makes each day in Lincoln to 1,150 from 1,300 - the first time the automaker has significantly scaled back production at its $1.2 billion Talladega County factory.
Honda will reduce only production of the Pilot sport utility as it attempts to adjust inventories on dealer lots and reduce the need for incentives to tempt buyers. Beginning in April, the Lincoln plant will make 350 Pilots and 800 Odyssey minivans per day.
"A key strategy behind Honda's business success has been to match vehicle production to customer demand," said Mark Morrison, spokesman for Honda in Alabama. "At this time, although our overall sales outlook is positive, inventory levels for some models must be adjusted to more closely match current and projected customer demand."
Reversing gears:
Morrison said the cutback amounts to a slowdown on one of the plant's two assembly lines. Without lower production levels, inventories of Pilot SUVs could move to between 60 to 80 days - too high for Honda's liking.
"Typically, Honda prefers to keep dealer inventory supplies between a 45-day to 60-day supply," Morrison said. "When inventories begin to rise, Honda's flexible manufacturing system allows the company to adjust production to keep the right flow of products to the market."
Honda last year made 204,897 Odysseys and 87,792 Pilots in Alabama, for a total of 292,689 vehicles.
Changes in production levels at the Alabama plant have been common since Honda opened it in 2001, but most adjustments have been upward. Such changes are usually not reported to the public.
A reduction of 150 vehicles per day, however, is unprecedented at the plant, which reached full production level on its two lines late last year.
"We are looking to manage our inventories by balancing supply and demand," said Sage Marie, manager of Honda public relations in the U.S. "Fundamentally, we don't want to play the incentives game."
Marie said sales of the Pilot were up in December and Honda will announce today an increase in January. He said the reduction is a matter of controlling inventory levels.
Still, the news comes as a surprise considering Honda officials were publicly talking about expanding production at the Alabama plant as recently as September, when its North American manager, Koichi Kondo, said Honda could build an additional 100,000 vehicles annually there with a minimum investment.
Last year, Honda cut production at its Ontario plant by 3,000 vehicles per day for three months to adjust supply. In addition to the Pilot, the Canada plant produces the Ridgeline truck, which had reached inventory levels of 100 days.
I think its impressive that Honda looks out for their dealers and current car owners like this.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Thanks!