Honda Pilot 2007 - 2008

pilotnewbie

Just picked up a 2007 EX-L Pilot last week. So far, I love it. Drove an Explorer previously - the Pilot drives much better. Also, I'm 6'5" and I fit nicely even with moonroof.

Anyway, much to my surprise (and my wife) the doors dont auto-lock when the car goes into motion. I called the dealership I purchased it from and they said it cant be done. I called another dealrship (about 50 miles away) they said its a simple programming update - just come on by???

Looked through the manual and dont see mention of this feature. Driving us crazy as our last 3 cars had this feature and we end up driving around without locking the doors.

Seems like a saftey feature they'd want. None of the reviews I read prior to purchasing complained about not having this features - which surprises me.

So just wodnering....

ffxbuyr

Pilotnewbie ~ we have the same car and noted this problem. You are right, I end up driving with unlocked doors because our other cars lock automatically. Did you get an answer to this problem? I tried to call my dealer and left a message (I guess it's a pretty busy weekend) but he has not called me back. Thanks!

pilotnewbie

I had one dealer (about 50 miles away) tell me that he "thought" they could program this feature. However, the dealer I bought the Pilot from finally called me back and said its not an option on the Pilot. Only the Ridgeline and CRV can support this options. Seems a bit ridiculous to me.
Let me know if you find out anything to the contrary.

ffxbuyr

Pilotnewbie ~ I dropped off our Pilot at the dealer (they are fixing a scratch that was there when we took the car) and also requested them to put install/program the door lock option. The service dept guy just called to say this is not available in the Pilot, only the ridgeline. You are right, this is ridiculous. It also does not have daytime running lights, which I like on my Camry. I didn't even think to check for these features - I just assumed most new cars would have them. Had I known, I probably would have taken a second look at the Toyota Highlander. Oh, well.

bcool

We just bought a new Pilot EX-L and I was suckered into buying an additional aftermarket alarm system. I'm not too crazy about it, but it does allow you to program the auto door lock and unlock feature, among other things. Unlike most cars, which auto lock when they get rolling, this one autolocks when you turn the ignition on. My wife's not to crazy about this, because she sometimes starts the car, and then wants to get get out to get something she forgot - and the doors are locked. It might be a matter of getting used to it. In the event that you're interested in it, see the website: www.karrsecurity.com/auto.htm. You can also google it and find some interesting comments on the web. The Hondapilot.org forum has a discussion about it.

ffxbuyr

Thanks, bcool. I checked out karrsecurity.com. Autolocking when I start the engine would not work for me because in cold weather (we live in the Northeast) I have to start the car to warm it up, then go back to the house to get my toddler. This means I would have to unlock all doors to get us all inside the car, and remember to relock before we move. Aaargh! Technology has turned me into an idot, unable to remember to do sensible things that I have been able to do before

rceggl

Is this true, the 07 Pilot does not have Daytime Running Lights. I find this unbelievable. I was going to buy a Pilot at the end of next week. This really baffles me.

flgirl2

The Pilot has DRL....leave your lights on and when you walk away and lock your door, they will stay on for 5 seconds or so and then automatically turn off. All previous pilots have had this and the '07 does as well as I've just purchased another.

ffxbuyr

Sorry flgirl2, my definition of daytime running lights (like my Camry version) are just the slightly dimmer headlights (with no tail lights) that you leave on to increase your visibility during daytime driving. With the Pilot, you can leave your headlights on during the day and drive around with it, but because your tail lights will also be on, you will just look like someone who forgot to turn your headlights off.

flgirl2

Okay, so they are technically not DRL's, but it essentially has the same effect driving head-on. It's nice not to have to turn them on. How is it a problem to "appear" like you forgot to turn your headlights from behind?....who cares?

sagaliba

There are pros and cons for auto-lock doors. If the door is not latched properly, locking it would not make it any safer. OTOH, if it is latched properly, then locking it does not make it safer either. Auto-lock does have advantages in preventing little kids from playing with the door opening mechanism, or preventing someone from opening the door outside when driving in a bad neighborhood (but most auto-lock feature requires you to drive at a certain speed first before it engages, so this assumes you already did).

However, if you are involved in bad accident, a locked door may prevent someone from being able to rescue you from outside (they would need tool to cut the door first, or break the window while your family are still inside). So whether or not it is a safety feature depends on your view. In any rate, if you like it , you can always hit the central lock button, which is just one push away.

mercara

I see in the owners manual that the canadian version has DRL. I am sure it can be retrofited to the US model if you get the correct hardware.

asquyres

:lemon: I purchased a 2007 Silver Pilot and picked it up at dusk. I noticed a few days later that the paint was extremely blotchy. I found out that Honda is aware of this defect with the 2007 Pilots but they continue to sell them. I'm battling with Honda right now because I feel that I was totally deceived. Honda offered to repaint my car but the rep for Honda said it would not be any better. I had a service rep describe my paint as looking like someone had taken a sponge full of bleach and blotted the whole car. The spots are only visible at certain times of the day and at certain angles, some are worse than others. Honda tried to tell me that those are characteristics in their paint lol! BS!! I know that there are so many others out there with this problem, I'd love to hear what you think. I will be going on the Judd Macalvei radio show tomorrow at 2pm to talk about this problem. I don't want Honda to get away with ripping me and others off and I will fight to get them to fix this problem! BEWARE if you're thinking about buying a SILVER 2007 Pilot...NOT worth the money with that paint job!! :mad: :lemon:

k5ldb

Just got one for my wife and it doesn't automatically lock. Also, you can't leave the lights on because they never turn off, at least on the LX. We went from delivery to dinner and coming out after dinner noticed the headlights were on. We remembered that they turned them on during delivery but she forgot to turn them off and I wasn't in the car to think about it either. Maybe the EX has an automatic off feature but the LX appears not to.

As far as turning on the lights vs true DRL's I prefer turning on the lights, especially in a car that turns them off for you. My Ralliart does that. I could care less what anyone else thinks whether looking from the front or back. If DRL's are good then headlights on are better. You have the marker lights on with the headlights as well as the taillights adding visibility to anyone following. If anyone is so silly as to worry what others think when their headlights are on they need to do some serious internal evaluation.

teke175

I have what may appear to be a similar problem on my 07 Odessey. Of course I too picked mine up at dusk sine it was a work day. Do you have any pictures showing what you are describing? In cetain lights there appears to be spots that ar darker than others.

cardnal

Own an 07 Pilot. Wife loves it. You can leave lights on and the EXL model does automatically switch lights to OFF in a few seconds, BUT this is not a true DRL. It is basically an automatic shut-off feature,

Just bought a new Ford Explorer SportTrac which now has less than 2000 miles on it. I know DLR's are about a $150 option on this model. My Trac has most everything I want except the DLR feature. Today the dealer made a computer adjustment during oil change, and pronto I have the DLR feature!!! Cost? N/C. I'm pleased. Now I have automatic lights and DLR's. My dim lights are on when the motor is running and I engage the vehicle in drive. Sweet.

parviz

I own an 06 Pilot and the auto shut off feature turns the lights off based on the amount of time you set (adjustable), but as you have mentioned no DRL. It was interesting to hear that just a computer adjustment gave you the DRL on your Ford. Don't think that would be doable on the Pi;ot, not at least until the 09 models show up.

dominickc1

I have a 08 Pilot that I just loved and drive. The Auto lock on the 08 Honda Pilot is tricky it will auto lock when you start it up, but you manualy un-lock the door to get out to get something it won't auto lock you have to lock it yourself. But sometimes it will lock by its self without you anywhere around or near the Pilot which scares me sometimes. Thats why I got the GM version of On-Star from Kerr and its worth the money and the car insurance. My car insurance went way down with this feature.

pablo9

You mention you have "OnStar from Kerr". What does that mean? Is there a means of getting OnStar on vehicles not originally equipped with such? I would be VERY interested in learning of this!

FYI:
AutoLock: AutoLocking is not a feature available on the 03-08 Honda Pilot from the factory.
DRL: US 03-08 Pilots do not have Daytime Running Lights. I am thinking of installing a couple of relays to do so myself. One problem with turning on lights manually during the day as mentioned is that the dash gauge lighting becomes too dim.
Auto Off: This is a feature on Pilots above the LX trim. Turns off headlights and parking lights automatically 15 seconds after you pull the key from ignition. They come back on as soon as the driver door is unlocked.

rsg123

When we test drove a 08 Pilot, it had automatic locking doors (they would lock when taken out of Park). We were told this was a standard feature. When we got our Pilot (08 EX-L 2wd with Navi) we didn't find anything mentioning automatic locking doors in the quick start guide or manual. We took it to the dealer to activate the feature, and they said 08 Pilots do not have this feature at all (only 09s)!!
Can anyone tell me if this is true, and if not, how do we get this feature working? We tried the method of turning the key to II and holding down the lock button, but it didn't work.

dominickc1

It just protects your vechicle from anybody stealing it or messing around it. If your vechicle is stolen they can locate it or disarmed the motor or you can if you have a computer or a phone. You can see where the vechicle been or gone. You can control your kids driving. You can also put striction on your kids driving and it will send you a signal to your home on the phone or your computer.

pablo9

So, can you confirm you do have OnStar services on a non-GM car? On the internet site for Onstar, they only show their connection with vehicles from GM. (Which makes sense since GM is who came up with it and it's a huge selling point.)

pablo9

As mentioned, the only Pilot I know of with auto locking feature driven by gear or speed is the 09. THe 08 has the standard Honda key-safe feature which will re-lock doors if you don't open a door after using the remote.

joga37

I am trying to replace the rear wiper on a 07 pilot but can't get the old wiper off.

My nearest honda dealer is about 80 miles away so I bought the new wiper blade on-line.It came with no instructions and the owners manual only refers to the front wipers.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

bigdadi118

From another forum ...

There are a couple small stops to prevent it from pivoting all the way to where it needs to be to remove from the arm. No particular release, just a "hard tug." I didn't particularly enjoy using the force needed to snap it past the stops, but I didn't see any alternative, and nothing appeared to break.

http://www.carspace.com/bigdadi118/Albums/bigdadi118%27s%20Album/2007_pilot_wipe- - r.jpg/page/photo.html#pic

joga37

Thanks for your reply,I was thinking thats what it would take to remove it.Will give it a go. Thanks again

uzzy

I purchase two new vehicles in 2-3 years ago. One was Honda Pilot and the other was another manufacturer. Both are parked at the same place in an open parking lot without and shade or tree or anything around. Both are driven in the similar areas and both have around 25000 miles. Honda Pilot has shown a problem of paint chipping. Every couple of month, you will see a new spot. The other car has NONE. Ofcourse, dealership and Honda do not want to fix it and giving all the non-sense and false reasons which do not apply. I have driven 3 other cars up to 150k miles and never saw this thing happening. I intend to fight this. Any advice?

bigdadi118

.... Honda Pilot has shown a problem of paint chipping. ...."

What area of the car did you find this problem?

uzzy

Hood, fender, inside and outside edges of the doors, etc

stever

What color is yours?

mcmatt313

I bought my 07' Pilot (4wd PXL) new and it's been an excellent vehicle with one exception. Recently I noticed that the automatic window feature on the driver window will quit working and then work fine at other times. Soon after that I was leaving a friend's house and started to roll all 4 windows down ( I live in Arizona so I was letting some of the heat escape). One of the rear windows just stopped. My friend works on cars and showed me the pulley system after removing the panel. It has a cable pulley that was all chewed up and bound around the pulley. Within 4 or 5 days it happened to the other rear window. Has anyone else had this issue? I noticed the pulley is plastic. Maybe the intense AZ temps are warping the plastic and making it easy for the steel cable to chew up the pulley?? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

vrm

I am getting ready to buy a 07 EXL with Navigation. I believe the garage door opener is standard equipment on the EXL. However, the dealer informed me that the door opener is missing.

Where can I get a replacement garage door opener? I have called the local Honda dealers parts department but they put me on hold and could not answer my question. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

auto33bot

I just purchased my AWDHONDA PILOT '08 SE last November and i do love it but the FACT that it doesn't come with AUX-INPUT for I-POD or MP3 is MISERABLE on my part. Is anybody know what is the best OPTIONS out there. I have an I-POD cradle but the quality sounds sucks since u have to find a better frequency on FM's. Then there is NEO ION KIT for $199.00......I heard there is an AUXILLIARY behind PILOTS STEREO where u can hook ur I-PODS, Is it TRUE? THANKS IN ADVANCED

bigdadi118

Check with www.crutchfield.com for all available to your Pilot model / trim

tpham000

I've got a '07 Pilot and I want to add a hitch for a bike rack. The bike store said the hitch shouldn't cost to much to add since I don't need to worry about wires. Is that true and if so, how much should I expect to spend to get the hitch added? Is it relatively straight forward enough that I could do it myself? I'm no a mechanic but can work with tools and read instructions. Thanks.

- Tuan

blackjack7

a minute to do....wish i came to edmunds first before wasting my time outside

gator79

The rear license plate bolts on my Pilot each snapped off, one right after the other. My wife and I noticed this on a Saturday evening. The left side of the license plate was dangling. Thinking the bolt was loose, I went to tighten it by hand, and the bolt broke free from the rear of the vehicle. I went to tighten the other side and it also broke off.

No part of the metal is pulled or twisted, so it does not appear that someone tried to pry it off. I showed the plate, the bolts, and the rear of the vehicle to the dealer, and no one had seen this before on this age of vehicle - a 2007. The dealer has indicated that Honda will not repair under any warranty - vehicle has 53,000 miles on it.

I have never had this happen to a vehicle in 36 years of driving. Has anyone else had this happen? I am very disappointed that Honda will not stand behind the vehicle.

jwhangen

Hello,
I've done some online research and I guess it's a somewhat common issue that the rear license plate bolts on the 2007 Pilots will snap clean off, leaving the license plate laying somewhere on a country road or busy interstate highway.

As of today, my left bolt/nut is completely gone, and my right one is half-rotted through and is ready to fall off too. I've contacted my dealer twice about this, and they've basically blown me off (claimed it happened because I "over tightened" the bolts). I then raised such a ruckus that they put me in touch with Corporate, but Corporate says it's not their problem because the car is out of warrantee.

I'm furious - a 2007 vehicle has body rot to such a degree that parts are falling off it. I don't know if it's poor sheetmetal, a bad weld, or what, but Honda has an quality issue on their hands if you ask me. My brother-in-law knows welding, and he says that the materials were not properly clean in the factory before the weld was applied, and this resulted in a bad weld. He also noted (due to the fact that I have a gaping hole where the nut used to be) that the sheetmetal is VERY thin in the tailgate area. I am very disappointed that Honda will not stand behind the vehicle, especially given that it's only a 2007 and relatively new. Honda's actions (or inaction is more like it) will go a long way towards helping to decide which brand I will purchase the next time I'm buying a new car.

THAT BEING SAID, I was wondering what other people have done to fix this problem? I've heard a lot of good sounding ideas from friends and family, but I was wondering if anyone has any tried and true success stories. As long as it firmly holds the license plate in place and looks relatively normal (for resale purposes) I'm game for any type of solution. It doesn't have to be exactly the same set-up as it was when it came from the factory (since that's a failed engineering/design solution anyway). I'm fairly handy by the way, so I'd like to do this myself.

bisquit5

We are seeing the same problem with our 09 Honda Pilot, silver in color. A one year old vehicle and the paint is chipping on the back tailgate in nearly 20 spots and now is beginning to rust. The manufacturer and dealer are saying this is a "environmental" problem that will not be covered. Funny cuz we have had lots of vehicles in this "environment" that have not begun chipping after just one year. Thinking that Honda needs to take accountability for this but what is the next step?

jwhangen

After going up the corporate food chain trying to get help with my problem, I got shot down at every turn because my Pilot is out of warantee. It's only 3 years old and has corroded so badly that the license plate fell off...but it's not Honda's problem as far as they're concerned. When I was given the final word by corporate that they wouldn't help me, I let them know that I will never ever purchase another Honda product again, and I will now find an independent mechanic so my money doesn't go to the dealership service department either (Courtney Honda, Milford, CT). At this point I cannot wait to dump this POS Pilot.

vrm

I just bought a 07 Pilot EX FWD and was surprised to see that the bolts on the rear suspension + other bolts on the side were rusty. Rusty here means 100% rust - totally brown.

The local Honda dealer informed me I would have to pay $347 to replace these bolts. (Total number of bolts 7)

This vehicle has under 23,000 miles and is still under warranty. Plus it was sold as "Honda certified".

What should I do so that Honda pays to replace these bolts replaced?
I feel this is a safety issue since these bolts can crumble and fall off in the near future. Thanks!

ddombrowski1

Just bought an 07 Honda Pilot EX-L CPO car. 29k miles, grey/grey in Florida. Sticker price was 24,600 with 650 dealer fee. The magical internet price (non-negotiable) was 23,656 + dealer fee. Paid 21,600 + tax and tag, no dealer fee . I think I got a pretty fair deal.

Now, am I correct in assuming that once I leave the dealership I cannot purchase the extended warranty from Honda? We drive a ton of highway miles, so I wasn't all that interested in the warranty to begin with, but if I was, I'd want to shop around dealerships for it.

Overall, wife loves the car. It was pretty decently serviced for the CPO certification and the leather is in nice shape (not always the case).

Next stop - trailer hitch and roof racks for my surfboards.

afsquid

I plugged an adaptor in the car receptacle the other day and my radio shut down and I can't get it to come on again. I checked the fuse under the hood for the radio and it's all good then I checked the other two fuse boxes inside the car but I don't see any labeled "radio".

Mark

merrill94952

We are experiencing the same faulty rear license plate weld. Did you ever find a fix, other than paying the dealer to repair?

jwhangen

I ended up taking my case to Corporate because my dealer (Courtney Honda, Milford CT) did nothing for me. The Regional Parts and Service Manager came out, took a look at it, took photos and told me that Honda would be in touch. About 2 weeks later I got the call from Corporate telling me they won't do anything for me either, not a dime. I think this is a case of if your dealer doesn't offer to help out on it, then you're SOL. I ended up jury-rigging a solution - my brother-in-law works for a major defense contractor, and he got some industrial-grade velcro for me to try. So far it's working great.

This will be my last Honda though, I've had it with them.

vrm

For the last one month, I have been getting this message on my odometer: "Check Fuel Cap"

I have opened and closed the fuel cap 3 or 4 different times, filled the gas tank a few times, however the message still flashes on my odometer.

Does this mean I have to replace my fuel cap? Also, my vehicle is due for Safety inspection this month. Is this a safety issue and will I fail the Inspection?

Thanks!