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Comments
Jim
Definitely compare others with the same road tests you give the Pilot and let that tell you what is acceptable.
Has anyone else experienced this?
-Uncomfortable driver's seat.
-Open rear-window shudder.
-Center console lid wobble.
-Creaking, Squeaking front doors/windows.
This has gotten worse and has just about become intolerable. The creaking is ever-present and in direct proportion to the severity of the road surface. I never would have expected that Honda could have botched something as fundamental and basic as a window/door seal.
-Uncomfortable driver's seat
Unless you’re well endowed on the 'bottom side' expect, after ~30 mins, for the seat frame to telegraph itself through the 'undernourished' seat padding. This was the first problem I noticed and the dealer's suggestion was to purchase a seat cushion from the Sharper Image.
-Open rear-window shudder.
Feel free to open the rear windows providing that your Pilot is stationary. If the windows are opened, at cruising speed, you'll feel like a helicopter just landed on the roof.
-Center console lid wobble.
Without a doubt the ‘minor’ problem of the bunch but included here for completeness. The two small screws used to fasten the hinge to the console frame can not be torqued tightly enough to keep the lid from wobbling over time. I've retightened them 3 times now.
Aside from the problems indicated above, the car has performed admirably. I’ve begrudgingly become accustomed to the driver’s seat but the worsening creaking and groaning emanating from the front door windows is so annoying--it has become intolerable. I’m going to take it to the dealer but I suspect it represents a fundamental design failure in the door seal system and the dealer will be unable to correct it. We’ll see and I’ll provide a follow up.
The door seal noises you are hearing is, unfortunately, common. Some of the successful fixes that owners have reported are silicone tape (looks like pin stripping) on the surface where the seal touches, silicone lube on the door seal (temp fix), adjusting hinge and latch to make door close tighter (don't let them do this unless your door really is misaligned), and finally (best fix) is a new and redesigned door seal. For more info, do a search on Honda-Pilot.org for "door scrunch" and there are many messages about this problem. Specifically, one user posted their invoice for the fix. To quote:
"The invoice says...
Cause Subseal
Front Door Weatherstrip Sub-Seal (Left) Replace
61-1 Front Door Weatherstrip Sub-Seal (Right) Replace
61-2 Front Door Weatherstrip Sub-Seal (Left) Replace
61-3 Front Door Weatherstrip Sub-Seal (Right) Replace
Part Number
SPO 72310-S9V-A01 Weatherst
SPO 72350-S9V-A01 Weatherst
SPO 72810-S9V-A01 Weatherst
SPO 72850-S9V-A01 Weatherst
Factory Fail Code
Fail Code : 032
61-1 Fail Code : 032
61-2 Fail Code : 032
61-3 Fail Code : 032"
Mine has the dreaded "scrunch" too, but it isn't bad enough yet to get fixed. I'll take it in one of these months....
Good Luck!
-Pete
Thanks for the info. Do you know if this problem is covered under warranty and/or will the dealer feign ignorance on this kind of problem? Any additional advice as to how to proceed with a remedy would be appreciated. I'm going to check out that site you suggested. Thanks again. jackb10
-Pete
Just got the Pilot back from Honda. They coated the door seals with a silicone lubricant and so far the squeak, scrunch, and creak is gone. Whew. I've read in pilot-org.com that this is a common fix but temporary. We'll see. Thanks to all who helped.
This solution has never failed for me, car starts every time.
- Turn key to on position (I think it's marked II)
- Green light with the key on it should come on for a few seconds then go off.
- Continue to start car after green light has gone off
No starting problem since this process has been used.
Thanks in advance from a paranoid future Pilot owner.
Ken
Well, I have not experienced either of these problems: no noise from sloshing gasoline and the headlights are excellent. I do not know if Honda changed anything after hearing earlier complaints. My vehicle was manufactured in November 2002.
I love this SUV more every time I drive it.
John from Monroeville
PS: it is not perfect...Honda should do something about the QUIRKY gearshift lever. Bad form for such an otherwise great design.
John of Monroeville, PA
The sound level can usually can be ameliorated by opening more than one window (or the sunroof, if you have one).
John from Monroeville, PA
I think what you are hearing is the electric fuel pump, which will run prior to engine turnover. BUT, the fuel delivery system in most modern automobiles is designed to retain pressure in the lines after shutdown. Waiting for the fuel pump to run prior to turning the engine over, SHOULD NOT be necessary.
John from Monroeville PA
I don't have a problem with shifting into D since I started pulling the shifter towards than going down. The only thing I still do from time to time is pull on the windshield washer stalk.
New windshield for my car was $700 from dealer, $250 from an independcent shop. I got the Nissan one because the Manufacturer paid for the repair under warranty but if it was my money..........
I applaud your wife for being honest! The dealer can say what they want, but the only way those surveys can help Honda corp. is if they're accurate. I wish more people would honestly answer those surveys, maybe then some of the bottom-feeder dealerships would be out, making room for the respectable dealers.
But what I wish they had a section for was all the rude, slimey dealers that I had to deal with before I got to one that I liked. Yes, I voted with my purchase, but I wish they had a 'most unpleasant' dealer experience section.
Cheap lying bustards!
I just threw it to the garbage. I, probably, should 've notified American Honda about this issue...
Don't know your problem is same as mine, but do you have the Honda towing package? I had a pretty fast leak from my power steering right from the start. It was caused by the botched installation of the power steering cooler in the trailer hitch package.
Drove it home the first night from the dealer and the PS pump was making bad noises by the time we got to our driveway. I looked under the hood and only 1/4 of the PS fluid was left in reservoir. It then took the dealer 3 days to get it back to me since they were having a hard time located a new PS pump. No problems with the PS since then.
Thanks, Angie
Good luck!
I think some of the OEM bulbs are defective and that could explain why not everyone sees the cutoff.
If she isn't happy, I will repost. In any event, I think I can keep her out of my Tundra for now.