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Comments
Kip
After reading your "D" to D2 or D3" issue, I found I was unable to shift also -- When I came to a stop I tried to shift it again -- Within a few seconds the lever finally shifted to D3, then 2, and 1 -- I went for a drive, trying to shift while riding -- It worked -- Yea !! -- It seems like I just had to “break it in”
I disagree with the person who said “Put it in ‘D’ and leave it there” ..
I was reading the manual and it did not say anything about not shifting while driving -- It says to “pull the shift lever towards you” when shifting from D3 to 2, or from 2 to 1
It goes on to say to “move the shift lever” when shifting from D to D3, or D3 to D, or 1 to 2, or from 2 to D3
I hope this manual info helps you !!
TiaCia
thanks.
any suggestions would be very helpful.
thanks
thanks again.
Anyhow, I must say that the Pilot was hit by someone doing at least 50mph. smashed the front fender, door, bent the hood. The cabin on the other hand was in tact. I am amazed and pleased with how the car held up. Had we been in it, we would have been shaken but not injured. A testament to the quality of a Honda.
Maybe the '09 will be worth it.
Just ordered a Chilton Repair Manual. Fix things myself hereafter.
Recon some of that time involved the diagnostics.
Wondering if that wire just might fall into the EPA "emissions" category. Think there is a separate warranty with that.
Might be worth checking out.
Kip
I just wanted to share with everyone that I got 75,000 miles out of the orginal set of brake pads on our '04 Pilot. As I do some towing with our pilot I was surprised they lasted so long. I had been checking the amount of pad left frrom time to time and finally decided to change them before we left on a trip to Florida (from KY). The orginal pads still had pad left on them and could have easily lasted another 5-10,000 miles (in my opinion).
The rear pads wore at the same rate as the front pads, so I replaced front and rear at the same time. They were very easy to change. I ordered the new pads from Majestic Honda. I ordered the pads on Monday and they arrived Wednesday evening!!! I called my local Honda dealer in Lexington KY (good old Don Jacob's) and priced a set of the rear pads, they wanted $76. I told them I could order them on-line for $48 Plus $15 S&H, they said they weren't Honda Parts (WRONG!!!). Majestic showed the List price as $68 and sale price as $48. So good old Don wanted more than list price for the pads.
This is the second time I have ordered from Majestic over the net and I have been very happy with their price and time of delivery. The first time I ordered a new pass. side mirror (the wife hit a mailbox with it). I got the color I needed (Sandstone) and it got here in 3 days!! It was list priced at something like $325 and Majestic had it for $168!! (plus S&H) It arrived and I had it on in less then an hour. You can't tell that it was ever changed.
Woody
I can I do most of the work myself? THE DEALERS WILL NEVER CHANGE, THEY ARE FRAUDULENT PEOPLE.!!!!
Are you talking about the extended warranty?
Unless you purchased something out of the ordinary, warranties fix stuff that goes wrong or is wrong with the vehicle. Such as parts that break, or are defective, or leaks, or misalignment of parts, wiring problems, parts that loosen or fall off, paint, and such.
Normal wear items, such as wiper blades, tires, brake pads, batteries are not covered except for rare circumstances. Tires and batteries have their own warranties. But even with the tires, the owner has responsibilities. If a tire wears prematurely and the pressure is wrong or the front end alignment was the cause, good luck.
Routine "Maintenance" (to maintain) is the responsibility of the owner. This includes changing of engine oil, transmission service, filters, and so forth. If the vehicle is maintained properly, the warranty stays in effect for it's intended life.
A lot of the stuff they do at 30K is simply to head off potential problems or help some wear items to last longer, such as rotating the tires and aligning the front end. . And a lot of that is simply looking at, checking, or measuring different things. Such as measuring thickness of remaining brake pads and tire tread, belt condition, covers on the CV joints. Other things are "Need to be done" items, such as changing the engine oil, servicing the trany and rear end (4WD) and, changing filters so forth. We can do those things ourselves or pay someone to do them for us to keep the warranty in effect and keep the vehicle running longer and at it's best.
If the Honda dealer takes care of the maintenance, the details are in their computer and they are a lot more likely to take care of "Warranty" problems. If you don't do them or don't have proof they were done, or non "Honda Approved" parts are used, you may have problems. FWIW: If I were doing the maintenance myself, I would use "Honda" filters and parts. There may be better stuff available, and there is definitely worse stuff available. But if "Honda" is written on the part, they have less of an argument. Especially if I purchased them from their parts counter.
I stop by the dealer for routine oil changes. Their "Express" service gets me in and out in a timely manner. They change the (semi-synthetic blend) oil and the filter, and top off the wiper fluids, coolant, and break fluids if needed. They also check and correct the tire pressure. Filters, oil and fluids are the Honda recommended stuff. They even run it through a car wash. Well worth the $35 to me. And sometimes I have a promotional coupon that reduces the cost $5.
Sure I could use Jiffy Lube or equivalent places and save a few bucks. But the NO NAME or "Fram" filter and high school kid doing the work bother me.
But that is just me, your mileage may vary!
Kip
Thanks,
jcancel53
I've bought 60+ cars in my life and have come to the conclusion that everyone at a dealership will take as much money from you as they possibly can. Commissions= money in their pocket. When a new/used car is sold, the salesman makes more or less money depending on the profit they made. The new/used car manager gets a piece of the action as well as the general manager and of course the owner. That is money on the "Front End". So the more they can make, the more each earns. Period!
The finance manager makes his money by "Selling" your loan to a bank or finance company. For instance: He runs your credit and find that you are an excellent credit risk. He then gets on line or calls the finance institution they like to do business with. In this case, say Honda Finance. So he is told they will loan the money at 6%. He tells you 10%. Any difference in the two is how his commission is figured.
Example: At 6% the life of the loan might involve you paying say $3000 in finance charges. And that is what the finance company expects to make. But at a higher rate the finance charge might be $5000. Since the finance company will be receiving your payment, they give the finance man or dealer the $2000 difference. I don't know how or when they get the money to him. Lump sum? Monthly? Other? "This is called the Back End".
He also makes a commission on Extended warranties. The 7/70 extended Honda Care warranty in 03 on our new Pilot was around $1600. We ended up paying closer to $900. Finance man wasn't real happy about that.
Service writer will often times try to sell you stuff you don't really need as they get a salary + a small commission on the business they write.
Just about every one at a dealership will twist the truth a bit to make more profit.
I visit a dealership with this in mind: If their lips are moving they probably are not telling the whole truth. :sick:
Last time I "nearly" traded cars, I knew it was worth $17,500 trade. I told the salesman that was what I expected from the start. They offered $13,500 for my 03 Pilot about a year ago. My car had 27K miles, no door dings or scratches and the leather interior is perfect. I stood up, thanked him for his time, and asked for my keys. He looked shocked that I could pass up such a deal. I told him again that I wanted my keys. The keys were on the managers desk. The salesman went into the office, said something to the manager and the manager followed him back to me. After several times of his going back and forth to "THE DESK" they made the final offer of $16,500.
I gave them that deer in the head lights look and went to his desk and got my keys myself. By the time I was at the front door the General manager got involved. She got it up to $17,200. This was within $300 of what I wanted.
I said, "Show it to me on paper", which she did. I couldn't help but notice that the car I was trading for was nearly $900 more than originally quoted. She said it was because it had some stuff on it that had not been added to the invoice. She got annoyed when I asked what the stuff was. I thanked them for their time and left in my Pilot. Which I still happily own!
This was an internet sale. The price of their car was set. The only thing we had to do was figure my trade. At the time, Kelly Blue Book showed my Pilot at $17,500 trade, $19,500 Person to Person , and $21,500 dealer retail. If they had given me the $17,500 for my car and sold it for the $21,500 average they would have made $3000 and had 2 happy customers. But their greed of trying to make that additional profit off of me will keep me away from their door in the future.
If they had gotten my car for the $13,500 and sold it for the "Average" dealer retail of $21,500, they would have made $8000 profit.
BEWARE! If their lips are moving they are probably lying.
Kip
~ Claude Rains
These guys are big crooks.
My honda pilot buying experience which I have explained in detail in the dealer review for DCH Brunswick Honda in NJ was completely a pleasant surprise. I wasn't trading in any car and was paying cash. They gave me a quote and held the price. The only extra thing I saw when I went to the dealership over the price quote was about 200 for window etching of the VIN number which I asked them to remove. They did that without a fuss. The finance manager tried to sell me th extended warranty which I declined and bought online. All in all the experience was too good to be true and I was kept up my guard the whole time waiting for the strike that never happened. But this was my only pleasant car buying experience.
For the most part, these guys are a bunch of liars. When I was looking for a RAV4, the sales lady at Toyota of Manhattan made me trudge all they way to upper west side after promising me that they had the model I was looking for and then had the cheek to tell me "We have the Sport version? why do you want the Limited ? I'ts as good". I told them that I would take the sport version if they could install the side curtain airbags while we did the paper work !!. Overall, I find these car dealers are a bunch of crooks and they probably get enough suckers.
With 53K miles, it seems early to replace brakes.
Thanks for any input.
$450-$500 seems a bit much at 50K miles. What does Honda Dealer charge ?
Brake pads themselves are not expensive. The whole set (4) can be replaced in less than an hour, with the correct tools. (Tires can be rotated at the same time. at no charge)
One of the national muffler or brake shops is advertising $99 to replace the pads. .
Rebuilding the calipers, turning the disc, replacing the brake fluid can be time consuming and fairly costly for parts. But I would doubt that all needs to be done at 50K miles.
I would definitely get prices from other sources.
Kip
http://www.hondapilot.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8165
We purchased my wife's '08 Pilot ex-L AWD about six months ago from Bloomington Honda in the Twin Cities. They also responded w/the best price to an email I sent to a number of dealerships in the area re: the make/model/color we wanted. I was fully expecting to sell our minivan on our own, for fear they'd try and lowball us on it's value. Instead I was pleasantly surprised at what they paid us for the van, so I took their deal. On top of that the finance guy called someone at Honda and got us a 1% better rate on financing even though the stated Honda factory deal indicated our credit rating wasn't supposed to support the lower rate (we have good credit, but not 800+ credit). The only part of the deal that was "typical" was that the finance guy tried pretty hard to sell us the extended warranty on the spot; I forget what the price was. I told him several times that I would purchase the warranty in a few years as my regular warranty was expiring, but he kept pushing. But no big deal, I just kept telling him "no".
I'm sure there are still dealers that are operating with a "the customer is a rube" philosophy. But I think they're a dying breed.
That would be great!
With the "Near" deal I described above, I had used Edmunds to "Build the car" and submitted it, through Edmunds, to dealers in my area. The dealers with "Internet Sales" . I picked the lowest bid and went there after corresponding with them via computer and phone.
The price I had from them held true. No problem there.
The problem developed when it came to my trade. Keep in mind that we may tend to add a lot of sentimental value to our cars before trading them. They may not be worth nearly so much to the dealer as they are to us, in our minds.
In my case: Late summer of 07. With the exception of fuel, washing, and driving, everything that had been done to the Pilot was done at a Honda dealer, under the "Severe Service" schedule, As most trips are under 10 miles. Oil was changed at 3700 mile intervals which is about every 6 months or so. So all this was verifiable. The Pilot had 27K miles on the odometer.
Before starting Trade negotiations, I had the Internet manager look over my Pilot. He found no door dings, paint flaws or interior flaws. The tires were still in beautiful condition, and there was 43,000 mile and 30+ months remaining on the "HONDA CARE" 7/70 extended warranty. Total mileage was low 27Ks. He admitted, it was one of those rare cars that actually fell into the "Excellent" category. They didn't even need to detail it, as I already had.
I had used Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds, and NADA to settle on a "TRADE IN" price.
That price is approximately $3K less than "Dealer Selling " price. And about $2K less than Private Party Price. So I was being as realistic as possible.
All the negotiations, we did, showed the price of the new vehicle remaining constant. So I had no problem there. Problem was with them attempting to steal my car.
However, when the General Manager (GM) got involved, the price on my used car went to within a couple of hundred of what I expected. I was tired and ready to take that, until I noticed that the new car price had somehow creeped up about $900.
When I questioned that, the GM said some "Add ON" items were on the new one that were not on the window. I said, "Your prices came out of your book, not off the window. What are the $900 worth of items." She couldn't answer and seemed agitated. I left.
When a car is traded in, there are two people to deal with. The NEW Car Manager and the USED car manager. They are two separate departments. BOTH trying to make as much profit as possible.
Example: USED car department tells the NEW car folks they will pay $8K for the trade, that might actually be worth say $!0k.
Your salesman tells you, your trade will bring $6k today as they need your car. If this happens, the used car guy pays the new car guy the $8K and the new car guy has just made $2k on your trade, plus profit on the new one. The used car guy payed $2K under true value. Everybody at the dealership is happy!
If you hang tough, they will use that $2k wiggle room to negotiate a few hundred dollars at a time. If you are real tough, they might go back to the used car guy for more money. He was really able to pay more than the $8K, but why should he, if the new car guy will take the $8k.? FWIW they "deal" with each other also. :sick: Now, the NEW car guy might even get on the phone and "Shop your trade, if the USED car guy won't do better. Remember you trade is actually worth $10K as a trade. They can make a good profit on your car by giving you the $10K and selling it at the Retail value. BUT if they can make more money , they will.
The more profit they make, the more each involved person makes in commissions. PERIOD! That is how they make their living. The customer foots the bill. They do this every day and are Professionals at what they do. We do this every few years and don't have a clue what is going on each time our salesman goes back and forth to the "Tower" or "Room" trying to make the deal.
Buyer beware ! Confirm the selling price of the car you are buying. Arrange financing before you go to the dealer. Often times the dealer will match or better your financing if they HAVE too. BE REALISTIC ABOUT THE TRUE VALUE OF YOUR TRADE AHEAD OF TIME. DON'T LET EMOTIONS COST YOU. YOU MIGHT HEAR SOMETHING LIKE, "WHY THAT IS ONLY $42 A MONTH MORE THAN YOU HAD PLANNED ON. ARE YOU GOING TO LET $42 KEEP YOU OUT OF THE CAR YOU WANT". Keep in mind that little $42 a month is $3,000 over 72 months. :sick:
Kip
Off Topic. Seems like you had a lot of life left in your 03 pilot under warranty. Why wouldn't you just keep it?
Thanx!
mercara,
Excellent question! In hindsight, I agree with you 100%.
(Stupid as it seems now) Here is how it went down:
My next door neighbor decided he wanted to try camping. My family spent several years camping, and memories of those wonderful times still linger. So I was eager to help. I'm retired so I really don't have many "Have to do Things"!
He needed two things. A camper and something to pull it with. He decided on a light weight hard sided camper that would fold or telescope for easier towing and better fuel mileage. Choices were a Hi-LO or a Trail Manor. He decided on the Trail Manor. Not my choice, but he is spending the money! Then we spent the better part of the '07 summer driving and comparing every type of truck made.
(Meanwhile, I was starting to really want another camper again.)
Eventually I talked him into driving a Ridgeline. Honda was having some serious incentives and he bought a $29K Ridgeline, ready to tow, for something like $23,500.
In my mind I had decided to seriously consider one of the makes of fiberglass "Egg" campers. Light weight, easy to tow with a even a small car, shaped like an Air Stream, and plenty of room for me and the wife to camp for a week at a time. The Pilot would easily tow it, as it only weighs 1300-2000 pounds.
Needed to get the 7 pin electrical connector that would charge the camper battery and operate the camper electric brake. Well guess what! Not available through Honda. The Ridgeline has it. But not the Pilot. Went to a respected Hitch house. They said they could do it, but had never actually done it before. That got scary!
So my mind turned to the Ridgeline. My neighbor's was towing his Trail Manor with ease. And I was on a roll! Thank goodness, the dealer trying to steal my Pilot, brought me back to my senses.
This Pilot is a wonderful vehicle, and does everything we need. If I drive it for pure economy, at 60 MPH with little to no AC, it will return 26+ MPG. At 70 with full AC, it returns 23-24 MPG. If I need to haul something, that won't fit inside or on top, I have a utility trailer.
Thanks,
Kip
Where I have the problem is with the fact that they don't give me the option of towing something with electric brakes. The only choice Pilot owners have had is "surge" brakes. Surge brakes work fairly well, but are "Re-active" . When the tow vehicle slows quickly enough, the trailer pushes against it's hitch/coupler and hydraulics apply the trailer brakes.
If backing up a hill, over a curb, and such, the surge trailer brake may activate because the hitch is being compressed, just as it would be if braking while going forward.
This requires getting the pressure off the coupler and inserting a pin to keep the coupler from compressing. Need to remember to remove the pin before getting back on the road. Electric brakes only operate when getting an electrical signal from the tow vehicle or driver.
Electric brakes, if properly set up, will apply a slight amount of brake to the trailer before the tow vehicle begins to brake. This really helps to avoid "Jack Knifes", and can even correct swaying when going down long steep grades in the mountains. Or swaying due to a passing 18 wheeler or heavy cross winds. Electric brake controlers have a lever that can be operated by hand that will apply trailer brakes "only" if need be.
I've dealt with both types over the years and they each have their place.
Just pisses me off, me that Toyota, Nissan, GM, Ford, and Chrysler all offer the 7 pin connector with their tow packages, but Honda does not. :mad:
Possibly the 09 Pilots, with the integrated Class 3 hitch, do!
Rant over!
Kip
Thanks.
Brought it to the dealer and they replaced the battery, still under warantee.
First issue with my 07
Well my first problem with my Pilot happened over the weekend and conveniently on vacation. My battery wouldnt start, had enough juice to run the accessories but not enough to crank it. Lucky for me our hotel was about 10 minutes from a Honda dealer and got it replaced under warranty.
They said that they have had some issues with certain batteries from Honda doing that, think I was about the 6th one they replaced in a couple of weeks.
I am in Las Vegas so temps are 100+ between May and Aug, so batteries do not last as long here.
When I bought the Pilot back in 2006, I noticed the brand of battery was "Delco". At that time I thought wow, that is going to come back haunt Honda. It did!
I have no opinion as to Delphi or Delco batteries.
My point is that Honda is very particular about its suppliers of components. For example, when you read through Honda owner's manuals, it specifies Honda fluids and parts in every situation, from refill to replacement.
According to the owner's manual, Honda brand fluids are required. If other brands are used, it is necessary to have that system flushed and replaced with 100%Honda fluids.
I have owned GM, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Audi vehicles and none of these manufacturers have been so particular about use of its own parts and fluids as Honda is.
In this situation Honda probably misjudged the quality of the Delphi battery and is doing a great job at replacing these batteries for their customers at little or no cost.
Other than a fabulous lawnmower, My 2006 Pilot EX/4WD is the first Honda I have owned. There have been ZERO issues with this vehicle. I live in Las Vegas, and it performs well in the heat. We drive to Utah to ski 2-3 times per winter and it performs well in frigid cold, deep snow, and steep icy terrain. This past summer we drove from Las Vegas to northern Utah. It was an 1100 mile trip with the A/C full blast with two adults and two kids and all the luggage. I did try to keep the speed at 75mph or less. MPG for the trip was 25.2.
I would buy another Pilot.
The Magnuson-Moss Act generally prohibits tie-in sales to keep a warranty in force.
"Such a provision would require a purchaser of the warranted product to buy an item or service from a particular company to use with the warranted product in order to be eligible to receive a remedy under the warranty." Federal Trade Commission
If your dealer tells you that you can't use a conforming but non-Honda branded oil or fluid in your car, you may want to contact the FTC or your local consumer protection agency and ask them to investigate.
Our 2008 Pilot is our 4th Honda, and I always saw less than 1 quart of oil consumption for 5000 miles. I didn't drive any of our Hondas more than 100,000 miles though. Perhaps you have a very high mileage Pilot, which could explain the wear on the engine ... and perhaps the dealer saw the high mileage, that's why he said it was normal.
Ralph, what brake malfunction ? And what's the difference betwee the EX-L brakes and the other models brakes ? I thought all of them were exactly the same.