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Comments
Overall, I really like the design and features of the 06 Pilot. However, I have been extremely dissapointed with the build quality.
Since picking up the new car, I began to notice a number of creaks and rattles in the interior. Not what I expected from a Honda (I also have a 2003 S2000 that has been flawless for 18,000 miles). After being worked on for 6 service hours, mainly applying silicone grease, most of the rattles disappeared. Several weeks later, they started to return.
I also noticed that the front passanger door rubs the quarter panel, resulting in a spot (below the hinge) where the paint has been rubbed off. This has not yet been fixed. Not sure what the fix would be, either...
My wife has noticed the audio (both nav and stereo) has gone off. This lasted for about 20 minutes, with no apparent cause. There was a loud "popping" sound, and the audio mysteriously returned. Sounds like some sort of electrical gremlin.
Then the biggest issue occurred on Tuesday before Christmas. The Pilot died, leaving my pregnant wife stranded in a snow storm. We had to have the car towed to our dealership the next day. According to the service tech, the "third bearing" was "contaminated at the factory" and "disintegrated" in the engine. This caused metal flakes to circulate in the oil, and eventually clog up somewhere in the engine, resulting in the lack of oil pressure.
Long story short, the recommended fix is to now replace every engine part that has oil going through it ("short block, cylinder heads," etc...).
My wife is now driving around in a lovely, powder puff blue 4 cyl Toyota Camry loaner. It is a perfectly fine vehicle, just not an eight passanger, AWD SUV. Sure made for a fun drive from Cleveland to Boston for Christmas...
Now I am thinking that my Pilot is a :lemon: . Certainly not what I was expecting from Honda, given my favorable S2000 experience. Maybe this has something to do with vehicles being assembled in Alabama around/following Katrina. Who knows?
I have filed a case with Honda of NA requesting that they replace my vehicle with a new one (hopefully one made in the Ontario plant). If they do, I'll just consider this a "mulligan." If not, well, I think I'll switch to being a Toyota guy (4Runner, not light blue Camry).
Will update this posting when I hear from Honda of NA.
I pushed back, saying that it was my hope to remain a loyal Honda customer. My confidence in the car and company has been shaken, and in good faith, I'm not able to recommend Honda to friends and collegues.
The Honda rep recommended replacing the engine (which will likely take another week). He said the car would be "good as new." Maybe so, but I'm still spooked about this car. Too many issues on a new vehicle...
At the very least, I'm going to press American Honda to provide an extended Honda Care warranty gratis, for my troubles. The Honda rep said that would be on table for discussion, but that their first priority was getting my vehicle back in service.
Will update...
Hope everything works out for you. Keep up on posting your experiences here, I'll be watching to see what happens next.
I do think there are two sides to these issues. A small percentage of even the most reliable cars are going to have major problems, and Honda is meeting it's obligations under the warranty. I don't think Honda is behaving any differently than any other mfg - I have not heard of a car company simply replacing a vehicle in this situation.
I also think there is a good chance the car will be "good as new" if the work is performed competently. While there might be a slight resale hit if the car was sold in the near term, it won't be much of a factor once the car has 50K miles of good service - I certainly wouldn't hesitate to buy a new car that had it's engine replaced early in it's life if it has a good service record following the repair.
It does sound like Honda is willing to go with a free extended warranty. If you have a warranty to 120K miles on the new engine, that seems like a fairly good assurance that any problems with the engine will be Honda's problems, not yours, for as long as you own the car.
I know it is attractive to think the a car company should just step in and provide a new car whenever an owner has a major problem with a recently purchased vehicle. But if all the car mfgs did this, they'd have to raise the price of cars accordingly and we'd all pay, one way or the other. It's a zero-sum game.
Like I said, two sides to this issue. Good luck getting satisfactory resolution regardless.
- Mark
Just bug them more. A month is way too long.
Good luck
tom
Thank you Tom!
BTW my Pilot is Steel Blue
I had the Rear Camera on my 2003 Pilot Navi (it was an additional option then) but no back up sensors. I do drive often in reverse and there were several close calls where the camera did not help. The camera has certain spots that it just can't see. I knew then that my new Pilot would need BU Sensors. The 2006 Navi has the rear view camera included but I do need the sensors.
Now you know!
I agree with the backup camera and the backup sensors. Each has their advantages (and disadvantages). The Lexus LS 430 I bought my father has both camera and sensors- which makes parking a breeze!
Hope this helps!
tom
I went through the same thing. I had a Suburban because I needed to carry 8 comfortably which I didn't feel was possible in the old Tahoe. The 'burban was too big, so I bought a Sequoia. The Sequioa was still big and thirsty, so I bought a Nissan Minivan, which was still big (bigger than a Tahoe, actually) and got terrible mileage also.
I ended up buying the Pilot because it will seat 8 comfortably, as long as 3 of them are smaller adults or children. I have not seen the new Tahoe, but I'm sure the 3rd row is bigger than the outgoing model. My wife is very happy driving the Pilot.
In terms of mileage, the Pilot is decent- not great. You'll do better with a Toyota minivan. If you only want a 2wd Pilot, it too has the cylinder deactivation, but this will only help with highway driving, not city (EPA 18/24). I would expect the mileage on the AWD Pilot (EPA 17/22) to still be better than the 4wd Tahoe (EPA 15/21) with cylinder deactivation. Of course, this depends totally upon how you drive.
One final thought, the first year production of GM trucks tends to be much less reliable than the outgoing model. It takes a year or two for build quality to improve. Just something to think about.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
tom
1. Cylinder deactivation can only go so far to help mileage and the Tahoe is thousand lbs heavier. I'd expect the Pilot to always do noticeably better in mileage, at least a couple mpg. Whether this is significant to you...
2. GM SUVs have historically had a fair to poor reliability record.
3. 2007 is the first year of a re-design and the first year is always more problematic.
If you don't need AWD, then the 2WD Pilot would be a great choice - by far the best mileage in a 8-passenger SUV.
I know you said you don't want a minivan, but honestly, the best people hauler out there is the new Odyssey and it gets better mileage yet. It's a smoother drive than the Pilot and because it's lighter, it's in many ways a sportier drive. Getting people in/out is SO much eaiser. If you haven't driven one, you should. The only way I'd get a Pilot over a Odyssey is if I wanted AWD, off-road, and/or towing.
- Mark
The pilot 2 wdr lighter than the odyssey
Odyssey EX 4475 PIlot EX 4341 diff 134 lbs
---- LX 4378 ---- LX 4264 dif 114 ---
With a ground clearence of only 4.3 ! the Odyssey even has difficulty with some driveway curbs - my friend has to back out his driveway at an angle otherwise the front bumper will scape the curb..forget even the slightest bumpy dirtroad.
- Is everything olive (dash, door panels, etc) ? Or is it only teh seats which are olive, and all the panels etc stay grey ??
Could it be related to the ANC? :confuse:
In any event, unless one really needed the extra towing and somewhat better off-road capabilities of the Tahoe, I'd go with the Pilot. And if you did need better towing/off-road, I'd look at a V8 4Runner before a Tahoe, although you'd have a much smaller cabin. Tradeoffs, tradeoffs...
- Mark
Sunil
The AWD system in the Pilot is on demand- it normally runs FWD until the computer notices slipping of the front wheels, then power is redirected rearward. I'd rather be in my Subaru than my Pilot in the snow (Subarus are awesome in snow- better than these huge overweight SUVs- having owned a few) but the Pilot will do just fine. I wouldn't expect it to do more than just easy off roading though. You will need something much more robust, ie jeep, range rover, MB G-wagon, etc.
I believe the Highlander is also on demand AWD, as opposed to true 4WD, making it about equivalent to the Pilot.
tom
I just bought 2006 EX-.L Pilot and like you did not notice a noise at first but I now notice a rattling noise from the passenger window area when I hit 40 -45 miles/hour. My engine noise is a littl eloud but tolerable.
I'm taking it back to the dealer and asking them to look into it.
cheers
Mike
I have the Pilot EXL and live in northern Minnesota next to lake Superior. It is hilly and in a recent snow storm there were cars stalled on the hills but the Pilot easily went around them with no problems. I have also driven on narrow forest trails north of Ely, Minnesota with no problems. The Pilot goes in snow.
I have taken the vehicle off road in farm fields with no problem but I think the Pilot is not designed for off road use. It seems folks from snow country learn to drive with the limitations of the conditions and other folks may get into problems by going beyond the limits of the conditions.
In short, I purchased the Pilot because it would and does perform well in snowy, slippery conditions.
Good Luck.
1. Any experience with this alarm? How does it really differ with the one the Pilot came with?
2. Would I be notified by the Lojack system if a flat bed truck steals the Pilot?
3. Should it have been better to have Ravelco installed instead? (I live in New York City!).
I love the Pilot! Thanks for any input!
Good Luck,
Will
And please report on your deal in the Honda Pilot: Prices Paid & Buying Experience discussion.
Steve, Host
Will
I've never seen any publication (including MT) say that either the MDX or Pilot is a very good off-road vehicle. Between the unibody, part-time AWD, lack of low-range, lack of diff locks, independent suspension, etc., there just isn't a level of off-road equipment here to compete with a 4Runner, Pathfinder, or Grand Cherokee, let alone a serious off-roader like a Wrangler. The Pilot/MDX are basically jacked-up Odyssey minivans with a light-duty VTM4 system to the rear wheels. They're fine for light-duty off-road and snow but that's it.
- Mark
Thanks,
Will
In real world situations they will both do fine in poor weather and light off roading. In poor conditions the Honda allows you to lock in AWD, kinda like a surrogate 4WD. In situations where traction is a major issue (mud, uneven surfaces, steep inclines) neither SUVs will do well. Their AWD systems weren't designed for it. You will need 4WD as opposed to AWD (if you don't know the difference look it up) and a more (or less, depending how you look at it) suspension.
But since most SUV's never see anything beyond rain and snow on pavement (I've gone offroad a handful of times at most when I had my Suburban and Sequioa), most people don't need more than AWD and would rather have the more comfortable and roomy SUVs (like the Pilot and Highlander) that get better gas mileage.
Hope this helps
tom
- Mark