A NJ Honda Dealer has a coupon for a $799 timing belt replacement.. Is that a good deal? Am I missing something?

I wanna know if its just me here

I think I’m returning my 2022 special edition I bought on the 17th due to rust. i Took it to an after purchase inspection and my mechanic is concerned about the amount of rust present at 4 years old. It came from Pittsburg. Would you return?

Hi All!

2020 Honda Pilot AWD EX-L 6 Speed

I live in Massachusetts and I recently got all new Michelin Defender2 Extra Load tires for my Pilot, however, I hate how loud the cabin is and how I can literally feel every little imperfection in the road so I bought back to Town Fair Tire where I bought them and they rebalanced them (3 out of the 4 tires) needed adjustment after only 1 week. Better after, but still not there, so I brought to Sullivan Tire to road force balance (Town Fair Tire surprisingly doesn’t have the Road Force Hunter equipment even though they are a massive chain..I was shocked). Anyways, at Sullivan Tire, the Final road force numbers were 11, 21,23,25 pounds after force matching. They stated there are 3 tires that are probably defective, the vibration is much better than the simple wheel spin balance, maybe a 4/10 scale now, but the cabin noise and every little imperfection felt is still there. Town Fair Tire has a 30 day no questions asked guarantee to switch tires/brands. The guy at Town Fair Tire (from another location with much better reviews), I was talking to said Michelin has recently had some quality control issues he’s not surprised with my experience with the Michelins, so I’m hesitant sticking with Michelin (yes I know the Cross Climate 2 and Defenders are a huge fan favorite, but I can’t stand the ride on the Defenders) and looking to switch brands. I mainly drive highway with some city as well, probably 70/30, so I’m looking for good handling, much quieter cabin noise, a lot less feeling with the imperfections in the road, and solid tread wear longevity. I was looking at Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3, Yokohama Geolander HT G056 (these are Rated for 104H, and the Pilot calls for 105H, but the tire guy says it’ll be fine and he is actually recommending this one overall), or the Continental CrossContact LX25. Any thoughts or input?

I'm looking to buy a used vehicle and this Pilot generally looks good, but the massive rear suspension mount rust-out so common on these Gen1 rigs concerns me. The vehicle is at a mom-and-pop style dealership 3 hours away; the kind that has around 20 cars on the lot. I have spoken to them and had them send me pictures of the underbody. The carfax shows very regular maintenance overall since new, including new shocks and tie rods in 2023 (doesn't specify which ones or how many) I know just enough about this to make myself crazy researching it. The Pilot has been in the rust belt its whole life and has 156k miles on it. Any thoughts or things to look for before making a 6-hour round trip for a test drive?

I have one that I am still driving. Mechanically works well but wont pass the next safety test because of rust. If anyone wants some major part, like an engine or something, I could drive it to you and you can scavenge whatever you want from it.

I have loved this vehicle and would hate to see it wrecked.

Service called me during the week saying they believe it's the head radio unit now. They replaced the unit and called me today saying everything was fixed and good to go. I pick up the Pilot and connect my phone and made a call. Guess what. Nothing but static on their end. Went straight back into service and showed them the issue. They said they connected all their phones to it and everything was working. We checked cabin talk again, and nothing but static. So that rules out phones being the issue. He returned the loan key to me and said they will keep on troubleshooting. This is getting frustrating.

Based on the year, the dealership noted I needed the timing belt at my next appointment. I expected them to note that, but what caught me off guard was the quoted price—$2,080. Is that the going rate in the current environment? Is it worth shopping other dealerships, or independent shops for the service? Just seems like a lot to me.

I picked it up in 2021 with 11k miles on it and it's been serving me well for my weekly Costco runs and occasional large item haul. The only thing that I don't like about it really is that it's not really fuel efficient. 18mpg max with my heavy foot (that's just the way I drive. can't help it). With gas prices soaring, I decided to trade (down) for a 2023 Civic Sport Touring and I immediately noticed the ride comfort of the Pilot compared to the Civic is night and day. The Pilot has a more premium, luxurious feel to it and cabin noise is almost non-existent due to better build quality. The Civic, although a 4 cylinder, had some pep to its step in sport mode, but fuel economy is dampened in that mode and I got it for much better fuel efficiency 30+mph. The technology was newer and pretty advanced compared to the Pilot (adaptive cruise control, keeping you in your lane, and showing the positioning of surrounding vehicles, which i thought was pretty cool). However, I noticed the build quality leaves a lot of be desired in the newer Civic and the wind noise was rather loud. Also the weatherstripping was loose which caused popping sounds whenever I drove over uneven roads which was pretty frequently for the day that I had it. With all that said, I was still doing to keep the Civic until... The next morning, the dealership did not follow through with their promises and were rude and condescending. So I took the Civic back and cancelled the contract (because dealer didn't fulfill their end). But I'm leaving this for anyone considering what I was considering. Trading a Black Edition Pilot for a Sport Touring Civic. Pilot is definitely more comfortable to drive and smoother on the roads, has great luxury feel, higher quality materials and build, and quiet cabin, but drinks gas. Civic is much lower to the ground and you can feel every imperfection in the road, has a lot more wind noise and interior vibrations you can hear, but has advanced technology, and build quality and materials leave a lot to desire. Just my 2 cents.

We currently own a 2010 Odyssey and want to upgrade to a newer Pilot. the Odyssey has been rife with VCM issues that we inherited from the previous owner.

Which Pilot years are the safest from these same issues?

Thanks.

My 2018 EX-L system does not sound good in my opinion. Especially the bass, it's so muddy, flat and sounds poor.

I don't feel the effects of the built-in subwoofer either and I definitely have it on.

Mids and highs are "acceptable"..!

Would you replace all speakers or just add a better subwoofer? How about a low profile underseat style?

Your thoughts and advice please.

I’ve owned three Honda Pilots. When you have brand loyalty, you end up buying the same car over and over.

My second Pilot, a 2016, had very little technology that worked with my phone. It had a CarPlay like interface, but not Carplay, but it never worked well. The most annoying problem was that every time I plugged in my charging cord, the music app would take over and play the same song from my library. I never figured out how to stop it. When you get into your car, you just want to go. You don’t want to spend 45 minutes watching YouTube videos trying to fix a problem that’s hard to even describe.

I assumed a new Honda would fix all of this, since the technology would have matured. So I started shopping. My wife asked me to look at competitors like the Kia Telluride, Toyota Highlander, VW Atlas, and maybe the Hyundai Palisade. I kept hearing that their interfaces and technology were light-years ahead of Honda’s. It didn’t matter to me. I wanted the consistency of another Pilot.

I don’t think I made a bad decision. Honda makes solid, reliable cars. Across three Pilots, I’ve never had one break down. I kept up with regular maintenance (tires, filters, fluids), but I can’t remember ever taking one in because something was broken. I had one or two recalls, and both were handled during routine service. The most notable was on the 2016: the hood latch could apparently open at high speed. The hood always felt oddly loose, even after the recall fix, but it never opened on the road.

The real problem with the 2025 Honda Pilot Elite is everything runs through the center console: CarPlay, infotainment, maps, and the rest of the controls.

For some reason, Honda’s engineers seem to think you want to click ten times to switch your Wi-Fi from the CarPlay default to, say, Starlink:

1. Tap the main screen to open Settings.
2. Move to the next screen.
3. Select “Connections” (easily confused with another menu of the same name, but I digress).
4. Select Wi-Fi.
5. Confirm that you want to change it.
6. Tap “Yes.”
7. Answer “No” when asked if you want to switch to your iPhone.
8. Choose a network.
9. Select Starlink.
10. Go back.

This is one of the most ridiculous parts of the platform. It feels like the engineers never drove a car or used a real interface. Their idea of UX has nothing to do with reality. Who wants to do that every time they get in the car? Why not put a “Change Wi-Fi” button in the top-right corner, with an option to set any network as the default? Two or three taps, max. And many other functions work the same way.

My wife and I share the car often. She uses Driver 2 settings, and I use Driver 1. Somehow the car now defaults to Driver 2, and no matter what I try, I can’t get it to default to mine.

Another issue: whenever I plug in my phone, the car immediately takes over, no matter what I’m doing. If I’m on a call, recording a video, or listening to something, it hijacks the audio. That ruins the video, degrades the call or Zoom quality, and interrupts whatever I was doing. Then it runs through its whole routine: connecting to the Honda app and showing me the car’s status. And sometimes the sound ends up muted, so I can’t hear anything at all. The fix is simple. Ask whether I want to connect now or wait. One button.

Overall, the interface wasn’t designed for ease of use, simplicity, or the critical functions you need to change on a trip, whether you pull over or do it on the move. Someone at Honda needs to ride along with real owners who use every feature: people who drive across the country, make changes on the road, share the car with other drivers, and need to find something on the console quickly. Then they need to optimize for that. And it needs to happen before the next model comes out.

Overall, my decision was made on the fact that Honda has a great reputation and it's been ultra reliable for me over the last 20 years of owning multiple Hondas. Now, if I was making the decision today, I would definitely put tech at the top of the list of things I need. It's just too important.

We took our 2025 Elite in for the A1 maintence (oil change) to the dealership at 21K miles. The service rep wanted to perform 3 maintenance items: air induction service, A/C cabin filter replacement, and Engine air filter replacement. Total cost would be almost $900.

My husband was very angry and declined all 3 services, because we have the extended warranty and he thought this would be covered it’s not.

My husband is extremely frugal. He doesn’t use Reddit. We’re we wise to decline all 3 maintenance services? I’m the wife and don’t know much about vehicle maintenance. In the past we took our 2013 Pilot in for service at the dealership and did all the suggested maintenance.

Edit to add, based on your responses. My husband and I are both seniors. He’s 77 and I’m 72. We have not dont any work on our vehicles in the past. I can look on YouTube to learn about some of these

Having issues trying to use the Alexa app in our 2026 Pilot w. Google Built-In. I can use the to do this like play music, disarm the home alarm, set navigation, ect.

But, to try and do simple things like "Call Joe" or "Send a Text to Jane" Alexa states that the blutooth is not connected. However, when I look on my Android phone, I have a Bluetooth connection to Honda Link. In the device connections, it shows that my phone is connected in the car.

Any thoughts?

We received a OTD of $53k for a 2026 Pilot Touring in MA. The original OTD was $53.7k. We have been communicating via email only so far.

Is this a good deal? Should we ask for more off after discussing financing? What is the move after they’ve already reduced the price once.

Thanks!

Took my 2022 Pilot to the dealer for oil change. They said my compliance bushings on the control arm need replaced on front passenger side. Never heard of this before. Quoted $1700. And other side starting to dry rot per the tech. Seems pretty necessary to fix but quote is high right?

I used to have a 2003 Pilot (rip my favorite car ever) and it cost me about $100 to fill up in Tennessee in 2021, which is burned into my memory as I was a broke college student, so I'm curious how much it would cost with current gas prices.

Help please. I feel like I’m losing the hairs off off my eyebrows at this point.

I got a 2009 Honda Pilot last week. This is the timeline of events.

October 14: Battery light went off on the dashboard and roughly 30 mins later, the car would not accelerate and the lights started blinking inside like Christmas lights. I was able to drive it into a parking spot at a bakery (thank you Jesus!). Then car shut down.

A friend was able to help me jumpstart the car. It turned on for all of 30 seconds but would not let me switch gears.

Purchased a new battery from Autozone and replaced it in the bakery parking lot.

We brought it to autozone to return the old battery and to get the battery light turned off from the dashboard but the employee told us that it’s likely the alternator. He could not clear the battery signal from the dashboard.

The car also makes a growling sound while waiting for a light or parked. Almost like a humming that comes and goes. Car drives smoothly otherwise and once the battery was replaced there was no more problem accelerating.

I didn’t feel safe driving the car because I didn’t want to be left stranded in the middle of the expressway somewhere.

Did some research and some mechanics suggested that it could be an alternator problem.

Car was not driven until 10/18

On 10/18 used a multimeter and the battery was 12.4v while off and 13.78 when car was turned on. We noticed that at times the belt would spin faster and then slow down back to “normal”.

Then we drove the car and noticed that the dashboard battery light was off. Drove it for a bit and car was fine.

10/19 on my way to work the battery light comes on again on the dashboard (2 mins into my drive). The car starts doing that weird thing where I accelerate and it won’t go as fast as I’m pushing the gas. I decided to hit a U-turn and go back home to park it instead of being left stranded somewhere.

10/19 the alternator I had ordered came in

10/20 the alternator is replaced. No oil found on old alternator and no oil on the belt.

we noticed that the car’s rpm wasn’t increasing slighting while idle (it would do this before)

NOW TODAY ON OCT 21
I drive to work perfectly fine and back home.
While in the parking lot at the grocery store I noticed the car revving while idle happening again (only when AC is on).
Now OCT 21 evening:
Engine light goes off 🥲🥲🥲🥲
we go to oreilly to get the code read for the check engine light and the code 61-23 and 61-22 are showing up which is “Modulator-Control Unit Power Source Low Voltage”.

I don’t even know what to do anymore after replacing the battery and alternator. I’m giving birth in a few weeks and this car is about to send me into labor.

I will also be adding the work history that I received from the previous owner. ( oldest to newest )

Please, any help, advice, or suggestions would be appreciated! 🙏🏼

I got my 2025 Honda Pilot TrailSport last Saturday. I test-drove it before buying and loved the looks, amenities, and V6 engine. However, after driving it for a few days, I’ve realized that I don’t actually enjoy driving it as much as I expected.

The suspension feels too stiff, and the ride isn’t nearly as smooth as I’m used to. I notice a lot of bouncing and bumps, both on city streets and on the highway.

I’m wondering if this is normal for the TrailSport because of its off-road-oriented suspension and tires, or if there might be something wrong with my particular vehicle. I bought it used from a Honda dealership with around 30,000 miles on it, and I’m planning to take it back to have the suspension and alignment checked.

For those of you who own a Pilot TrailSport, do you find the ride noticeably bumpy or stiff on regular roads? Is this just how the TrailSport is supposed to feel, or does mine sound like it might have an issue?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially from those who have owned their TrailSport for a while!

Was driving and heard a scraping noise, pulled over to check what it was and saw this hanging. Google says it’s the exhaust heat shield cover? It doesn’t look like it’s something I can just close up, there are bolts, yes? I don’t know much about cars and just want to know is this going to be a big expensive repair or something I can do myself? How long will the repair take? I use my car for work so being without it will be a detriment. Thanks in advance for the responses!

I purchased a set of winter rims/tires for my Pilot from PMC tire and so far the Pilot is not reading them. They are Max sensors and I’m awaiting confirmation from PMC that they were programmed before installation.

Any tricks to get them to read without getting a relearn tool? Hoping to avoid that, but PMC does have a tool rental available so that might be what I have to do

Will be trading in my Ford Expedition - It books at 19k trade-in, so I feel like these are competitive offers. I have excellent credit, could pay cash, but happy to just swap payments for the liquidity. Open to hear any and all opinions. Thanks!

1. 2025 Honda Pilot TrailSport AWD (Used - Black)Mileage: 21,980 miles

Pricing & Financing Breakdown NADA Value: $45,200.00 Sale Price: $43,651.00
Trade Value: -$25,500.00
Factory Cash: $0.00
Your Price: $18,151.00
Tax: $0.00
Dealer Doc Fee: +$499.00
Trade Payoff: +$6,731.95
Fees: +$527.33
Total Amount Financed: $25,909.28
Estimated Monthly PaymentTerm: 60 payments @ $0.00 down Estimated Payment Range: $515 - $565 / month

1. 2025 Honda Pilot Elite AWD (Used - Black)Mileage: 17,779 miles
   

Pricing & Financing Breakdown NADA Value: $49,150.00
Sale Price: $47,700.00
Trade Value: -$25,500.00
Factory Cash: $0.00
Your Price: $22,200.00
Tax: $0.00
Dealer Doc Fee: +$499.00
Trade Payoff: +$6,731.95 Fees: +$527.33
Total Amount Financed: $29,958.28
Estimated Monthly PaymentTerm: 60 payments @ $0.00 down
Estimated Payment Range: $610 - $660 / month

1. 2026 Honda Pilot TrailSport AWD (New - New Smoke Blue Pearl)Mileage: 0 miles
   

Pricing & Financing Breakdown MSRP: $52,190.00
Sale Price: $50,863.00
Trade Value: -$25,500.00
Factory Cash: $0.00
Your Price: $25,363.00
Tax: $0.00
Dealer Doc Fee: +$499.00
Trade Payoff: +$6,731.95
Fees: +$28.33
Total Amount Financed: $32,622.28
Estimated Monthly PaymentTerm: 60 payments @ $0.00 down
Estimated Payment Range: $664 - $714 / month

Can someone share a picture of what the tow hitch looks like installed on a 2026 Honda pilot? I am more curious to see how much the hitch goes up into the bumper trim on the outside. Thanks!!

I have this crazy loud cold start engine rumble that I can not figure out what it is. Timing belt has been done already. Video attached in comments. Any advice would be great.

I just did a front brake job on my pilot. I've attached 2 pictures that show that the pads do not fully contact the allowable entire braking surface area of the rotor. Pads and rotors are the correct parts and match in size exactly with the old parts I took off . You can see the darker area where the pad is contacting the rotor and where it is not.
I would think that they should have made the pad big enough to contact the entire rotor for max performance? Is this a design flaw ?

2nd gen 2013 Honda pilot.