Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  I wish it had been a four or five star car - 2017 Honda Pilot
  By M - November 29 - 6:04 am

  If quick response acceleration at high-speed is not important to you, then disregard this review. I test drove the new 2017 Honda Pilot Elite hoping that I could write a check on the spot for the vehicle. I wanted to love it. I feel like the design engineers failed me. The vehicle is far behind the curve on technology which is very disappointing. The Elite model should come with all of the most modern bells and whistles. It should nearly drive itself. Regardless… That is not what I was looking for. I was looking for safety in the form of acceleration… The ability to get out of trouble very quickly on the freeway. As I was test driving the vehicle, I told the sales person sitting in the front passenger seat that the next test was going to make or break the deal. I told him to count the number of seconds from the time that I said "now" until he felt the G forces of acceleration pushing him into the seat. I told him anything over 0.5 seconds would be a failure. On the first test, it took three seconds for acceleration to kick in. We perform the test three more times, and at no time, did it take less than 2.5 seconds for acceleration to check in. That is not enough time to get out of a bad situation. After we return, the sales person brought his chief mechanic to talk to me. The mechanic told me that I could have a third-party reprogram the transmission to give me what I wanted in acceleration, but it would void the warranty. Im not going to spend close to $50,000 just to have my warranty voided to bring the car up to where it should already be. Because of this, I am giving the 2017 Honda Pilot a two star rating.

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  To pricey for what you get - 2017 Honda Pilot
  By brian blackburn - June 6 - 3:10 am

  Good overall but a lot of others out there.

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  Caution: Adaptive Cruise Control/Collision Avoid - 2017 Honda Pilot
  By Preston L Jackson - March 6 - 11:18 am

  According to the dealer 2017 was the first year Honda offered Adaptive Cruise Control an any of its vehicles. We bought the car in March 2017. On our first trip to Oregon from Utah, my wife and I, found the system to be dangerous. We set the system to begin braking at level 4 of 4 which is the longest distance detection setting. The system would allowed the car on the freeway and at freeway speeds to approach another vehicle in the same lane at high speed then when within an unsafe distance (less than setting 4 should allow) the vehicle would slam on the brakes, reduce speed from 75-80 mph to under 60 and then hesitate accelerating while the vehicle in front would pull away. The hesitation caused vehicles behind to brake or change lanes quickly to avoid collision. After the first encounter I tested the system several more times. The situation did not occur every time, but enough to let me know not to trust the system. In Adaptive Cruise our Pilot would also detect vehicles in the lane to the left of us and would not accelerate to highway speed. Adaptive Cruise on our Pilot would also read across lanes when in a left turn on the freeway and apply the brakes at freeway speeds to less than 60 mph causing vehicles following in the same lane to apply brakes. The system is way too sensitive! The condition seems to worsen when the vehicle is in ADC and Collision Avoidance. We stopped using the ADC and Collision Avoidance systems for the rest of the trip. The regular cruise control seems to work well, but in regular cruise if you brake before changing lanes the system turns off and you then change lanes (so far so good), but when you push resume the vehicle only accelerates at 10 mph which takes forever to get out of the way of approaching vehicles. Be prepared to accelerate and get out of the way using the gas pedal. We used the Collision Avoidance system for the first 1,500 miles then turned it off because the brake warning light would come on approximately every 50 miles for no reason at all. I took it to the dealer and they looked at it for a couple of days then called and said all systems checked out ok. I took it home then got a call from the dealer saying they would like to look further into my concerns. They kept it for about a week. The dealer called and said it appeared all was working as designed. I personally believed the car to be to dangerous to drive unless you dont use ADC or Collision Avoidance systems, which I paid for or you are prepared for the deficiencies. I wouldnt let my wife drive the car and I couldnt in all moral conscious sell it to someone else knowing it was dangerous so I turned it back to the dealership in August 2017 after 5 months with 4,560 miles on it. I had to take a $9,791 loss, but the company is now responsible for the vehicle.

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  Poor details, and improper exwork inspection - 2017 Honda Pilot
  By S. C. - April 12 - 10:45 pm

  I got this vehicle in October 2017. There have been the following issues: (1) the alignment was poor that the car would drift to the right and required an alignment service the 3 day after I bought it (need to turn off the lane control to find this out), (2) replacement of an exterior trim due to factory installation, (3) excessive rattling noise due to loose components in the spare tire/tool compartment, (4) bad plastic fitting underneath the steering wheel that poses a finger cutting hazard. Worse yet, the first 3 can be fixed. The 4th was declined by the dealer because it is a common issue. The dealer could find this in other brand new Pilots, and called this a "design" by Honda. I wish I could post the photos of these poorly fit plastics.

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  Huge design mistakes - 2017 Honda Pilot
  By Romain - December 26 - 4:59 am

  We took a 2017 Pilot XLE for a test drive today as part of a segment comparison with the Highlander and the CX-9. We purposefully stayed away from the higher trims for the Pilot since their 9-speed transmission is getting such bad reviews. Well, I came out unimpressed. The interior is definitely the least refined of the three (probably because of the lower trim level, but thats all we had to compare). The same can be said for the exterior, which is pretty bland compared to the Highlander and CX-9. Some would even feel stronger about it, but thats a matter of taste. At least we can say its uninspired, the CR-V has way more character. To be fair, there was nothing wrong when driving it or with the entertainment system. I tried plugging my Android phone to test Android Auto, and while it did work, it wasnt the screen mirroring from my phone onto the head unit like I expected, merely some old-looking Android apps that were somehow synchronized with my phone, for example Google Maps. Not as good as I thought. I wish I brought a lightning cable for my wifes iphone to test Apple CarPlay. But most of all, there are several design mistakes that make me flat out pass on this car. First, the camera-based LaneWatch feature, that manages to be even more dangerous than just turning your head. Another reviewer already mentionned how pointless this system is, and unfortunately the proper BSI system is only available on the higher trims, so youre stuck with it. Also, the 2nd-row folding seats, while providing a one-touch sliding feature, wont slide without folding first! This means no child seats on the second row if you also need access to the third row. I double and triple checked since this was so huge. I cant believe they call it a family car, unless theyre targeting families with grown children only. This might be different with the captains chairs, as I only tried with the 2nd row bench. Anyway, at least it makes my decision between the Highlander and the Pilot easier.

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  2017 Pilot - 2017 Honda Pilot
  By Bob Lukas - October 28 - 12:33 pm

  There are better values for price and standard equipment if you do not need a vehicle as big as the Pilot.

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  Overall good vehicle, but some annoying items - 2017 Honda Pilot
  By DD - August 26 - 4:13 pm

  Overall, I am happy with the Honda Pilot, and would recommend. However, because of some of the items noted below, I am not able to give a rating higher than 3 stars. I really wanted to purchase the EX-L trim with V6. But ending up purchasing the Touring trim. With respect to the EX-L trim. Why is Honda forcing the consumer to select between one of: Honda Sense, navigation, or rear entertainment? These three options can not be combined on the EX-L. A Honda salesman tried to convince me that built-in navigation is no longer necessary with addition of Andriod Auto and Apple CarPlay. If you have ever traveled to rural areas without cellphone data coverage, youll understand the need for built-in navigation. The Honda Lane Watch. If this is such a great feature, why doesnt the Elite have two cameras (both driver and passenger sides)? Instead, the Elite adds real Blind Spot detection feature. I would much rather have the blind spot detection with large illuminated icon on the side mirrors, instead of the Honda Lane Watch. If the majority of your turns are in the right lane, you will quickly understand the annoyance (dont need to see grass or sidewalk). An illuminated icon on the side mirror is quick for the driver to process. Whereas, the "Honda Lane Watch" requires the driver to remove their eyes from the road, and look at the in dash monitor to determine if there is a car in the lane. The main point of safety features is to help the driver focus on the road. Which "Honda Lane Watch" doesnt, because you have to watch live video feed and make decision. The Touring and Elite has Engine Stop feature. The Honda Pilot isnt a hybrid like Toyota Prius, so not sure why Honda engineers felt this feature was necessary. Really annoying in stop-and-go city traffic. When you come to a complete stop, the engine shuts down. There is capability to disable Engine Stop, but must be disabled each time you start the car. In 2017, a lot of manufactures offer the motion activated rear lift gate. This should be included at the Touring and Elite trims. If you dont care about connectivity (Andriod Auto or Apple CarPlay), go with model year 2016. It is the exact same as 2017, without connectivity. I can confirm what has been said in other reviews: the active safety features are overly sensitive, and shifting is rough at low speeds.