Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  pretty cheesy for such an expensive vehicle - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By vallely - March 9 - 6:17 pm

  $42000 and no cd player - also had to pay about $1500 to get a roof rack as the rails are not provided as standard equipment as they are with most other companies SUVs

• 

  Very good SUV with small but important flaws - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Tom - December 12 - 12:02 pm

  I really wanted to buy this SUV, however Honda overlooked a few small but very important flaws it has. These small things were turned into actual deal breakers for me. Honda could fix these easily, and should, because I cant be the only one having these issues. 1) Dual Armrests. They are very skinny and too close to the seat for me. Im a bigger guy at 63 and my right arm naturally falls on the outside if this armrest. To even stick my elbow on it I have to push my elbow tight into my body. I can do without an armrest for a short journey but what about road trips? Why cant Honda just have a regular armrest like the Pilot used to have or what every other SUV has? This one small detail was the largest deal breaker for me. 2) Why cant Honda have a height adjustable front passenger seat? Even in a 40+ thousand dollar SUV its not offered? My wife is short at 51 and the seat is too low. On a long road trip it would make her car sick. What about children in the front seat? Honda cheaped out on this small detail. That was deal breaker #2. The others next are smaller flaws I could have looked past. 3) Why cant the rear tail gate open higher and be adjustable? In such a large SUV I shouldnt have to duck my head so I dont hit it. The tail gate doesnt go any higher up than my wifes small VW Tiguan does. 4) The drivers lumbar support is not very good. It did not do a good job of giving my lower back support. Other than those 4 simple things I couldnt find anything else I disliked about the Honda Pilot. Its really a shame I couldnt buy it and that the decision not to buy had to based on these simple flaws. These flaws Honda could easily fix for 2017, but I dont think they will. I guess I have to look into the Toyota Highlander next.

• 

  Audio system is a nightmare - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By shanacoker@hotmail.com - November 3 - 3:08 pm

  I purchased a used 2016 pilot touring AWD from our local Toyota dealer- it had everything I was looking for in a Highlander, but was a cheaper option. Got an extended (expensive) warranty, thank goodness. The Bluetooth has never worked. It has been in the shop 6 days. So frustrated. They replaced the audio unit which they said was 1,000 bucks. It didnt fix the problem, now its actually worse. The radio will just start skipping around and has frozen twice- I had to shut it off completely. Cant talk on the phone hands-free, which is a terrible problem for me. I love the car, but I cant keep it if the infotainment system does not work. So frustrated and just sad.

• 

  A great car BUT TERRIBLE Infotainment system - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Nick - September 15 - 5:23 pm

  Ive had Hondas for 17 yrs now. Our family are on our 5th and theyve all been superb, reliable cars. The Honda Pilot is my last car and as a car it is fantastic. Totally lives up to Hondas reputation. EXCEPT for their infotainment system. Its ABSOLUTELY DREADFUL. Forget about trying to hook up your iPhone to it too. The accord and civic, the cheaper cars in their lineup have CARPLAY but the Pilot? NO. CarPlay is an amazing feature supplied by Apple to all car manufacturers. It hooks the iPhone to the infotainment system as if it were a 2nd screen. It is beyond me that Honda dont equip it on the Pilot. Sure, you can connect through Bluetooth but its dreadful. Useless. Its the most frustrating thing ever. I have to ask for directions MANY TIMES before it gets it right. Volume keeps randomly going loud and quiet. You cant even tell what you can select on the screen and the selection areas are too small making it hard to press and distracting when driving. Honda. Get it together and get CarPlay working on the Pilot. If youre thinking of buying a Pilot, seriously think about one of their competitors if they havent got CarPlay on the Pilot and you have an iPhone.

• 

  Bad Transmission Valve after only 3 months - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Bigbluesc - September 2 - 7:02 pm

  Purchased this car a little over 3 months ago. Yesterday we were driving and both the " Transmission System Problem" and "Emission System Problem" error messages came up. The car then started shifting poorly and literally jumping between the lower gears. We had it towed to dealership whos solution was to simply drain the transmission fluid and refill it to the "Honda specified level". The car drives ok at the moment but there is no chance this is a viable long term solution. Incredibly frustrating to buy a brand new car and have issues after only 3 months. We had our last Pilot for 8 plus years without a single issue which is why we stuck with the Pilot for our new car. Clearly we have made a huge mistake.

• 

  Dont buy the hype! - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Larry Pines - July 20 - 10:20 pm

  Short version of my review: Honk the horn, if you have no problem with the horn (as it is small sixed for a moped) then look at what is involved in jump-starting this vehicle. If the procedure for jumpstarting the car is not an issue… then buy your pilot, as you most likely won’t notice the issues I noted below. If you take exception with the horn or the need to disassemble the car to jump start it……well the rest of the car like that. It’s way over Hyped or …… over promised and under delivered. It’s like a bowl of good sour cream. Nothing more - nothing less. Long version of my review: I have wanted to write this review for some time now, and today I just need to sit down and write the review. I am one who got sucked into the Hype of this vehicle, and I wish I didn’t. My 2016 Honda Elite (“The PIG” don’t ask me why, but the name just fits) has just under4,500 miles on it, and it is for sale. The Good --Honda has spent a ton of effort getting the this car perform in the new overlap IIHS crash test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMtOcKK6I4o. The result of this test is a true work of art. Especially when compared to others vehicles in the class. Size –this is a big car there is plenty of room in it. The Sunroof is huge. The size of the rear doors are larger than other SUVs, it makes getting into the third row easy, and the auto tumble of the second row captain seats are very helpful for getting in the third row. USB charging stations – are all over the vehicle. Maybe even in the third row! Great job Mileage – Believe it or not, at one point I was getting 28 MPG on the freeway in this car. That may be due to a recall that fixed a small problem where the car would “add” miles to the odometer I currently get 23 MPG on a tank of gas….Winter gas? Software update….i don’t know but it’s not what it used to be. The Bad The car drives around corners/ Auto braking systems – Well it just follows the lines on the road, when it gets confused, or mistakes the sealant on the road for the painted road….well you get to fight the car. And pray that the auto braking doesn’t kick in. (Just imagine if you and your spouse both had access to steering and the pedals.) For me, when I first experienced it I was traveling about 70 MPH on the interstate and in an instant I was doing 45 then the system “recalculated” and I was able to drive again. As a result, we were almost rear-ended. The Ugly The 9-Speed transmission – Holy Hannah, will this thing take a chill pill!? For example, at low speeds it’s like an amusement park ride. 5th gear at 20MPH, no now its 4th gear no upshift to 6th. It’s crazy! At low speeds the transmission is like a Jack Russel Terrier. Auto Start feature –This feature simply shuts off the car’s engine when you come to a stop. When this activates you will need about a second or a second and a half to feel like the car is ready to go again. This is unreasonable at busy intersections. You can turn this “feature” off but you have to do it every time you start the car. I have tried to get the dealer to disable this “feature” but they say they can’t. Trust me it’s a pain in the rear. The Premium Stereo – This is a HUGE disappointment. This stereo is just strange. I have the bass and treble settings maxed, and on the best of times it sounds ok. But, most of the time it leaves me wondering where is the other half of the song. For example, you can be listening to XM radio and one song sounds “ok”, then the next song sounds like the stereo doesn’t know how to decode signal. The vocals are very weak and fade in and out. Subwoofer is nonexistent. The Touch Screen –Disappointment. The Very glossy glass (or plastic) shows fingerprints very easily very the system is very complex to use. No way to set a priority on phones To change what phone is connected from the main screen is no less than 5 button pushes and takes 40 seconds to accomplish. Voice Command – Useless. Instrument gauges –The lack of information/customization of the gauges can’t be ignored. Talk about just under delivering. The placement of buttons in the car – are Just wrong, you have to hunt and search for buttons in this car. It’s just wrong. Resale value – I have been trying to sale this auto for a while now, while I am ok taking a $3K hit on it, I am not willing to take a $7K hit on the PIG. I was hoping to have sold this car before reviewing it however; I just can’t sit back and keep reading reviews from folks who say it’s a perfect vehicle. I often question the legitimacy of some of the reviews, like they were written by those with an interest in selling these cars. Regarding Happy Wife = Happy Life. The wife had to use the Pilot for her primary vehicle for several days. She is MORE THAN OK with taking the loss on this car and getting another vehicle. We give Honda, till March 1 to push out a major software update to this car; else we trade the PIG for something else.

• 

  Could have done better - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Darrel Shepack - July 4 - 6:38 pm

  The hood flaps in the breeze at high speed with a cross wind. The push button transmission is a pain. The automatic braking feature is dangerous. I have had several near accidents because the brakes are automatically applied. Instead of the brakes being applied normally, they are slammed! The drivers behind me are none too happy. I have learned a whole new language as they pass me and give me the one finger salute. Getting my vehicle washed is a joke. You have to go through a series of button pushing to keep the vehicle from being damaged. Now, I have to take it to a self wash facility. Honda has found a way to ruin the new car experience with a CD instead of an owners book. there are several other things that are very annoying but not worth the trouble to list. If you buy one, make sure you understand EVERYTHING about the operation of the vehicle before taking it off the lot. This was my first and last Honda.

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  The technology is beyond brutal - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Fredrick Reiner - April 3 - 10:12 am

  I have no idea what happened but the 2016 Honda Pilot elite we bought has the worst touchscreen user interface on planet earth. Its cumbersome, really slow, glitchy and lacking basic features. You have to over-interact with it to get simple stuff accomplished, distracting you from driving therefore creating an unsafe driving experience. The map is correct 50% of the time when giving directions en-route. Also, you cant control the rear entertainment system (dvd) from the front seat, seriously!? You have to pull over, get out and go around to the back to control it. The lane assist is highly unreliable and the Ventilated seats dont work well. All the above has led us to decide we actually are going to have to sell a brand new car we bought 2 weeks ago as we cant live with these issues for another week, let alone years to come. This will be our first and last Honda. Just read all the other reviews of people complaining of the same issues, just brutal.

• 

  Unbiased Review - Nice Vehicle BUT........ - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Stephen - February 20 - 11:46 pm

  Before purchasing the new Pilot in Elite trim, I was comparing it to the 2016 Kia Sorento Limited trim with the Technology package. Having owned a loaded 2014 Sorento EX, I needed something bigger with newer safety features that the new Pilot offered. Lets start with the good, its very similar to the look and feel of the current Odyssey; that to me is a good thing. Its no sports car, but handling and response is very good for a vehicle of this size. The seats are comfortable with lumbar support, even better with the ventilation and heating options (Elite only). The Touring only comes with heated seats. Very good visibility all around especially the front A pillar area. The controversial 9 speed transmission has been fine for me. In economy mode, the gears shift quickly and smoothly. Good fuel economy so far; about 23-25 in mixed driving. Low road noise. Plenty of cupholders, plus the ones in the first two rows are lighted at night! The Elite has a 12V plug and two usb sockets under the front console area. In the center console storage, there is another 12V plug and more USB sockets. The center console is deep, large enough to hold an iPad plus lots of other stuff. For a family with lots of tech toys, this is wonderful! The Nav system is decent so far, you can search for a place or address using voice commands. Only one hiccup so far; when I searched for a chain restaurant that I knew was a few miles away (and in business for many years), it listed the closest one as being 27 miles away, weird. Now to the not so good. The touchscreen infotainment system on the Pilot is truly a mixed blessing. The screen is bright and colorful with a lot of tech options, but as other reviewers have mentioned, response is mediocre at best. Some options are so slow that you end up touching the same option more than once thinking you missed it the first time. For example, try touching the audio on/off button. There is a two second delay after you touch it before it executes your command. So if you were trying to turn off the sound system and you touch the audio on/off icon, nothing happens and you think you missed the icon so you touch it again. The system will turn off the audio system after two seconds and a couple of seconds after that turn it back on. Thats just one example. Also, you need to touch the center of all the touch screen icons with a solid tap, if you dont it is not going to register. All of this reminds me of an old Android phone that I used own from 5 years ago. If you own a modern phone or tablet, the Pilots touchscreen will feel painfully slow. The touchscreen has another horrible "feature", its highly glossy. That means it is highly reflective in direct sunlight and a fingerprint magnet. Combining the two makes the screen unreadable at times. My 2014 Sorento had a matte finish so everything was easily readable even in direct sunlight, plus fingerprints werent nearly as visible compared to the Pilot. It had an excellent touch screen. Many other owners have ordered screen protectors (see piloteers.org) similar to what people put on their phones. Im doing the same for sure. There are no analog knobs in this vehicle. So if you want to turn down the radio, you have to use the touchscreen or the steering wheel controls. Good luck trying to quickly turn down or mute the sound. To adjust the temperature controls on the A/C, you have to push a springy flip switch (best description I can come up with). If you want to change the A/C temp from 72 to say 75, you have to push the switch up three times. Or hold it up until the system increments to the desired temperature. To me this is less convenient than a conventional rotary dial and just invites wear. If you are wondering at this point why I bought the Pilot if I knew about the above complaints, its because I thought I would get used to it. Some things I have such as the climate controls, but touch screen response is something I havent gotten used to. I hope Honda listens to Pilot owners and issues a fix soon. Good: Comfortable, Adaptive Cruise Control, spacious interior, plenty of USB slots, driving visibility Neutral: Adaptive Cruise Control (cuts out at 20 mph), push button shifter, mediocre turning radius Bad: No analog dials for audio or A/C, horrible touch screen, no way to permanently disable Auto Stop/Start I purchased the Pilot because of the safety features not available on the Sorento like forward collision mitigation with automatic braking system and LED daytime running lights, and mostly because of Hondas reliability. However, if I had to do it all over again I would probably have purchased the Sorento and waited a few years until Honda fixed the issues with the first year redesigned Pilot. Additionally, Kia is offering some significant rebates at this time, while the hard to find Elites are commanding top dollar. Hope this helps someone make an informed decision.

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  NICE CAR BUT MAJOR TECHNOLOGY PROBLEMS - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By bw715@yahoo.com - October 17 - 11:37 am

  Check out the Piloteers web site to see the problems with this car. It overestimates the MPG for some reason. The touch screen is a joke. The FM reception is horrible and Honda wont fix it. Most dealers deny it is a problem!! Not worth the money.