Overview & Reviews

The fully redesigned 2009 Honda Pilot midsize crossover SUV sports more rugged exterior and interior styling along with a more usable third-row seat.

• Comfortable ride, ample cargo capacity, refined powertrain, adult-ready third-row seat, innovative interior storage.

• Poor braking distances, not enough power, fuel economy should be better, button-happy stereo and climate controls.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 198.00

• 

  2009 Honda Pilot Review - 2009 Honda Pilot
  By captainbull - June 22 - 9:02 am

  We bought our 2009 Honda Pilot as new from a Honda dealership here are our assessments: 1. Cheap interior design. Cheap plastic and adhesive. The "skin" for the club compartment peels off easy. 2. Cheap glasses. Just one little hit of a little rock the windshield just cracked. Its so thin. 3. Noisy driving (windows not tight seal). 4. Cheap paint (scratch easy) 5. Incorrect gas mileage (they lied) we only get 18MPG on HW and 16MPG city. 6. Stupid trailer light system design. They just want their dealers to make extra cash (so many steps to install it) and the kit cost over $200!) 7. Only one key entry from driver side. 8. Windshield wiper fluid pump failed to early.

• 

  No Honda Reliability - 2009 Honda Pilot
  By vq35de1 - September 29 - 3:34 pm

  This car has a lot going for it, its comfortable, has tons of interior storage, seats eight comfortably, etc.... BUT, we have had a lack of reliability including a transmission sensor and now the engine. Look into the Honda VCM V6 problems. The cylinder shut off system ends of fouling the plugs leading to a million warning lights and a trip to the dealer. The "fix" is to replace your plugs or short block depending on how bad things got. There doesnt seem to be a fix, just a band-aid. Now Im going to have to trade her in way before I planned because once the extended warranty is up I dont want to pay the maintenance.

• 

  Why Merecedes pulled out of Alabama - 2009 Honda Pilot
  By blocknailhead - May 4 - 4:01 pm

  This vehicle has been nothing but problems from the get go(currently 33K miles). - Gap in dashboard repaired - Third row seat back came loose 3 times - Windhield washers nozels broke twice - Defective Front stabilizer linkage - Side mirror turn signal inoperative - Power seat track jerky - replaced -Cargo latch cover replaced - Starter System Light on - reset once. The second time they discovered washer fluid leaking onto a computer behind the dash. - Check Emmision System light on at 33000 mi - TMV-4 Light on at 33000 mi. Also keep in mind the required Honda service intervals (AKA maintenance minder) if not kept up your warantee is void. This maintenance is about $750/ yr.

• 

  Reliability of Honda now in question - 2009 Honda Pilot
  By jimbob - August 18 - 12:19 pm

  I have owned this Pilot since Sep of 09 and initially enjoyed the vehicle with the exception of the hands-free phone operation. I did experience a reliability/quality problem with this SUV when my independent mechanic noticed some leak in the "lower control arm bushings" so he recommended that I take it to a dealer to see if it would be covered. Since I had exceeded the 36k warranty, Honda said it would cost me $1100 to repair this problem and they would not cover any of the costs. It was obvious to me that this was not a simple "wear and tear" type of problem and more likely a defect that did not show itself in the first 36k miles. In any case, Honda was not willing to do anything.

• 

  Too much cost cutting - 2009 Honda Pilot
  By Pilot Reviewer - December 10 - 11:23 am

  Poor build quality. Poor fuel economy. Rough feel while driving. Honda seems to have attempted to perfect the process of cost cutting. Unfortunately the quality of the car has suffered greatly. A lot of rattles, very rough road ride. If you tap on various parts of the cars, like the mirrors, they are loose and rattle. The front rotors needed to be turned after 17k miles and the dealer would not cover it. Its my wifes car and she is an easy driver. The dealers have extremely poor customer service. I can not get a service rep on the phone to make an appointment for warranty work. Functionally this car is great for us. As it is now I will trade it in when it gets to 60-70k.

• 

  1st Honda- very disappointed - 2009 Honda Pilot
  By C - June 25 - 9:41 am

  I thought Honda was supposed to be one of the best... well what happened? Do they not check out everything before they sell them? 1st time I turned on the A/C I got a horrible smell - then fog (not condensation) of course the service dept didnt believe me when I called, but oh wow, now they do because it is sitting in their shop. They have no idea whats wrong.

• 

  Very disappointed - 2009 Honda Pilot
  By Danny - June 23 - 2:27 pm

  I got this brand new 2009 Honda Pilot EX-4WD about a month ago. So far, my experience with this new Honda Pilot became kind of a nightmare. I found this car was built by cheap workmanship made in Canada (or USA whatever). The interior parts are not aligned precisely and some are falling apart after 7 days of purchase. I had to take back my car to the dealer twice to have them fix my dash board assembly, and theres still about 1/8" of gaps between the parts. Also, the front passenger seat developing strange noise if someone sits on it. This car ALSO started to developing engine noise. When I step on gas pedal, theres some kind of metal-clicking noise comes from the engine. Too many to list.

• 

  Pull to the right????? - 2009 Honda Pilot
  By Ben - May 6 - 8:48 pm

  Ive only had the car for three weeks and took it to back to the dealer because it was pulling heavily to the right. After I left it felt like nothing had been fixed and next time I had to ask my wife to take it back. The service people told her that there is nothing wrong with the car since Honda vehicles pull after a few seconds. This sounds like a big fat lie to me. Has this happened to anyone else?

• 

  This Pilot doesnt Fly - 2009 Honda Pilot
  By R Janney - March 30 - 11:10 am

  This 2009 Honda Pilot has been a real disappointment. With approx. 5200 miles since new in August 2008 we are not pleased with the over all quality. At less than 1000 miles the rear windshield wiper assembly flew off when I turned it on. The battery has died twice while parked with everything off. This happened at approx 3200 miles and just this week with 5000 miles. The side trim panel on the drivers side door next to the window fell off. The entire vehicle rattles and squeaks as if there were 105,000 miles on it (Our 02 SAAB & 03 VW are quiet!) The right front passenger seat is jerky when you use the forward-back adjustment. The shift lever make operating or tuning the radio uncomfortable.

• 

  Incomplete Promises - 2009 Honda Pilot
  By Willcall - December 19 - 11:20 pm

  Some of this is about purchase experience, but there are a few issues with the vehicle. Mileage - count on getting a full 1/3 less than promised. Driving as gently and efficiently as I can, I cant get over 12.4. Nimbleness - it has decent turn radius and good handling on the road, but is really over sized in parking, both getting into spaces and opening doors when parked. Stupid remote locking system - must unlock again to open hatch and cant click to lock if any door open. Maybe configurable, but havent figured out. Finally, watch out for Honda Leasing. Closed with $0.15 per excess mile on 3 year, then called back in to sign new contract at $0.20. Wouldnt have leased at that rate.