Used 2017 Honda Pilot Consumer Reviews
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My Honda Pilot Experience
Tad Deuel, 09/04/2017
2017 Honda Pilot EX 4dr SUV AWD w/Honda Sensing (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I was in the market for a mid-sized SUV and shopped online for either a Toyota Highlander or a Honda Pilot. I had purchased my Honda CR-V EX from Carbone Honda of Bennington, VT the last time I shopped for a vehicle and after a lot of online comparisons from multiple dealerships, I decided to try Carbone Honda in Bennington once again because I knew they were also a Toyota dealership so I could make side-by-side comparisons of the two vehicles. My salesperson, Rob Albreada was superb in describing the pros and cons of both vehicles. Because the Pilot's interior was slightly larger than the Highlander (Rob actually measured both interiors with the rear seats folded down), I knew the reliability of Honda products, and the overall look and feel of the vehicle, I decided to purchase the Pilot. I have had two lengthy trips in the Pilot since buying it and have been extremely happy to have made the choice I did. The Pilot boasts of 18-26 with an average of 21 mpg but on each trip with the ECO Boost engaged I actually got 28.9 mpg. The Honda Lane Watch (passenger side camera) when passing vehicles makes it much safer to know it's ok to pull back into the main traffic lane. The same goes for backing up in reverse with the rear camera. Overall, this was the right choice for me.
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Caution: Adaptive Cruise Control/Collision Avoid
Preston L Jackson, 09/04/2017
updated 03/11/2019
2017 Honda Pilot Touring 4dr SUV AWD w/Navigation and Rear Entertainment System (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
11 of 14 people found this review helpful
According to the dealer 2017 was the first year Honda offered Adaptive Cruise Control an any of it's 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 don't use ADC or Collision Avoidance systems, which I paid for or you are prepared for the deficiencies. I wouldn't let my wife drive the car and I couldn't 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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2017 Honda Pilot for sale near you
3 of 73 listings
- Touring 4dr SUV w/Navigation and Rear Entertainment SystemMSRP: $26,5482 mi away
- EX-L 4dr SUVMSRP: $16,3882 mi away
- Elite 4dr SUV w/Navigation and Rear Entertainment SystemMSRP: $21,50021 mi away
See all 73 listings
Love it and hate it.
Rob Tuvell, 10/03/2018
2017 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
I bought my 2017 Honda Pilot EX-L AWD back in December 2017 and it is a great driving SUV with nice design. However, I quickly found that Cabin of the car is too noisy. The noise level does not change but it is steady once you are reach speed levels 45+mph. There are many complaints about this problem and it is a shame that Honda is not making any effort to reach out and remedy the issue. We made multiple trips to local car dealer and how they approached it , it was well known problem by the staff but there do not have any proper solution. But let me explain actual problem. The noise sounds like a window is cracked open or as if window is not properly seated. When you drive it at 45+ mph you can hear it right above your head which makes the drive very unpleasant. This issue is still present to date and it seems that newer 2018 has same issue. Before you commit to purchase, and this one is easy to overlook, pay attention to this detail and see if your car has same issue. It will same a lot of time and frustration.
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Elite - 2017 AWD
Elitist, 05/31/2017
updated 01/27/2025
2017 Honda Pilot Elite 4dr SUV AWD w/Navigation and Rear Entertainment System (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
I found the Pilot brochure confusing. The included options list implies that the Elite has everything the other models have plus more stuff. Not quite true. It does not tell you what is left out, so it's not completely clear what you are getting. Lane Watch is included in lesser models and I expected it should also be on the Elite. It isn't. Some reviews dislike Lane Watch because it takes your eyes away from the road. It does have BSW, but there are times I wish I had that side camera as well. The Owner's Guide is inadequate. Photos are too small. Honda should include a full size Owner's Manual. Sure, you can go to their website and download the 679 pages and print it yourself but for a $50,000 Elite, you'd think they would give you one. Honda did finally send me a free Owner's Manual after I requested it. The Guide shows some options that the Elite should have but doesn't. Like Folding Mirrors. This option would help to protect your mirrors from damage by folding them inwards. Even though the Guide covers it, I did not see it listed as a feature on any of the models. I have yet to use the shifting paddles. I have not found any information yet on how to use them. I'll keep looking. Though not stylish, the Elite is very comfortable and has a lot of cargo space. I frankly see no reason for these shift paddles. Why would you want shifting paddles in a large automatic SUV? It's not a raising sports car. I would have preferred their std. automatic transmission instead of their nine gear transmission. I bought Auto Butler, but for the almost $900 cost, it's not worth it. You can get your car detailed for half of that at most detailing shops. After owning my Honda Pilot Elite for a year, I have come to appreciate it much more. It also helped to have received a FREE Owner's Manual from Honda. Also, I can now appreciate not having Lane Watch for changing lanes. The Elite has a much better system BSI, the blind spot information system that warns you with a warning beep and light when you are starting to change lanes and there is a car in either blinds spot, left or right. As soon as you put your signal on or begin to move into the lane it lights a warning and sounds a beep. No need to take your eyes off the road. The Pilot Elite is classy and comfortable. It has a peppy engine at 280 hp. I have to admit that I have not tried the shifting paddles. Not sure I care about them. It does fine on Drive and shifts smoothly. (I'm a former sports car driver and in my mind, it's heresy to replace the shift knob with paddles.) I like being able to open windows and moonroof remotely on a hot day and even start the engine that way. I love the ability to cool or heat the front leather seats. Also nice for my passengers in the middle captain's chairs to be able to heat their seats in winter. I added the option of rubber mats with tall sides and the folding cargo tray and recommend those. The Elite comes loaded so there is very little you'd want to add. I actually paid about $4,000 under MSRP but financing some of the cost plus various options raised my total outlay to $52,000, but even then, it is well worth that compared to the competition. I'm still very happy with this SUV. Our Honda Dealer has not been able to fix a noise/vibration on my Pilot when the engine RPM is around 2,000. They have tried several times, starting when the car was still under warranty and afterwards. Other Patriot owners have also reported the same vibration/noise.
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Poor Quality
DAVE, 06/04/2017
2017 Honda Pilot LX 4dr SUV (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
23 of 33 people found this review helpful
This is our 4th New SUV in 13 years. This is the first one I have ever had to take to the dealer with a problem before 70,000 mile. This car developed a clunk in the front drive train or suspension at about 3000 miles. Of course the service department can find nothing wrong with it. Honda is behind it's competitors when it comes to interior design. Less leg room in the front driving compartment, controls are dated, other companies have lessen to their focus groups. I think Honda miss the boat here. Blind spot camara is useless, who looks at their center screen when changing lanes. Really missed the boat here when comparing them to there competitors. To many bad interior design features to mention.
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