Used 2021 Honda Pilot Consumer Reviews
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Hammer Time
Jon, 01/07/2021
updated 05/23/2022
2021 Honda Pilot Elite 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
272 of 302 people found this review helpful
Assuming consistent build quality on Pilots is a mistake. Test drove a couple Pilots in late ’19, decided on the Pilot, planned to purchase a ‘20 in early ’20 but things happened. December ’20 test drove a couple ‘21’s, told dealer what trim/color I wanted and they transferred from affiliate store to my home on a Friday night. Never drove it before and Assumed same quality as the ones I’d test driven. (Did same in 2015 with a Toyota and no surprises.) The next week I drove it to town and noticed a constant and nagging hammering on right front upon slow to moderate acceleration that lasted from 1100 to 1500 RPM. Not a tick or a thump – hammering like a hammer on concrete, muffled by the car firewall. Got dealer appt., rode with a master Tech who, after a series of slow take-offs, said “That is Loud”. They got a couple other techs involved at dealership when we got back and it seemed none felt this was acceptable engine sound – too loud. Tech contacted Honda Tech line and waited. What he got back was 2 example audio files and both had the same frequency (crank revolutions) hammering – one with a more metallic tone the other more like hammering concrete, like mine - no difference in decibels between the 2 that I heard. The concrete hammering sound, they said, was normal engine operation. No repairs authorized. The writer and the tech both seemed stunned that Honda Tech line could straight-faced pass this hammering off as normal engine operation. But they can’t tear into it for free and Honda ain’t paying. They both seemed to feel badly for me and they didn’t seem to agree that this was normal or acceptable. Many dealers would agree with the Factory and tell you there’s nothing wrong with it. Not these guys. I don't throw fits or brow beat service folks, they get enough of that without me adding to and I'm an old man with better things to do. So I thanked them for their effort and told them respectfully that I didn't pay $45K to listen to a hammering engine for the next 100K mi. That I'd be moving on past this vehicle soon. The fact that Honda had ready audio files of “normal” engine hammering on Pilots was alarming to me. Never noticed any such hammering on the others I drove – why would I buy one if I had? I read these customer comments on the Pilots and Passports on Edmunds religiously for years (9-speed shifting problems, body seam irregular gaps, etc.) and seemed they had improved somewhat. One thing I noticed is regularly there’s a customer experience that doesn’t read anything like the others. That, to me, points to inconsistent build quality of the product and I overlooked that fact in accepting an unfamiliar car delivered to my door. Unfortunately, I got the booby prize model. Advise you test drive a Pilot At Length, look at everything long and hard and put it through all the paces you can think of before you purchase one. If something’s not just right, get in another and maybe it’ll be better. Or maybe compare with another Brand. I’m trading soon and will eat the dollar loss– fighting with Honda or working the Lemon law process both would take Much time and stressful confrontation; and like I said - I got better things to do. UPDATE- FINALLY found the right replacement car and waited months to arrive from factory. Got super trade-in for the Pilot thanks to extreme shortage of 3-row's with very good mileage (got almost what paid for it w/25k mi.). Disliked the thing as much the day I traded as day wrote the orig. review. Before new car came in, Pilot started flashing multiple system warnings while driving at speed down hiway. Eased it back home, thankful to get there. Dealer said by phone 'yep, it's a bad battery'. I didn't believe a 1 year old battery that cranks the car instantly is 'bad' but didn't argue. Battery tested bad at dealer ~13 months old. Fixed warning lights. Engine hammer never got better. Everything worked and it drove fine.
Love my 2021 Honda Pilot Touring AWD so far
Keith, 09/24/2020
2021 Honda Pilot Touring 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
37 of 41 people found this review helpful
I've had mine about 1 month and have driven about 1K miles. It looks good and is a great road car. Nice ride, great gas mileage for a large vehicle (we load it down and "sometimes" stretch the speed limit). Great sounding stereo system, good visibility, very comfortable seats, powerful engine, and seamless transmission operation - the push button shifter is easy to get used to IMO. There are a lot of electronic items I probably won't use but they are there if you want them. I carefully looked at other SUV's, most notably the Highlander, but came back to the Pilot, primarily because of more interior space - the Highlander seemed a bit tight inside for me (I'm 6'2, 195 lbs). The cons: I wish automatic rain-sensing wipers were available in trim levels other than the elite. Also, the lane-drift sensing function is a bit annoying, since I am a car guy and don't particularly like a "nanny" car reminding me where I am in the road. Many people probably appreciate it, though. That's about all I can think of regarding negatives. I still have my 2004 Honda Pilot 2004 EX-L RES with 175K miles - it has been a very reliable and am keeping it for my second vehicle.
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I HATE MY 2021 Special Edition PILOT
GMcDad, 04/08/2021
updated 04/10/2023
2021 Honda Pilot SE 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
57 of 65 people found this review helpful
I owned a 2012 Pilot and it was amazing. Felt safe and overall quality was good. Fast forward to 2021. Overall interior quality is cheap. The Info center is a dud. Constantly loses phone connection. Wireless charging works when wants. On sunny day you will have issues with sun reflection of info screen with sunroof open. First week the fan blower motor in front and rear had issues with high pitch. Took 6 months for Honda to replace rear. Still waiting for front. Ride is rough. Rubber around passenger doors pops off. TRULY DISAPPOINTED! Can't wait to pay off!
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Software issues and False indicators for New Car
Haranadh Adigopula, 06/22/2021
2021 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
34 of 39 people found this review helpful
This is New Honda Pilot 2021 model purchase in Dec,2020. Miles 3300. It seems Honda is having software issues. Without ON of Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS) feature is activating automatically and taking over driving or steering of the vehicle and attempt to steer the vehicle back into the center of the lane. Basically it's giving false indicator without ON of LKAS feature and due to this issue driver is becoming panic situation this will be safety issue and this will cause problems for others safety as well(Putting other at risk while driving). This is appearing from past one week onwards. Called Honda Customer Care about this issue and informed. They have taken a notes to inform R&D/Technical team and suggested to take to service to determine system failed or malfunctioned. Having hopes on Honda bought, after this we are seeing issues and loosing confident on Honda products.
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love car buy don't like the transmission
John Skariot, 06/04/2021
2021 Honda Pilot Touring 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
The transmission slips occasionally but when I take it back to the dealer they can't do much because it doesn't happen when they test ride it. I love everything else about this car and I haven't had any other problems with the issues that I have read about. It actually has a hard drive in the touring model that you can load your CD'S into.
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