Anyone have or have had a first generation Honda Pilot (03-09?). Especially '05-'08. I'm looking at a couple for a family member. I'll be buying and maintaining it. The only major issues I've read about have been with the cylinder deactivation system and some reports of random acceleration without the pedal being pressed. That one will be enough to make me cross these off my list if it was a known issue. Thanks for any information.
I have an 07 with less than 100k on it. I love it. I wish I could buy 10 of them and store them somewhere and just get a new one out when the current one dies. Currently mine is sitting at my mechanic’s shop waiting for me to have the money for a new engine. I had some weird overheating issues and ended up warping the head on a cross state road trip. It was bizarre. Temp gauge kept red-lining so I popped the hood while driving to see if it would cool it and it didn’t. But coincidentally when I stopped at a long red light I watched the temp gauge drop rapidly. I got out twice on the way to feel the heat of the hood and it was cold to the touch, no heat whatsoever. I assumed it was a thermostat issue as I had the radiator replaced a couple years ago because it was leaking....towed it to mechanic and he tells me engine is no good.
Other than the radiator leak it never gave me a single problem. And that thing is amazing in the snow. I believe it has an AWD traction control system so you can’t turn it on or off. In 2014 we had a pretty bad storm on New Years Eve and got stranded across town at my mother-in-laws house for a week. Half way through the week I was nervous the plumbing in the house may have burst because we had -40 temps so despite a level2 snow emergency I ran to the house using mother-in-laws car (the Honda Pilot). The highway was completely untouched With 2+ feet of snow and at least a half dozen cars stuck or off the road. The pilot barreled right through like the snow wasn’t even there. I loved it so much I ended up buying it from her.
