Most reliable, and long lasting???

[RikiShah]

Which SUV do you believe will be the longest lasting, and most reliable? Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, or Nissan Murano...Be honest now!....Don't be biased if you own a Pilot..lol

[smurray]

Honda Pilot, hands down. The Murano is already experiencing serious growing pains, brand new vehicle with many untested components.
The Highlander takes a close second. Toyotas rank right up there with Honda for build quality and durability.
The Honda wins because just about every major component is tried and true. Either on the Odyssey or on the MDX.

[ramirami]

and you expect the results not to be biased....post this on the murano board and see how it wins hands down there...

[RikiShah]

I would but someone already copied my polls...... Here's the link to the Murano forum poll.. http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/s...&threadid=1116

[ramirami]

Originally posted by RikiShah
I would but someone already copied my polls...... Here's the link to the Murano forum poll.. http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/s...&threadid=1116

yes sir.....that would be me...the interesting thing is that the pilot and murano are running neck to neck....

[robrecht]

I think the real contest is with Toyota.

[weekendpilot]

My vote (and the wallet) to the Pilot based on my own experiences with a 1990 Honda Accord and a 1996 Toyota Camry. The Camry has many little parts that are no longer work smoothly, or close to end-of-life at 8 years old; comparing to the Accord at 11 years old when we traded it in for a CRV. Besides, Toyota V6 has sludge problem.

[RikiShah]

It's funny how no one picked Murano. I have go to say though, my dad owned an 1996 Infiniti I30 before the Pilot, and it was extremely reliable. All he did was change tires, oil, and brakes on the car...It had 112,000 miles on it with no problems before he sold it...Has Nissan's quality fallen dramatically since then?

[colorider]

Originally posted by ramirami
yes sir.....that would be me...the interesting thing is that the pilot and murano are running neck to neck....

Do we have that many Piloteers on the Murano forum? Or are the Murano owners that unhappy with their choice??

[jay]

Originally posted by RikiShah
It's funny how no one picked Murano. I have go to say though, my dad owned an 1996 Infiniti I30 before the Pilot, and it was extremely reliable. All he did was change tires, oil, and brakes on the car...It had 112,000 miles on it with no problems before he sold it...Has Nissan's quality fallen dramatically since then?

Spend just a little bit of time on the Murano board to get a flavor. One of the best cars I ever owned was a cutover 1984 Datsun/Nissan Pulsar, but it had the same bad habit as my '71 Datsun 1200, it would sometimes just not start. Wait 45 minutes to 2 hours, and it would start again.

With the '71 Datsun it was a stripped wire shorting inside the distributor, that was finally fixed with electrical tape. With the '84 Pulsar, I think it was the automatic choke, but never really diagnosed it. I'll take a Honda, Toyota, or Nissan over a Ford or GM any day. But I am intrigued by what GM's doing with OnStar and XM Radio.

[ramirami]

Originally posted by colorider
Do we have that many Piloteers on the Murano forum? Or are the Murano owners that unhappy with their choice??

I did not vote...my guess is its Honda reputation...

[robrecht]

Originally posted by RikiShah
It's funny how no one picked Murano. I have go to say though, my dad owned an 1996 Infiniti I30 before the Pilot, and it was extremely reliable. All he did was change tires, oil, and brakes on the car...It had 112,000 miles on it with no problems before he sold it...Has Nissan's quality fallen dramatically since then?

Ask Ham Radio who got the goods on the Murano transmission problems by going undercover and pretending to be a Nissan factory rep to discuss the problems with a Murano mechanic:

http://www.honda-pilot.org/forums/sh...o&pagenumber=4

Ham Radio should be a reporter for 60 minutes!

[RikiShah]

I was also reading that the Murano's CVT are around 6 grand..Not sure if it sounds right, but I think I read something about that...Now someone could go broke if they are out of warranty to buy a new transmission....I guess the test of time will tell it all. Interesting findings by HamRadio

[Geo]

I was talking with my honda salesperson this morning and told him my 96 rav4 hadn't had any work (except fluid changes filters and brake pads) in 96,000 miles. He was shocked and expressed concern that not changing the timing belt at 60k could trash my engine.

This goes to a serious issue about perceptions of reliability, this is not a problem for toyota owners.

Now I know I am buying a Pilot with the type of engine (like almost all hondas except non-interference i-vtecs) that will get trashed if the timing belt fails. But I would point out that virtually all toyota engines will not be damaged if a timing belt fails...just a walk and a tow but no $2,000 to $3,000 nightmare. So you can delay an expensive timing belt change until 100k, 120k, 140k and not worry.

So when you are forking over a good chunk of change at 60k as insurance your honda engine won't get chewed to pieces when a piece of rubber fails inside (and I will be forking over that money as well) keep in mind virtually no one with a toyota has that worry.

Toyota regularly and certainly this year edges out Honda's in reliability surveys. So i will give the edge to toyota. Just pricing the routine maintanance on Honda makes it clear that more money is spent there for comperable models as well.

So Honda is not the most reliable maker, but it is one fo the most reliable brands out there and the pilot is a very intelligently engineered vehicle on a platform that has done well. I'm getting one, but I am aware I will be spending more money at the shop.