Looking to Buy

[bobb613]

new to the forum. i am shopping around for a used vehicle. need one that can pull a big pop-up camper as well as have room for 3 car seats. i have a 4 yrold son and 18 month old twins. currently have a durango that i need to trade in. feel bad having my 4yr old always crawling back through the whole vehicle to get to his seat as we cant fit 3 seats across in the 2nd row. been looking around at chevy trailblazers, gmc envoys, suburban and expeditions so far and really liking the pilots. curious as to what year pilots would be best for us and would prefer 4wd too. all the ones i am seeing in my price range of under $10k have 100k+ miles on them. wanted to ask what the expectancy mileage wise would be on a pilot. is it a good deal for a pilot with 125K for $9k or so? any help would be greatly appreciated.

[eokerholm]

I have an 06 Pilot and I do know you can fit 3 Britax car seats in the 2nd row. Couldn't in my neighbor's MDX by the way.

Great family car for 5 and more when needed.

2003 was original model and AWD (my ex had one). It drove better than my 2006, but had transmission issues, she just got a 2012 Pilot and loves it.

Avoid 2006, multiple engine issues per my mechanic.
2010/11 was an odd time and obvious model change, avoid those if you don't want a dated model.

[97trophy]

Sorry but I am slowly turning negative on the Pilot and I do not recommend it anymore. This is many because of the problems people are having with their transmissions. I did think this was cured in the 2005 onwards model but this Facebook group suggests otherwise.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3840...55943/?fref=ts

[rocky]

Looks like the blind leading the blind on that FB page.
So sad. They need to come join in the fun here.


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[Brolan]

How heavy is your pop-up camper? Pilots have towing limited to 2500-4500 lbs depending on model and equipment.

[bobb613]

Originally Posted by Brolan

How heavy is your pop-up camper? Pilots have towing limited to 2500-4500 lbs depending on model and equipment.

camper weighs 3500lbs.

[bobb613]

anyone else have transmission issues with pilots? anyone suggest any other vehicle to check into?

[Brolan]

Transmission issues are rare in Pilots. The biggest issue seems to be one with the radiator corroding and allowing transmission fluid and coolant to mix. Posters have been doing a radiator replacement around 105K to avoid this.

[bobb613]

any other issues to worry about. do you think a pilot with 125K+ miles on it is a safe investment?

[ltp646]

Originally Posted by bobb613

any other issues to worry about. do you think a pilot with 125K+ miles on it is a safe investment?

You will need to consider or find out about the vehicle's maintenance history to determine whether the vehicle is worth your investment. A 125K miles and well maintained vehicle would not be the same as a poorly maintained one.

[Im2c0oL]

For a bit long drive in hot weather the third row gets really hot if you plan to put two car seat back there, I tried sit in third row a few times for 1hr trip it's very hot uncomfortable, the second row ac will not reach the 3rd row and most likely the second row passenger turn it off or block it cuz it's too cold. I always drive my pilot with front vent on, 2nd row vent off due to most passenger complains prefer it to be off on 2nd row that make it hell whoever is in the 3rd row. The best thing I found to fix it is add a manual fan in the 3rd row. This is the only option I like on the new pilot 3rd row ac but I see too many complains on the newer model with engine problem vs 06-08! I say get the 06-08 instead put out 36k for a new one, you'll save 20k on used one and with 2-3k to spend on tune up and mod it can looks really nice than a new car.

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[road2cycle]

We have a 2005 Pilot and when our two kids were in Britax Frontier car seats there definitely was not enough room for a third car seat (even a narrow one) in the second row. Unless the 2006 model’s second row is a few inches wider than the 2005 model I’m guessing the person who posted earlier may have been using one of Britax’s slimmer model car seats as we have been able to fit three backless boosters in the second row. Also there is not much distance between the third row and the rear of the vehicle . . . not good if you get rear ended.

I agree with the previous poster that it’s important to find a vehicle which was properly maintained. And I’d add if that it might be a good idea to have your trusted mechanic perform an inspection on any used vehicle you’re seriously considering.

[oneonlywgs]

with 3 kids- I would look at a honda odyssey van. The pilot would not be enough room.