2001 Odyssey owner considering 2003-2008 Pilot

[Relaxo]

We're retiring our 2001 Odyssey EX. The kids are teens now, and the wife no longer wants to be a soccer mom in a minivan, so we're looking to replace it with an SUV. We looked at the 2007 and up MDX initially, but the lack of third row leg room turned us away. The 2003-2008 Pilot seems to be more practical with the adjustable middle row seats, so that's where we are so far, and leaning towards the later facelifted years (06-08), but may consider 03-05 if it makes sense.

We owned the Ody since new, and got 12 years and 330,000 kms our of it. We only had one major problem with it - the transmission. It went at 190,000 kms. I'd really prefer to avoid this with the Pilot, and I'm reading mixed opinions as to whether the Pilot was affected by similar transmission issues, and if so which years. I've also heard a lots of complaints from the MDXers of fuel economy and I assume the Pilot would have similar mileage. However, coming from an Odyssey, I'm not sure if it will be a big deal, especially since ours only has a 4-spd tranny. What I'd really like is to hear from those who have owned both (99-01 Ody and 03-08 Pilot) and can share their thoughts, especially if they went from Ody to Pilot.

[Relaxo]

Oh, I forgot to ask - were rear (middle row) seat heaters ever offered as an option on the Pilot? Seems if there is one thing the kids keep asking when we tell them we're shopping around for a new (to us) SUV is whether it has them.

[hovocop]

just bought my 04 pilot last month........ love it. avoid 00-03 and 05 pilots...........make sure owner has done the 125k miles tune up (belta and water pump), not sure what you mean with rear middle row seats, but mine has 3 rows,. make sure you buy exl with all bells ,,,,,, not much storage behind 3rd row seat so tow package and roof rack are a must if you are active

[rocky]

Originally Posted by hovocop

just bought my 04 pilot last month........ love it. avoid 00-03 and 05 pilots...........make sure owner has done the 125k miles tune up (belta and water pump), not sure what you mean with rear middle row seats, but mine has 3 rows,. make sure you buy exl with all bells ,,,,,, not much storage behind 3rd row seat so tow package and roof rack are a must if you are active

Get you facts correct.
There is no 00-02 Pilot. 03-04 had the tranny solved with added lubrication. 05 onwards fine.
On most if these mileage is getting up there. Just like my 05 with 154k.


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[97trophy]

Originally Posted by hovocop

love it. avoid 00-03 and 05 pilots.......

whats wrong with the 05s?

OP, I have an 05 with 102k miles. Seems fine.

[onu2002]

Originally Posted by Relaxo

The 2003-2008 Pilot ... with the adjustable middle row seats...

I have a 2003 -- the middle row isn't adjustable. It slides forward when you flip the seatback forward to get to the 3rd row, but doesn't adjust. I don't know about later years.

[dmark]

I own both a 2001 Odyssey EX (since new) with 88k and a 2008 Pilot EX-L (since 2011) with 36k.
I love both vehicles but:
The Ody is more practical.
The Ody gets 24mpg highway, Pilot 22.
The Pilot feels more "solid" in build quality and is one of the best cars I have driven.
My wife drives the Pilot and wanted it (not I)
I kept the Ody after driving NJ to Florida last year in the Pilot. The 3rd row was folded down to get enough room for our gear for the 4 of us. (8 & 11 year old girls, my wife and I). The rear bench on a long drive lead to arguing when the girls were tired. With the Ody I always had the 3rd row available (as well as the mid row captains chairs) since the luggage well holds so much more than the Pilot with the 3rd rows up. The Ody is the road trip/vacation car now (more room=more peace and quiet).
Same tranny chronology as the Ody.
If you get one get the 2007 or -08 since they have the 4 shaft tranny developed for the Ridgeline. 03 was oil starved and the recall added an external ATF line to spray 2nd gear(losing the drain plug); 04 had this applied at the factory; 05 & 06 had the updated housing with internal oil passage added. 05-08 are easy to drain & fill but 07-08 is more rugged.
I also do a "drain & fill" every 15k.

[tarzan17]

IMHO, doesn't matter what year you decide on, you should be concerned about the transmission and treat it like a special child. Honda has long history with transmission problems on there Odyssey/Pilot/MDX - probably new models have not reached critical mass and therefore not enough data. Some may have less probability of failure than others but still a crap-shoot IMHO (2005+ has updated trannsmission).

This is worth a read:
Honda Transmission Problems Seem to Persist - NYTimes.com

That being said, we are very happy with our 8 year old 2001 Odyssey with 300KM (still running). Only replaced tranny once at 100KM.

Just bought a 2004 Pilot with 73KM fully serviced, to replace it. I fully expect it to have transmission issues at some point, but at least it has had regular transmission flushes (my number one criteria when I was searching).

May sound odd, but we decided to buy the Pilot even with known transmission issues because we figured no car is perfect. At least we know what to expect and can minimize the percentages.

[dj5]

We had a 2001 & 2004 Odyssey, 2006 Pilot EX-L, and now 2013 MDX with Tech. Both the Odysseys were great as the kids got older the wife didn't want to be the mini-van mom any longer and wanted an SUV so we traded the Odyssey for the Pilot. A little less space but still enough. Gas mileage was about the same and both used regular grade. The Pilot drove a little more truck like than the Odyssey. Our Pilot was one of the best vehicles that we'ver ever owned and prefer the 2006-2008 body style over the current version. In over 100k miles it rarely saw time in the shop other than routine maintenance. I would highly recommend th 2006-2008 Pilot and sometimes regret trading it in for the MDX.

[hovocop]

Originally Posted by rocky

Get you facts correct.
There is no 00-02 Pilot. 03-04 had the tranny solved with added lubrication. 05 onwards fine.
On most if these mileage is getting up there. Just like my 05 with 154k.


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rocky, may I suggest a better way to correct someone......... you are right, pilot started off "rocky" (no pun intended) with 03 model........ here are the problem years according to carcomplaints.com...... o3 with tranny and 05 with radiator leak...... best bets are 04, and 06 and newer......... lets keep things cordial. We are all here to help and learn from each other