Honda Pilot - Honda Pilot Forums banner

Setting up a just-bought 2005 Pilot EX

2K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  cdubea 
#1 · (Edited)
Yes I did buy one! It has a bit over 105K miles, it's a EX with none of the optional features, just the basic standard, and I don't have any prior maintenance records.
Thanks for much information I received on this site, which greatly facilitated my choice to buy a Pilot!
I have many questions about WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FIRST, with this new vehicle... I know it is cumbersome to quote separately particular snippets when there are many questions in a post, so I am numbering my questions below, if you would prefer to simply indicate the number of the question you are replying to.
I'd like to pamper it and keep it for years, I'm sure you understand that feeling... so I have technical questions about what to do now to give it a good start under my ownership.

A1_ What is the best synthetic oil for it?
A2_ Also, I don't know what is in there now, so I'm leary about doing a simple fillup: will there be too much fluid mixed from the leftover old oil with the new, and if so, what to do if they are of incompatible type?
A3_ Can one tell by looking, if the oil in place is synthetic or not, how?
A4_ Is there such a thing as an oil flush? Can you do it as DIY well enough, or should this be done at a shop?
A5_ for a Pilot over 100K miles (old engine), is it best to continue to use the originl 5W20 grade oil, and add oil additives to it, or switch to a "high mileage" oil which contains its own additives?

B1_ I think I should get a xmission fluid flush done also; what is the recommended Honda fluid, do I have to buy it from the dealer or are there commercial equivalents that are not just labeled for Honda vehicles, but are really as good?
B2_ I read once a post from an owner saying he changed from the standard Honda xmission fluid and used a synthetic fluid instead; is that a marked improvement, and if so, what is the synthetic fluid that will properly benefit the Pilot specifically?
B3_ What about the VTM-4 rear differential fluid?

C1_ At 105K miles, a the timing belt must be replaced; can a mechanic look at it and see it it was done or not?
C2_ Does it have to be done only once, I did not see when it has to be done again?
C3_ How much does it normally cost, if you get the water pump replaced proactively as well?
C4_ is this a service which it is much better to do at Honda, with Honda parts, or can usual mechanics do it well and are 3rd party parts good enough? Which ones are best?

D1_ The manual says that if you tow, you should use "premium" gasoline. The wording of types of gasoline varies among brands so is that meant to get higher octane, and if so, which numeric value? Or is that meant to get specific concentrations of additives? Is "premium" meant to be the top grade, no matter how that is called at any gas station?

D2_ As regards gasoline, the Honda Owner's Manual also says:
we strongly
recommend, in areas where it is
available, the use of gasoline that
does NOT contain manganese-based
fuel additives such as MMT.(...)
Use of gasoline with these additives
may adversely affect performance,
and cause the Malfunction Indicator
Lamp on your instrument panel to
come on.
Do you know SAFE BRAND gasolines that can be trusted to NOT CONTAIN manganese-based fuel additives such as MMT?

D3_ Further,
Some gasoline today is blended with
oxygenates such as ethanol or
MTBE. Your vehicle is designed to
operate on oxygenated gasoline
containing up to 10 percent ethanol
by volume and up to 15 percent
MTBE by volume. Do not use
gasoline containing methanol.
I have never seen the MTBE level listed at the pump?
And do you know SAFE BRAND gasolines that can be trusted to NOT CONTAIN any methanol?

D4_ Ethanol is bad for car engines; although the manual says the Pilot is designed to run on gas containing up to 10% ethanol, the compliance of gasoline brand is voluntary and not regulated by federal testing. So we can only trust that their % is what the pump label says. What is the best additive to specifically prevent damage from ethanol, without overloading the system with unwanted additives added-in for other uses?
D5_ Water or condensation in gasoline is also bad; what is the best additive to specifically remove water, without overloading the system with unwanted additives added-in for other uses?

Taking care of the above concerns would help me make the proper start on maintaining my vehicle, and optimize its good service and life.
Your replies to some or all of these questions will be greatly appreciated, and I hope this thread will be useful also to other new owners of used 1st gen Pilots. Thanks very much!
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Yes I did buy one! It has a bit over 105K miles, it's a EX with none of the optional features, just the basic standard, and I don't have any prior maintenance records.
Thanks for much information I received on this site, which greatly facilitated my choice to buy a Pilot!
I have many questions about WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FIRST, with this new vehicle... I know it is cumbersome to quote separately particular snippets when there are many questions in a post, so I am numbering my questions below, if you would prefer to simply indicate the number of the question you are replying to.
I'd like to pamper it and keep it for years, I'm sure you understand that feeling... so I have technical questions about what to do now to give it a good start under my ownership.

A1_ What is the best synthetic oil for it? I use Mobil 1 or Penzoil Platinum. What ever is cheapest at Walmart at the time and a good filter like Wix or Purulator.
A2_ Also, I don't know what is in there now, so I'm leary about doing a simple fillup: will there be too much fluid mixed from the leftover old oil with the new, and if so, what to do if they are of incompatible type? Just change it if it looks like it needs to be changed. Oil is cheap enough to do that and then you have piece of mind of having the fresh oil in it.
A3_ Can one tell by looking, if the oil in place is synthetic or not, how? No
A4_ Is there such a thing as an oil flush? Can you do it as DIY well enough, or should this be done at a shop? Personally, unless you have some engine issues, I wouldn't worry about an engine flush. A good synthic will start cleaning your engine. There are additives you could add but I have never used any.
A5_ for a Pilot over 100K miles (old engine), is it best to continue to use the originl 5W20 grade oil, and add oil additives to it, or switch to a "high mileage" oil which contains its own additives? You can use the 5w-20, but check the chart at Honda, I believe they have ok'd to use 0w-20 for those older ones too. They have on my 07 and that is what I put in it. I have ran full synthetic in it since I bought it with 38k on it and it gets changed about every 5k.

B1_ I think I should get a xmission fluid flush done also; what is the recommended Honda fluid, do I have to buy it from the dealer or are there commercial equivalents that are not just labeled for Honda vehicles, but are really as good?Honda says to not do transmission flushes on thier cars so I would not do that. If you want to change the fluid all the fluid, the recommend way is to do a 3 or 4x drain and fill. Drain, drive around for a day or so and repeat process. That will get the majority of the fluid freshen. There are lots of threads on the sites about doing transmission fluid changes.
B2_ I read once a post from an owner saying he changed from the standard Honda xmission fluid and used a synthetic fluid instead; is that a marked improvement, and if so, what is the synthetic fluid that will properly benefit the Pilot specifically?I am still on the Honda fluid, so can't comment here. There are lots of threads here, and on the Oddy forum it seems that even more people eventually switch over to other types of fluid.
B3_ What about the VTM-4 rear differential fluid?Only use Honda VTM4 fluid there. I don't even think you can get anything else. It is an easy DIY too.

C1_ At 105K miles, a the timing belt must be replaced; can a mechanic look at it and see it it was done or not? I am not aware of a way that a mechanic can tell that it has been done. I have seen some used ones where the mechinc will write somewhere in the engine compartment when it was replaced. Lots of Honda owners get rid of these cars at that mileage because they don't want to do this repair.
C2_ Does it have to be done only once, I did not see when it has to be done again? It should be done every 7 years or 105k, which ever comes first.
C3_ How much does it normally cost, if you get the water pump replaced proactively as well?I am taking mine in Monday to get done. $1100 for TB, WP, new serp belt, timing belt tensor, and coolant and other misc fees. This is at the Acura dealer. They were cheaper than their sister Honda store.
C4_ is this a service which it is much better to do at Honda, with Honda parts, or can usual mechanics do it well and are 3rd party parts good enough? Which ones are best? I went through this myself. I checked one independent I trusted knew imports. They ended up being no cheaper than this Acura dealer. Both were not in the town I was live in. With an independent you just want to make sure that they know how work on Honda's and have done some before in my opinion. Honda dealers do them everyday, so you hope they know what they heck they are doing.

D1_ The manual says that if you tow, you should use "premium" gasoline. The wording of types of gasoline varies among brands so is that meant to get higher octane, and if so, which numeric value? Or is that meant to get specific concentrations of additives? Is "premium" meant to be the top grade, no matter how that is called at any gas station?I have yet to feel I needed premium fuel while towing. I only use 87 octane.

D2_ As regards gasoline, the Honda Owner's Manual also says:
Do you know SAFE BRAND gasolines that can be trusted to NOT CONTAIN manganese-based fuel additives such as MMT? I always try and get top teir when I can. Shell is usually the closest to me. Top teir is the same price as the cheap stations.

D3_ Further, I have never seen the MTBE level listed at the pump?
And do you know SAFE BRAND gasolines that can be trusted to NOT CONTAIN any methanol?

D4_ Ethanol is bad for car engines; although the manual says the Pilot is designed to run on gas containing up to 10% ethanol, the compliance of gasoline brand is voluntary and not regulated by federal testing. So we can only trust that their % is what the pump label says. What is the best additive to specifically prevent damage from ethanol, without overloading the system with unwanted additives added-in for other uses?
D5_ Water or condensation in gasoline is also bad; what is the best additive to specifically remove water, without overloading the system with unwanted additives added-in for other uses?

Taking care of the above concerns would help me make the proper start on maintaining my vehicle, and optimize its good service and life.
Your replies to some or all of these questions will be greatly appreciated, and I hope this thread will be useful also to other new owners of used 1st gen Pilots. Thanks very much!
Congrats on your purchase. You will enjoy your new ride. I replied above in red to your questions to my thoughts. Others my have other thoughts that are better :) There are lots of threads here for helping you get the most out of your ride!
 
#3 ·
The comment of using top tier fuel is a valid one. More and more brands are advertising that their fuel is Top Tier. In my area, Costco and Valero are now Top Tier retailers. Go to Top Tier Gasoline which will show you the list of Top Tier Brands.
In Calif, a 10% amount of Ethanol seems to be in every brand of gasoline's list of additives, except Chevron from what I hear. People I know with 1960's vintage classic cars swear by the use of Chevron gas as they tell me it contains no ethanol.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Honda say drain and fill ATF every 30k miles. I (and others) do it every year. If you have any doubt about the ATF change history do a 3x drain/fill asap.

Its easy to do, there are many good howto youtube videos.

I don't understand this talk of a top tier gas, anyone want to name someone (in the US) who is selling second tier gas?
 
#7 ·
I don't understand this talk of a top tier gas, anyone want to name someone (in the US) who is selling second tier gas?
All gas is delivered by independent distributors now. Oil companies have gotten out of the distribution business. This provides a degree of legal separation in the event of a major distribution related issue (disaster).

Anyway, the distributors have two types of gas, Top Tier (which is typically all the name brands, Shell, Exxon, etc) and then everyone else.

The gas you are buying at a Shell is the exact same gas you are getting at the Exxon across the street, etc. But it is not the same gas at the 7-11 on the corner.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top