New 2009 Pilot Touring Owner Here :) (plus a lesson learned)

[americanpolice]

Finally found a nice 2009 Honda Pilot Touring 4wd and drove home with it from the dealer this weekend. I had checked the car top to bottom and inside/out.

Signed papers and went to swap out the car seats until I found out THERE WAS NO RES! The look of shock on my face. All this time I had been shopping for a Touring assuming the RES was standard. Oh the stress I was feeling plus having dragged my wife and 2 babies couple of hours from home and a missed lunch/nap.

Dealer agreed to throw in an aftermarket player but I'm still shaking my head in surprise. I guess it was my fault for not checking and the salesman's fault for not confirming either. I had thought all Tourings had RES standard. But now I believe RES was standard for 2010 going forward.

BIG LESSON LEARNED.

[LanceHS]

I was poking around on Edmunds and it looks like even 2010 Tourings could be purchased without a rear entertainment system. Tourings with navigation and a rear system appear to be the only option starting in 2011.

[mike_engr]

yes, my 2009 Touring (bought Oct 2011) has aftermarket RES too.
Aftermarket RES has pro's and cons.

For instance, our aftermarket RES came with 3 wireless headphones and the screen is bigger than OEM, but it doesn't include the inputs/outputs low down on the back of the center console.
IMHO the larger size outweighs any negatives..... Enjoy!

[americanpolice]

I'm glad I'm not the only one with an aftermarket RES. I was trying to avoid it bc after one year, theres no warranty and any work would have to be done at the dealer (2 hours away). At least with a OEM system, work is covered under HondaCare at any dealer.

Anyways, keeping my fingers crossed that this works out better than the OEM system. At least its 3 years newer in technology

BTW- has anyone heard of VST? its the system being installed by a reputable local vendor.

[americanpolice]

And to LanceHS- the car does have navigation. RES was the one and only option it didnt have so thats why I missed it. I assumed NAV and RES went hand-in-hand.

[xGS]

RES was an option on both the Touring and EX-L trim levels.

http://allcarcentral.com/Honda-pdf/2...-factsheet.pdf

[revolutn]

I also only recently learned that RES was an option on the Touring trim.

In the end I didn't care though, I was getting Everything Else I wanted on it at an outstanding value, so I can have an aftermarket one dropped in without any hesitation or concern. I think if I'd have had a wider selection of Bali Blue exterior, Grey interior Touring trim level Pilot's to choose from, I might have held out for the factory RES, but seriously it was not a show stopper for me/us. We were scouring the local and not so local market for 3 mo's to find this particular perfect fit.

Rev

[americanpolice]

Revoltn,

I was in the same boat as you. It was very difficult to find a Touring in prestine condition, nevertheless the color combination we wanted. So in the end, it was a small sacrifice to settle and not have the factory RES.