Love my Pilot, but...

[Shandsmama]

I love my Pilot, but... over the past year I have had one problem after another. Fouled spark plugs, bad cylinder, emissions lights, VSA lights, low oil, reduced power, reduced gas mileage, leaking windshield...
I have had the Pilot in the shop MANY times for the same issues, over and over again. I bought the 2009 Pilot Certified Used and had all the faith that I was buying a reliable SUV, I mean, it's a HONDA, right? those things last forever.
Well, right now its at the Dealership having the engine replaced!!! Has anyone else had these same problems? It now has approximately 64k miles.

[cortina]

Originally Posted by Shandsmama

I love my Pilot, but... over the past year I have had one problem after another. Fouled spark plugs, bad cylinder, emissions lights, VSA lights, low oil, reduced power, reduced gas mileage, leaking windshield...
I have had the Pilot in the shop MANY times for the same issues, over and over again. I bought the 2009 Pilot Certified Used and had all the faith that I was buying a reliable SUV, I mean, it's a HONDA, right? those things last forever.
Well, right now its at the Dealership having the engine replaced!!! Has anyone else had these same problems? It now has approximately 64k miles.

That sucks.... Even though it certified used. Does it have a good service history?
Also check with a local mechanic to make sure its a not a flood car. Note not all accidents/flood goes through insurance/flood.

If I was you, i would probably dump/trade-in at the same dealership that sold you the bad truck.

[1YESfan]

Sorry to read this. However, a new/rebuilt engine ain't such a bad thing if it's free replacing the one with mileage. The engine could have been root of many of your previous problems.

My sister just received a free new/newer engine for their Sante Fe when the original blew up and I'm sure it will run for years longer now.

[rocky]

After that litany of issues a replacement engine sounds like a good move.


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[BigWhite]

Originally Posted by Shandsmama

I love my Pilot, but... over the past year I have had one problem after another. Fouled spark plugs, bad cylinder, emissions lights, VSA lights, low oil, reduced power, reduced gas mileage, leaking windshield...
I have had the Pilot in the shop MANY times for the same issues, over and over again. I bought the 2009 Pilot Certified Used and had all the faith that I was buying a reliable SUV, I mean, it's a HONDA, right? those things last forever.
Well, right now its at the Dealership having the engine replaced!!! Has anyone else had these same problems? It now has approximately 64k miles.

2009 with new engine ? You practically will have a new car, it may have been a flood car, where are you ?





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[Shandsmama]

I am in Houston, TX. The car was originally purchased from the Honda dealer that I purchased it from, they have all the service records so a flood vehicle is not likely. I have never had a vehicle with these types of problems. I am getting a new engine at no charge, however I am concerned about the possible implications of having the engine replaced. Does anyone have experience with how this affects a vehicle at trade in? Up until the time they agreed to replace the engine, 3 of the 6 cylinders were out/spark plugs fouled . It's just really a shame. Since I told my service advisor I have reached my limit and wouldn't pay another dime for service until the problems with the Pilot are fixed, Honda seems to have finally stepped up. I really hope this is a one-off issue!

[Strate L O S S]

don't beat yourself up too badly, sometimes these things happen with machinery.

the engine being replaced at Honda shouldn't effect value it may even be preferred(less engine mileage overall). hope it cures your issues.


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[xGS]

Originally Posted by Shandsmama

The car was originally purchased from the Honda dealer that I purchased it from, they have all the service records...

Since you have (access to) the service records, could you find out at what mileage each oil change was performed and can you verify that the oil filter was replaced at every oil change?

Some owners with VCM engines have encountered problems when the maintenance minder calculated unusually long oil change intervals (~10k miles).
Also, Honda specifies filter changes only at every other oil change and there's some question whether the filter would continue to function adequately over that full distance.
The presumption is that the dealer always changes the oil AND the filter, but, according to the owner's manual, it's not required for just an 'A' service.

[BigWhite]

I would not follow those recommendations . Any recommendation by the manufacturers or service minders are the extreme end.

Talk to enthusiasts and they all agree, oil change and filter at every interval no matter what the manual says. The interval for conventional oil is 3k miles and synthetic or syn blend I would not go beyond 5k on blend and 7k on syn and that's all based on type of driving you do if all city mileage would be less and if mixed or all hwy then 5k and 7 k max!

Now I am sure you'll hear otherwise from others but I am picky and I've done my own light maintenance on my cars for past 30 years from oil changes to brakes to fluid flushes and so forth and I've never had an issue .







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[nmike101]

I also just had an engine replacement in a 2009 Pilot. I will make a separate thread with details because I don't want to hijack yours. My Pilot has 74k miles. The original engine failed due to "excessive sludge" and piston/cylinder scoring. The scoring caused the pistons to be loose, which caused a ticking/knocking noise that could be heard clearly from under the engine bay. OP - what symptoms were you having and what did the dealer tell you the problem was? My wife and I also like this car a lot, and hopefully we won't have any other problems. Glad to hear your engine repair was covered.

[RinconVTR]

Originally Posted by BigWhite

I would not follow those recommendations . Any recommendation by the manufacturers or service minders are the extreme end.

Talk to enthusiasts and they all agree, oil change and filter at every interval no matter what the manual says. The interval for conventional oil is 3k miles

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Get outta here with that old school garbage!

And "Talk to enthusiasts"? LOL. Who do you think we are???

[Yahooligan]

Originally Posted by RinconVTR

Get outta here with that old school garbage!

And "Talk to enthusiasts"? LOL. Who do you think we are???

Trying to make some new friends, huh? How's that working out for you?

I follow the maintenance minder in the Pilot, for my Challenger I replace the oil every 6,000 miles and use Mobil 1. Factory interval is 8,000 miles but I track the car and the oil gets up to about 260F during the sessions so I don't run the oil as long as I would if it were just driven on the street.

Modern engines are much cleaner and more efficient, oils have improved greatly over the years as well so there's no reason to question the manufacturer's recommendations as long as the vehicle isn't being under "extreme" conditions.

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[Onyx2082]

I had read in my owner's manual that only the oil needed to be change for the a service (just had my first oil change on my 2012) and I wasn't comfortable with that. When I asked my asm when scheduling to make sure they changed the filter as well he acted like I was stupid for even mentioning it. Apparently Honda service centers aren't comfortable with that either?!?

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[nickstradamus]

Originally Posted by xGS

Since you have (access to) the service records, could you find out at what mileage each oil change was performed and can you verify that the oil filter was replaced at every oil change?

Some owners with VCM engines have encountered problems when the maintenance minder calculated unusually long oil change intervals (~10k miles).
Also, Honda specifies filter changes only at every other oil change and there's some question whether the filter would continue to function adequately over that full distance.
The presumption is that the dealer always changes the oil AND the filter, but, according to the owner's manual, it's not required for just an 'A' service.

Edit...answer found.


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