[WinstonSmith]

Oops -- I was recalling the ones I bought for a CR-V a month or so ago. It looks like these are about $12 at Rock Auto, for the NGK 95350/DILZKR7B11G.

Rock Auto has the NGK Ruthenium HX Plugs for $8.70/ea. I just ordered a set the other day for my wife's CR-V.

More Information for NGK 96358

NGK Laser Iridiums are $13.23/ea.

More Information for NGK 95350

 

[hokiefyd]

Yes -- while not the specific OEM plugs, they will likely work just as well. I did similar with my daughter's CR-V. I think the OEM NGKs were something like $12 each, and I put similar ones in it, also listed for the application on Rock Auto, that were about half that.

 

[Johan]

I don’t have much more to add to this discussion but wanted to make a couple points. If you have almost 100k on brakes and rotors you are doing great and must assume mostly highway driving. Also 13.5 k seems way low on what your pilot is worth, unless you have some damage or the dealer quoted as trade in value, I would expect closer to 20k but just do your research and don’t rely on the dealer telling you what it is worth.

 

[cfoley7557]

The "story" is about which dealer says don't stretch the valve and spark plugs replacement past the recommended 105K that Honda recommends while another dealer would say you could stretch those items but do the timing belt first. Here is the breakdown of prices from Richmond,VA Honda dealer farther South and charges less than my local Honda nearby. . Timing belt/water pump etc.. $1375.00 Valva adjustment $546.00 Spark plug replacement range is $400-575.00-all plus tax.
I will need brakes close to 100K as they are still ok as my car is mostly highway-that runs around $900 for front and back. I need another tranny drain since last one was 30K miles before and that runs $250. Oil change and tire rotation needed also for $75. They probably would want a brake fluid change if i do the brakes but not sure. That will be a couple of hundred. It will add up with tax to $3500-4,000 if i do them all. My car has been through every required Honda scheduled maintenance and oil change from day 1. Its been kept up. Only one set of tires and second set still in great shape. In the end as someone mentioned in a reply that spending 4K on maintenance vs buying a new one for 50K is the big question. I love the car and its a personal decision and a crapshoot that something major will fail after i do the maintenance I do have a wrap warranty to 199K. This is a 2019 Pilot EX FWD. Currently at 90K Gets incredible gas mileage too way better than the new ones.
The best independent mechanic specializing in Honda repair now charges the same labor rate at Honda. They are no longer a bargain anymore. I am going to keep driving the car and decide what to do about selling it or not. i have until 105K or sooner if i want. But i prefer to do what Honda recommends and not stretch things out and taking a chance i am not ruining the engine etc..

Anyone know how long these engines will last? i know my year had premature tranny issues but so far i have escaped this for now. Carmax will only give me $13,500 and dropping as i add on mileage

 

[viper74656]

I love the car and its a personal decision and a crapshoot that something major will fail after i do the maintenance I do have a wrap warranty to 199K.

You nailed it. Decide how long you want to keep the car, and maintain it to reach that point. Also, make sure you are planning financially to replace it at that point. I want to say that Pilots can easily get to 200K+ miles if driven a lot, although to be fair the 9-speed is not ZF's finest work, and the direct inject engine is Honda's first generation of DI V-6, so the true sample size probably only goes back to the 2016 model year. See this long laster: https://www.piloteers.org/threads/237-000-miles-threw-a-rod.169370/

By the way, the $13.5K Carmax quote is a joke. They are selling your vehicle for around $20K. You could expect to get roughly that much if you sold it outright rather than a trade in.

 

[CascadeSteve]

If you want to do some of the work yourself to save money, and have modest skills, replace the brakes and spark plugs on your own. You will save a lot of money. I've replaced the brakes on my 2005 several times. The rear brakes are slightly harder because the emergency brake is a drum brake which is part of the rotor (I think) and it is slightly harder to get off and put back on. Disk brakes are easy. If you are using daily driver brakes and rotors just replace the rotors. Turning them isn't worth the trouble. It costs $25 per rotor to turn them at my auto parts place. Replacement rotors are not much more.

You can replace the serpentine belt rather easily, as well. However, it should not cost you any extra to have the belt replaced since they have to remove it to do the water pump.

I had my timing belt break at about 191K miles. I had it done at an independent shop at 105K. The break was about 7 years ago. The cost to repair all the damage from the timing belt break, which included replacing all the valves and some other stuff I can't remember, was about $3,800. Today it would be much more. It took two weeks to get the car fixed because several parts had to be sent to a machine shop. The dealer wanted $8K to repair the damage. I thought that was beyond ridiculous.

Doing the major maintenance work at 105K miles is part of the cost of owning the vehicle. The cost of a timing belt failure or water pump failure is very high.

 

[cfoley7557]

You nailed it. Decide how long you want to keep the car, and maintain it to reach that point. Also, make sure you are planning financially to replace it at that point. I want to say that Pilots can easily get to 200K+ miles if driven a lot, although to be fair the 9-speed is not ZF's finest work, and the direct inject engine is Honda's first generation of DI V-6, so the true sample size probably only goes back to the 2016 model year. See this long laster: https://www.piloteers.org/threads/237-000-miles-threw-a-rod.169370/

By the way, the $13.5K Carmax quote is a joke. They are selling your vehicle for around $20K. You could expect to get roughly that much if you sold it outright rather than a trade in.
View attachment 178010

Ok thnx for the Car Max heads up but they usually don’t budge. I don’t like selling it on my own these days. Anyway I had a typo in my last post. I have a wrap for 119K miles, not 199K.

 

[hokiefyd]

Ok thnx for the Car Max heads up but they usually don’t budge.

They probably won't negotiate on their price, but they're not the only folks buying used cars. You can get written offers from places like Carvana and also from webuyanycarusa.com (and others like it). I'm not telling you your offers from other outlets will be better, but you can at least get a second or third opinion.

I will say the Carmax selling process is super easy. We sold a car to them (and my in-laws did the same) during the used car market craze after COVID. They paid up for our cars. We sold a 2020 Subaru Ascent to Carmax for more than we paid Subaru for it brand new. We drove to the Carmax store, checked in, and had our cashier's check in about 30 minutes. They didn't even drive the car. But that was a fairly new car and during that market crunch.

Things have settled down now and the pendulum is probably swinging in the other direction a bit. Carmax might have just gotten off a few quarters where they've been less profitable due to the sagging used car market, so their offers might be on the low side for a while. It's unfortunately just how the market goes sometimes (just like real estate).

 

[cfoley7557]

Are you following the maintenance minder?
Have you read the owner's manual?
If so, then you shouldn't need any "stories" to determine what maintenance is required.

See my reply to "stories" and what i meant.

 

[cfoley7557]

They probably won't negotiate on their price, but they're not the only folks buying used cars. You can get written offers from places like Carvana and also from webuyanycarusa.com (and others like it). I'm not telling you your offers from other outlets will be better, but you can at least get a second or third opinion.

I will say the Carmax selling process is super easy. We sold a car to them (and my in-laws did the same) during the used car market craze after COVID. They paid up for our cars. We sold a 2020 Subaru Ascent to Carmax for more than we paid Subaru for it brand new. We drove to the Carmax store, checked in, and had our cashier's check in about 30 minutes. They didn't even drive the car. But that was a fairly new car and during that market crunch.

Things have settled down now and the pendulum is probably swinging in the other direction a bit. Carmax might have just gotten off a few quarters where they've been less profitable due to the sagging used car market, so their offers might be on the low side for a while. It's unfortunately just how the market goes sometimes (just like real estate).

I agree. All of the car dealerships around me which are plentiful plus the 2 Car max dealerships are loaded with new and used cars stuffed everywhere in their lots. Its not the time to sell but i can monitor it and decide how to proceed with this or just do the maintenance.

 

[Michael7]

I was just quoted $2900 for the timing belt/water pump/tensioners job including plugs and an oil change at my local Honda dealer in Virginia Beach area. The local independent specialist has quoted $1400 for just the same timing belt etc job. They say I can wait longer for the plugs. I'll investigate installing those myself, based on what I've seen on these pages about the plugs costing 25% of the dealer price from RockAuto or similar.

 

[21EXL]

I was just quoted $2900 for the timing belt/water pump/tensioners job including plugs and an oil change at my local Honda dealer in Virginia Beach area. The local independent specialist has quoted $1400 for just the same timing belt etc job. They say I can wait longer for the plugs. I'll investigate installing those myself, based on what I've seen on these pages about the plugs costing 25% of the dealer price from RockAuto or similar.

What mileage are you at?

Installing new plugs isn't that difficult, but yes definitely get them from your local parts store or Rock Auto. Stay away from Amazon....too many counterfeit parts.

Aisin timing belt kit from Rock Auto is a good buy as well.

 

[cfoley7557]

I was just quoted $2900 for the timing belt/water pump/tensioners job including plugs and an oil change at my local Honda dealer in Virginia Beach area. The local independent specialist has quoted $1400 for just the same timing belt etc job. They say I can wait longer for the plugs. I'll investigate installing those myself, based on what I've seen on these pages about the plugs costing 25% of the dealer price from RockAuto or similar.

Did they mention also at 105K miles Honda recommends a valve adjustment ? The price is costly. Not sure if that can be stretched but the plugs can.

 

[viper74656]

Did they mention also at 105K miles Honda recommends a valve adjustment ? The price is costly. Not sure if that can be stretched but the plugs can.

In most cases I'd defer valve adjustment longer than plugs. 150k isn't a bad valve interval for most people IMO.

 

[cfoley7557]

In most cases I'd defer valve adjustment longer than plugs. 150k isn't a bad valve interval for most people IMO.

Ok but the timing belt/water pump shouldn't be stretched right?

 

[Michael7]

What mileage are you at?

Installing new plugs isn't that difficult, but yes definitely get them from your local parts store or Rock Auto. Stay away from Amazon....too many counterfeit parts.

Aisin timing belt kit from Rock Auto is a good buy as well.

Sorry, I should have said I have a 2016 EX with 105k miles. I think the indicator says I'm about 100 miles past the interval. I need to tow something in the next couple of weeks and wanted for the belt replacement and related parts to be fresh at that time. I will probably install the factory ATF cooler kit myself beforehand, even though I think the trailer and load will be less than 1500#.

 

[Michael7]

Did they mention also at 105K miles Honda recommends a valve adjustment ? The price is costly. Not sure if that can be stretched but the plugs can.

I'll ask the independent shop about that as well. I know the dealership said that part was about $400, if I remember correctly.

In most cases I'd defer valve adjustment longer than plugs. 150k isn't a bad valve interval for most people IMO.

That makes sense. The valve lash being off would only lead to poorer performance and not to a catastrophe as would a belt failing. And I'm sure the 105k miles interval has a lot of cushion built into it.

 

[viper74656]

Ok but the timing belt/water pump shouldn't be stretched right?

I wouldn't. Tensioner is the critical component, and I've heard of dealers changing the belt but not the tensioner if the customer doesn't specify.

 

[21EXL]

I wouldn't. Tensioner is the critical component, and I've heard of dealers changing the belt but not the tensioner if the customer doesn't specify.

With the amount of money the dealerships charge, they should be replacing everything! Of course OEM parts are going to be more $$$. I haven't seen (other than Ebay..Yikes) an official "kit" from Honda that would include everything needed for the job. They could offer it at a package price, rather than piecemealing everything.

 

[hokiefyd]

The valve lash being off would only lead to poorer performance and not to a catastrophe as would a belt failing. And I'm sure the 105k miles interval has a lot of cushion built into it.

Poor valve adjustment can lead to hard part failures that would require extensive engine work (like a burned valve, requiring cylinder head removal and refurbishment), but the recommended interval probably does have plenty of safety factor built into it. You'd likely need to run the engine for a long time with valves that have come out of adjustment for permanent damage to happen...but it's also easy to not notice small incremental changes in performance over time that may be indicators of something out of adjustment.

I did a valve adjustment on our 2005 MDX at about 100k miles, and the exhaust valves were indeed a little tight (they typically will be tight if they're out of adjustment). I did loosen them, and it's nearing in on 200k miles soon and I'll likely do them again in the next year or so (along with the timing belt again). I checked the valve adjustment on our 2009 Ridgeline at about 100k miles, when I did the timing belt, and I don't recall having to adjust them. This vehicle has 170k miles on it now and I'll do the belt on it in another year or so. I'll certainly check the valves again on it when I do that job.

It does seem that some engines need a small adjustment while others do not.