@ReallyOldPilot Welcome to the Forum. I just walked in the door myself.
I also own a 2007 EXL. It's in Taffeta White with a name of "The Argonaut"
I also had the spare tire cable issue. I was looking online and folks suggested applying some wd40 or some sort of lubricant every once in a while to keep the mechanism working. I ended up doing the same thing, and putting the spare tire in the rear, which as @aggrex said, did become a safety issue. I've owned cars previously where this was an issue so I decided to get it fixed. I ordered a replacement cable mechanism from RockAuto.com for $101.05 with shipping and removed and replaced the part myself. It took about an hour or so and I needed to metal hand saw for a part of the job.
A lot of the issues I have with my Pilot I take to a local guy who has Honda knowledge. Everytime I take the Pilot to the dealer its about $200 just to look at the problem, which to me is ridiculous. My conspiracy theory is that they are trying to get me to purchase one of their new Passports everytime I go in there.
Lastly I am having an oil leak issue as well. It is likely different than yours though, because mine has to do with a seal around the manifold, I've got the new gasket, but I just haven't found the time to go out and replace it.
Good luck with your issues, I hope to keep up with your story since our rigs are similiar.
Best,
I also own a 2007 EXL. It's in Taffeta White with a name of "The Argonaut"
I also had the spare tire cable issue. I was looking online and folks suggested applying some wd40 or some sort of lubricant every once in a while to keep the mechanism working. I ended up doing the same thing, and putting the spare tire in the rear, which as @aggrex said, did become a safety issue. I've owned cars previously where this was an issue so I decided to get it fixed. I ordered a replacement cable mechanism from RockAuto.com for $101.05 with shipping and removed and replaced the part myself. It took about an hour or so and I needed to metal hand saw for a part of the job.
A lot of the issues I have with my Pilot I take to a local guy who has Honda knowledge. Everytime I take the Pilot to the dealer its about $200 just to look at the problem, which to me is ridiculous. My conspiracy theory is that they are trying to get me to purchase one of their new Passports everytime I go in there.
Lastly I am having an oil leak issue as well. It is likely different than yours though, because mine has to do with a seal around the manifold, I've got the new gasket, but I just haven't found the time to go out and replace it.
Good luck with your issues, I hope to keep up with your story since our rigs are similiar.
Best,
