Year:2011
Make:Honda
Model:Pilot
Mileage:172000 M
Transmission:Automatic
Engine:N/A
Trim:Touring
It is time for me to move on from the Pilot. It has been good to my family but I am looking to get into something new. I have been quite active on this forum and you could trace many of my maintenance activities by viewing my profile. I figured I would see if any Piloteers were interested in it prior to trying to sell locally. It's our daily driver so miles will continue to go up.
I have owned it since 32k miles and have personally done all the maintenance (all fluids done religiously), and 95% of all the repairs, myself. I have cared for the car and know it very well. I saved service records in CarFax’s My Car Maintence section of their website. Unfortunately, about 2 years ago I realized that those “DIY” records don’t transfer over to the CarFax report (how damn stupid) and there is no easy way to print them out onto a PDF (seems like CarFax is purposefully making this difficult). So I will take screenshots of each service and provide them. I have tracked my maintenance and repairs on an Excel sheet since 2020. All recall and TSB repairs have been done.
I wouldn’t hesitate to drive across the country with my young children right this minute, but it’s not perfect. I will try to be extremely forthcoming in my description and point out any flaws/issues. I feel I have it priced quite fairly as I see many dealerships asking $10k-$15k for a Pilot Touring of similar mileage and condition, but with unknown or spotty service histories. I know everything about this one and will be forthcoming (maybe too forthcoming lol).
I have been quite active on this forum and you could trace many of my maintenance activities by viewing my profile. I figured I would see if any Piloteers were interested in it prior to trying to sell locally.
Body/exterior – I’d call it 8 out of 10. No rust. Had some bodywork done a few years ago to repair some minor damage from parking lot scrapes and bumps. The front bumper, passenger side front fender, passenger side rear door, & rear quarter panel were all repaired and painted by a quality body shop. It looks darn good. The only issue with the exterior is some scrapes on the rear hatch. My garage is fairly low and you can’t open/close the garage door with the hatch in the up position. Well, stuff happens there were 3 times when the hatch was open and someone hit the button to close the garage and made some scratches. They aren’t horrible, none go down to primer even, but they are there. See pics.
Clearcoat at the center caps of all 4 wheels is starting to peel. Other than that, the wheels are very clean with no curbing.
The headlights got hazy so I wet sanded them and sprayed them with UV resistant clear coat. They look great for a car with 175k miles on it, but not like brand new.
Engine/underhood – Regular maintenance has kept this engine running great.
Timing belt & water pump done at 113k miles.
Full synthetic since I have owned the car, oil changes have been done regularly. I have done multiple Blackstone oil analyses to see if there was excessive wear happening. As long as I keep the oil change interval around 5k miles the metals stay low and Blackstone says it looks good. The engine burns about 1qt of oil in between oil changes. Oil change done on 2/20/22.
Replaced the power steering pump O-rings and did a complete PS system flush at 113k.
Plugs have been done 3 times, most recently at 171k. I learned about the ECM warranty at around 115k and took it to Honda. They did the first step of the ECM warranty program at that time, but it never fouled a plug again after that, so the rings were never replaced. S-VCM Muzzler installed at 130k.
PCV was replaced at 118k, MAF has been cleaned multiple times, throttle body has been cleaned twice.
I had P0420 come up around 100k miles and eventually had the rear cat replaced with an Eastern Catalytic unit. No codes ever since.
Transmission/Drivetrain – Transmission feels and shifts great. I have done 2 full 12qt drain/fills. But I do the 3.5qt drain/fill every other oil change. I have been using the Valvoline Maxlife ATF for the last 25k miles but used Honda DW-1 before that.
One of the transmission pressure switches was replaced under warranty at 98k, can’t remember which one.
Rear differential fluid (Honda VTM-4) and the transfer case gear oil (Mobil 75w-90) have been done at all the correct intervals.
Never had a front wheel bearing problem. Both front axles were replaced by my local Honda dealer at 167k.
Suspension – Shocks have been done twice as I am finicky about a vehicle’s ride. I put KYBs on at 98k, but felt they wore out quickly, and just put Bilstein B6s on at 160k. It rides much better now. Other things done in the last 20k miles - F&R end links, outer tie rod ends, and F&R sway bar bushings.
I put Bridgestone Advantage T/A Sport LT's on at 151k miles. Tires are between 7/32 and 6/32. I had Discount Tire replace the TPMS sensors then too.
The compliance bushings were replaced under warranty at around 85k.
Interior – Overall, I’d say 7 out of 10. No rips/tears in the seats, just normal wear for a 172k mi family vehicle. No excessive bolster wear on the driver’s seat.
I have had a full WeatherTech liner set in the car since I bought it, so the carpet is in great shape. I have basically unused Honda fabric mats that have been sitting in my closet since I bought the car.
RES (DVD system) works perfectly, have 4 sets of the wireless headphones. Never updated the Nav DVD as I just use my phone.
The driver's side lumbar mechanism broke and the lumbar is no longer adjustable. It is set to full lumbar now. It would be easier to replace the whole driver’s seat than to replace the actual lumbar mechanism (believe me, I tried). Seats for a Touring Pilot from dismantlers can be had for $150-$250 dollars if you had to have adjustability.
The rear drivers' side sunshade has a white stain on it from something my kid spilled. For the life of me, I can’t get the stain out.
Brakes – Front pads/rotors have been done multiple times. Brand-new Powerstop Geomet coated front rotors were installed on 2/20/22. The brake fluid has been fully flushed 5 times. The current brake pads are Raybestos Element3. The front pads are at ~60%, the rear pads are ~80%.
Issues/pending maintenance – Overall this Pilot is in quite good shape, but here are a few things that a buyer should know about.
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I have owned it since 32k miles and have personally done all the maintenance (all fluids done religiously), and 95% of all the repairs, myself. I have cared for the car and know it very well. I saved service records in CarFax’s My Car Maintence section of their website. Unfortunately, about 2 years ago I realized that those “DIY” records don’t transfer over to the CarFax report (how damn stupid) and there is no easy way to print them out onto a PDF (seems like CarFax is purposefully making this difficult). So I will take screenshots of each service and provide them. I have tracked my maintenance and repairs on an Excel sheet since 2020. All recall and TSB repairs have been done.
I wouldn’t hesitate to drive across the country with my young children right this minute, but it’s not perfect. I will try to be extremely forthcoming in my description and point out any flaws/issues. I feel I have it priced quite fairly as I see many dealerships asking $10k-$15k for a Pilot Touring of similar mileage and condition, but with unknown or spotty service histories. I know everything about this one and will be forthcoming (maybe too forthcoming lol).
I have been quite active on this forum and you could trace many of my maintenance activities by viewing my profile. I figured I would see if any Piloteers were interested in it prior to trying to sell locally.
Body/exterior – I’d call it 8 out of 10. No rust. Had some bodywork done a few years ago to repair some minor damage from parking lot scrapes and bumps. The front bumper, passenger side front fender, passenger side rear door, & rear quarter panel were all repaired and painted by a quality body shop. It looks darn good. The only issue with the exterior is some scrapes on the rear hatch. My garage is fairly low and you can’t open/close the garage door with the hatch in the up position. Well, stuff happens there were 3 times when the hatch was open and someone hit the button to close the garage and made some scratches. They aren’t horrible, none go down to primer even, but they are there. See pics.
Clearcoat at the center caps of all 4 wheels is starting to peel. Other than that, the wheels are very clean with no curbing.
The headlights got hazy so I wet sanded them and sprayed them with UV resistant clear coat. They look great for a car with 175k miles on it, but not like brand new.
Engine/underhood – Regular maintenance has kept this engine running great.
Timing belt & water pump done at 113k miles.
Full synthetic since I have owned the car, oil changes have been done regularly. I have done multiple Blackstone oil analyses to see if there was excessive wear happening. As long as I keep the oil change interval around 5k miles the metals stay low and Blackstone says it looks good. The engine burns about 1qt of oil in between oil changes. Oil change done on 2/20/22.
Replaced the power steering pump O-rings and did a complete PS system flush at 113k.
Plugs have been done 3 times, most recently at 171k. I learned about the ECM warranty at around 115k and took it to Honda. They did the first step of the ECM warranty program at that time, but it never fouled a plug again after that, so the rings were never replaced. S-VCM Muzzler installed at 130k.
PCV was replaced at 118k, MAF has been cleaned multiple times, throttle body has been cleaned twice.
I had P0420 come up around 100k miles and eventually had the rear cat replaced with an Eastern Catalytic unit. No codes ever since.
Transmission/Drivetrain – Transmission feels and shifts great. I have done 2 full 12qt drain/fills. But I do the 3.5qt drain/fill every other oil change. I have been using the Valvoline Maxlife ATF for the last 25k miles but used Honda DW-1 before that.
One of the transmission pressure switches was replaced under warranty at 98k, can’t remember which one.
Rear differential fluid (Honda VTM-4) and the transfer case gear oil (Mobil 75w-90) have been done at all the correct intervals.
Never had a front wheel bearing problem. Both front axles were replaced by my local Honda dealer at 167k.
Suspension – Shocks have been done twice as I am finicky about a vehicle’s ride. I put KYBs on at 98k, but felt they wore out quickly, and just put Bilstein B6s on at 160k. It rides much better now. Other things done in the last 20k miles - F&R end links, outer tie rod ends, and F&R sway bar bushings.
I put Bridgestone Advantage T/A Sport LT's on at 151k miles. Tires are between 7/32 and 6/32. I had Discount Tire replace the TPMS sensors then too.
The compliance bushings were replaced under warranty at around 85k.
Interior – Overall, I’d say 7 out of 10. No rips/tears in the seats, just normal wear for a 172k mi family vehicle. No excessive bolster wear on the driver’s seat.
I have had a full WeatherTech liner set in the car since I bought it, so the carpet is in great shape. I have basically unused Honda fabric mats that have been sitting in my closet since I bought the car.
RES (DVD system) works perfectly, have 4 sets of the wireless headphones. Never updated the Nav DVD as I just use my phone.
The driver's side lumbar mechanism broke and the lumbar is no longer adjustable. It is set to full lumbar now. It would be easier to replace the whole driver’s seat than to replace the actual lumbar mechanism (believe me, I tried). Seats for a Touring Pilot from dismantlers can be had for $150-$250 dollars if you had to have adjustability.
The rear drivers' side sunshade has a white stain on it from something my kid spilled. For the life of me, I can’t get the stain out.
Brakes – Front pads/rotors have been done multiple times. Brand-new Powerstop Geomet coated front rotors were installed on 2/20/22. The brake fluid has been fully flushed 5 times. The current brake pads are Raybestos Element3. The front pads are at ~60%, the rear pads are ~80%.
Issues/pending maintenance – Overall this Pilot is in quite good shape, but here are a few things that a buyer should know about.
- Front end clunk – When making parking lot maneuvers (slowly moving forward/backward when turning) there is a clunk sound. I asked my local Honda dealer to diagnose it and they said “we checked everything, nothing is loose or worn, everything is tight, we can’t figure out what is doing it. You can either start replacing various parts or just live with it.” I chose the latter.
- The front brakes pulse right now, but I have brand new rotors to install. Will be corrected by 2/20/22. New rotors installed, no more pulsing at all.
- The HVAC blend door actuator (under the driver’s side dash) makes a fluttering noise when setting the temp controls on anything other than full A/C or high heat.
- The Discount Tire brand TPMS sensors lose connection with the car on long highway drives. It drops the connection for 10 minutes, then picks it back up. Only seems to happen on long highway drives as I stated. I have had the system reprogramed twice, the batteries are fine, but it just seems there is some incompatibility that causes it randomly.
- The timing belt will be due at ~218k miles re Honda's spec of "every 105k miles"
