[rsconsulting]

I call it a bad design choice. I'm a retired aerospace engineer and IMHO it's a compromise for some other requirement. I am surprised that customer convenience is held in second place to something else. I can only conclude Honda considers the owner will trade in before the battery dies or have it towed.

As far as tow services and battery jump starts, I've never seen a tow truck operator do anything more than connect the jump cables. Me thinks that a dead battery will be an automatic tow to the nearest service station. I smirk at the thought that a tow truck driver will peruse the owners manual and figure it out.

The major flaw here is if Honda expects the driver to access the battery, they should have provided tools, ala the German car makers.

There are no "tools" required.

The front "splasher cover" (aka: engine cover) is all pins that come right out (watch the pins on the far corners, they come off the cover really easy and drop off into the never-never-land of the engine compartment - ask me why I have 4 spares in the glove box). Incidentally - this cover pretty much has to come off - in order to add oil (that and a really LONG/THIN funnel - have fun adding oil at your local Hess station), which I find inconvenient - but not so much so, that I would dedicate a post on a Pilot forum about it.

The snorkel is 2 push pins (again - ask why I have a full set of 4 replacements for EVERY PUSH PIN on the vehicle - every single one becomes useless after 2 or 3 removals) - you can pull these with a butter knife (yeah - we all ride around with butter knives, but y'all get the drift).

So, call me CALLOUS or JADED (since I do all my own mechanical work on ALL my vehicles - as much I DON'T TRUST ANYONE ELSE, as it is the love and pride of working on my own stuff), but I wouldn't expect my wife (no current one, but we can use my 3-EX-WIVES as an example) to even know or care how to get to the battery on their vehicle.

I find it interesting how, with the nicest and coolest vehicle in the Honda line-up, that people find the nit-pickiest things to complain about. Especially in the case of a battery that MOST will never have to get to, in the entire lifetime of their ownership (absent leaving lights or an accessory on and killing the battery).

I don't expect everyone here to be a Rocket Scientist, nor do I expect everyone to have been ASE Certified in a previous life - but really - if I can get to my battery in UNDER 60 SECONDS (including cursing at the damn pushpins), then I don't find it all that inconvenient.

Now - would it have been NICE for Honda to include "remote jump start terminals" - yeah, sure - I'll roll with y'all there. OTOH - they probably considered the "remoteness" of the possibility of using them more than once over the life of the vehicle, to outweigh the cost of doing so - and I'm pretty OK with that decision.

And I just went out and looked - ClermontFlash is correct - the + terminal is accessible without removing anything (also - my Touring IS pushpins - but it was also built on 6/8 - so it was once of the first off the line - I don't know about Philips screws - but if hey are the PLASTIC ONES - I'd almost PREFER the PITA pushpins). And you would typically want to use a chassis or motor part for the - jumper wire anyway - so jumpstarting this car is pretty darn easy.

OTOH - I'm the guy that had his dash out the day I got the car (to install my laser jammer and hardwire kit for Valentine 1), and the guy that has had his entire interior out to install speakers, amps and design/build a custom sub box - so, granted - I am not your "typical end user".

Rick

 

[rsconsulting]

I am - actually - completely in shock to believe that someone would "pass" on a '16 Pilot - because of the (cough cough) "design flaw" of not including remote jumper terminals, and putting someone through the agony (ohhh, the pain) of having to pull the intake snorkel to get to the battery terminals.

All I can say is - WOW - just WOW...

Rick

 

[rsconsulting]

Rick,

Here is the pic of the 2 Philips screws for the snorkel as I took pics when doing my HID install.


I am not nit-picking but more educating and ensure ppl that have the Pilot understand that when in the situation if you need to jump the battery it isn't as easy as just plugging jumper cables on and jump you go. And as far as you stating you shouldn't need to jump the battery you are correct! But what if you wife decided to leave the car in the on position to let your kids watch the RES and drain down the battery. Family don't think of that sometimes and in a pinch you should be well prepared in regards to how you would fix it. A normal battery jump back in the 80's or 90's car isn't the same anymore.

And yes the Positive Terminal is accessible barely without moving anything. Negative is another story.

And again the UPDATED manual states to remove all that I said above.

And no you aren't the typical user by any standard. Wish I had the knowledge you do for these things.

Probably ran out of push pins. Are the the PLASTIC SCREWS?

Replace them with push-pins of they are - these are (likely) the same screws used in the front wheel wells, and they are rendered even more useless after they've been r&r'd more than once.

I'm a computer tech by (current) trade. I do my own wrenching out of passion for my toys, financial necessity (being a mod-aholic gets even more expensive when you have to pay for labor), and because I get to use some of the tools that are all over my garage.

My mod-aholism costs me more than my (ages-old) crack addiction - but I get to KEEP MY TOYS now - not smoke them up.

Think this horse has been thoroughly beaten - so - I'll bow out now...

Rick

Side note mtbiker53 - you DO NOT WANT TO DISCONNECT ONLY THE (+) TERMINAL - unless you want to see what ARC WELDING WITH A BATTERY CABLE LOOKS LIKE (ask me how I know - not on this car - but a lesson learned as a teenager). Take the EXTRA TIME to disconnect the NEGATIVE CABLE - and place it where it CANNOT MAKE CONTACT with the terminal on the battery. This "safes" all the expensive computers in the car. Nothing more embarrassing than flatbedding a "basket case" into a shop (again - ask me how I know - from both the shop AND OWNER side of the equation).

 

[rsconsulting]

So a Touareg (for which a model similarly equipped to an Elite - comes in $10K more expensive - and their "base model, is more than a Touring), has jump-start connections - and the Pilot is a "bad design" because it does not?

There's only so much you can do, in a design, to make things "more convenient".

You had to remove the snorkle on the previous gen also, to get to the battery. Which I had to do 3X. Once to replace the factory battery with a "Yellow Top", once to replace the Yellow Top, and once to jump it, when I left the lights on and ran it down.

On the 16's, this "engine cover" is "pins" that pop right out, and the snorkel is 2 push pins.

The only "design flaw" I'm pissed about, is, what "used to be" a "tray" - where the snorkel came off on my '12 - is now a bottomless pit that eats push-pins, tools, flashlights (don't ask how long it took to fish my flashlight from behind he bumper cover, I almost pulled the bumper cover to get to it - and you can bet that will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN).

As a previous ASE Mechanic (2 lifetimes ago) I still carry a Gold Card that's better than an American Express - my AAA Plus Motorcycle Card - which I've had since 1985. CHEEP INSURANCE - especially if your wife isn't into wrenching (I think #4 for me has got to be a bit of a grease monkey - or at least can ID tools when I call out for them).

Rick