Snow driving

41227 Views 62 Replies 27 Participants Last post by gvsukids, Nov 17, 2014

Alpo714

Discussion Starter · Dec 21, 2008

Hi all.

I have a 2004 Pilot EXL with 4WD. Do you guys have any suggestions or tips for driving in the snow or icy conditions? I have not taken my pilot onto the snow before and I really don't know what to expect. Of course, I'll be bringing a pair of chains and a shovel to help make my life a bit easier. Let me know what you guys think.

41 - 60 of 63 Posts

Michal

· #41 · Jan 27, 2009

I just came back from Sierra Nevada trip last weekend and had some limited snow experience...
http://www.piloteers.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23410
I was thinking about all your comments and applied theory into practice. At least some of it.
I had one adventurous moment when I went too much to the side of the road in abut 5 inches of fresh snow and my right wheels caught the edge of pavement. I corrected toward the center but started to skid (obviously!)

After couple of minor slides and applying ABS my Pilot recovered from my mistake quickly showing the car superiority over driver

I have never had the opportunity to steer the car with ABS in action. Always heard about it. It worked very well. I maintained the steering control all the time.
Apart from my obvious error the car performed splendidly in fresh snow conditions. I couldn't ask for more. Especially going downhill I saw several other vehicles, which looked like 4WD, skidding on ice/snow while my Pilot went solidly straight.

M :4:

See less See more

sblvro

· #42 · Jan 27, 2009

Michal said:
.....Especially going downhill I saw several other vehicles, which looked like 4WD, skidding on ice/snow while my Pilot went solidly straight.

M :4:

that is more of driving prowess. downhill is always low gear or hill descent in some vehicles. if they are in D and using the abs to help them descend, it is not going to work

Michal

· #43 · Jan 27, 2009

sblvro said:
that is more of driving prowess. downhill is always low gear or hill descent in some vehicles. if they are in D and using the abs to help them descend, it is not going to work

Right. In addition to it the gravity doesn't help you either. Does it mean that descending in lighter car is less challenging than in heavier?
I was also very happy driving my CRV in such conditions...

M :4:

sblvro

· #44 · Jan 27, 2009

Michal said:
Right. In addition to it the gravity doesn't help you either. Does it mean that descending in lighter car is less challenging than in heavier?
I was also very happy driving my CRV in such conditions...

M :4:

BTW since we are back to this topic of snow/ice driving, NEVER, EVER press the VTM-4 button when going downhill or else you will end up rear first going downhill.

bigdadi

· #45 · Jan 27, 2009

I think the VTM-4 is locked only up to 18MPH, if the MPH is >18 then it will unlock, back to 2WD.

sagaliba

· #46 · Jan 28, 2009

This morning, our neighborhood is covered by a sheet of ice. So I tried to use VTM-4 Lock. But for some reason, I could not shift my gear into 1 or 2, not even D3. I could only shift gears between "P" and "D."

Is there something you have to do to shift the gear below "D?"

sblvro

· #47 · Jan 28, 2009

sagaliba said:
This morning, our neighborhood is covered by a sheet of ice. So I tried to use VTM-4 Lock. But for some reason, I could not **** my gear into 1 or 2, not even D3. I could only shift gears between "p" and "D."

Is there something you have to do to shift the gear below "D?"

historically, the VTM-4 works best without any driver input. use only the VTM-4 button when you are in the ditch and needs to get back to the road. otherwise, slick or ice, the VTM-4 will do its work in keeping you "in" the road.

sagaliba

· #48 · Jan 28, 2009

Forget about VTM-4 Lock, my problem is, I could not evne shift into D3! Is there something I have to do to be able to shift into D3 (or any gears below "D")?

bigdadi

· #49 · Jan 28, 2009

sagaliba said:
Forget about VTM-4 Lock, my problem is, I could not evne shift into D3! Is there something I have to do to be able to shift into D3 (or any gears below "D")?

Shift down WITHOUT pulling the lever towards you... the manual said you have to choose the gear 1ST then press the VTM-4 button.

See less See more

Michal

· #50 · Jan 28, 2009

Elaborating on what bigdadi just said...

Lock mode occurs when the driver shifts into first, second or reverse gears and then depresses the VTM-Lock button on the instrument panel.

From the 2009 manual:
To Engage t he VTM-4 Lock:
1. The vehicle must be stopped with the engine running.
2. Move the shift lever to first (1), second (2), or reverse (R) gear.
3. Press the VTM-4 LOCK button. The indicator in the button comes on.

M :4:

sagaliba

· #51 · Jan 28, 2009

bigdadi said:
Shift down WITHOUT pulling the lever towards you.

Thanks bigdadi, that must be it! But I always pull the lever towards me even when I shift from R to N, N to D, or D to N. It is weird that shifting between "D" and "D3" is the only one that I have problem with! I will go out and try shifting without pulling the lever towards me later!

I called my dealership earlier, and the service rep told me matter-of-factly that the gears will freeze during cold weather. When I responded that if the gears freeze up during cold weather then how can I ever get to use the VTM-4 Lock, since I would have to shift into "1" or "2" first. The guy simply put me on hold. After 20 minutes of waiting, I called them on a different line and a different person answered. She told me to try the "unlock procedure" (i.e., the one to use when you cannot shift out of "Park"). When I told her that I do not have problem shifting gears from "P" to "D," my problem is that I cannot shift into any lower gears below "D," she put me on hold again. A third person came up and just asked me drily that if I want to make an appointment.

After I hung up the phone, my other line was still on hold, playing the music! :3:

Man, this must be the worst Honda dealership, I cannot see how can they get repeat customers!

See less See more

sagaliba

· #52 · Jan 28, 2009

I went out and tried it. Now I can shift from "D" to "D3," but still having difficulty shifting from "D3" to "2." Yeah, I know I need to move lever towards me to shift from "D3" to "2." But I tried several times, and only succeeded once. At that time I was using all my strength to "force" the shifter into "2" (once it got into "2", it is easy to shift from "2" to "1"). So I figured it was probably frozen up due to lack of use, and it should be OK now that once I loosened it up. But I still had difficulties in subsequent tries. Looks like I'd better to have it check out, I don't want to force it too much for fear of breaking something.

bigdadi

· #53 · Jan 28, 2009

sagaliba said:
I went out and tried it. Now I can shift from "D" to "D3," but still having difficulty shifting from "D3" to "2." Yeah, I know I need to move lever towards me to shift from "D3" to "2." But I tried several times, and only succeeded once. At that time I was using all my strength to "force" the shifter into "2" (once it got into "2", it is easy to shift from "2" to "1"). So I figured it was probably frozen up due to lack of use, and it should be OK now that once I "unfreeze" it. But I still had difficulties in subsequent tries. Looks like I'd better to have it check out, I don't want to force it too much for fear of breaking something.

To describe this steering column shift in one word: "confusing" and my wife's RAV4 does not any of such problem at all, smooth and easy. Honda design team, please take note.

sagaliba

· #54 · Jan 29, 2009

bigdadi said:
To describe this steering column shift in one word: "confusing" and my wife's RAV4 does not any of such problem at all, smooth and easy. Honda design team, please take note.

Agreed, I don’t have problem with my other cars either. I wonder how Honda expects people to remember all these different ways of shifting (i.e., whether or not to pull lever towards you) when you are in an emergency and need to downshift, since most of the time we would just keep the gear in "D," and don’t get to practice it that often.

mainerunr

· #55 · Feb 8, 2009

Alpo714 said:
I agree with you ejthomp. The pilot is definitely a light off roading vehicle. After two trips to big bear, I very confident in my 2004 Pilot. I love the way it chomps through the snow, and I love the way it rides as smooth as silk on the highways. Overall, I believe that honda pilot compliments my rugged life style while maintaining a great ride...

Personal Commentary:
The only "bad" thing about the pilot is its reputation. Unfortunately my personal experiences have not witnessed no more than a murmur about the honda pilot until I purchased one myself. Instead I hear too much and too often about the Toyota 4Runners and Sequoias being the tough and rugged cars. I feel that the Pilot is horribly unrecognized for its superb balance of cargo space, carrying capacity, light off roading, and quality of the ride.

I feel that, we, the Pilot owners, are partly to blame in this. We need to make sure we tell our family and friends what type of car the pilot is, and see for themselves the benefits of owning a Pilot.

I hope that I did not offend anyone by my comments. I just feel that the Honda Pilot should get more recognition for being an "All-around" SUV.

-Alpo

hate to say it, the pilot is more car than not. 'real' SUV's were built on frames and had 4wd and could take a beating but the masses demanded a better ride so they got unibody and AWD, neither are really suited for anything more than a dirt road. The watered down version of SUV's that we have today are fine for what most people need and fit the image people may have of themselves but they're not all that rugged. (and dont get me started on the ridgeline, it may have a bed but it's not a truck) Forerunners got their reputation because they used to be basically trucks, 4WD, not AWD, body on frame, etc. Toyota has been living on the reputation they gained in the 80's and early 90's but a lot of what they build now is junk. Dont get me wrong, the Pilot is a nice vehicle but when there's snow on the ground, I take my truck.

mainerunr

· #56 · Feb 8, 2009

whizmo said:
I think underinflation is a trick that mostly helps in loose snow, not ice or other hard surfaces. (It is a common and completely proven trick in polar driving to deflate truck tires down to 4 psi to get unstuck.) But to address the narrow tire concern, I don't think underinflation makes the tire very much narrower, so I think the two concepts are independent. Mostly it makes the tire more compliant and able to conform and "key" into loose surfaces.

One reason narrower tires tend to be better winter tires is that with a narrower tire, you get a tire with proportionally higher aspect ratio (the ratio of tire height to tire width) and a taller tire is better for compliance with rough surfaces, be they off-road conditions or snow. What really kills you with wide tires is that they tend to be low-aspect-ratio/low-profile and you end up with sidewalls the height of rubber bands that have no compliance whatsoever.

And everything is secondary to rubber compound which is the biggest difference between a good winter tire and a good summer tire.

- Mark

funny, the tires on my truck are wider than stock and also have more sidewall...265/75/16's stock, 285/75/16's mounted (of course, this is on my truck, not the pilot but the principle is the same, wider tire, same aspect ratio = taller sidewall). Assuming that you stay with the same overall diameter though, you dont lose sidewall by going wider (unless you change wheels to a large diameter wheel). You also dont gain sidewall when you go narrow, if you stay with the same overall o.d., you end up with the same sidewall height.

And yeah, narrow is better in the snow for a variety of reasons, one of which is that you really arent going for 'flotation' on snow like you do on sand.

xGS

· #57 · Feb 9, 2009

mainerunr said:
Dont get me wrong, the Pilot is a nice vehicle but when there's snow on the ground, I take my truck.

The Pilot's AWD system was originally introduced on the Acura MDX with the purpose of defeating winter. Equip your truck with a set of Goodyear Integrity tires and put tires with a more aggressive tread design (such as the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo or Toyo Open Country A/T) and rerun the comparison.

gvsukids

· #58 · Nov 17, 2014

is there anything to be said about adding weight to the rear of the pilot, like a sandbag?

Rocky

· #59 · Nov 17, 2014

I doubt it.

N_Jay

· #60 · Nov 17, 2014

gvsukids said:
is there anything to be said about adding weight to the rear of the pilot, like a sandbag?

Lots could be said, but first we would need to know what problem you are trying to solve.

41 - 60 of 63 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.