2008 Honda Pilot Consumer Reviews

Love this truck!

Written by: Jen on 09/23/2008

Vehicle

2008 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 5A)

Review

We traded in my 2001 Honda Civic for the Pilot. Like other reviewers, we looked at the MDX, Highlander etc. This was my favorite by far. I love the look of this truck vs a cross over. I feel like I have a presence on the road and I love looking at the car. The interior could be a little more fashionable It is pretty simple but it has plenty of storage space and room for all passengers. We recently had 6 adults in the car for an hour and everyone was comfortable. Comfortable, fun to drive, great leather and XM. Who wouldn't love this vehicle? I see a lot of complaining about the gas mileage. I am getting about 17- 18 mpg in city and 20 mpg if I am on the freeway. Pretty good!

Favorite Features

Leather, heated seats XM, storage, cargo room, exterior looks.

Suggested Improvements

More plugs, air for third row, power tailgate.

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

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Road Noise

Written by: Vee on 09/17/2008

Vehicle

2008 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV AWD w/Rear Entertainment System (3.5L 6cyl 5A)

Review

August 27th, 2008, I took my 2001 4Runner Limited to trade for 2008 Pilot AWD w/entertainment. I need more than five seats and like Pilot appealing. I have a big disappointment, ROAD NOISE! Here is my two cents for potential buyer, test drives on freeway, drive on a road with speed 40 mph or more and try to open back windows. It could break your EARDRUM. I learned how to overcome the road noise by turning on radio as loud as I can take every time I get on freeway.

Favorite Features

Great looking car.

Suggested Improvements

reduce road noise, reduce road noise, and reduce road noise.

5 out 5 people found this review helpful

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Airbags failed to deploy

Written by: nguyenlp on 08/31/2008

Vehicle

2008 Honda Pilot Value Package 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 5A)

Review

I loved my Pilot the whole time I had it. Recently I was involved in a accident where I rear ended a sedan and another SUV rear ended me. myself and the other 5 passengers were all safe, but my airbags failed to deploy; none of them. My radiator was busted, but still no airbags. I filed a complaint with Honda, but have not received a response. The NHTSA is also looking in to the matter. My insurance company told me that I hit above the airbag sensors. I'm no expert on sensors, but rear ended a sedan! My radiator was busted! The only thing I want to know is where were my airbags when I needed them?

Favorite Features

Suggested Improvements

More Airbag sensors! or maybe some that works!

6 out 6 people found this review helpful

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Best SUV of it's Class

Written by: Allan from Maryland on 08/23/2008

Vehicle

2008 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV AWD w/Rear Entertainment System (3.5L 6cyl 5A)

Review

I have owned SUVs from Expeditions to Escapes and this was my third Honda purchase (never disappointed with Hondas). I love this SUV. The exterior is nice, nothing too special but as a family man I don't really care. What matters to me is a great vehicle for me and the family. We have two kids and the problem was taking along their friends. This vehicle is large enough for the family with friends and their stuff. I also drive this daily to work through narrow city streets. It's a pleasure to drive. Good acceleration, great handling and fun to drive.

Favorite Features

Drives exceptionally well. Great handling in all weather. Great vision for driver. Easy to use controls. Lots of room. Good rear video. Solid climate control. Okay stereo, won't bust out the windows but I love xm radio (ESPN and BBC are my favorites)

Suggested Improvements

Clearly Honda engineers don't have kids in car seats. The starboard (right) side third row seat belt cannot be clipped because the receiver sits underneath any normal car seat. I ended up buying a $90 car seat because it was the only model that had a narrow base to allow it to work. Shame on Honda

6 out 6 people found this review helpful

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Don't look for qas mileage

Written by: shoulda checked more on 08/15/2008

Vehicle

2008 Honda Pilot Special Edition 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 5A)

Review

Purchased our Pilot in May of this year, while we like the ride, although the road noise is pretty bad, we feel safe in it and it is comfortable. However do not expect to come close to the EPA estimates on the window sticker, the last tank of gas was primarily in town driving, we got 10 mpg, the best we have gotten on the road was 18 mpg. We have 6000 miles on it and we are looking for something else in and SUV that will come closer to the EPA est. Our 36 foot motor home gets 8 mpg, so go figure.

Favorite Features

comfort and handling, although cornering is a little substandard

Suggested Improvements

try to eliminate some road noise, put realistic EPA est. on window

5 out 7 people found this review helpful

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Sunburn

Written by: Susan Massey on 08/11/2008

Vehicle

2008 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV AWD w/Navigation (3.5L 6cyl 5A)

Review

The windshield goes so far back that my hands are perpetually sunburned and peeling. This is the only problem with the car, but it is a BIG ONE. Any ideas?

Favorite Features

Suggested Improvements

2 out 4 people found this review helpful

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Soccer-Mom Heaven

Written by: OBXmom on 08/07/2008

Vehicle

2008 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV w/Rear Entertainment System (3.5L 6cyl 5A)

Review

I traded my 2005 Civic in for this, but there was just never enough room. My DH is over 6' and the 2 kids are growing fast. I miss filling up for $35, but we took a 2 hour drive to shopping mall with 8 adults, and we were perfectly comfortable. We are leaving tomorrow for vacation, and have plenty of room to bring everything we could want, and we will be comfortable enough to take the scenic route. The DVD player is our first in-car system, and I am glad I finally gave in. We didn't get the NAV, because he prefers the Garmin after market.

Favorite Features

I love the regular house plug in the console, its a God-send!! Plenty of room, power and space, without being lost in the crowd of Suburbans and Tahoes. A little more ground clearance for local flooding issues than our old minivan.

Suggested Improvements

More cup holders, center middle row doesn't have one. Air vents for the third row. MP3/iPod jack. More chargers in the second and third row; have you ever had the cell phone, GPS, 3 Gameboys and an iPod that all need to be charged at the same time?

1 out 1 people found this review helpful

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Compromise well done

Written by: JoshYi on 07/28/2008

Vehicle

2008 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV (3.5L 6cyl 5A)

Review

CR-V's gas mileage and handling is much better. However, the year-end discounted price was almost the same as CR-V, and one big car in the house wouldn't hurt. Didn't like the look of 2009 Pilot. It's a set of best compromises that we settled on.

Favorite Features

It's a Honda - a well-made car at a good price. Big comfortable interior. Feels like sitting in a living room.

Suggested Improvements

road noise is excessive; yes, really. bad sounding audio system. I decided not worth signing up for XM radio!

1 out 2 people found this review helpful

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Safety # 1

Written by: Jonna on 07/24/2008

Vehicle

2008 Honda Pilot EX 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 5A)

Review

I am recovering from a car accident. I was hit by a Cadillac Escalade. I was not moving, he T-boned me at approx 40 mph. I flipped over. The side airbag deployed, I had on my belt. I have 1 broken bone, fortunate to be alive. The police and hospital both said how lucky I am. You only get 1 chance in an accident, so choose the safest vehicle on the market. This has 5 stars, the top. This is a great vehicle to drive and very safe. I am going to buy the 2009.

Favorite Features

Very Roomy

Suggested Improvements

How do you improve on excellent?

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

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Still Lovin' Honda

Written by: Chris on 07/12/2008

Vehicle

2008 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV AWD w/Rear Entertainment System (3.5L 6cyl 5A)

Review

This is now our third Honda and definitely the nicest.The Pilot has amazing interior space, is incredibly comfortable and, like all Hondas, the engineering is superb. I would have liked to have the option to get both the Navigation and rear entertainment systems together-something Honda really ought to consider. Additionally, the steering wheel controls are inadequate. Unlike my Civic, which you can go up or down on the radio stations, you have to cycle all the way through 6,1, 2,3,4 to get to preset 5. Stupid. I would also like a cooling option on the leather seats. Even with climate control, in a hot climate the leather doesn't breath and gets hot.

Favorite Features

Size, bullet-proof Honda engineering -ease of reconfiguring and putting 2 back rows of seats up or down -EXCELLENT insurance ratings (3 year newer Pilot cost less to insure than our CR-V for same coverage) -Safe -quiet

Suggested Improvements

Better radio controls on steering wheel. Ability to get Navigation and rear entertainment systems, seat cooling

4 out 4 people found this review helpful

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