Budget Family SUV! Minivan Alt! Need 8 seats, reliability, & fit in a garage? 2nd Gen Honda Pilot!
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- New cars are great, but sometimes you just need a reliable family vehicle that doesn't break the bank. Believe it or not, there are still budget options out there that you can rely on for space, comfort, and longevity!
Here at DriveItOut we get asked all the time for vehicle buying advice. Everyone want's a deal. Everyone wants alot for a little.
Imagine this....
Someone wants an SUV with:
AWD
Dependability
Oh, and it needs to fit the whole family, 8 seats would be nice
But it still needs to fit in the garage
Oh, and the budget is $10,000 - $15,000
Those attributes are a tall task to find.... unless of course you look at the Honda Pilot. Specifically, the 2nd Generation Pilot.
A used Toyota Highlander has only 7 seats.
A used Tahoe/Surburban, Expedition, Sequoia are built on big truck frames which means they won't fit in all garages.
And, don't even think about telling an SUV person they should just go Minivan!
How dare you!?!?
We hope you enjoy our in-depth review of this 2012 Honda Pilot Touring!
Don't forget to check out all of our other reviews at / driveitout and thanks a ton for watching!
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Videographer - John Kitchen
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2012 Pilot Exl 4wd owner with 123k miles here. Just make sure you buy a S-VCM device to shut off the cylinder deactivation caused by the Coolant temp sensor. It will cause spark plug fouling and uneven piston wear and tear due to oil consumption.
No need to do that. When it's active it's the time the Eco light is on. Other times it's all 6 cylinder anyways. My car is not on eco that much so I am not sure how much you really benefit from it.
Your vehicle is constantly shifting into eco mode when you are driving in town you can notice it when you switch the car into different cylinder modes. Save your engine from the uneven wear and get a muzzler on there. I took my spark plugs out of not having that on with buying the vehicle as a second hand and I can tell you that the spark plugs are not evenly worn so putting a muzzler on their makes sense 👍
@@mrsillystrings4075 wha5 do you mean a muzzler
@@JohnDoe-bu4wj It's a component that stops the signal from telling the economy mode to switch the cylinders off. A VCM Tuner or muzzler
@@mrsillystrings4075 oh ok thanks .
The Pilot is a great vehicle. Sold my 2004 with 280.000 miles with the original drivetrain. Still going strong when I sold it.
Indeed. Thats awesome!
Looks better than the new Honda Pilot, that has the same interior front design as a $23,000 Honda Civic!
My guy!!! This has too be the greatest real world non byes car review. Keep up the great work
Thank you for the kind words, and thanks for watching!
Great vid. We own a 14 Black EX Pilot. We got it in 2016. Old school cool! I work at a Toyota dealer so I see alllll the new models with all the latest ret@rded tech, sensors, and features. I will definitely be keeping this old school rig for a while yet.
Awesome. How many miles you got so far?
great suv. my father in law has this suv in black and we could easily fit 8 adults in it on our trip during christmas. If you are looking for bells and whistles , I recommend the Acura MDX
Good call. I've personally owned 8 Hondas/Acuras and our MDX was our favorite SUV. Only 7 seats, and a very tight 3rd row, but a fantastic SUV to drive.
This Pilot has been fantastic though.
Thanks for watching!
8 adults? You all must be Japanese
Aw man, my sister's MIL got a 2nd gen honda pilot and its legit! Ive driven it plenty. Super smooth.
Also loved your mazda when i saw it today! Damn beautiful vehicle
Thanks a ton! I was in a hurry today. Hope the leg and the Cadillac get better soon.
@@DriveItOut lol thanks! It's really true what they say when they say life hits you all at once
Thanks so much for this video, really offered more confidence for our viewing of a used 2013, with 145K on it. I looked up a bunch of parts for this car, which should be a normal process for choosing a model and year. Just figure your gonna need brakes, exhaust, alternator, power steering rack, battery, tires, etc. just figure I'm gonna buy all that stuff in the next couple years how much is it? compare the 2013-2015, or a newer car. good luck going to NAPA and buying a drive by wire steering box for the newer models...
Glad this video was helpful. If you get one that was serviced well you really shouldn't have to worry about much beyond the normal consumables. Your biggest expense at that mileage could be suspension if it wasn't replaced. With good suspension and quality tires these ride really nice. (Don't forget about timing belt and water pump. Hopefully you find one with records of that being done around 100k mi.) Hope you get a good one and thanks a ton for watching. Means alot.
@@DriveItOut yup, it’s got records, I’m an old bmw lover so likely upgraded struts and shocks all around. Still cheaper than sorting out modern issues on the next gen.
I am currently looking at getting either a 2nd gen pilot or a highlander from the same Era, I would love to see a side by side comparison. I also would have liked to see the rear storage behind the 3rd row a little better and maybe a list of the maintenance and repairs you've had to do in your ownership.
Thanks for watching and the detailed response. While a side by side comparison of the 2nd Gen Pilot and the equivalent Highlander would be great, I can give you some of the main cliffnotes here...
- The Honda's of that era have higher quality interiors.
and
- The Pilot has 8 seatbelts while the Highlander only has 7.
Other than that they both are very reliable, solid choices.
I do allude to this in this video. Both the 8 seatbelts over 7, and the reliable nature of the Highlander.
Also, during the conclusion scene of this video I talk about my maintenance history with this Pilot. It is a short list.
As far as your curiosity of the rear storage behind the 3rd row, there's about 18in (front to back) of storage left in the back when the 3rd row is up. Plus the compartment beneath the floor when you lift up the panel as I mentioned in the scene about the rear compartment in this vid. That compartment is good sized.
Thanks again for watching!
@DriveItOut thank you for the detailed reply, I admit I was a little busy while watching so I must have missed those bits but thank you for reiterating them.
No worries. I know the longer vids are hard to stay completely engaged with all the time. And, I didn't go into super lengthy detail on most of that. It was brief.
I also cut some details in edit. I can be prone to rambling on sometimes. I'm learning to cut it.
Still like 1st gen best. Smallest one, fits in garage best. About same size as modern CRV but can actually carry some weight and tow a bit.
It is amazing how cars grow. Civics are now Accord sized. Kinda weird. Thanks for watching!
Funny with the minivan comment my wife and I think that too that's why we got this version of the pilot haha by the way your vocal audio is only on the left channel in this video.
Glad to hear of another who is part of the resistance! Yah sorry about the audio mistake on this vid. That's my bad. Thanks for watching!
That's why my wife and I got a 2011 Pilot with the arrival of our second child. Just couldn't get a minivan. We've had it for over eight years, and put over 130000 miles on it, sometimes towing a small travel trailer. Kept up on basic maintenance, and it's going strong!!!
This is great to hear!
@@andrewwelch9496we have a 14 black EX. We love ours. The fuel mileage stinks. Especially in the winter. But no car note so there’s that. We get compliments from time to time from people who always say they prefer this boxy, rugged styling. Couldn’t be happier!
Graet Video, very useful. Thanks
You bet! Thanks for watching!
Awesome video, considering pulling the trigger on one of these. Did you do anything with the VCM as some have said?
Thanks! You know, I didn't do anything with the vcm. I understand the caution some people have for it. Ideally, I would prefer not to have it. It would be better to have all cylinders working all the time. That would definitely lean into the longevity of the engine. Nevertheless, I continually see these running to very high mileage regardless. I just sold this vehicle and I had zero problems from 100k mi. To 140k mi. We also tend to drive with a heavier foot. So the pilot spent less time in eco mode than it would with someone who drove it less aggressively. I honestly think driving softly with more time in eco mode would be quicker to cause problems related to the vcm. This is simply my theory though. You may find others with a different opinion.
It's, overall, a great vehicle!
It's hard to find that recipe these days. Naturally aspirated with a real automatic transmission.
So many vehicles have switched to CVTs. I would keep this Pilot over a CVT equipped vehicle any day.
Thanks for watching!
@@DriveItOut Thank you so much for your insight, I really appreciate it! And yes I could not agree more. I'm really dreading the day I'll have to upgrade to the newer side of things (push button gear select and touchscreens included, barf).
Good luck in your vehicle shopping!
I'm looking for one of these, thanks for this video. I've read some say the drivers seat is uncomfortable due to the bolster side cushion pushing on hips and the head rest pushing the head forward. Did you find it comfortable?
I found the vehicle very comfortable. I miss how comfortable those seats were for me, but I am 5'11". It could he different for someone taller.
Thanks for watching!
Can this gen of pilot can off road?? Seen some videos and they cant go up hill more than 50% incline
Its a FWD bias AWD system, so it's not a serious off-roader like something with true 4WD.
Missed showing the engine
Its at 2:50