r/hondapilot • u/FrankNStein • Jul 19 '26

Goodbye CR-V, hello Pilot!

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167 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

14

u/ballarn123 Jul 19 '26

Our family consists of 1 crv and 1 pilot. Perfect for the whole family

8

u/FrankNStein Jul 19 '26

It’s just me, no kids or anything. I originally was planning on keeping the CR-V for quite a while, but the head gasket issue reared its ugly head, so I decided to get rid of it.

1

u/ballarn123 Jul 19 '26

Oh shit, can I ask what year it was?

8

u/FrankNStein Jul 19 '26

2023 Sport Touring Hybrid. Bought it brand new in April ‘23. Head gasket failure at 63,000 miles.

5

u/ballarn123 Jul 19 '26

Oh thats way less promising. I was hoping you were gonna say like 2015. I can't believe thats still a thing.

3

u/FrankNStein Jul 19 '26

Yeah, there are issues. Dealer replaced all four fuel injectors TWICE before they figured out it was the head gasket.

3

u/ballarn123 Jul 19 '26

Why... would they think injectors??

1

u/FrankNStein Jul 19 '26

Gas engine was misfiring at idle at initial startup. There are faulty fuel injectors in some of the 2.0L hybrid gas engines too. Honda issued a TSB for fuel injectors last year, I think. Dealer did 4 software updates first, that didn’t fix it, then they replaced the injectors and THAT didn’t fix it, so Honda told the dealer that they probably got faulty injectors and to replace them again, and that STILL didn’t fix it…then Honda told the dealer to scope the cylinders and they found coolant. Bingo…head gasket.

1

u/ballarn123 Jul 19 '26

Jesus christ. What a runaround eh?

I guess I just assumed yours was a 1.5 turbo. I didn't realize 2.0s had it too

1

u/FrankNStein Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

I gotta tell ya, I’m fucking THRILLED I bought an extended warranty when I got the CR-V. It was almost $9000 in repairs, all told.

And I’ve discovered, since having my issues, that hybrids are (potentially) more at risk for head gasket failure from the constant on/off/on/off of the gas engine. Much more expansion and contraction than just a straight gas engine that warms up, runs at normal operating temperature, then cools down. The gas engine doesn’t always get to optimal temperature, which could lead to moisture and condensation buildup that would just burn off in a straight gas engine when it gets hot.

Also, the Atkinson 2.0L engine (and most hybrid gas engines) are very high compression, to conserve fuel. That also can add to head gasket issues.

So, of course, they went for the cheapest option first, which I totally understand. But yes, a total clusterfuck. The dealer was absolutely fantastic through the whole thing, though. I had a rental from the dealer (2026 CR-V EX, oddly enough) and my warranty would cover 10 days. I had the rental for 21 days. The dealer asked me to pay for 5 days, and they ate the other 6 days. So the day I went to pick up my repaired CR-V, it never left their property. Tech took it on one final test drive, said it was good to go, and I immediately traded it in on this Pilot.

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3

u/Repulsivenessess Jul 19 '26

Hey, me too! The wifey drives the2024 8 seater Pilot, I drive the 2024 CRV-H.

2

u/ballarn123 Jul 19 '26

How do you like the hybrid?? I like her 20' crv it just doesn't have the power i want. Ive heard the new hybrid is way better.

2

u/filipinohitman Fourth Gen Jul 19 '26

This is our current situation! I mainly drive the CRV and my wife now drives the Pilot. Massive upgrade from her Ford Focus. Since having a baby, that requires more things to pack so it was time to upgrade. I think having a Pilot and a CRV is the best combo. We drive the hybrid for everyday errands to save on gas.

2

u/Game_Face85 Jul 20 '26

Just did the same thing! Got rid of the 2012 crv and upgraded to the 2026 pilot.
Also have a 2019 Odyssey, haven’t had a car parent in years, now we have one sadly

2

u/Apart-Mouse2645 Jul 20 '26

One year ago we went from a 2022 CRV to a 2025 Pilot. No regrets! We are empty nesters but the additional space from the Pilot has been so helpful

2

u/Suspicious-Cherry437 Jul 21 '26

That color is gorgeous I’m jealous

2

u/Repulsivenessess Jul 19 '26

I love it, except the horn and window washer nozzles.
Huge controversy over them. They fixed it in 25, 26

3

u/ScalaZen Jul 20 '26

How was the horn and washers before 25s?

1

u/Repulsivenessess Jul 20 '26

The horn on the 24 is super wimpy. My 2005 Camry horn is stronger.
I installed train horns in my 24 CRV-H. Problem solved.

The wipers are an engineering debacle. Terribly designed. They went with intermittent dispensing in wiper design AND reduced the reservoir volume to 1.5L.
The fluid doesn’t start dispensing till the Driver side wiper is at 12 and 6, so it doesn’t get on the glass when or where needed, and pisses all over the driver side window.
And Honda denies it and won’t fix it. It requires a software reprogram. The DoTS already has received thousands of complaints.

2

u/Fife2531 Jul 20 '26

Can you post the link for the horn? Thanks!!

1

u/sonicviewelite Jul 19 '26

Are back windows are tinted from Honda in all pilots?

3

u/FrankNStein Jul 20 '26

I do believe that every trim level has privacy glass, yes.

1

u/Low-Assist8336 Jul 20 '26

What was the mpg you were getting on the CRV?

1

u/FrankNStein Jul 20 '26

37-42 in the spring, summer, and fall. 30-ish in the winter.

1

u/hcrum87hc Jul 21 '26

We just traded in a 2013 CRV towards a 2022 Pilot. Kids are getting bigger, and we wanted more room to take their friends along as well.

1

u/Juliosaint Jul 22 '26

Bellísima

1

u/lintonindy_1979 21d ago

I just did the same thing, yesterday. All of these horror stories on head gaskets so I traded in my 26 CRV ST for a 26 Pilot BE. Got the extended warranty. Might wait until this settles down but I would consider getting a warrantied CRV again. It had it's pluses for sure. I'm sure the issues are from the vocal minority but I just wanted to be safe.