David J. Cassel C.P.M

David J. Cassel C.P.M.

119 Dawn’s Edge Drive

Montgomery, TX 77356

(936) 588-0474

Cell (936) 537-2552

22 November 2018

To Whom It May Concern,

I recently spent several months researching and looking for a new vehicle. Much to my frustration, my first choice in a new vehicle (Ford Explorer) could not be purchased at a price level that met my goals and needs.

As a result, I expanded my search to other vehicles and looked at the Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot. I liked the Acura MDX quite a bit, but it is well out of my budget level. I drove the Pilot and was impressed with the quietness and comfort and the fact that with the AWD it has the same trailer tow capability of the Explorer. Naturally the first one I drove was the Elite and it came with some “standards” that I would never use and some that were highly desirable. After much thought I decided that the Touring model would be the best fit for me budget and feature wise. It also had features that I will never use but not as many as the Elite and it was substantially less money.

Naturally after you buy and get familiar with the day to day workings of something new you learn what you “really“ like and dislike. I pretty much like most everything on the Pilot however for a Japanese designed vehicle the electronics are a huge disappointment!

The lane change camera is a total waste and should be removed from the option list in favor of the normal blind spot avoidance system on the Elite and every other vehicle on the road with that feature. It is very confusing, and the horrible camera and picture quality make it more of a hazard than a safety feature. At night it is really useless because it is so dark, and the warning lines are about all you can see.

The backup camera falls into a level of terrible that probably makes it unique to the market place. It gives a totally FUZZY picture and the guide lines are off center to the point they are useless. I haven’t turned them off yet but at least that option is available. I rely heavily on my back up camera and am EXTREMELY disappointed in the picture quality. The dealer is trying to tell me the purpose is just to give you the idea that nothing is behind the vehicle, BUNK! Apparently, mine is no worse than other Pilots because the dealer also tells me there is nothing they can do for the issue. It is so important to me that it is tainting my purchase and has me totally doubting the wisdom of my decision to go with the Honda motor company.

I’ve also noticed the electronics seem “slow” to react to an input. This seems particularly true in colder weather. The electronic shift buttons are interesting but again seem to be slow because when cold the vehicle lurches. This only happens when it has been sitting for quite a while and then it is OK. The dealer could not replicate this, probably because they did not have it overnight.

One final electronics issue is the door locks. There is a little button on the door handle that when pressed locks the vehicle. This does not function about 40-50% of the time. If I go around and re-close doors that were never opened, most of the time it will work. With the fact that we don’t need a key any longer and use the fob in our pocket, it is annoying to have to reach in and use the fob to lock the vehicle. The dealer tells me that it is probably a “learning” curve on my part and that the button is highly sensitive to “where“ the fob is in relation to the vehicle. This is ridiculous!!

Overall the Pilot is good, but I am still learning what I can and cannot live with long term. I am trying to overlook some of these issues and not let them annoy me too much. It’s a good thing I’m older because if I were younger the vehicle quite possible would be already gone out of my garage. As it stands, I cannot give anyone a positive recommendation to buy one based on my experiences so far.

Once again, I will reiterate my TOTAL disappointment in the quality of the electronics in this vehicle from a company and country that is reputed to be a world leader in electronics and high-quality vehicles. Dr. Deming would be turning in his grave at this grievous violation of all the quality and product improvement programs he taught the Japanese!

Thank you for your attention and I look forward to an appropriate response and FIX to these issues.

Sincerely.