2006 PILOT HAS WEAK REAR SPRINGS

I have a 2006 Pilot. I loaded the back with about 300Lb of junk and
drove with it for a week. The back springs got compressed and do not
want to come back to the hight of the front of the vehicle. The car
looks shit. I am surprised that the rear springs are that weak. Honda
claims that the same thing would happen with a Ridgeline. I guess
that's why they can't compete with North American trucks. The Honda
service said that the front springs will collapse after a period of
time (because it's normal), so the car will look level.

Has anyone had this type of experience with their SUV?

 

We have loaded our 03 up many times before -- 300 lbs is akin to a couple of
people sitting in the 3 rd seat. No problems. Sure you did not have
something more like 1/2 a ton back there -- or more.

 

wow, know I know what car I'm NOT going to use for moving...

 

Yes, with additional passengers the weight did probably exceed 500LB,
but it should be able to handle it. I've put more weight in a 2003
Accord. I am planning to somehow load 300-500LB on the front, to crush
the front springs. I haven't figured out how to do that yet.

 

We have used our '03 Pilot several times for trips to either Lowes or
that other local store to purchase landscaping/home improvement
materials. On 2 occasions I have loaded up around 900lbs of materials
plus the 300lbs from me and my wife and have no problem with the
springs. Now I have driven straight home which is about a 10 minute
drive and have unloaded the material right away. Also I don't know if
there is a difference between the '03 and the '06 spring system.

We love the Pilot and would highly reccomend it.

Shawn

 

Wow I have never had any problems with my 2004...I've driven a 200-mile
trip with about a 2500 lb. trailer, probably close to 500 lbs. of
equipment in the back, and five people...it barely strained the engine
and my height looks perfectly normal. Perhaps you have some sort of a
defect in the rear?

 

Sounds like a broken spring. Is the ride height level left to right?
Certainly 300 pounds wouldn't cause this problem even if you left it
in there forever.

 

I had it checked out at the dealership. They inspected it and did not
find any broken springs. They did ask about the load that I put on it.
They called Honda Canada. I was informed that in reality all Pilots
will eventually drop in height under its own weight. What I've done has
accelerated the rear rate of collapse. The front should crush the
springs under its own weight eventually. The front end is the heavier
part of the vehicle so it'll eventually end up being lower than the
rear, provided that I never load the rear again ofcourse. Honda canada
did file my concern, because when the warranty nears an end, and if the
car is not level, I'll be knocking on their door again. I believe that
this vehicle got a little weaker springs in the rear than most of other
Pilots. It is probably due to the inconsistency of the spring
manufacturer/supplier etc. - bad material - poor quality control, Honda
is not imune to things like that sometimes. Maybe in the future they
should take some pointers from GM and raise the back a bit like Yukon.

Dan.

 

Perhaps this is a Canadian thing? Like I said in my previous post, I
have put much more weight on my 2004 Pilot, and it is still perfectly
normal. I went and measured my height from the B-pillar and compared it
with my neighbor's one-week-old 2006...they are both within 1/8 of an
inch of each other...

 

They need to check it again. Or you may want to take it to another
dealer or an independent mechanic. They need to look carefully at the
top of the coil.

This is true of all cars. However, the drop in height is slight and
occurs over a long period.

If the drop is so great as to be noticeable, then it is not right.
Either there was a lot more weight than you think or something was
drastically defective.

Well, that is BS. If this was a design problem, then we would be
seeing all kinds of reports and we haven't. If it is a sample defect,
then it needs to be fixed under warranty. "Never load the rear again"
is not a satisfactory fix.

If this is true then they should fix it under warranty.

LOL. The last think Honda needs to do is take pointers from GM.

 

That sounds like a BS response meaning they don't want to replace
your rear springs on their dime.

Check what the recorded warranty/lifespan is on OEM springs,
if you are under that mileage & year, its their problem.
If it's over that mileage/years, it's your problem.