Four wheel drive Honda Pilot?

Question

I drive a somewhat twisty-turny road to work, and so traded in my sedan this summer for a 2005 Honda Pilot (also needed a larger vehicle to transport a large dog)

I admit completely that I am by no means a car expert-that's why I'm here : ) And while my Pilot is 4 wheel drive, as it turns out it is not consistently four wheel drive;. . . .I'd need to go grab the manual for the vehicle but it supposedly senses the need for 4 wheel drive vs two wheel drive and reacts accordingly? I would love if someone out there could please explain this to me, ie how it works and how good the Pilot actually IS on icy or snowy roads. Did I make a decent choice? Someone recently told me I should've looked into a used Land Rover or something else instead. Thanks.

Answer 1

4WD is when you can switch between 4WD and 2WD.

AWD is when 4WD is always On.

Honda Pilot is the most reliable SUV, while the Land Rover is the least reliable SUV you can buy.

You made the right choice.

Lots of newer cars these days can sense the road surface. So the cars can change to 4WD and back to 2WD.

But I think youchange it manually in the Honda Pilot.

Look around the car for these letters:

2H

2L

4H

4L.

2H is 2WD.

4H is 4WD.

2L is 2WD when going up a very very steep hill. You do not need to use this.

4L is when you are rock climbing or pulling a trailer up a hill.

Answer 2

there's a sensor in the computer that keeps track of wheel slip.  if the wheels start to slip, the computer splits the power to other wheels.  typically, awd is better in snow than true 4wd as it keeps power to the wheels with the most traction and slows the ones that are slipping.

Answer 3

the 4wd in your pilot uses the abs/vsa. there are speed sensors at each wheel. when the front tires start to slip (going faster than the rear tires) it will engage the rear wheel's. it has a clutch on each rear wheel so it can activate just one or both depending on the situation. it is a very good system, but does have its limits. it is not to go rock crawling or mud bogging. on snow and ice it works great. you don't even know anything is happening.

Answer 4

The AWD system works pretty good. I don't like HONDA........ HOWEVER, they ARE pretty good cars.... LAND ROVER is c**p... you made a good choice.