My wife and I are looking for a large size SUV. The Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander are my only considerations. How worried should we be about the timing belt on a Honda Pilot? Being used, it will probably be close to 100k and will need changing at about $1500. My last Honda was a 2004 CRV, and it was the worst vehicle that I ever owned (worse than my old Ford Pinto in the 80's, LOL). It seems to me that Honda makes a great engine, but they farm out their other components to less than reliable vendors.
I also worry about the potential problems cropping up in the Toyotas in the last few years, with leaks and such. Is the Highlander a better bet for a backup vehicle than the Pilot? The used vehicles we are looking at will have about 80k miles on them.
So, which one would be better to carry me to 200k?
Scotty reviewed the 3rd gen Pilot ( you can find video reviews at the bottom of our front page).
They are known for transmission problems. Not sure if they resolved them by 2020.
I'm not aware of any major problems with the 4th gen Highlanders. (not sure which leaks you refer to).
Always make sure to do your research (check for recalls , look at maintenance history, etc), do extensive test driving (including freeway - that's when problems show up), and ALWAYS have it inspected by a mechanic before purchasing.
