Honda Pilot or Hyundai Palisade or Kia Telluride?

[FlaGator]

I own:
2010 Honda Pilot-135,000 miles
2019 Honda Passport-50,000 miles
2020 Kia Soul-22,00 miles

The Passport is essentially the same as the Pilot, but a bit smaller without third-row seating.

I have found Honda's much acclaimed reliability hasn't held up as well as I expected:

The 2010 Pilot had both front struts replaced under warranty. Basically bad parts, but no problems since. In addition, it has the oil consumption problems of their V6 engines from that era. Didn't become apparent until 80,000 miles when I had to change the plugs due to oil fouling (100,000 miles is recommended). Plugs were replaced as a courtesy. When they fouled again at 130.000, I was presented with recommended piston ring replacement totaling >$3,500. Passed on that and will just replace plugs as need-it burns a quart in 5-6,000. And that is well above the burn rate of the cars I grew up with in the 70's-early 80's. The kid is driving it as well . There were a few other trim and electronic problems, but nothing one wouldn't expect from a car of that era and age.

The 2019 Passport has had far fewer problems that the Pilot. It did fall victim to the wiring harness problem and that was fixed under warranty. That issue caused intermittent problems with the main display and squealing from the audio system. Fixed under warranty and hasn't reoccurred. No issues with the running gear. My understanding is the piston ring problem was addressed long ago, and there has not been any oil consumption between changes.

The 2020 Kia Soul is DD's car. A few electronic problems, one or two of them intermittent. Everything has been fixed under warranty. It has the 4 cylinder, but was checked and not part of the engine replacement recall. No reason to belief there is a engine problem at this point.

The aging Honda Pilot will be replaced in the next few years. The youngest and I will look at Honda, Toyota and Kia/Hyundai. I have been impressed to date with the design, ergonomics and overall quality of the Kia Soul. Warranty is good as well.

 

[frank]

anybody heard anything bad about the kia sorrento. neighbor bought one and they look pretty nice. usually a toyota fan but they are getting hard to find with decent mileage.

 

[REWahoo]

anybody heard anything bad about the kia sorrento. neighbor bought one and they look pretty nice. usually a toyota fan but they are getting hard to find with decent mileage.

CR doesn't rate the Sorento as a recommended buy. Looks like their reliability has been very spotty and highly inconsistent. For example, the 2020 model has been very reliable while the 2018 and 2021 models are at the bottom of the reliability ranking.

I'd look elsewhere, but that's just me.

 

[Badger]

I can't comment on the 3 vehicles you mention but we have a 2019 and a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe and are pleased with the choice. They are comfortable and provide the type of vehicle we prefer at this time. I looked at the Palisade but it was a little too big for my comfort. Both are push button start and have the smaller engine since we look as cars now as utilitarian. Gone are the days of our Alfa Romeo, Triumph, Fiat, etc. sports cars. With less than 10k miles on each they don't get driven much. That should change soon as we get more comfortable with traveling. These cars should easily last us until gas is gone and electric is the norm or until we are no longer safe to drive which ever comes first.

Cheers!

 

[CRLLS]

I just traded in a 2012 Hyundai Elantra. It had a couple of minor problems over the years. I would still rate it high. So much so that I bought a 2022 Hyundai Kona Limited last March. If theft is a concern for you, I read that the Hyundai and Kia cars being stolen are the low-end cars, those that require inserting a key to start, not the push button vehicles. Not sure if that is the entire truth. You might want to search for that.

 

[pops]

Found that almost all the car reviewers rated the 2021 and 2022 Tellurides first. I've had the 2022 Tellurine for 8 months and love it. Love the v-6 turbo.

 

[mpeirce]

Found that almost all the car reviewers rated the 2021 and 2022 Tellurides first. I've had the 2022 Tellurine for 8 months and love it. Love the v-6 turbo.

The Tellurides (and Palisades) all have the same V-6 with no turbo offered.

 

[jollystomper]

anybody heard anything bad about the kia sorrento. neighbor bought one and they look pretty nice. usually a toyota fan but they are getting hard to find with decent mileage.

We purchased a used 2017 Kia Sorento in 2019. We have not had any service issues in 3 years with it. We are not driving it into the ground (20K miles in that time), so that might make a difference. both DW and I find it comfortable to drive.

I am in the market for a 3rd car - not rushing due to the current inflation situation - but getting another Sorento is a consideration, based on our experience.

 

[freedomatlast]

Wouldn't touch a Kia or Hyundai after the on-going debacle relating to the 2.4L GDI engine crank failures. Go talk to your local Hyundai service department and see how many they are replacing as we post. My local dealer replaced 12 engines in the past 2.5 months. Up to a 4 week job and no rental provided. According to the service rep it is dealer dependent on whether they provide a rental while the work is being done. He said they had an arrangement with National across the street for $35/day rentals. Purchase at your own risk.

I'm with Nano on this one. Kia/Hyundai would never be under consideration for me.

Last November my daughter's 2016 Tuscon with the 1.6L turbo engine lost all power while driving on the interstate. Vehicle was meticulously maintained with 109,000 miles, yes just after the 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. To make a long story shorter, dealer said it needed a new engine to the tune of $11,900. Son in law and I debated with the dealer, after providing meticulous maintenance records, and got the price down to about 10% of that. There were no engines to be had in salvage yards because of the high failure rate. The vehicle was at the dealer from November 4th to February 8th before the new engine was installed. That's right, almost 1/4 year! One time I called to check the status, the dealer said, sir, "Do you know how many cars we have on our lot that need engines right now?" I said, "No, how many?" He said 53! That's right. 53 cars on the lot at one dealer at one point in time. I asked if they were all the same engines in different vehicles and he told me that they had engine failures across the entire product line that affected every model. To make matters worse, they had no assembled long blocks or short blocks to provide to the dealers. The dealers had to order every part of the new engine individually! Luckily for my daughter, I was able to lend them an extra car I had, but the dealer tried to bully most of the people waiting for new engines to just buy a new car. And this has been going on for a long time with Hyundai. Way back in 2012 a coworker had a similar experience with them where cars were stacked on dealer's lots waiting for new engines, with none available. The service manager said he has techs dedicated to just replacing engines and they've done so many they can each do two per day. But the parts availability was and still is a huge issue.

The 100,000 mile powertrain warranty is of little consolation when the vehicle craps out on a major interstate hundreds of miles away from home, and it takes 1/4 year to get it back on the road.

As far as the Pilot is concerned, I just about pulled the trigger on one earlier this year but held off waiting for the 2023 redesign.

For me, going with the Pilot would be an easy decision given the choices listed by OP.

 

[Ian S]

Wouldn't touch a Kia or Hyundai after the on-going debacle relating to the 2.4L GDI engine crank failures. Go talk to your local Hyundai service department and see how many they are replacing as we post. My local dealer replaced 12 engines in the past 2.5 months. Up to a 4 week job and no rental provided. According to the service rep it is dealer dependent on whether they provide a rental while the work is being done. He said they had an arrangement with National across the street for $35/day rentals. Purchase at your own risk.

I'd be a bit leery of the 4 cylinder but the 3.8L V6 is a completely different engine. It's been around in various setups for 15+ years and is a decent design and reliable. It's in my 2011 Genesis Coupe and hasn't had any problems and no oil burning. I maintain it by the book as I have all my cars.

 

[Texas Proud]

Wouldn't touch a Kia or Hyundai after the on-going debacle relating to the 2.4L GDI engine crank failures. Go talk to your local Hyundai service department and see how many they are replacing as we post. My local dealer replaced 12 engines in the past 2.5 months. Up to a 4 week job and no rental provided. According to the service rep it is dealer dependent on whether they provide a rental while the work is being done. He said they had an arrangement with National across the street for $35/day rentals. Purchase at your own risk.

All manufacturers have had some kind of problem... and not all have handled them well either...



I know that Honda had an automatic transmission failure rate that was much larger than Hyundai's engine problem... it was over many years and IIRC on all cars with a V6... they never did cover the problem either...





It also was a problem on their Acuras...

 

[Texas Proud]

I was in the car business 24 years, and my family still owns a big city luxury car dealership.

The Kia and Hyundai's look good, but they're no match for any vehicle built by Honda or Toyota. I'm into dependability and fuel mileage in my retirement, and I've got the new Toyota Venza Hybrid AWD--a great buy and 42.5 mpg.

I previously had a Ford Explorer XLT, and it was also a great vehicle in the 89K miles we put on it. The new RWD model is even better.

Stick with more mainstream brands you can get parts (new and used) easier and those mechanics are more familiar with.

You lost me when you said Fords were good... I have owned a few over the years and all but one were crappy... and that one was a 1965 I only had 1 1/2 years...


I own both Hyundais and Honda.... My Honda Pilot's moon roof had a problem with a gasket... a $1200 problem... until they got in there and found the rails etc. were also trash and cost another $1200... it has almost 100,000 miles and that is the only major problem...


My Hyundai and Genesis have been most good... I had Elantras that had zero problems... had a Genesis that the smart cruise control went out and have not fixed.... my other Genesis has had zero problems...

 

[Texas Proud]

One thing to look at is the % failure rate for the various components...


On some even a much worse than avg is only 5% IIRC... and then look at the categories... engine and transmissions cost more (usually, but I think electronics are catching up)...


I would have no problem buying any of the vehicles you mentioned... all seem to be rated highly by most sites... the decision would be on price and if one seems to be a better fit in what options I wanted...


Good luck

 

[Qs Laptop]

I was in the car business 24 years, and my family still owns a big city luxury car dealership.

The Kia and Hyundai's look good, but they're no match for any vehicle built by Honda or Toyota.

^^ THIS ^^

I'm sure that Kia and Hyundai make decent vehicles, it's just that Honda and Toyota are a bit better.

You can check for ownership repair records at a website called True Delta.

https://www.truedelta.com/car-reliability

Well, I just checked and apparently the Palisade and Telluride are too new to have meaningful data sample sizes. This makes me wonder where Consumer Reports is getting their data from. Maybe they are relying on previous years' Hyundai and Kia models that aren't the Palisade and Telluride.

You could check Honda Pilot vs. Hyundai Santa Fe and/or the Kia Sorrento.

 

[PatrickA5]

We've owned 3 Pilots and never had any problems - although we don't keep cars much past the warranty period.

Looked extensively at the 2021 Telluride and Pallisade. Also looked at the Genesis GV80. We liked all of them, but our area dealerships were requiring $10K over MSRP and wouldn't budge.

Ended up buying the new 2022 Infiniti QX60. It took 4 months to be delivered, but we love it. It's quite a bit more "upscale" than the others. We decided to splurge a little as we're getting to the age where we won't have many more new cars in our future.

 

[travelover]

...........This makes me wonder where Consumer Reports is getting their data from. Maybe they are relying on previous years' Hyundai and Kia models that aren't the Palisade and Telluride. ...........

Consumers sends out their own surveys to subscribers.

 

[Koolau]

Consumers sends out their own surveys to subscribers.

I filled out one of these for them. I was amazed at how closely my experience matched their data. My particular car had LOADS of exhaust problems, but otherwise was bullet proof. Sure enough, CR said that model/year was great EXCEPT for its exhaust system. I'm pretty much a believer in CR reliability reports. YMMV

 

[Carpediem]

OP here....thank you all for the feedback. We decided to move forward with the purchase of the 2021 Honda Pilot - Black Edition. As mentioned previously, we would have waited for a little price sanity but our current car decided it was time to be let out to pasture.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Consumers sends out their own surveys to subscribers.

OK, makes sense. The vehicle is in its 2nd (3rd?) year of production. So how many Hyundai Palisade owners responded? In other words, how big is that data sample size?

 

[Koolau]

OP here....thank you all for the feedback. We decided to move forward with the purchase of the 2021 Honda Pilot - Black Edition. As mentioned previously, we would have waited for a little price sanity but our current car decided it was time to be let out to pasture.

Very nice! You're gonna wear it out just taking each of us for a short spin. Enjoy.

 

[travelover]

OK, makes sense. The vehicle is in its 2nd (3rd?) year of production. So how many Hyundai Palisade owners responded? In other words, how big is that data sample size?

I don't know if CU releases that data, but for some vehicles, they just state "insufficient data". That makes sense, they are engineers and certainly understand the implications of sample size.

 

[Chuckanut]

OK, makes sense. The vehicle is in its 2nd (3rd?) year of production. So how many Hyundai Palisade owners responded? In other words, how big is that data sample size?

If the number of responses for a car is not sufficient to generate reliable statistics , CR generally will note that when they mention the repair record of the car.

I have found them to be accurate. Of course there are exceptions. One thing to keep in mind is that sometimes one part of the car will get a bad repair rating because of a fault, that was later fixed under warranty. My RAV4 is in that boat. It had problems with the gas tank and fuel sending unit which was fixed at no coast to me. But, that 'worse than average' rating is still there even though the problem is long gone. Nothing is perfect.

 

[gamboolman]

We bought 2021 EXL Honda Pilot in March of 2021 when I retired.
Been on lots Road Trips for up to a month all over the USA
We love the Pilot
We had a 2004 Honda Accord before and it was a great car
Do recommend the Pilot

 

[Texas Proud]

If the number of responses for a car is not sufficient to generate reliable statistics , CR generally will note that when they mention the repair record of the car.

I have found them to be accurate. Of course there are exceptions. One thing to keep in mind is that sometimes one part of the car will get a bad repair rating because of a fault, that was later fixed under warranty. My RAV4 is in that boat. It had problems with the gas tank and fuel sending unit which was fixed at no coast to me. But, that 'worse than average' rating is still there even though the problem is long gone. Nothing is perfect.

But it still was a problem even if covered by warranty....


And even if it is rated 'bad', that does not mean all cars will have the problem... as I mentioned earlier some are 'bad' even if only 5% have the problem as they think that less than 1% should...

 

[68bucks]

Sorry I didn't see your post earlier. We have a 2020 Pilot Elite we bought late in 2019. My wife drives it primarily but it has been a great vehicle so far. She has about 20K miles on it I think. I think you will be happy with it, Honda builds a pretty good car. The only thing I don't like about it is the cargo floor is about flush with the rear bumper cover and you have to watch out you don't scratch it up loading and unloading. We picked up a friend from the airport and she just dragged her giant suitcase out of the back and scratched up the paint on the top of the bumper cover. They should have designed it to be a little lower so that would be less likely. The wiring for the trailer lights wasn't hooked up either, had to get it done when we took it in for service.