11th Dec 2008, 21:37

When we bought our 2003 Envoy we didn't even bother to look at the Honda Pilot. As a mechanic I was well aware of the disastrous problems with Honda's automatic transmissions and didn't feel like having to deal with a new transmission every 25,000 miles or so.

We DID drive a Toyota Highlander, and we STILL laugh about THAT adventure! First off we noticed pieces of interior trim were actually falling off. Then, when my wife started to merge onto a freeway I urged her to step on it and her frightened reply was "Honey, I'm bending the floor board now, this is ALL IT'S GOT!!" We narrowly escaped being run over by a semi. It was a V-6 and had less power than the 4-cylinder Ford Escape we had just driven.

Then, after a harrowing ride down the freeway we got back on the city streets and found that applying the brakes caused the vehicle to violently lurch left (into oncoming traffic!) We got the thing back to the dealer's lot as quick as we could (which wasn't very quick with a 0-60 time of about 15 MINUTES!!) kissed the ground, and ran as fast as we could to GMC and bought our 2003 Envoy. It has proven to be fast, smooth, VERY powerful (and it has the 6) and it has been 100% trouble-free. We are so impressed with it we plan to keep it for another 200,000 miles. There is NO WAY I'd EVER recommend a Japanese SUV to anyone who doesn't have a very strong death wish!!

24th Dec 2010, 15:13

In reading this review, I see a problem that, sadly, is all too typical of many car owners. They know little about cars, and are taken in big time by dealer service departments.

The low-beam issue sounds a bit fishy. My mom had the low beams go out on her car. She took the car to the dealer, and they replaced all the lights and the driving lights at a cost of nearly $500. The problem was really a blown fuse. I had checked it two days before, but had not had time to go get a new fuse. The fuse was clearly blown, and I had removed it. She was not aware of this, and took it to the dealer. They took her big time.

Another issue I read about with the Envoy is the clutch fan. Although we have not had this problem (or ANY problems) in the nearly 8 years we've owned our Envoy, the fix is very cheap and easy if you do it yourself. I've heard of owners being charged a small fortune by dealers to do this.

24th Dec 2010, 21:07

"In reading this review, I see a problem that, sadly, is all too typical of many car owners. They know little about cars, and are taken in big time by dealer service departments."

Well that's why I switched back to imports. I have never seen an import service center, because mine have never needed anything fixed.