The Only One In Britain????

[Gerry Taylor]

Hi, everyone. My son has been back here in the UK for about four years now, after a lifetime in California. He brought all the usual stuff with him, his dog, a Goffin Cockatoo, and loads of boxes of a liftime out there; Oh, and a very unique vehicle! The exclamation mark could be a question mark I suppose, because I'm hoping to get an answer from the people that read this? The car/4 x 4 is a "HONDA PILOT". He thought--wrongly--that Honda would recognise their own vehicle here in the UK, and servicing and spares would be absolutely no problem...Wrong!The car was bought brand new from Honda in California, and is nothing special, apart from being "BIG" ( The Honda CRV would go inside this beauty) well, almost. It needed a service and so he took it to Honda Derby. They accepted it, kept it a day, called him and said "Sorry, we don't have any information about this vehicle at all!" He called Honda UK. "Sorry, we don't have any information about this vehicle at all!". He called Honda in Japan. "Refer to the dealer you bought our Pilot from, Thank you". Not really good enough is it? Now to my question, having been to Honda vehicle Clubs all over the UK. "Is This The ONLY HONDA PILOT in Great Britain?Do You Know Different? I really would like to know. Answer me here, or pm me. Thanks.

[andy_b]

the problem is, the dealers have contracts with Honda UK, not Honda Japan. Honda UK don't care about the Pilot as they have never sold it, so simply wont have the knoweldge or technical ability. Their diagnostics might not even be set up for a Pilot.

Best thing is to find a Honda specialist.

[b1ackcr0w]

I've just had a bit of a read-up about these because i'd never heard of a Pilot before. It turns out they are made in Alabama specifically for the US market. So you might actually get more joy trying to source parts and information from Honda USA or a friendly dealer over there.

[Truckosaurus]

I suspect your best best would be to find a specialist in American cars as they'd have the contacts to source parts from the USA.

You can probably find a (dodgy) download of the service manual and parts lists from the 'net which will then allow any garage to perform the routine servicing.

[Gerry Taylor]

To everyone that has replied, Thank You Guys.
It seems incredible that this is the One and Only Honda Pilot here in the UK, but...having contacted all and sundry, that is the case. Now to answer your suggestions ( which I welcome) I have been back to the dealer in the USA and (as you may already have experienced) they will not even help next Staters, let alone in this Country! Honda, USA/Canada/UK and Japan are no use at all.
All they keep telling us is "Refer back to your point of purchase". You see, outside of the USA, doesn't exist when it comes to after sales and service. At present, because we have so many friends and family in Ca, we have to keep getting them to send stuff over by DHL or The UPS Guy! A real pain in the ass. Point taken about finding a friendly Honda specialist, but IF he CAN'T get the parts, he's as useful as we are....Only good point is...She stops traffic, and people ask "What is it?"
Meanwhile, if you can all keep looking out for ANOTHER "PILOT", and stop him/her and ask where they have it looked after, I would be much obliged.
I will attempt to upload a photograph, if this is possible on this page?
Thanks, Gerry. ps Just looked no place to upload an image. Sorry.

[johnh875]

Are there other Hondas with the same engine/powertrain sold in the UK?

Maybe the parts answer is the same - a Honda specialist in the US. Buy up a batch or package of parts to keep the servicing going for a couple of years. There are also overseas on-postage services or courier/parcel services if the vendors won't send overseas in the first place, have a search on what people do for ebay items for example.

[BHF Revival]

A few years ago after our yearly trip to family in Florida, my better half spotted a Pilot and fell in love with it.

On our return, I asked a friend of mine, who then worked for Honda in the PR department, whether they could be bought in the UK.

His reply was no they're not a official import. He did however say that Honda UK in Chiswick had one there on evaluation. He did say that due to the V8 engine, he doubted it would make official import status.

He was right....

Have you tried Mildenhall Auto Centre. They are in Norfolk and supply and look after all makes of US Service vehicles so may be able to give you more help.
http://www.mildenhallautocentre.ltd.uk/history.php

Hope this helps

Kev

[bludvl_x19]

Try looking online for US Honda forums. If you can find one that doesn't deal in ricers and "VTEC, Yo!!" then you may come across some friendly people who can help you out. I know of one Fiat owner in Australia who has found a friendly dealer in the UK, and gets parts from him instead of locally, saving himself a fair bit of money.

[Benny1664]

Theres often parts for them on ebay..

[Gerry Taylor]

So, there we have it. Thank you all, but it boils down to where I'm at right now, importing all the bits from the USA. I am past being shocked! I am past being Dumbfounded! That HONDA CANNOT look after one of their own vehicles. They cannot even point to a Honda specialist that understands this vehicle and can obtain all the current spares at trade from them. They cannot advise. They cannot...they're as much use as a chocolate*^**!Thanks anyway guys.
Happy Racing.
Gerry

[thebear]

You might find some assistance here:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...oq=honda+pilot

and here:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&b...q=honda+pilot+

Some suppliers maybe hesitant to export as there are many `goofy' forms and affadavits to be filled out.

pm if there is a pressing need and I will investigate. There are many `parts interchange' manuals here in the US. I would buy the parts and ship them to you after a paypal payment but shipping would start at US$14 and escalate.

You can start your search(es) for aftermarket (replacement, not OEM) here:

http://www.autozone.com and http://www.discountautoparts.com/

Regular service items like oil filters and brake pads should have UK sourced equivalents to other Honda vehicles. In addition, I really doubt that alternators, starters, etc are unique to the Pilot.

[Peter Mallett]

There are lots of them out here in Qatar. There's also a Honda MR-V which is a V6 engined equivalent.

[Gerry Taylor]

Thanks everyone, Bear, I do have friends out in Ca, so getting stuff sent over isn't the problem. In my really naive way, I just thought...well...I just thought that HONDA would be able to point a customer of their's in the right direction to obtain a supply of spares and stuff for one of their vehicles, over here in the good old United Kingdom. I'm not talking about the amazing Honda prototype 4996, only shown once at the Poulton-Le-Fylde motor show in 1951! I'm talking about a really up to the minute Honda, that anyone can purchase, right now...like...Today!
Ah, well, next time I'll buy a Railton, I hear that compared to Honda parts, they're easily sourced.

[JHamilton]

I know you said you won't have an issue getting parts, but in case you do, look to these guys:

http://www.rockauto.com/

Probably not supposed to post that, but I think it might help. They are terrific and will ship all over the world. You can build a Pilot from the parts that they offer. The best part of your situation is that it is a Honda and will run forever. Also, it uses the same 3.5L V6 found in the American spec Accord. I don't know if this is available in the Euro spec car (which we call the TSX fwiw), but it is a pretty common engine.

Hope that helps.