I have a question about auto makers periodic platform refreshes. This would be the big redesigns, not year to year tweaks.

Honda did a big redesign of their 2026 Honda Passport. It was released Nov 24, and now we are near the beginning of 2027.

My questions are:

1) Does Honda fix previous year bugs for next model years ? Obviously you gotta check, but are there any general practices among makers, particularly with Honda ?

2) I think it's better to wait a year or two after a major redesign, but my wife doesn't want to wait much longer before pulling the trigger on a new one. I'm trying to talk her into a more stable platform like RWD 4Runner.

From what I gather both vehicles lack turbochargers and low-tension piston rings and other stupid thing like that in many new motor designs, but I still want to avoid as many bugs as possible after a refresh like the Passport.

What you do guys know, and think about this issue, and the relative quality between these two vehicles ?

In a general sense, most manufactures watch dealer warranty claims. Some times you might see a recall between certain VIN numbers, the info. they get is from the dealer service departments.

Honda, as others, will fix something from a defective part situation if they get too many warranty claims.

Best time to buy is 1 year after the MMC (mid model change) or mid model refresh. The terminology is interchangeable.

I'm pretty sure Fred Flintstone had a J-series Honda V6 in his car. That engine has been in service since about 1998, from 3.0 to 3.7 displacement.
Engine wise you should be pretty solid. Still a timing belt engine, but reliable.

If it's the 10 spd transmission, it's reported to be superior to the 9 spd they were using before.

I do agree with avoiding the first year of a redesign.

That's good news P25, thanks much.

The Passport is looking good. I preferred a 4Runner but that nice little truck is no longer offered with a naturally aspirated motor, which I just found out after starting this thread. In fact, Toyota isn't making any naturally aspirated motors in any of their midsize vehicles as far as I can tell.

So the Passport has a known good naturally aspirated 3.5L V6, good piston rings (not low tension as per the bad versions in earlier years). Unfortunately it comes in AWD only, but hey it's a modern vehicle, and I'm still hung up on solid rear axles with pumpkin balls, so it's me that's behind the times. But it's not a truck so I can't justify fretting about it. Even full size SUVs don't have them any longer.

I think only Subaru and maybe Kia have non-tubo motors, but they are smaller engines I believe with less power, so the Passport has more power, though I've never heard anyone not liking their Subaru vehicles.

I also saw that the Passport gets better scores on build quality and reliability than their domestic competitors in the mid-size suv market, but I'm not sure if that's across the board per se.

Long story short, I've lived out the OP's #2 (i.e. wait a year or two after a major redesign) twice and it's been hit and miss.

I've only bought 3 new vehicles in 37 years of vehicle ownership:

'98 Dodge Dakota - 2nd year of 2nd generation purchased ~18 months after release of the '97. I don't think the strategy paid off as MF'er had a bunch of recalls, once was towed to dealership which ended up being warranty work, and once limped into dealership with top speed of 20 mph which ended up being warranty work. No way I was keeping this past the warranty and my employer moved me to Upper Midwest so the 2wd Texas truck wasn't going to cut it in the winter.

'00 Chevy Silverado - 2nd year of first generation purchased about 21 months after release of '99. This strategy paid off big time as this truck was amazing. I drove it for 13.5 years and sold it to a buddy who drove in another 4 years. Other than consumables, I didn't have to spend any money on this truck until year 7, and year 8 to 13 was maybe the equivalent of 1 to 2 new truck payments per year. This truck was my daily driver in Upper Midwest, SoCal, Houston, and Anchorage and thrived in any climate. Only reason I sold it was I was moving out of the country and my employer's moving package had a pre-move vehicle selling benefit I couldn't ignore.

'16 Nissan Frontier - It was the 12th year of the D40's '04 release so not applicable to buying soon after model design. The good news is it's been fantastically reliable and I'm making my accountant proud for being 9+ years w/o an auto payment.

My Dad is retired autobody, and his whole life his daily driver was a vehicle he purchased lightly damaged and fixed. He even once bought two cars and made into 1 car (aka a clip), but that was back when cars had frames instead of unibodies. Now that he's retired, he likes driving brand new vehicles and leases a new car cars very 2 or 3 years. He's the one who taught me not to buy first model year, but now he does it as his situation has changed (i.e. retired, lives 5 min from dealership, and easy access to a 2nd car so vehicle in shop not a big deal).

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

I have nothing special to add about the Passport except that I think it's a beautiful SUV which seems to stand taller than the Pilot and much more modern. I've only seen one on the road here and it's a attention getter. Good looking vehicle.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
So the Passport has a known good naturally aspirated 3.5L V6, good piston rings (not low tension as per the bad versions in earlier years). Unfortunately it comes in AWD only, but hey it's a modern vehicle, and I'm still hung up on solid rear axles with pumpkin balls, so it's me that's behind the times. But it's not a truck so I can't justify fretting about it. Even full size SUVs don't have them any longer.per se.

That V6 is in a lot of vehicles. I have one. SOHC V6, VTEC. It’s solid. It will have a Honda tick sound, and don’t be alarmed, it’s normal. Get on it, 18-19MPG if not lower. Road trip on cruise at 75 mph, 25-26 MPG. Even when I tow, and I have the cruise on at 80 mph I still pull 22 MPG. What’s crazy is my Ridgeline, in a straight line, is as fast as my ‘02 Acura RSX Type S. It moves quick for what it is, great for being at a stop, and needing to turn right on a service road to get on the highway where you really need to go 0-50 or 55 mph, quickly.

The AWD system (unless Honda changed something) is really SH-AWD. They just save the SH-AWD naming convention for Acura products, but it’s the same drivetrain. The rear half shafts torque vector so in a turn they mechanically and electronically (not brake based) send more power to the outside wheel to create some natural oversteer. But it’s not oversteer like RWD since it’s AWD.

I have never been a fan of the tires Honda puts on their vehicles. But the right tires with that drivetrain = supreme traction year round in any weather condition. I haven’t driven the all new one, but I had the previous generation for a loaner when I was getting some aftermarket stuff done to my truck and I was very impressed with it. Handled great. Motor is the same as mine so nothing there. But I was very impressed with the handling. And while it’s unibody, there are benefits of body on frame. Unibody is better in high speed collisions where the chassis is designed to collapse on itself and protect the occupants. Honda makes solid unibody chassis. Together with that drivetrain and motor. One of the safest vehicles on the road due to the great traction of the AWD system. Wait until you drive it in heavy rain. Others will struggle and you’ll be glued down.

IF my almost 90 year old MIL moves in with us as projected, she will stop driving. We would then trade my wife’s ‘16 RAV4 SE AWD and my ‘24 Forester Wilderness in on a Passport TrailSport.

That NA V6 and transmission should get us WAY down the road with little to no drama. Turbos, hybrids, and CVTs are what I’d like to steer clear of if possible. And, 1st year model changes, I forgot to add.

I don't think I'd be concerned with a "new 2026" and definitely not with a 2027.

The all new 3.5 DOHC engine (w/o Vtec) which uses a timing chain now came out 3 years ago in the Pilot while the "new 10-speed transmission" has been out since 2019, both have a good track record. The SH-AWD system has been out for years, so the entire drivetrain is proven. They've been manufacturing the new Passport for a year now so any little minor assembly issues should have been addressed.

Oh, I wonder if the awful stop/start might go away for 2027? Or at least let us disable it in the settings menu rather than having to do so every start-up.

I wouldn't be too worried about the Passport, it seems to be pretty solid from what I've seen. If I ever get rid of my Tundra I'll replace it with a Passport but I think I'm waiting a bit to see the new Rivian. My house has been all Toyota since 2007 but I have no interest in their new offerings. My wife loves her Rav so I expect when she's ready she'll lean that way again. Her Hybrid Rav has been dead reliable with the exception of the high voltage cable they replaced under warranty.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
The all new 3.5 DOHC engine (w/o Vtec) which uses a timing chain now came out 3 years ago in the Pilot while the "new 10-speed transmission" has been out since 2019, both have a good track record. The SH-AWD system has been out for years, so the entire drivetrain is proven. They've been manufacturing the new Passport for a year now so any little minor assembly issues should have been addressed.

Didn't realize the DOHC went to a chain.
Looks like it has VTC, per wiki, so like VTEC I'm sure.

It's generally advised to NEVER buy a version 1.0 of any car

BUT...I did buy a 2006 Honda Civic when they came out in late 2005 and it was a completely new model from the ground up and it had very few problems IIRC. Only one I really remember was some kind of pulley idler arm recall that they quickly fixed under warranty.

I'd say this rule does not really apply to Honda as they really do seem to have their shit together with cars overall compared to the competition.

I say go for it.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
The all new 3.5 DOHC engine (w/o Vtec) which uses a timing chain now came out 3 years ago in the Pilot while the "new 10-speed transmission" has been out since 2019, both have a good track record. The SH-AWD system has been out for years, so the entire drivetrain is proven. They've been manufacturing the new Passport for a year now so any little minor assembly issues should have been addressed.

Didn't realize the DOHC went to a chain.
Looks like it has VTC, per wiki, so like VTEC I'm sure.

Everything that I can find shows the 3.5 DOHC in the Passport with a belt, not a chain. It was the single factor that has kept me from buying the new Passport. I have 320k on my 2016 4Runner, so I drive and put miles on cars. I am loathe to have a planned $1600-2k expense (x3!) to get the same number of miles on one as I have on the 4Runner. Unfortunately, I am being stumped with SUV's that have a timing chain engine, not a CVT transmission and not a straight AWD only, prefer the 4WD selectability as I have in the 4Runner.

quote:

Originally posted by PghPI:

Everything that I can find shows the 3.5 DOHC in the Passport with a belt, not a chain. It was the single factor that has kept me from buying the new Passport......

You are right and I stand corrected! I recalled reading about the changes a few years back and was going by memory. It still uses a timing belt that should be replaced at (I believe) 105,000 miles, but it now has hydraulic lifters so there are no 105,000 mile valve lash adjustments any longer.

quote:

2) I think it's better to wait a year or two after a major redesign, but my wife doesn't want to wait much longer before pulling the trigger on a new one. I'm trying to talk her into a more stable platform like RWD 4Runner.

There’s “stable” and then there’s stale. IMO, the 4Runner could use an overhaul. I understand that I may well be in the minority.

Just an FYI I'm pretty certain that my wife's Odyssey has the same V-6 with timing belt as the Passport/Pilot and we just had it replaced at 95,000 miles along with the water pump. Total cost was around $800

To me it's worth it for a super reliable brand with a super reliable engine and I consider it well spent.

Amen.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:

quote:

2) I think it's better to wait a year or two after a major redesign, but my wife doesn't want to wait much longer before pulling the trigger on a new one. I'm trying to talk her into a more stable platform like RWD 4Runner.

There’s “stable” and then there’s stale. IMO, the 4Runner could use an overhaul. I understand that I may well be in the minority.

The 4Runner just got a full redesign, but in the process dropped the NA V6 for a turbo 4.

Honda redesigns every 5 years. On year 4 they do a "special edition"iirc, maybe year 5, but they do it. The 3.5 V6 is almost bullet proof and has been around a very long time.

Con...it's always been and is a timing belt engine that requires 100k intervals unless you do a lot of towing/extreme driving then it's every 60K. Prices for charging have been from $800-$2000+ pending shop or dealer.

The 10spd tranny is freakin awesome. Had a 2024 Odyssey rental back in July for a West coast 17 day road trip and loved that tranny. 6 passengers and loaded with luggage and it never missed a beat, very smooth. And it averaged 25 mpg after driving just shy of 3K miles.

We have a 2011 Pilot Touring 4WD, bought 4/2015. Bought at 49k and it now has around 270k and daily driver. Timing belt changed twice now. It's the only thing I dislike about Honda V6. It has a 5sp tranny with no issues but that 10spd would be very nice.

Honda uses a belt because it's quieter for the NVH.

I'm not sure about the current Honda 3.5 V6 but in the past they have had issues with oil getting past the rings and causing misfires, killing plugs and O2 sensors. The downfall of the VVT system. Whatever it's called now. It kills cylinders to save fuel, which in turn lets oil seep through piston rings. Then when cylinder reactivates it has excessive oil causing misfires and bad O2's. We have had both sides of our Pilot re-ringed under Honda extended warranty (recall). Honda does their best not to do "Recalls" instead they do extended warranty's on troubled items that are not safety related. Like motors and transmissions.

The 1999-2004 Honda Odyssey has a faulty 4sp OD transmission. We had a 2001 that ended up with 4 trans, 3 under the "extended recall warranty" and the last one we paid for. Otherwise it went from 100k to over 200k with no issues.

We would buy another Honda all day long, timing belt or not.