Anyone tow their Escape 21 with a Honda Pilot? - Page 3 - Escape Trailer Owners Community
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Old 05-23-2021, 11:15 AM   #41
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Location: South Lake Tahoe, California
Trailer: 2017 Escape 17B
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Quote:
Originally Posted by harvest View Post
I’d love to hear how it drives compared to not towing. We have a new AWD Pilot with tow package towing a 17B. It seemed good but was regularly having a hesitating or slight jerking kind of feel while driving 55 and also 45 through a town. It was subtle and we’ve never towed before today but I could feel it as a passenger. My husband said he didn’t really notice it.
It's going to shift harder and more often towing, but ours has the 6-speed trans and yours probably has the 9 and I have no experience with that trans. The engine will often run at higher RPM's than you are used to not towing. Braking distances are longer and can be more uneven depending on how the trailer brake controller is adjusted. It takes some time and experimentation to get the right setting.

I was experiencing a lot of hesitation both towing and not towing in the last few months until we got a problem fixed. There was a recent service bulletin that addressed hesitation and a potential Check Engine light. The fuel injectors and fuel rail were replaced at 75,000 miles. The transmission fluid was changed and the transmission (6 speed) was reprogrammed with new shift parameters. I doubt this is what you are experiencing since yours is new(?). I would still talk to a dealer about it. The bulletin work was free ( 4 1/2 hours of labor I think, and expensive parts).

Hesitation is gone now and fuel mileage increased noticeably.

Other than that unlikely scenario, you likely have the 9-speed transmission and at those relatively low speeds it's probably shifting regularly, which may be what you are feeling. Shifts are definitely more noticeable when towing.

One last recommendation: Don't drive in Eco mode -- ever. Make sure the green leaf thing is not on. That's going to make it worse and makes very little difference in actual fuel economy.

It's a decent, comfortable, inexpensive to maintain vehicle that my wife loves, but I feel like Honda transmissions are still garbage after the well known problems in the early 2000's, and I'm not sure I would ever get another one because of that. They are like gold on the used market though because of the perceived reliability that Honda has, so when we do want to trade out it will be easy.
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Old 05-23-2021, 11:22 AM   #42
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Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: Falls Church, Virginia
Trailer: 2005 Escape 17b
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skyfree View Post
It's going to shift harder and more often towing, but ours has the 6-speed trans and yours probably has the 9 and I have no experience with that trans. The engine will often run at higher RPM's than you are used to not towing. Braking distances are longer and can be more uneven depending on how the trailer brake controller is adjusted. It takes some time and experimentation to get the right setting.

I was experiencing a lot of hesitation both towing and not towing in the last few months until we got a problem fixed. There was a recent service bulletin that addressed hesitation and a potential Check Engine light. The fuel injectors and fuel rail were replaced at 75,000 miles. The transmission fluid was changed and the transmission (6 speed) was reprogrammed with new shift parameters. I doubt this is what you are experiencing since yours is new(?). I would still talk to a dealer about it. The bulletin work was free ( 4 1/2 hours of labor I think, and expensive parts).

Hesitation is gone now and fuel mileage increased noticeably.

Other than that unlikely scenario, you likely have the 9-speed transmission and at those relatively low speeds it's probably shifting regularly, which may be what you are feeling. Shifts are definitely more noticeable when towing.

One last recommendation: Don't drive in Eco mode -- ever. Make sure the green leaf thing is not on. That's going to make it worse and makes very little difference in actual fuel economy.

It's a decent, comfortable, inexpensive to maintain vehicle that my wife loves, but I feel like Honda transmissions are still garbage after the well known problems in the early 2000's, and I'm not sure I would ever get another one because of that. They are like gold on the used market though because of the perceived reliability that Honda has, so when we do want to trade out it will be easy.
Thank you for sharing that info. I will mention it to Honda, but it only happens when we towed (the one time so far to take our trailer to go to get serviced). So I am guessing it is an issue with that. Maybe I will figure it out. It doesn't seem like it should be shifting like that - our trailer was nose down slightly, so perhaps once we get our ball mount at the correct height it will help. We were deciding between the Pilot and the Subaru Ascent, but were feeling nervous about towing with the 4 cylinder turbo. Time will tell!
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Old 05-23-2021, 12:59 PM   #43
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Agreed. Eco and towing do not mix well.........
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Old 05-24-2021, 02:28 PM   #44
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Another thought

Quote:
Originally Posted by Canadian Explorers View Post
We are planning to purchase an Escape 21, but really don't want to have to also purchase a pick-up truck to tow it. Does anyone currently tow their Escape 21 with a Honda Pilot (or similar mid-sized SUV)? The Honda Pilot has a maximum tow capacity of 5,000 lbs. with a maximum hitch weight of 500 lbs.

As we live in British Columbia, we want to know if this vehicle is sufficient, and can make it over the Rockies if we want to do a cross-Canada trip.

Thanks!
When we purchased our 2019 Honda Pilot, we needed to have the dealer install the tow package, including the transmission cooler. The tow package is no longer standard as it was in our 2011 Pilot. A friend, who purchased a used identical vehicle, was told that the tow package advertised on her unit included the transmission cooler. Fast-forward 9000+ miles later, another Honda dealer confirmed there was no transmission cooler on her Pilot. By that time, she was already having transmission difficulties. Don't know if it will make any difference for you, but certainly insist on the installation of the transmission cooler.

Our two Pilots have pulled two separate 19's since 2011 with no mechanical difficulties whatsoever. More often than not, we also have two kayaks on top of the Pilot and two bicycles at the rear of the Escape.
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