2018 Honda Pilot Awful Road Noise
 

I am searching for a solution to the unpleasant loud road noise and bouncy ride from new 2018 Pilot LX AWD. It happens every time you go over any uneven road including minor bumps. It sounds like something hits a steel drum. I have owned 4 other new SUVs and never had anything like this before. The dealer and Honda have not been helpful so far. I believe Honda knows about the problem and knows the solution because I see other owners commenting about the same problem. I believe the suspension is too stiff. Also the Bridgestone Dueler tire reviews say they have loud road noise but I think the vehicle is the main problem.

So far owning this Pilot has not been a pleasant experience.

welcome to the forum. wondering if you tried driving any other new pilot at any other dealer to check to see if they are all the same. you also might drive to another dealer and ask them to check the noise you are hearing if there may be any remedy. one review i read said the noise was from the front and in this case, honda replaced both front struts, no more noise. yours may be something else but get it checked out and make sure you make a report to american honda, document all the details daily if possible.

Road Noise Source Identified
 

Many recent year Honda vehicles have ARD suspension, Amplitude Reactive Dampers (it is a strut/shock absorber). I just read multiple posts saying these suspension parts are noisy by design on Honda vehicles going back to 2016. Owners are saying they have contacted American Honda about the excessive road noise and bumpy ride. This indicates that American Honda is very aware that the suspension using ARD is noisy and bumpy. Yet they still make cars with it and fail to disclose the known defect to new owners or to owners bringing their car in for the service shop to fix it. Posts say owners have driven other new Hondas for comparison and they have the same road noise and bumpy ride problem.

I took my Pilot to the dealer this morning. I rode with a service tech and we both heard the loud noises as we went over uneven road (slightly uneven). Yet he said the car is fine, nothing is broken. I also drove two brand new Hondas this morning, drove them over the exact same road and both have the same awful noise and bumpy ride coming from the ARD suspension.

Google amplitude reactive damper noise and you will find multiple manufacturers are receiving complaints about vehicles with ARD suspension.

So in my opinion there is definitely a problem with the ARD suspension on Honda cars. Some cars may have better sound insulation and the noise level may vary.

It will only be a matter of time until the manufacturers stop using these noisy suspensions or improve them to get rid of the bumpy noisy ride. In the meantime the customers will suffer as usual.

In my opinion, any manufacturer or retailer that sells something with prior knowledge of a problem is misrepresenting the product. I'll bet there are engineers at one or more car manufacturers that are currently working on a solution.

Will they step up to the plate and fix the vehicles about which owners are requesting a solution??? Or will the general public spreading the facts on the Internet and an impact on their revenue get them to do the right thing. Time will tell. In the meantime, wear ear plugs and fasten your seatbelts.

thank you for the feed back, the wife was thinking of getting a pilot but from what you have mentioned, we'll skip this vehicle until its changed. i'm disappointed they have not come up with a fix for all the noise it makes. thanks again.