I read the CR report... it is simply statistics. A small sample size compared with a larger sample size tends to be a poor representation. The 2019 Passport is a "new model" despite it being built from existing platforms. The report says that statistically it takes 3-5 years for a brand to sort out complaints on a new model, and about 7 years before the model is considered reliable. So based on statistics, probability gives the Passport a score of 18. Without detail, it is likely since the Passport has only been available since Feb 2019 and the surveys had been done over the summer (If I recall correctly), there is a fairly small sample of data on the Passports. Add to the known probability of complaints and issues of a new model based on brand data, they find a score of 18.

Really without having a trend analysis, it is hard to make a solid judgment. I would put this in the "something to revisit" bin given I've already made the commitment to the Passport. Unfortunately, the consumer that does not grasp the statics may make an inaccurate judgment when considering a Passport and looking at this single bullet in the report.

Since my Passport was manufactured in October, likely late October because I had to wait for it to be delivered to the dealer and it didn't show until Nov. 15, the SN shows it to be 29783 off the assembly line, and the report covers 420,000 vehicles from 2000-2019, I'd guess the sample on the Passport is tiny, a handful at best.

Now, if the 2024 Passport would get this score, then that is really a stopper.

 

Because they are not getting "greased" by Honda anymore. CR is trash!

 

I haven’t looked at the new report but I agree it’s likely a small sample size. On the other hand, this vehicle has problems with the sensing package, the transmission, and infotainment issues. The start/stop system is a little wonky too. I’m 42 y/o and at 16 my first car was a Honda. As someone who trades vehicles every 1.5 a 2 years (add in an ex spouse that also had multiple Honda’s and 2 daughters I put both in used accords), I’ve had a lot of cars and they have mostly been Honda’s. I can say with absolute certainty this is the most unrefined and problematic vehicle I have ever owned. So, while I agree it’s likely a small sample, I’d say it’s an accurate one. To that end, outside the transmission, I think everything else can be resolved through software.

Edit: Just want to add that I don’t buy Honda’s just for reliability. I like their interiors, how they drive, and their residual values allow me to lease cheaply. So, I’m a little disappointed here but I still love Honda.

 

the most unrefined and problematic vehicle I have ever owned.

Wow... I had a 2017 Honda Ridgeline and I find my 2019 Passport to be equally refined and I've had zero problems since my purchase in March. Number 115 off the assembly line.

 

In comparison, can you post what the rating is for the Pilot? Basically the same running gear and interior components, just one less row of seats.

 

The report only shows the best and worst ratings.

 

Something happened between CR and Honda, back in 2004 or 05. I remember CR saying that Hondas were getting over priced, then in 2006, CR said that the Civic was not recommended.
The relationship got worse as the years when by. When the CR-v was a hot car, CR left it out of the magazine completely. They did the same with each of Honda's best sellers and this year, for the 2019 Passport, CR bashed it (in the same article that they said that they had not got to test it yet).
What's up Consumer Reports?

 

I can only speak for myself and say I have 13,000 trouble free miles on my 19 Passport Touring. I did replace the backup camera shortly after purchase, but it and everything else has been just fine since. As a brand, the article placed Honda at 12th, moving up 2 spots from the previous year. As comparison for vehicles made on the same platform, the Pilot scored a 51, Ridgeline a 48 and the Odyssey minivan a 22. Keeping it sort of in the family, Acura got blasted by the article.

Is there bias in the article? Maybe, maybe not. We could argue either way, but I can just say over the years that my family has owned numerous Hondas from SUVs to Sedans and everyone one of them was trouble free and easy to own and maintain. Right now sitting in the driveway is the 19 Passport, a 17 CR-V and an 05 Accord. No matter what CR says, I think I'll keep them.

 

Consumer Reports' February 2020 edition "Road Report" on page 61 shows our PP with a "much worse" Predicted Reliability rating in the Midsize SUV's (2-Row) category. Looks like they are still working from the early issue vehicles or they are not surveying the entire production fleet. Do we have to wait until we have a complete year's production to get a fair and accurate report? Or are they just reading those owners who reported problems? Just wondering. . . . . Ken in PA

 

Since 2006 CR has been anti-Honda/Acura. I think that it's because of the price vs the Domestics.
In the last 14 years, when Honda or Acura had a top selling vehicle, with no negatives, CR would just leave it out of their publication.
If you ask me about my 2006 Civic EX w/auto I'd tell you that I sold it in 2016 and it never went to any repair shop, but CR showed (shows) it as un-reliable.
The same is true for my 2008 Civic Si and 2007 Acura MDX.

I have been reading about a oil control ring issue on the 2010-2013 Acura MDX and fuel in the oil on the 2018-2019 1.5L Turbo Honda engines, but CR has been crying wolf, for so long that people just don't believe them like they once did.

CR says that "domestic" vehicles are better than ever. That's not saying much, when CR leaves them off of their mid term (5-8 year old) & long term (8-12 year old) recommended lists. CR has a "buy this old car" list, for cars 3-5 years, 5-8 years old, and 8-12 years old, but you only find Toyotas, Hondas, Madzas on the older lists.

Recently, CR rented a 2019 Honda Passport and made a short YouTube video, where there staff bragged that they would find lots wrong, when they got one for a full year. In a separate video, within the past couple of weeks, they rented the new 2020 Toyota Highlander, for a week, and made a short video bragging on how great it was going to be after they got one for a full year.

 

Since 2006 CR has been anti-Honda/Acura. I think that it's because of the price vs the Domestics.
In the last 14 years, when Honda or Acura had a top selling vehicle, with no negatives, CR would just leave it out of their publication.
If you ask me about my 2006 Civic EX w/auto I'd tell you that I sold it in 2016 and it never went to any repair shop, but CR showed (shows) it as un-reliable.
The same is true for my 2008 Civic Si and 2007 Acura MDX.

I have been reading about a oil control ring issue on the 2010-2013 Acura MDX and fuel in the oil on the 2018-2019 1.5L Turbo Honda engines, but CR has been crying wolf, for so long that people just don't believe them like they once did.

CR says that "domestic" vehicles are better than ever. That's not saying much, when CR leaves them off of their mid term (5-8 year old) & long term (8-12 year old) recommended lists. CR has a "buy this old car" list, for cars 3-5 years, 5-8 years old, and 8-12 years old, but you only find Toyotas, Hondas, Madzas on the older lists.

Recently, CR rented a 2019 Honda Passport and made a short YouTube video, where there staff bragged that they would find lots wrong, when they got one for a full year. In a separate video, within the past couple of weeks, they rented the new 2020 Toyota Highlander, for a week, and made a short video bragging on how great it was going to be after they got one for a full year.

I'm still driving my 2006 Civic EX, it has been one of the best cars I have ever owned.

 

Everyone seems to have an agenda. Their recommendation means as much to me as mine does to them.

 

Toyota does make a very good vehicle ya know. But anyhow, does it give any brief summary as to why it has such a low rating or it just gives the rating?

 

I'm sorry but CR is like the fake news networks, they have an agenda to push regardless of how blatant they appear.

 

Honda stopped "greasing" magazine publications years ago all all of sudden went from the most recommended to the least recommend,same with there motorcycles! CR has always been and always will be a trash of a rag and people usually take whatever they say with a grain of salt unless your a millennial, because they seem to think that if they read it online then it must be true!

Funny that every review/article I've read about the Passport so far has been positive.

 

I don’t really buy into CR having bias but not denying it doesn’t exist either. Honda has been hit with infotainment issues and the oil dilution issues the last few years. Personally, I think Honda has lost ground since the industry has gone to turbo/hybrid power and more technology centered infotainment systems inside the vehicle. Their claim to fame came form the NA 4-cylinders and for whatever reason, they just can’t seem to get the new technology right. They need to change up some of their management and engineering teams or I think they will only continue to fall.

 

My take on CR is that often their system of rating includes factors that mean nothing to me as a consumer. Such as the adaptive cruise control to them means a great deal of safety. To me it is a royal pain in the lower posterior. I NEVER use the ACC but CR thinks it should be mandatory on all vehicles.

 

Drummer, I've been subscribing to CR for years and always are interested in their car sections and reviews. I've noticed a growing trend in their evaluations of an increased weighting on safety which shifts the overall score that has marginalized other evaluation areas, which for the PP is surprising with all the digital and physical safety features the PP has.

 

Edmunds gives the 2019 Passport a 8.1/10 and consumer rating of 4.1/5.0

Kbb gives 4.6/5 and consumer rating of 4.4/5.0

It would seem CR is talking to a different group of people when doing their surveys.

 

It would seem CR is talking to a different group of people when doing their surveys.

Whenever I visit my in-laws in their Florida retirement community, I see a CR on every coffee table. A few years ago CR recommended Audi over Lexus. Soon the parking lot was filled with white and silver Q5's instead of RX350's.

Today CR recommends whichever vehicle has the most standard driver assist ("safety") features standard at the lowest trim level. Soon the Q5's should be replaced by RAV4's.

 

CR is using safety more and more. Head lighting quality is another reason PP didn't get great ratings. The lower models do not get the full LED headlamps and are downgraded. Even our Touring and Elite trims with full LED lamps only did average I believe... CR wasn't impressed. It's gotten to the point where they will only like it if we had self driving vehicles (read as: boring transportation appliances) shaped in a donut and foam filled were our only choices. CR is not an "Enthusiast" magazine car review publication and it shows.
Their podcasts, some on YouTube are some of the most boring... with the endless pontificating over the most tedious small things you have ever seen. It may put you to sleep if you suffer from insomnia. "the ride is too hard... I don't like sports cars"..." the ride is too soft, it's dangerous for emergency maneuvers"... I believe they too, hate on our Passports for the sloppy overly firm harsh yet marshmellowy uncontrolled ride??!? LOL

 

Correct - Consumer Reports primary concern is safety tech - a few months ago they did a write-up about it - basically any car that doesn't come with standard driver safety aids, like Honda sensing, immediately gets lower scores. For the most part they report on consumer feedback, and surveys which I can appreciate, but always make your own conclusions. Technology in cars is still relatively new, and a lot of car buyers are relatively old, so they're much slower to adapt. Why Toyota/Lexus will always be on top. none of the buttons ever change, or change location in the car. When they release those guesstimates of a car's reliability they should be more specific as to what they expect to fail. I know at least once a year they do a very comprehensive report on several makes/models/years and what issues plagues them. I doubt most will have drive-train issues with the passport, but I could see the electronics failing. I don't consider that part of a vehicle's reliability to get me from point a to point b, but as our generations continue to evolve with technology, the younger buyer is more concerned with the tech in the car, than what its primary purpose is

 

I agree and am making my own conclusions and I feel people are too pampered with most of these "safety" devises in a way that they (the vehicle owners) are making driving more dangerous every year that goes by! Here's an idea; Learn how to actually drive!
People don't want to "drive" a vehicle anymore... they want everything done for them including the steering, the parking and hitting the brakes. Now people use these so called safety features that CR LOVES and have made people in general, really poor drivers...
Rhetorical question: So all this better? Or would forcing everyone to a higher level of Drivers Training / accident avoidance be better?! I think we all know the answer and publications aren't helping anyone in reality.

 

CR has a Dodge in its best truck list. That's how believable CR has become.

 

Dodge has come a long way in recent years. Friend has one that is about to hit 300k of hard miles pulling a loaded cargo trailer, a big one, a majority of the time. Full-size trucks in general have become more luxurious and GMC and Dodge are the stand outs imo. Almost looked at the Ram over the passport but they get expensive quickly and just can’t swallow the low mpg.

 

When your brand's reputation was as horrible as Dodge once was, you don't have to improve much to be significantly better.

 

It is my understanding that Dodge no longer manufactures trucks (like for maybe 10 years now).
I believe the Ram name now belongs to Fiat, or maybe onto to itself.

Regardless I follow the Ford line, with the GM line as a close second.

 

Having worked in Auburn Hills for Chrysler, it's just a branding change. Same people working on the product as before... Dodge was to be a car / crossover brand... Ram was all the trucks. Again. Same everything except the brand and badging. Most still call it a "Dodge Ram".

 

Yeah, it’s just RAM now for the trucks. Takes time to change the memory. Anyway, they make a nice truck. Don’t see myself ever buying one but I pretty much check out all vehicles as just something I like to do.

 

I still call them Dodge Ram too.

 

Is Consumer reports a reliable resource? I just drove a new Honda Passport Touring and really liked it. But consumer reports is a fairly low reliability score. Over the years I have own 4 Honda’s (the most recent was a 2007 Accord which seemed to be bullet proof). I am use to having very reliable vehicles so the last thing I wanna do is end up with something that has to go in the shop on a regular basis. Thanks.

 

When I was shopping around, I had the CR buyers guide tucked under my arm when I went into every dealership. I found it a useful reference and complimented my buying experience. It seemed like the more senior/experienced sales rep had read the reviews and were ready for my questions while the younger reps were not as familiar. Funnily enough, my Honda rep touted the CR rating for the PP, but when I pulled out the guide to ask about reliability, he apparently had not read the review and couldn’t speak to the specifics .

In the buyers guide there is a complete description of the ratings and methods. From the CR website: “For reliability, we ask members to note any problems with their vehicles that occurred in the past 12 months. They are asked to identify problems that they considered serious (because of cost, failure, safety, or downtime).” CR goes on to state: “Models with (lower) scores are not necessarily unreliable, but they have a higher rate of problems than the average model.” In short, problems that require the dealer to see the vehicle in the first year will lower the Predicted Reliability for the vehicle.

Here's the thing though, the CR review and comments were spot on for my experience. My 2019 PP had a broken AC on delivery, was back for 2 recalls, and my center console drive mode button got stuck in downward position, all fixed under warranty (there was what I considered to be ‘significant downtime’ with the A/C fix). I had several issues with the vehicle in my first year of ownership. Is my transmission going to fall out? Probably not. Are you going to have minor annoyances with the vehicle that will see your vehicle in for service? Probably. Would I but another PP? Sure. Does it piss me off Honda can’t get this stuff right – it 100% does.

CR is only a reference, based on pooled data. Your experience may not correlate with the average or median owner experience. That said, there is no ‘big magazine’ conspiracy against Honda as someone was speculating above. The data merely suggests that PP owners will be back to the dealer for repairs more than other vehicles in the first 12-18 months of ownership. A new vehicle is big money, I think its prudent to be informed. A forum such as this one is a great reference but as others have noted it attracts polarizing viewpoints (love the PP or hate it). That’s where info from CR can be helpful and offer insight into a ‘typical’ ownership experience. Some people seem to get upset when data doesn’t serve to reinforce their own opinions or past choices. Sign of the times really.

(Also, the ride in my Elite Passport straight up sucks, I actually took it back to the dealer to have them check the suspension, I was sure it was missing parts. Wish I had taken a longer test drive, CR did note the mediocre ride quality…).



Doug, glad you liked the Passport! It's a Honda: powertrain, suspension, body (pretty much any part that moves) are going offer better than industry standard reliability. I think you'll find most complaints on this forum revolve around the technology on the vehicle: namely the infotainment system, automatic cruise control, hands free tailgate, etc. As noted in my above diatribe, I would read that Consumer Reports score to suggest that your Passport may be back to the dealer more often in the first few years of ownership than some other vehicles, probably for less serious issues related to the accessories rather than the powertrain. I personally wouldn't write off the CR rating completely as others above do, its just one more piece of info to factor into your decision making process. For our needs, the Passport was the best 2-row SUV we looked at and Honda reliability definitely factored into our choice.

I myself like('ish) our Passport, its especially amazing in the snow. But my wife and I both find the ride quality poor (overly firm yet boat-like at the same time, another user called it 'floaty'). Top notch transmission/AWD/drive train, pretty basic suspension setup. Some users on here have also complained about the ride quality and have noticed an improvement after swapping out the low-profile the tires. If I could do it again I would have the dealer swap those 20" low profiles tires off our Elite for 18" wheels at purchase. I have not made the change yet myself. As always, YMMV.

 

Consumer Reports started bashing Honda (in their magazine) in 2006.
Nowadays, Honda doesn't get any positive exposure, in CR.
When the Passport debuted in 2019, CR posted a youtube video bashing it, yet at the end of that same video, CR mentions that they had not tested or received a Passport.

My 2019 Passport has a recall for something with the infotainment. I am expecting to get a 2nd recall, for the fuel pump.
I've owned many Hondas/Acuras in the past and have never had to take any of them to a repair shop, so in my case...CR is correct, when awarding Honda a low score.

As far as reliability is concerned, Hondas are great as long as you don't compare their record to Toyota's.

 

Consumer Reports started bashing Honda (in their magazine) in 2006.
Nowadays, Honda doesn't get any positive exposure, in CR.
When the Passport debuted in 2019, CR posted a youtube video bashing it, yet at the end of that same video, CR mentions that they had not tested or received a Passport.

My 2019 Passport has a recall for something with the infotainment. I am expecting to get a 2nd recall, for the fuel pump.
I've owned many Hondas/Acuras in the past and have never had to take any of them to a repair shop, so in my case...CR is correct, when awarding Honda a low score.

As far a reliability is concerned, Hondas are great as long as you don't compare their record to Toyota's.

Thank you. Currently my wife drives a Toyota RAV4. Absolutely no problems. She wants something a little bigger. Pilot and Highlander are to big. Passport is perfect but cr reviews concerned me. Thanks again