Need a confidence boost

Our Passport is the 4th new Honda we've owned in the past 17 years. 2 Odyssey's, a Pilot, & now our '21 Storm Trooper. With well over 300K put on these 4 combined vehicles, the only issue we've had besides a couple of batteries (which were replaced under warranty) and 3 or 4 recalls, was the transmission in our '16 Pilot Touring. It was one of the early built models with the new ZF 9 speed tranny, and developed the dreaded chirp which the forums were all fired up about. We spoke to our dealer's service foreman about it, and after they checked it out & spoke with Honda Corp, it was replaced at 35K miles. I can only remember a couple of positive posts at the time that I had seen on the Piloteers forum about the issue. Most were very negative & a few were on the verge of being hateful. I was ecstatic over the reality of having a new transmission and all fluids replaced including antifreeze, all at no cost to us. I did find out when we purchased our Passport, that our Pilot was the only one that they had to change the transmission, so perhaps it wasn't the widespread problem that the internet was enraged about.

Are Hondas perfect? Absolutely not. There are a few peculiarities that we've had in all of ours that make me shake my head & think "Why Honda? You build some of the finest products in the world. Why can't you get this right when so many others do?" But then I think of the quality, reliability, and value of the Hondas we've owned & it puts a smile on my face. Well done, Honda. Well done...

In my opinion you made a good choice, it's a solid SUV at the price. I will still voice a complaint here and there when something can be done better relative to the competition. Honda is in competition with other manufacturers, they want and need to know when there's an issue otherwise they can't improve their processes. It should be all about continuous improvement with each iteration of a vehicle, Toyota taught the world that with 'The Toyota Way' which now stretches its tentacles well beyond car manufacturing. A customer feedback loop can't happen in a vacuum or with a chorus of fanboys. With that being said there are agents who pop up on some forums from time to time who are likely paid to knock brands. It is the internet after all. I would say this about my Honda whether this Passport turns out to be excellent or a bit disappointing it's all about public perception and Honda has built a very good reputation for quality and value retention. I'm beginning to wonder how much of that is still carryover from late 80's to 90's but worst-case scenario if it turns out to not meet your standards you'll surely be able to trade in at a very solid number. So far I'm enjoying mine and bought an extended warranty. I have no plans to trade it in early.

I will start by admitting that I am a Honda Homer. I love Honda, I've owned them for most of my driving life if you include my mom letting me drive her '79 Accord sedan when I was 16, and a short stint in my twenties when I drove a Chevy S-10 and a Jeep pickup. By far, they were both a big ole POS and just didn't have the same level of quality that I've seen in Honda.

You made a great choice, in my opinion, the PP is well built, decent safety features including high marks on the
NHTSA Overall Rating with 5 out of 5 stars. Like the others that have posted, some people just like to complain about the little things, some legit and others maybe not. Heck, some people just have bad days and take out their frustrations on the internet!

FWIW I traded in my 2017 Accord Hybrid that got 48 MPG for the 2023 Elite that so far is getting 20 MPG on average. The PP is fun to drive, very nimble for a mid-size SUV and the powertrain is impressive. I loved my Accord Hybrid but every day that goes by, I love the PP more.

Honda Homer OUT!

This type of post regularly pops up on all car forums but I think it might be helpful if everyone realizes that the majority of people join forums to look for solutions to issues they are having with the vehicle that headlines the forum, if you don't want to take a trip to the dealer for what may turn out to be a harmless quirk, a collection of other owners of same vehicle is the easiest place to ask why your car does XYZ and if you should be concerned about it. Minor groups of people join forums (1.) to learn about the vehicle, or (2.) to be a step ahead of any issue that might pop up in the vehicle or (3.) showcase their vehicles and (4.) vent their ire at the manufacturer.
This makes it practically impossible to find the larger majority of members of car forums being positive about their cars, they came to find solutions or share their solution experience not sing love songs. When one understands this one can begin to appreciate why forum posts always seem largely negative.

IMO a car forum is actually useless if problems, experiences and solutions are not being shared, after a while the next picture of the newly acquired car begins to look humdrum if you have the same car sitting on your own driveway.