This car is very poor on ice, could the problem be the 4WD kicking in & out to the rear wheels. (this has a feature where the 4wd is activated only when the front wheels spin more than the rear) 30k, OEM GY Integrity tires.
Studded snow tires if legal in your state. Check Consumer Reports for all season tire ice ratings when they review tires. I place a high value on that testing rating, because I don’t want to purchase separate snow tires or studded ones.
Not clear if you have AWD or 4WD with or without traction control. You may need to adjust your driving technique to the exact set up you have. Keep in mind that very little works on slick ice other than studs and chains.
My Trailblazer has the same feature and I mentioned in another thread how this can cause problems when traveling on slippery roads at higher speeds. It’s a great feature for getting going without having to mess with enabling/disabling 4 wheel mode but I’ve found that the driveline shock encountered when it switches on/off can make it unstable under certain conditions.
Tires are the great equalizer. Nothing can beat a great set of tires designed for particular conditions. If you had better snow/ice tires, you might not need the advantage of 4 wheel mode. Just my 2c.
You need a good set of 4 winter tires. I highly recommend the Michelin X-Ice tire.
I assume your Pilot has all season tires on it. That’s a problem. Lots of different winter tires (snow/ice/studless) are available. I’ve had good luck with Bridgestone Blizzack WS-15s and now have a set of WS-60s on my 1992 and 1998 Accords. I had studded tires about 35 years ago and think that they are a backwards step from the modern winter tires.
Don’t know much about how the all wheel drive works on the CRV or Pilot. I can understand how it would be unsettling to have the rear axle engage and disengage at random.
Even with top rated winter tires you’ll get wheel spin and slippage on slippery pavement. The tires are not magic. They just provide more traction than all season tires. On ice you need all the help you can get.
Your tires are the major reason likely. True winter tires give you a significant advantage on ice/snow. Snow tires/studs work well too if you can stand the noise. That being all said there are all-seasons that perform decently well on ice/snow.
Also Honda’s AWD system is not the greatest for traction which is not helping. However for MPG its better than true full time AWD(Audi/Subaru/Jeep).
I also think it’s the tires. My 98 Pathfinder came with this lousy set of Bridgestone tires. They were worthless in snow and ice. I went through one winter with them…They didn’t last long either…less then 35k miles.
I will add that you apparently need a set (of four) winter (not all season) tyres. NOte: Winter tyres are not the old snow tyres. They are a new much better technology.
The 4WD could also be part of the problem. 4WD on ice can make driving more difficult than having 2WD. I don’t know the Honda, but I suggest reading the owner’s manual for the best way of using any available settings based on weather conditions.
Thanks for all the info, seems like tires is the way to go.
We live on a very icy road and our neighbor has a Pilot that has excellent traction…but then he has winter tires. Go for it. Awd is no better than 2wd W/O good tires. Ice is great equalizer…winter tires with softer compound will do the trick…
PS…you have auto full time awd that CANNOT be disengaged…it comes on automatically when the front tires slip…it does have a locking feature that is helpful in heavey going…a great vehicle that will reach it’s potential with good winter tires that have a good ice rating.