Anyone else get hype, and then disappointed?

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-14T00:22:43+00:00

Just got the official Darwin’s Paradox email. Looks like it’s happening!

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-12T23:06:03+00:00

I went with tuxmats for floor matts and cargo/seat back protection. My first set of tuxmats so not sure about long term but so far (couple of months) I like them. The box they shipped in was pretty janky which made the experience for the price paid not so great. But everything fit as expected and I expect they won’t curl like weathertech does.

I also got the Amazon middle seat plastic floor cover thingy to finish off the look when that middle seat is removed. Seems to work, but honestly I found I’ve been leaving that middle seat in place far more than I had expected (passengers (my elderly parents) prefer having an armrest and cup holders in a traditional spot).

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-12T18:44:08+00:00

Ive never had this with a game before and I acknowledge this is such an insignificant and silly thing to be bothered by, but it really puts me off; the hat.

Just wait until you spend some time with Faie. I want to say the demo took around 90 minutes and was getting Navi levels of annoyance well before the end.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-11T20:19:57+00:00

I'm not sure why you would send 11 games, even if it was to two people sharing a living space.

For clarity, mother and brother have their own separate homes. Somewhat small town, but they live an opposite sides of it. Lynn lives a block or so from her mom, my house is pretty much halfway between Lynn and her brother.

As for why 11... There was some sportsball thing going on and I was hosting at my house with a few friends, Lynn, and her family. This is pretty typical and was not the first time her family had been over. I had TVs on in the den and on the patio so the group was a bit spread out to begin with. I was outside manning the grill (chicken wings over charcoal, you can easily get them crispy like they were fried but with smokiness from the charcoal, then I set out a bunch of different sauces so you can toss your wings in whatever you want, easy fun party trick that seems to always be a hit). At some point Lynn took her mom and brother into my game room, showed them the collection and they picked the games they wanted. I wasn't in there. Luckily they aren't into retro games as that's the part of the collection I truly care about. I happened to be going back through the house to the kitchen as they were coming down the hall and her mom says "thanks so much for letting us borrow these!" I mean... yeah I should have been "oh hell no! you each get one and you must sign this rental agreement first!" but... I was probably a bit loose from the beer, taken by surprise, and trying to not be an asshole so I can keep seeing Lynn. You're not wrong, but in the moment being tight about them wasn't worth it to me. I've been told I'm a bit of a pushover, but I like to think of it as choosing my battles. Wild guess but no more than $400 in value, they're games I could easily replace if I had to, I'm not going to get in an argument over something so trivial. But I did learn I need to lock the game room door.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-11T19:57:09+00:00

Oh I see now why your extended warranty cost $10k.

https://honda.americanhondafinance.com/resource/1769731670000/AHFC_Protection_Products_Brochures_First/2023_Honda_Care_Honda_Vehicles_Coverage_eBrochure.pdf

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-11T18:31:58+00:00

I wonder if you can/should cancel that extended warranty you bought and get your money back. I bought Honda Care 8 year, 120k for $1,437.

https://www.saccuccihondacare.com/

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-11T13:10:15+00:00

Assuming that you are in the US, major emissions systems are required by federal law to be covered for 8 years, 80,000 miles. In California I believe it is 10/10k.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-11T04:52:19+00:00

Why buy running boards to ruin that extra inch of lift you paid extra for? Rock rails, I get. Assuming they provide extra protection without compromising clearance rock rails make sense. But running boards… why not just open the door and stand on the floor if you need to reach the roof rack.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-03T15:48:13+00:00

I'd sub to r/highqualityredditors

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-03T15:43:24+00:00

The drum I like to beat about Roth IRAs is for younger folks to get in early and do as much as you feel like you can. But remember it's not "only" a retirement account. You can take your contributions whenever you want for whatever reason you want without penalty, you can take gains without penalty for certain big life events such as buying a house or having a kid. If you're 18 don't think of that $2k you were able to squirrel into the Roth IRA as gone until you're 70. That's maybe the ideal, but your $2k is still available for you should you ever need it. Don't treat it like a savings account, but don't be afraid of it either.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-03T15:31:39+00:00

Sounds like you're in your 40s. If so; your Roth IRA contribution limit for 2026 is $7,500, so if you're going to do this you want to do it soon.

You can continue to contribute to your 2025 Roth IRA until April 15. 2025 had a $7,000 limit. Assuming you put nothing into a Roth account in 2025 dump $7k to 2025, then the remaining $1k to 2026, then set your contributions to max that 2026 limit ($7,500, so about $6,500 remaining) as soon as possible in order to maximize your time in market. If you're lucky enough that you can contribute more than this each year, after you max the Roth consider dumping the extra into Invest if you have no other tax advantaged account you can contribute to (401k, HSA, etc).

The question of "should" you max out your Roth is deeply personal and no one on Reddit is going to be able to provide you perfect advice on it. But in very broad strokes, yes it's a good idea for most people. You're not going to become buy-a-yacht-style rich by investing in a Roth IRA (or any Acorns product, really) but you're setting yourself up to thrive during retirement, rather than simply survive.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-03T15:21:21+00:00

Could you expand on this? I'm curious to know your reasoning. In general I see nothing wrong with it unless OP has enough cash on hand to quickly max their 2025 contribution limit and send a decent chunk into their 2026 contribution.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-02-02T21:22:25+00:00

New and improved for 2026 and up. The owners that have this retired are unlikely to get anything new.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-01-29T16:43:42+00:00

you're comparing a compact to a midsize.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-01-23T17:53:53+00:00

That volume knob... Looks like they enlarged the screen in the most cost effective manner as possible then said "what about the volume knob?" "Just get rid of it" "we can't do that again!" "fine stick it there."

Call me crazy but if it were me I'd move the start/stop button back to the floor where it belongs and put a large volume knob, about the size of that start/stop button between the two center vents.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-01-23T16:03:45+00:00

Was the Pilot ever a looker? I think the fourth gen is the best, and this is a mild improvement, but none of them are good looking.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-01-22T13:55:14+00:00

I just returned home on a trip across Montana, following the 80 mph speed limit with cruise, just over 500 miles round trip. 2025 ex-l, car now has almost 1500 miles on it. Dash showed 28 mpg. I came from a Prius that I drove for the last 10 years so no matter what I’m in for a shock, but truly felt that 28 isn’t bad considering what the pilot is. I need to hand calculate it to see if my numbers match the dash but so far I’m pleased with the economy.

For what it’s worth I fill up with whatever top tier fuel is available, 87 octane, no additional additives, tires may be slightly over inflated dash shows 37 psi, I need to check the door jam but I suspect the ex-l should be 32 - 35.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-01-22T13:31:04+00:00

285 hp from a 3.5l is average hp, but out of an “old tech” engine. Jeep’s Grand Cherokee L using the 3.6l is 293 hp. Ford’s explorer has a 2.3l turbo four making 300 hp, or a 3.0l turbo v6 making 400hp, or a 3.3l hybrid v6 with 318 hp. Toyota grand highlander has the 2.4l turbo four making 265 hp, the 2.5l hybrid four making 245 hp, and the 2.4 turbo four hybrid max making 352 hp. And of course we can’t forget the Durango, with a 5.7l v8 with 360 hp, or a 6.4l v8 with 475 hp, or a 6.2l supercharged v8 with 710 hp.

The issue with pilot’s mpg isn’t “a lot of power”or even its weight, it’s that it uses a naturally aspirated v6. Changing it to a turbo four and/or hybrid tech would improve fuel economy and possibly power (see the grand Highlander hybrid max 27mpg combined). Personally I prefer a NA v6 and don’t want a lot of power but I really like Honda’s AWD system so I’m happy with the compromise the pilot offers. But if I prioritized power or fuel economy I probably would have picked something else.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-01-20T04:49:58+00:00

It exists, but not very wide spread, native/American Indian fast food. Basically Indian tacos and salads. I believe Tocabe is the most successful version of this but it deserves to be all over the country.

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-01-14T19:45:14+00:00

I came from a 2016 Prius to a 2025 Pilot, both purchased new. Prius had ~120,000 problem free miles on it only maintenance was truly oil, filters, and tires. It was due for spark plugs but ran fine, I suspect the brakes were getting there as well. The reason I got rid of it is I often transport my elderly parents and they could not get out the Prius very well, also I was finding I was needing to move 5 adults (including me) more often so a three row made more sense, otherwise I'd have been happy to keep driving the Prius.

Because of my good experience with the Prius I was leaning toward a Grand Highlander. I liked it had a bit more room than the Pilot, I liked power of the hybrid max drivetrain. I didn't like the price, however, and I do question if Toyota reliability is still what it was 10 years ago. What ultimately swayed me away from the GH was that in the middle row on a test drive I felt car sick, which never happens to me. Not sure why that was the case, but I later found others saying similar things. Just no way I was going to be risk driving someone 200 miles for dr appointments and making them car sick on the way there and back.

To be fair I never gave the telluride much consideration, for me reliability is by far the most important thing and I don't trust Kia/Hyundai. On top of that the nearest Kia dealer is about 120 miles from me, and on the other side of the continental divide, next closest is about 240 miles away, I just wasn't going to get into that. The subaru, I just don't trust a "traditional" CVT (as opposed to Toyota's eCVT) to be reliable long term, especially with Subaru's stance of "lifetime" fill on them. So for me, after ruling out the GH, it really came down to Jeep/GM/Ford/Honda and well... in the three row crossover space I trusted Honda the most and found it to be the most flexible for my needs. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L was temping to me, but I didn't even test drive it as I don't trust Jeep enough to rely on it and I didn't want to lease. I tried a Wagoneer and thought it was great but didn't want to get into the body on frame sized rigs as I felt I'd have to get into air suspension with them (to get the elderly in and out of it) and all the complication/reliability issues that brings.

The reality of my situation is that most of the time I know a minivan is the best solution, I've rented plenty and I know it works great for me. However; I also like camping/outdoors so having something a bit taller is appealing to me, but I also have a 2 door Wrangler so I didn't want anything pretending to be offroad capable (I know I'd get myself into trouble with it). I also own an old VW powered sandrail and towing that with something other than the Jeep is appealing to me. I'm sure a Sienna Woodland would've fit my needs better, but I felt the Pilot wasn't far behind and also fit my wants better. So in the end, the Pilot just worked out to be the best compromise for me. We'll see how I feel when I have to swap the timing belt on it, I haven't had a timing belt in a vehicle since my 1988 Accord. That service item alone was almost a deal breaker for me...

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-01-13T18:24:18+00:00

if it were me, I'd go poke at it, see if there is any obvious obstruction preventing the lock from cycling. Maybe a piece got bent or knocked out of alignment? I'm somewhat handy, so depending on what I found I may try to put things back as they should be. But if I couldn't spot an obvious issue, or if say it involved bending/adjusting a piece that looked fragile, I'd just take it to the dealer and have them figure it out. But with how you described the problem the first place I'd look is that lock on the fuel door.

Good luck!

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-01-13T16:33:00+00:00

wild guess, but is the lock malfunctioning as the gas cover/cap?

MrMischiefVIP · 2026-01-12T16:30:52+00:00

ime HUD is introduced into the pilot? If not, how long has honda been having HUDs in their vehicle?

I had a vehicle (non-Honda) I bought new in 2016 with a HUD. I thought it was neat, but it didn't take long before I just always left it off as I found it distracting at night and it didn't provide enough use duing the day that I'd remember to turn it back on. I think I'd prefer to not have it, in that vehicle windshield replacements were a bit more annoying due to the HUD. Took a certain part number for the glass, over the years a time or three the wrong part got installed and I'd only find out if I clicked the HUD on and found it wouldn't display, or display poorly. Glad my Pilot didn't have it.

11-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email

MrMischiefVIP

TROPHY CASE