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Associates at Honda Alabama Auto Plant (AAP) today started production* of an all-new 2023 Pilot and Pilot TrailSport. Honda has produced more than 2 million Pilots in the US since 2006. The new Pilot was designed at the Honda Design Studio in California; developed by engineers at the North American Automotive Development Center in Raymond, Ohio.
The largest Honda SUV ever, the Pilot is longer and wider than previously. It’s available in five trim levels: Sport, EX-L, Touring, Elite and TrailSport**. The mid-size, three-row SUV has a stronger and more capable platform that also provides more passenger and cargo space. With an optional opening panoramic sunroof, Pilot is the only vehicle in its class to combine 8-passenger seating and this roof type.
An all-new 3.5-liter V6 engine made exclusively at AAP is a dual overhead cam (DOHC) 3.5-liter V6 engine, rated at 285 horsepower and 262 lb.-ft. of torque. It is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission that is new to Pilot and built at the Honda Transmission Plant (TMP-GA) in Tallapoosa, Georgia.
Manufacturing the 2023 Honda Pilot
As the only global production source for the Honda Pilot, associates at AAP faced what Honda says are a number of significant challenges. With a new platform and engine, as well as major new systems and components, building the Pilot required the most manufacturing change points since the first-generation Pilot was introduced in 2003. New equipment and processes were required throughout the plant, including the engine, weld, injection, paint, assembly and final inspection areas.
Key Changes
- To manage the massive changes to Pilot, AAP established a new training program involving every associate, enabling them to learn the new production flow and master the new processes used to build Pilot and Pilot TrailSport.
- Based on Honda’s new light truck architecture, Pilot uses an extremely rigid platform that was engineered for TrailSport’s off-road capabilities, along with a longer wheelbase and wider tracks. To accommodate production of the wider frame of the new platform, AAP expanded welding operations.
- Pilot adopts the front-end module (FEM) common to most Honda vehicles, but a first for AAP. The FEM is a “no bulkhead” approach to assembly that enables associates to step into the front of the vehicle and install key components. The FEM is put together on a new, crescent-shaped sub-assembly process at AAP and then installed to the vehicle on the main assembly line after associates have completed various processes inside the engine room. The FEM results in a major improvement in ergonomics for associates, reducing the number of production processes, while reducing cycle times and promoting higher build quality, Honda said.
- AAP associates worked with the Ohio-based R&D team that developed Pilot and Pilot TrailSport based on Honda’s “One Floor” approach of heightened collaboration from the earliest stages of product creation. An example is Pilot’s new panoramic roof. The design change midway through the development timeline risked the need for a new process and additional associates for assembly. Working together, AAP associates and the R&D engineers eliminated the need for a new process, reducing investment and manpower requirements, while making Pilot easier for associates to produce. This should mean a better product for the customer.
- AAP associates began the application of acoustic spray foam for the first time on the Pilot production line to enhance cabin quietness and ride comfort. New robotic equipment in the paint department applies the spray foam to block off hollow body pillars to reduce the transmission of road noise into the passenger cabin. Other new work by AAP associates includes applying additional sound-deadening “melt sheets” in key areas of the floor, and installation of a new, thicker floor carpeting for additional sound deadening.
- The design of the new Pilot includes the longest and widest hood ever produced by AAP. In stamping, this required associates to rotate the orientation of the aluminum sheet by 90 degrees to fit it through the stamping press. In assembly, AAP engineers added two hood latches to ensure higher levels of hood rigidity.
- An important new feature for Pilot is said to be a first-in-class, removable second row middle seat that can be conveniently stowed underneath the rear cargo floor instead of left at home in the garage. AAP associates worked closely with development engineers to add this desirable feature without requiring major changes to vehicle floor. This resulted in a major cost reduction that avoided changes to the floor structure for different vehicle trims – thereby allowing adoption of the new removeable and stowable seat in the Touring an Elite models.
- The larger doors of the new Pilot required steel panels that were too big to fit in the blanking line of the stamping department. A secondary process is required to splice together two coils to make the door panel. Other Honda plants in North America outsource door panels when they are too big for the blanking line. AAP engineers modified the door carriers to handle the larger doors, achieving a significant cost reduction by insourcing this process.
Anna Engine Plant in Ohio is responsible for casting and machining of the new blocks and cylinder heads. Final assembly of the new V6 engine is handled by associates in the engine assembly facility of AAP. The engine also included multiple challenges in Honda’s view.
- The all-aluminum V6 has a unique block and low-profile cylinder heads with high-tumble ports and a narrow 35-degree valve angle for improved combustion. Due to the additional parts and processes required to build the new engine, the Alabama engine assembly department added associates to each production shift. New training processes developed by the engine department in Alabama “helped associates meet the challenge of building this all-new engine,” said Honda.
- The new V6 engine is the first major engine change in the 21-year history of AAP. So, as engine plant associates learned all of the change points in the assembly of the new engine, they had to maintain production of the original powerplant that will continue to power the Ridgeline, Passport and Odyssey models built at AAP. Solutions included a new sub-assembly process to balance manpower needs between the different engines, and use of color-coded emblems above workstations to identify critical processes to ensure each associate is on the right task.
*Honda Alabama Auto Plant in Lincoln
Employing 4500 associates, the facility’s annual production capacity is 680,000 Honda light trucks and V6 engines, using domestic and globally sourced parts. The site is the world’s exclusive production home of the popular Honda Pilot and Passport SUVs, including all TrailSport models, the Odyssey minivan, and the Ridgeline pickup. Honda’s Alabama associates have produced more than 5.7 million vehicles and more than 5.7 million V6 engines, with total capital investment of $3 billion at the 4.9 million-square-foot facility.
** The 2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport Honda claims, with ample justification in AutoInformed’s view, represents an important direction in Honda’s rugged light truck product lineup, resulting in a number of additional manufacturing challenges. “Engineered to get weekend adventurers even further off the beaten path, the Pilot TrailSport’s special off-road features include a raised off-road tuned suspension with an inch more ground clearance, all-terrain tires, thick steel skid plates protecting the engine and fuel tank and expanded all-wheel drive system capabilities,” Honda said.
Honda Alabama Begins Making Largest Pilot SUV Ever
Click for more information.
Associates at Honda Alabama Auto Plant (AAP) today started production* of an all-new 2023 Pilot and Pilot TrailSport. Honda has produced more than 2 million Pilots in the US since 2006. The new Pilot was designed at the Honda Design Studio in California; developed by engineers at the North American Automotive Development Center in Raymond, Ohio.
The largest Honda SUV ever, the Pilot is longer and wider than previously. It’s available in five trim levels: Sport, EX-L, Touring, Elite and TrailSport**. The mid-size, three-row SUV has a stronger and more capable platform that also provides more passenger and cargo space. With an optional opening panoramic sunroof, Pilot is the only vehicle in its class to combine 8-passenger seating and this roof type.
An all-new 3.5-liter V6 engine made exclusively at AAP is a dual overhead cam (DOHC) 3.5-liter V6 engine, rated at 285 horsepower and 262 lb.-ft. of torque. It is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission that is new to Pilot and built at the Honda Transmission Plant (TMP-GA) in Tallapoosa, Georgia.
Manufacturing the 2023 Honda Pilot
As the only global production source for the Honda Pilot, associates at AAP faced what Honda says are a number of significant challenges. With a new platform and engine, as well as major new systems and components, building the Pilot required the most manufacturing change points since the first-generation Pilot was introduced in 2003. New equipment and processes were required throughout the plant, including the engine, weld, injection, paint, assembly and final inspection areas.
Key Changes
Anna Engine Plant in Ohio is responsible for casting and machining of the new blocks and cylinder heads. Final assembly of the new V6 engine is handled by associates in the engine assembly facility of AAP. The engine also included multiple challenges in Honda’s view.
*Honda Alabama Auto Plant in Lincoln
Employing 4500 associates, the facility’s annual production capacity is 680,000 Honda light trucks and V6 engines, using domestic and globally sourced parts. The site is the world’s exclusive production home of the popular Honda Pilot and Passport SUVs, including all TrailSport models, the Odyssey minivan, and the Ridgeline pickup. Honda’s Alabama associates have produced more than 5.7 million vehicles and more than 5.7 million V6 engines, with total capital investment of $3 billion at the 4.9 million-square-foot facility.
** The 2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport Honda claims, with ample justification in AutoInformed’s view, represents an important direction in Honda’s rugged light truck product lineup, resulting in a number of additional manufacturing challenges. “Engineered to get weekend adventurers even further off the beaten path, the Pilot TrailSport’s special off-road features include a raised off-road tuned suspension with an inch more ground clearance, all-terrain tires, thick steel skid plates protecting the engine and fuel tank and expanded all-wheel drive system capabilities,” Honda said.