By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
I had never used 2 or 1 before, so when it happened I was perplexed and did not have time to figure it out. I was driving and reached for the radio at the exact time I hit a bump and my hand hit the shift and put it into 2. I tried to pull the shifter towards me (like from D-P), but couldn't do it and pulled over for 20 minutes before I did the key thing. Seems simple now...
Maybe some of the experts could verify it or eplain it better but it seems to work fine. The owners manual does not say this I don't think.
Is this the first time you shifted to 2? What tiped me off is it was going from 2-1 and 1-2 easily, just couldn't get it to D and I could get it INTO 2 easily just not out of it.
First problem was the clicking breaks. Brought it to dealer and they said they needed oiling???
Second problem and I really would like an answer to this one - my husband changed oil at only 5,600 miles instead of the recommended 10,000. Will that hurt the SUV.
And lastly, living in Chicago, we had a good snowstorm last week. I decided to try out the ABS brakes. Driving about 25-30 miles an hour on deserted, snow-covered street, applied brakes. I did not pump the brakes. There was loud, and I mean table pounding thumps, coming from maybe the front of the vehicle. And my foot that applied the brake felt those thumps. I know you are supposed to feel something, but the noise was loud. Is this a problem? Thanks for all your help.
2)I stay with 10,000 mile service interval, but change my oil every 5000. You can't hurt it by changing more often, though I'm not positive its necessary. (I still do it, though).
3)I think the normal ABS action on CRVs is pretty violent.. It is different from some other cars. However, I think its normal for the CRV and the system is working properly.
regards,
kyfdx
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
There are two ways that you can get that electric/static jolt:
1. Sitting on your seat you 'rub' your pants against your seat (say seat is synthetic and pants made of wool) and when you got out, on a dry day, you got a jolt.
2. Car is getting charged by ambient electric aerosols, dust, etc. while you drive it (you scoop the charge). If air is dry this charge would not go to the ground quickly, and when you got out you got a jolt.
regards,
kyfdx
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
These are the people who grab the lever and try to manhandle it into the gear they want.
There is a gate that requires somewhat of a gentle touch. It's not difficult at all for the majority of people but some folks just seem to fight it.
Maybe Honda could look at a redesign in the future.
"This has happened to my wife several times (she shifts down for driving in snow), and she has really been scared."
If she's doing what I think she is doing, tell her to stop.
When driving in slippery conditions, you want to use as little power as possible. Downshifting will rev the engine higher and put more torque to the wheels. With more torque, there is a greater change of breaking traction during acceleration.
She should do the opposite during snowy weather. With a manual you should find the highest gear that will keep you moving forward. With an automatic, leave it in overdrive.
Still, there are a few people who grab it like a baseball bat.
This was one of the few things I didn't like in an otherwise outstanding minivan.
Still, if it's a problem for 5% of the owners, it seems they could make a change.
My husband hit the bottom of the door with my cute red CRV.
Now, the rear washer spray head is broken.
I don't see the tube ... just a hole there now.
Is there anyway to change the rear washer spray head easily?
Or we have to bring the car to dealer to fix?
I cannot find the part on web.
I guess I have to go to the dealer to get the part.
Bridgestone tires didn't cause the vibration in my case. But they're loud and have uncomfortable ride. I tried the following tires:
1. Yokohama Avid Touriong - very quiet ride & good control
2. BF Goodrich Precept Touring - very quiet ride & average control
3. Michelin Destiny - quiet ride & very good control
They are all much better than the Bridgstone tires. I chose Michelin's because I like the "control" feel of them.
I replaced the bridgestone's with yokohama avid t4's when they wore out at 30k, and have been very impressed.
Still, if you would like to get the miles out of your current tires, you probably can by spending $30 or so and having a tire shop dynamically balance the tires for you, worst case.
good luck
Tires have gotten much better. Quality control may have slipped though.
Jimbo
There is a concept in theory and practice called "engine breaking".
Downshifthing is a safe practice on snow covered roads IF YOU FOLLOW THE RULES.
What is your worst move on snow? Applying brakes...
Downshifthing keeps the car under certain speed (UNLESS you push the gas pedal excessively) and eliminates brake usage.
My rule is remove your feet from gas pedal, down shift, wait for rpm to settle down to reasonable level and start applyin gas again slowly to keep the car moving.
I believe it is a safe practise, I have been doing it for a long time.
Please get together and get Honda to recall all 2003 CRVs before someone get killed by this engine fire or seriously hurt!!! I got to say that lucky we all got out alive.
The fact that all of these incidents apparently happened after an oil change is indicative of poor dealer oil change procedures, rather than a product defect.
There is a big difference. For example, if some stupid mechanic leaves the fuel line poorly attached and it comes loose (causing a fire and loss of the vehicle), it is certainly something for which the mechanic is responsible; and they should pay. But that is not the fault of the Honda motor company.
Recalls are for design or production defects. Of course you may have evidence you can't reveal here, but keep in mind the first principle of statistics: coincidence is not causality. That is, just because two things happen close together does not mean that the first caused the second. Or, in this case, just because there have been 3 vehicle fires doesn't mean that the product is defective. There have also been tens of thousands of vehicles driven every day, without fires.
I'm all for Honda delving into these cases to verify that it is not a design/production issue (I drive my kids in my CR-V everyday). But the long odds are that it is not the vehicle design causing the fires. Honda has to look for similarities in the cases. No doubt the NHTSB is also searching for common factors. I assume you registered your case on their website?
The new filter gets screwed on top of the old gasket creating a double gasket.
After driving it for awhile, the gasket blows causing the oil to gush onto a hot manifold causing a fire.
This by the way, can happen on ANY make or model in exactly the same fashion.
Thanks in advance for any info you may be willing to share with me.
Do you think oil, spilled on a hot manifold, would be ignited?
If you have double gasket on burned car, do you think it can be found upon examination?
It's strange, that "THE Experts" were not able to find the cause of these mysterious fires.
I became suspicious, smth was hunky-punky here.
Varmint was right - fire victims should hire independent investigators.
Usually the cause of a car fire is a gas leak or electric short.
Had anybody heard of a fire from oil (on other cars)?
And what is Honda thinking? Are they waiting for
multi-million lawsuit, when somebody will be burned alive?
Interesting, some new Accords have the same engine and .. no fires.
multi-million lawsuit, when somebody will be burned alive?"
Honda is thinking that if the dealer mechanic forgets to remove the old seal (which is part of the standard maintenance oil change procedure), then the problem is not with Honda but with the individual dealer. Honda won't pay a dime in any lawsuit (if this is indeed the circumstance).
The point is that if the oil change is done properly, no damage will result. You could just as well say that Honda would be responsible if the mechanic left bolts off of the steering column and the steering failed on the street somewhere.
Why is this not happening to other Honda's with the 2.4L engine? The Accord and Element use a slightly different tuning, but they are very, very similar.
Snowman - Engine braking is a good way to prevent yourself from going too fast. Shifting to a lower gear at the crest of a hill can help prevent the vehicle from getting away from you while driving down the other side.
But as far as slowing the car goes, I don't recommend it. It is much easier to modulate the brake pedal than achieve a smooth downshift. Especially with an automatic. Furthermore, engine braking only brakes the front wheels (unless you're already sliding). While brakes will apply resistance to all four wheels.
JM2C
The comment about the special break-in oil is interesting and may deserve further investigation.
Of course they could have put the hot stuff other places (and may consider that in the next redesign), but the fact of the matter is the CR-V is not prone to fires when properly maintained. The big question in this thread has been - is there a recall due to fires? From the current info, it doesn't appear to be the case.
I think you all need to rethink your definition of "Defect" Someone posted on the other site that Honda changed oil filters recently and many vehicles use the same filter. If the new filters are more prone to leaving a gasket, that is a defect (it is a Honda designed filter). Also, if the tolerances of a bad oil change are so great that a poorly installed filter causes a fire to blow up a car, that is a design defect. As I recall in the old pinto, there was not a defect per se, but something that stuck out that pierced the gas tank in a collision. Without a collision, there was no fire, as I recall. That was a design defect. The engineers should not be so stupid to not see this.
Still can't explain the first o/c. Still cannot explain why it is only 03's EXs. Still cannot explain why, if so many cars use the same filter, the gasket problem is not manifesting itself there. There is a design flaw on the 03's that would do this - something that apparently not only does not eexist on another Hondas, but also not on the 02 CRVs.
This many oil changes done at dealers (why none done at Jiffy Lube- wonder if their filter doesn't lose a gasket...ummmmmm) with this many problems is a defect in some capacity. Actually it is worse than a defect. Whereas before, we could rest knowing the defect might only be on a small amount of cars, if it is true that it is an o/c problem ANY of us could have a fire at any time, theoretically. I love how someone said it won't happen to a properly maintained car. I did properly maintain mine - took it to the Honda trained technician at the dealer. What is properly maintained? Do I have to do it all myself to make sure it is properly maintained?
Frankly, that is worse. Something was done between the design of an 02 and 03 to cause a problem. Honda should find out why, that's all. There has to be a reason why this is happening all of a sudden.
Honda cannot escape culpability (and liability) if a Honda trained technician is installing Honda parts, especially where the problem could be solved if Honda designed afilter wherethe gasket does not come off.
I think the suspect here is rather that two seals ended up on the car because the mechanic forgot to ensure the old one came off with the old filter.
Proper maintenance is not WHERE it is done (the dealer or Jiffy or wherever), but HOW it is done.
RE: Reason it is happening now. I beg to diagree. Remember - coincidence is not causality. Just because three fires happened recently does not mean anything more than three fires happened recently. It could mean something, of course, but if you want to make assumptions, why not assume the cause was double filter gaskets installed by incompetent mechanics? I don't know that any explanation yet presented is right; maybe there is some defect in the car.
Vehicles are not designed for oil to be leaking from anywhere in the engine, gasket or otherwise. Perhaps Honda will move the oil filter location in the next Gen, perhaps not. However, it is only a vehicle defect if the car is prone to catching fire even when correctly maintained. This is different from the Pinto - no matter what you did, if you got hit from the rear it was a dicey proposition. And there was nothing that could be done by the owner.
In any case, you can bet I'll be watching for more reports of engine fires. I do wonder if the recent change in filters may be a factor...
This was our first oil change with about 2500 miles on the engine. Is anyone hesitant to get another one of these? We are feeling a bit shy about getting a replacement after reading these identical accounts. I am also 8 months pregnant and not liking the idea of taking the chance again.
Just curious.