2001 - 2006 Honda CR-Vs

theracoon

Yeah, picked up my CR-V on Tuesday morning. It's been raining so I haven't had a chance to take pictures. Everything looks great, except they didn't replace the OEM door edge protector and it doesn't fit correctly anymore. The new one is on order but they didn't tell me how much it would cost me (although I heard the body shop guy tell his parts man "price doesn't matter"). When they call to tell me it's in I'll ask, then point out a complete set is less than $40 through the internet and to replace the one that needs replacing will take less than 5 minutes of work. ;-D

Comparison pictures will probably have to wait until after New Years, as I'm off to a week in the Caribbean on Friday!

theracoon

I bought my '99 CR-V while living in Indianapolis, where the lowest temp I saw was -27 F. For the few weeks at the end of January and beginning of February it usually doesn't get above Freezing, and often drops into single digits for days at a time. Not quite as bad as Minneaplois, but still mighty cold.

I live in Western NY now, and while the temps don't seem to get as low we get a heck of a lot more snow. 6" of snow in Indy causes a panic and a foot of new snow would shut the city down. The second day I lived in NY we got 3' of snow...within 4 hours even the smaller roads were clear enough to navigate.

ateixeira

PB&J, LOL!

Spy: where are you movin' to?

-juice

Spyponder

I'll be moving back to the Boston area sometime in '02 to be closer to family and friends. This nice weather in the Bay area is making me soft after three years.

Just paid-off the lease yesterday on my '99 CR-V, so I'm finally an owner! Hey Varmit, any tips on what mods I should make to it? After 36K miles its looking like some new tyres are in order. And I'm thinking that switching the "Type-S" badge from my CL to the CR-V will give it an extra 120 HP (give or take) ;-)

buzzlight

I test drove the new CR-V today. Everything was impressive but the seats. They were the most uncomfortable seats i have ever felt. Do they soften up and/or conform to your body or do they continue to feel like rocks?

diploid

They'll soften up, eventually. I say give it at least 7 years.

My biggest complaint with most Honda cars is that their seats are *TOO* soft! And that they don't provide enough back support.

marphill2

Was recently offered a 2002 CRV LX 2WD 4DR AUTO for $500 over invoice with NO dealer add-ons. Seemed like a good deal. Any comments?

Marphill

rockycow

My brother-in-law ordered a CRV from Mr. Page it will be silver since he couldn't handle the tan interior.
rockycow

justinr1

I will be picking up an 02 CRV 4WD EX on
Friday. I was told that a silver is also available. My deposit is for the blue one. I like them both. Any suggestions on the PROS and CONS of either. Thanks. BTW, it is at list price of $22,740 here in Chicago.

canadiancl

If you don't like washing cars, then go with silver. Silver hides dirt like you wouldn't believe. Also, blue tend to look purple under certain light conditions. Purple = YUCK!

varmit

Marphill - Just don't get burned on the financing.

Spy - Gotta get a set of these.

ateixeira

Spy: a Type-R badge adds even more power! Yellow stickers help a lot, too, plus a coffee can exhaust tip. ;-)

Silver pro: never looks dirty. Con: the cladding around the grille stands out. Blue pro: best looking color and masks the grille. Con: dark colors are hard to keep looking clean.

vamit: at least tell me those serve some function, like de-icing the windshield washer fluid!

-juice

mam9

Signed on the dotted line (many times) for a Chianti Red LX. Wanted white but they are not to be found. Got it for $19M even with keyless entry and protection package. They wouldn't throw in the cargo cover.

Do I need the Ximoniz/Teflon stuff they're pushing? (The car is somehwere in transit--I have to decide before taking possession.) Been lurking here for months and got some great tips and advice. Help me with this one!

P.S. They won't do just the outside--it has to be all or nothing for $300. Sigh.

ateixeira

Sounds to me like a very expensive wax job.

-juice

theracoon

JM2C

theking

I would not do any further rustproofing! I think if you check the warranty booklet it tells you that further rustproofing could void the factory warranty Honda gives! Can you say Rusty Jones???

rictom

this might help...\i have an lx odyssey-- with steel rims/tires i had vibration. alloy rims fixed it
gotta go

varmit

Juice - They serve several functions.

1. 5-10 extra hp.
2. Yet another lighted switch on the dashboard to play with.
3. They remind my wife that I am still very much a boy at heart who would rather play with lighted dash switches than help her with putting grout in the kitchen tile.
4. They make the highways a safer place. Those punk kids with the grapefruit shooters poking out from the back of their Civics slow down and wonder, "what on earth is that?"
5. The mothership has an easier time finding me when it's time to go home.

What more could you want?

dudka

we have those all in one carwashes as well. the are a few castrol ones where you get you oil changed, carpets vacuumed, the car body and the underside washed. the trick to save money is to go there after 7 pm, or at least in the bronx, then they only charge you $5 instead of $10. cheaper than coin operated wash. by the way they are open 24 hours a day. very convinient for saturday night cruising, lol

varmit

Oh, and you were right about the scooters being in the doors of the Unibox. I mistook the generator that is also in there (to recharge the scooters) for a power supply for the car. Silly me.

Skip the clearcoat.

carguy62

Dealer that last week advertised 19500 for LX 4WD is now down to 18800. For the poster who is paying list for his EX, I think you can do better.

ateixeira

I especially like the extremely functional benefit #4.

Speaking of scooters, some of you know I've owned several, including a 1984 Honda Elite 125. Well, for old times' sake I was browsing the Honda motorcycle site, and saw this Reflex scooter.

I gotta say, that thing is gorgeous! Look at it for what it is, and consider its price range, and I can honestly say that it is the most attractive Honda product, ever, in any line of products they make. No kidding.

Follow the link, then click on the photo at the beach. That thing looks like a MacLaren F1 with two wheels! Check out the body effects, the cross drilled disc brakes and multi-piston calipers. It even offers ABS!

Honda ought to put whoever styled that in charge of auto design, to put a little edge into its cars. What do you think?

-juice

ateixeira

PS Notice also the 5 spoke alloys, clear lens head lights, front air scoop, and rear air intakes. It's even mid-engined and has a CVT!

varmit

Hmmm... Chicago used to be one of the toughest places to get a good deal (for the original CR-V). If they are droppping prices, then the rest of the dealers should start coming down soon.

Dunno Juice. Looks pretty sci-fi to me. Stylish, but I wonder if cladding that pointy might cause an injury!

ateixeira

Look at Honda's entire line of bikes, scooters, and 4 wheelers. Notice how everything functional is styled, and everything stylish serves a function. It's the exact opposite of the Pontiac Aztec, which has lots of useless add-ons just for (ugly) looks.

For example, the air intakes are for the mid engine. The lights, windshields, fenders, fairings are both stylish and functional. The exhausts are prominent - notice the photos are always on the side of the exhaust? The wheels, even the tires are styled. The brakes are exposed, even the seats complete the package.

In their 4 wheelers, notice the exposed, functional skid plates. The luggage racks even match the color of the body of each model.

I could imagine some of these cues adapted to their line of cars. Imagine a CR-V with an exposed, functional skid plate, instead of plastic cladding around the grille.

That pointy nose is also functional - to keep those pesky J-walkers from getting in the way! ;-)

-juice

tmanmiata

Cool! Just wondering how fast can it go?
I guess we are stuck with more conservative styling until Honda decides to use more stylish design on their car lines.

ateixeira

They'll go highway speeds, probably 60-65 or so, at least the Helix (the older model) did.

My Aero 125 could go about 50 mph or so, but it was air cooled and could not sustain that speed for long. That's actually how it began to give me problems. The Elite 80 is still air cooled, for example.

The 250 models are liquid cooled and can sustain high speeds easily. They even have a 600cc scooter which is probably better for 2 people or for long distance travel.

-juice

diploid

You ain't gonna see them turning out any stylish/controversial designs any time soon.

kelrhys

Well I kept thinking it was too good to be true, but I picked up my brand new blue 2002 CRV EX this morning! I didn't get any options, extended warranty, or sealants, etc. The financing guy wasn't overly pushy on extras -- the opposite experience that I had with Saturn previously. As I posted before, I paid $500 over invoice so I am very happy with the price! While we were waiting in the showroom I overheard a group of 4 salesmen scoffing among themselves at some woman who had called wanting to know if she could buy a CRV for $400 over invoice. They really seemed to think it was a crazy idea. Apparently it is if you go through the sales people instead of the Internet department!

I really love the deep blue color -- I really don't see any purple in it at all. I am planning to add a roof rack, cargo mat, and cargo net. Possibly a hard spare tire cover too at some point.

Since I travelled 80 miles to buy the CRV and it was pouring rain I got a nice feel for it and it handles very well. No complaints at all. I did notice the windshield wiper vibration in the brake when the wipers are on the fastest speed (whoa that is weird) but it's not a big deal. I am 100% happy with it, inside and out!

I would post pictures (we took the digital camera with us!) but I don't know how, and plus I can't figure out how to make them small enough to reasonably put up here!

Rebecca

varmit

Rebecca - First... congrats! Now get yourself to the next CR-V meet. There are quite a few CR-Vers in the California area. Their last trip was to Pismo Beach for some driving in the sand.

Posting pics is easy. Step one is getting the pics on-line. There are quite a few places that offer free picture hosting. I use Webshots for mine. Then all you have to do is link to them. You can either post the URL, or create an image tag. If posting with an image tag, you can adjust the height and width as part of the tag. For example, here is a pic shrunken to fit:

We can walk you through that once you have something to post.

spike78

Finally decide on Silver EX. Price: $22,640.
Four dealers, this is the only dealer that willing to give me less (it's 100 dollar! ). Delivery time will be Jan 2002.

atuzai

Went to Sam's club tonite and saw a remote starter for under $50, which also can be used as keyless entry. Anyone has experience with it? I had ordered a keyless entry from H and A. I am wonder why this one so cheap and has more function, remote starter. Should I go with this one instead of Honda's one?

BTW, my first two tanks gas milage is 28.7 and 27.3(LX 2wd), first tank is 70/30 highway/local mix, second is 60/40 mix. Both did not use cruse control because of break in peroid.

diploid

A relative of mine just installed a remote car starter on his car, as well. It seems to work fine. He said it didn't void his car's warranty, and the system automatically shuts off if anyone tries to shift it out of park without the keys in the ignition (i.e. doubles up as car immobilizer).

kelrhys

Here are some pictures of my new CRV:

kelrhys

I didn't know we could embed html in these postings

Rebecca

canadiancl

Who's that breaking in at the back?

stever

Nice color too.

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

jquant

I want to know how people are putting remote start on their CRVs. Is that Bulldog remote start from Sam's Club any good for $50? Should I just order the keyless entry and alarm from Hparts.com for my LX?

Rebecca: Congratulations on your new CRV. It looks just like mine, but I like yours better. I posted mine in the gallery forum. Nice shoes too.

apatia

This week was busy for me. I test drove the new CR-V, a 5 speed (4 cyl) and a 6 cylinder Vue and the Nissan Altima.

My initial impressions:
Altima - Zzzzzzz... Nice engine (240 hp!), the seats were (too?) plush, so-so mileage for a sedan, little road noise, but the car didn't scream "You want me, you will own me".
CR-V - I test drove it yesterday... and I have no clue what color it was. I take that as a bad sign. There was some body roll on curvy roads, no digital temp/compass, a really dark rear view mirror, but decent overall.
Vue - the six was smooth, no lag, dark rearview mirror again, the 5-speed was decent for such a heavy vehicle, peppy 4 cylinder, obnoxious shift "assist" indicator. The 5-speed seemed kinda weak going up a low incline - of course, being in between gears probably didn't help. Stupid stiff shifter.

After the drives, I find that I'm conflicted. My brain says CR-V: gas mileage, emissions, honda quality, residual value, paying less than MSRP. My heart says Vue: better console, bigger engine (6 cyl) than CR-V. Hatchback, sparetire under cargo floor, ABS avail on all trims, and a digital temp/compass. I'll consider the Altima only if I decide to pass on a small SUV.

It's a stalemate. I'm hoping the crash tests results will help.

Here's one thing I found strange: the CR-V, Vue and Altima cost about the same amount of money. But the Altima has more gizmos, bigger engines, nicer seats, etc... What's the deal with that?

kelrhys

That would be me! I think I was taking off the middle head rest because I knew it was going to drive me crazy

Rebecca

diploid

You take better pictures than some of the car magazines do!

marky777

Well, just passed 1000 km's on our silver 02 CR-V LX model. No complaints really, and my wife & I are thrilled with the vehicle. Everyone who's ridden in it has been very impressed.

Very minor gripes:
- reaching for the volume may cause you accidently hit the shifter. I did this once, but now that I'm aware of it, it hasn't happened again...
- sounds system is a little weak. Then again, I'm a performing musician, so my hearing's overused and fading. I may add the Honda optional tweeters and subwoofer in the next few months.
- neither Thule nor Yakima have racks available for it yet. I want to go with one of their setups in order to have the locking features and abundance of attachment options.
- and my final gripe... I don't get to drive it enough as my wife uses it for her commute ;-)

theow2

Hi everybody, lovely pictures those new CRVs. Congratulations.
Can anybody help to mention the best prices available for the suv in Western Canada?
Interested to buy one. Thanks.

alex17

We picked up or CR-V from Mark Roberts Honda in Bartlesville, OK last week and drove it 462 miles back to Dallas in the rain.

Oh by the way, Mark Roberts is the absolute best dealership I have ever dealt with. They are a first class operation from the sales to finance. No hassles what so-ever. They deliver what they promise.

I'll post tomorrow on my initial impressions.

I got the EX - Automatic - Chianti Red Pearl - no accessories.

So much for the break in period..

apatia

When I was at the Honda dealer yesterday, the salesman quoted me $23038 for an EX w/ pinstriping, mud guards, and transportation included. He said that the pinstriping comes on every CR-V. He actually wrote the price down on the business card he gave me, like I would actually call him back so I could pay MSRP.

Here's my question: if pinstriping comes w/ every CR-V, why do I have to pay extra for it?

slugline

First, those are nice pictures of a nice car. Now, I am an owner of a 2000 EX in the previous shade of Electron Blue Pearl. Most of the time, it does look absolutely blue. But, at night, when I park in certain lots that use some sort of yellow/orange light for illunination, it turns purple! It stopped me in my tracks the first time I saw it! Keep looking, maybe yours has a hidden hue that will spring out when you least expect it.

theracoon

It sounds like the dealer adds pinstriping to every CR-V. It sure doesn't come that way from the Factory.

I think I'd find a different dealer.

rburnard

I posted these in the photo gallery area but seems most people hang out here...

dudka

from your post it seems liek you are really into V6's, and having a straight four kind of bothers you. i think you should stick with your gut feeling and get a 6 cylinder car, because if you get a 4 cylinder CR-V, it will always bother you. 4 cylinders are not necceserally bad, porche 911 were 4 cylinder for the longest time and still left corvettes in the dust.
i think altima comes with 2.5 liter 4 standard, cr-v is a 2.4 liter 4. but that is not what i am getting at. most of the times straight engines are more powerfull, if they are same displacement, design and compression. V's are more compact, but not as efficient as straight engines.
just ask your self whether you think you had comparable power in the CR-V vs. VUE vs. Altima. that is what you should be looking at. honda has geared cr-v to utilize the power, and they do have lower internal losses than any other carmaker.

ateixeira

Hmm, weren't 911s always boxer 6s? 914s had boxer 4s, and 924/944 models used 4s as well.

That light-brownish color ought to hide dirt very well, so it's practical.

Congrats, Rebecca. Question: do those pesky pedestrians get in your way when you drive on the sidewalk? )

What did you mean by the brake pedal vibrating when you use the wipers? That's odd. Nice color, blue is my favorite on the CR-V.

Why does a mid-size car cost about the same as a compact SUV? Well, mostly because of the wagon bodystyle and the AWD. Each typically adds about $1500 to the price of any given vehicle.

-juice