2001 - 2006 Honda CR-Vs

stever · January 2003

Thanks, I'll pass that along "upstairs."

Steve, Host

richk6 · January 2003

To qgu, I agree with varmint you will get salt and debris in the engine bay with closed wheel wells, but not near the amount tossed up by the open wells in the 02 and 03 V.These openings are getting a direct shot from the tires. I don't agree this will do no damage in the long term. The firewall which gets a major shot from these openings is painted but not undercoated. Road salt and paint to not mix well in the long term. The following link, as I posted before shows how to install rubber boots or mud guards in these openings. http://www.cwbr22088.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/CRV-WEB/

inkie · January 2003

ggu, I made the flaps for the openings in my 02 CRV and I just checked my undercarridge, firewall and engine compartment after a 400 mile trip in some snow and salted roads. The flaps did not keep the road salt out nor small stones that must of kicked up when I was off roading. I hosed the accumulation off and I now know the openings mean zilch when it comes to roadirt

tapgypsy · January 2003

Thanks for the feedback. (And yes I looked at the maintenance guide first, but it didn't seem to cover everything.) I called the dealer and they faxed a breakdown of the service charges. This list does not include all of the inspections, but just the charges specific for the 30,000 maintenance. This includes labor.

Load Test Battery & Inspect: $14.00
Front Brake Inspection: $70.00
Rear Brake Inspection: $70.00
Brake Fluid: $59.95
Rotate Tires/Balance Fronts: $28.00
Valve Clearance: $85.00
Spark Plugs: $65.00
Air Filter: $20.95
Air Conditioner Filter: $96.00
Transmission Oil: $27.29
Rear Differential Oil: $60.00
Engine Oil & Drain Plug Washer: $24.95

Total: $621.64

But because I'm having all this done at the same time, they are charging only(??) $450.20.

The one that really bugs me is the $70 for front/back brake inspection. Maybe they do something other than just look at them?

robmarch · January 2003

For $140, they better be looking at those brake systems for well over an hour, since their rate is less than $100 per hour. I think this is excessive, unless it includes replacing the pads.

Also, is "valve clearance" on the Honda recommended maintenance schedule?

If you're going to skimp to save some $$, I would not recommend skipping the transmission fluid, if you have an automatic.

micky1310 · January 2003

I recently bought my new 2003 LX AWD CRV. It has some 2000 miles on it and giving a 18/23 miles (city/highway) per gallon gas mileage. Spoke with the dealership about this low mileage and they asked me to wait till about 4000-5000 miles for the numbers to go up. Can someone tell me about the gas mileage on 2003s?!? And what can be done to improve them. I am in Midwest, Central Illinois.

fickle · January 2003

Did anyone own a 00 CRV and trade it in for the new model with more horsepower? Did you notice a difference in the 14?hp increase? My friend owns a 00 CRV and she said her car was gutless going up a hill to my house. (She usually only travels on flat roads.) Anyway, would 14 hp make a noticable difference?

qgu · January 2003

Thanks to everybody. As long as the engine does not die prematurely which, I believe, will not happen. I can live with the dirty engine bay. All I need to remember is to clean the compartment before I sell the vehicle.

robmarch · January 2003

not only the 146-160 hp bump, but the 133-161 lb-ft of torque. max torque goes from 4500 rpm to 3600 rpm, also, which makes it feel much punchier off the line and before downshifting.

I've ridden in, but not driven, a 2000 CRV, and the power seemed a little light, but still passable. I have no issues with the power in my 2002 CRV automatic.

andyokstate · January 2003

I need to have my front brakes done. My favorite local mechanic recently retired, phooey! Anyway, I'm looking for recommendations for national chain brake shops. With which chains have you had the best work done?

varmint · January 2003

Fickle - It depends on the transmission. I've been pleased with the performance of my 99 5-speed. With an automatic, the older CR-Vs are okay, but you do have to rev them. The new CR-Vs do not require revving and are more satisfying for driver's with a heavy foot.

gatorgreg · January 2003

Hey all, does anyone know if all the neat roof rack accessories that Honda makes for the E but not the V (like the surfboard attachment and roof top carrier) will fit the 2nd gen V? The cross bars are kind of similar I think but I don't know if the spacing is the same or if it even has to be for the E accessories to fit it. Just curious

slugline · January 2003

Wow. It's nice to see that there are some profitable businesses in America these days:

$65 to replace spark plugs?

Yup, the A/C filter is a hassle to replace, but I didn't realize it was considered as laborious as a valve adjustment.

And why the heck is the rear-diff service twice as expensive as the tranny fluid change? Oh, that's right -- the tech has to undo TWO bolts. . . .

soccermum02 · January 2003

We've had our 'V' over five months and I took it in for the 4 mo / 8000 km service check. One month late, but as I explained to the guy at the service desk, we only had 4100 km on it (roughly 2500 mi.). We thought that since we don't fit the North American average vehicle users that maybe oil changes should be on time and other things by the mileage.

The guy told me that for the first oil change it should be around 8000 km, because the factory puts an oil in that has special additives for break-in purposes. I was so astounded that I didn't ask any other questions. Who in North America turns down easy money? Any thoughts or facts on this???

Thanks
-Virg

jtn46 · January 2003

Got my V yesterday, and if you're keeping up on weather, I live in Massachusettes, so I got to drive it through the snow as well. It handled pretty well, aside from a little fishtailing right out of the dealership. It's a great vehicle, and I'm very glad I waited until it came in. Two problems I need to get fixed eventually though. One is that near the spare tire, there was "overpaint", the dealer pointed it out, otherwise I probably wouldn't have noticed until the weather improved. Also, from the inside, I can't open the rear driver-side door. Everything else is working great as far as I can tell.

varmint · January 2003

Sorry haven't seen that one, yet. I do know that you can install the Element's armrest/console in the 2nd gen CR-V. It doesn't match the color exactly, but it's a clean solution for those who would rather have a center console.

atthebeach1 · January 2003

Console/Armrest? I saw one for "auto only" but will they work for a 5spd? Do you know anyone who has installed one? Armrest issue is the only distraction for me while on a road trip. Any additional information wood be greatly appreciated. TIA

ATB

theracoon · January 2003

Also, from the inside, I can't open the rear driver-side door.

There's a child security switch on the door edge that might have been flipped. It's a security feature so that a child can't open the door from the inside.

Open the door, then look at the trailing edge of the door. There should be a label and a small sliding switch. There should also be information about the "child proof locks" in your Owner's Manual. Sorry I can't be clearer, but I have a '99 CR-V so it's a little different.

Good luck!

arkydog · January 2003

For those 02 CR-V owners who may get concerned when the "maintenance required" light starts flashing way under 10K miles ... unless it stays on, ignore it -- it's just your "early warning" about 10K maintenance visit coming up. Mine started flashing (10 times when I crank up, then off) at 8K miles! I expected it might start reminding me close to 10K, but not this soon. Even dealer service was surprised at how early it can start -- apparently there is no set mileage trigger.

In an otherwise very user-friendly vehicle, I can't imagine why Honda did this. IMO, it is sloppy and non-user-friendly engineering, since there is no point in building in a pesky reminder like this with a mileage trigger of 2000+ mi. before the vehicle needs to be taken in for service -- for some folks that's more than 2+ months worth of driving, during which time one learns to ignore the "reminder," making it just another useless, pesky, and costly inconvenience.

Hey, Honda, scrap the "early warning system" and a few other fairly useless "conveniences" and save us some dough on this vehicle's service costs! There, that's my 2-cents worth for being "user friendly."

cgphil1 · January 2003

I also live in Massachusetts and picked up my EX just before Christmas (see my posting at 10050) and have had no problems driving in the snow we have been getting since. I agree with theracoon that the inability to open the rear passenger door from the inside may be due to the "child proof locks". I noticed that there is only one coat hook above one of the rear doors. Somehow I thought I read somewhere that the '03' had two. Do you mind telling what you paid? My EX was $21,951.00 including destination charge but excluding Mass 5% tax, etc.

jtn46 · January 2003

Thanks for the suggestion on the door, I didn't think they'd turn it on but apparently they did. Works fine now.

I didn't haggle on the price, since I was basically put on a waiting list right away, and knew I wouldn't get very far, but my dealer does a 1% discount, which was about $228, and I added an alarm, so I ended up paying about $22,750. I did get 3.49% financing for 5 years though. This was my first new car purchase, so I'm also a little in awe of the process, which makes it tough to haggle as well.

k103 · January 2003

I took my 02 CRV in to the shop to have the "rocking seat" fixed. I was taken care of with no questions. I also was having a vibration at 60-70 mph. This was only noticed in the steering column and on the drivers side. I suspected it might be tires, but I have the tires rotated and balanced regularly and even had it aligned, but the problem was still there. I brought to one Honda dealer who test drove with me and said he didn't notice anything. I took it later to the current dealer who fixed my seat. They said they test drove it and the mechanic said it isn't driving the way it should and did notice a vibration in the driver's seat. They put it on the host and ran it at 60 and noticed the tires would wobble and out of wound. He said he would recc that all tires be replaced because they were out of wound and the front two tires had radial pull. I asked what is covered under warranty? He said Honda would cover 50 percent since I had 30000 miles on the tires. He wasn't pressuring at all. I did have all four tires replaced and the problem is gone for now. I'm not sure if I got ripped off, but I am happy the problem is fixed. I was about to get rid of the vehicle. Does this sound normal or did I get taken!

scname · January 2003

Don't you mean 3000 miles instead of 30000

My 02 has 10,000 miles and the tires look half used up. Those are cheap tires.

kozakri · January 2003

I was following this discussion since September 2002 when we decided to buy 03CRV. Information I've got here helped us tremendously both in buying a V and in furnishing it with some accessories. Thank you all.
Now I'll share my buying experience.
We've got our V EX auto a week before Christmas. Live in RI. Tried bunch of dealerships in RI as well as in Boston. All of them were asking MSRP ($22,860) and would not go down even after I was showing them printouts from this board about people buying 03EX auto for about $22,000. Their argument: different markets. Frankly, I new that we would end up buying from the dealership, actually from a man who sold us our Accord99 before and where that Accord gets serviced. I think I am allowed to mention real names here, so here they are: Majestic Honda of Warwick, Jeff Gemma. Certainly, being a repeat customer have helped us, but Jeff is a rather reasonable person in general.
Anyways, I have shown Jeff printouts with prices and after about 10 minutes we agreed on $22,000 for the V plus $400 for the fog lights (installation included) with delivery in the end of Nov.-beginning of Dec. We were given the VIN for our V around Nov. 15 and have been told that it usually takes about 2-3 weeks after that for a car to be delivered. Well, something happened in the Honda empire around that time because we were waiting for our V to arrive more than a month. Again, I was pleased that without any mentioning from me, Jeff made the price $21,900 and installed front mud guards and moon roof visor at no additional cost just because the delivery took longer than usually.
Well, so far we (I, my wife and our daughter) are very pleased with the V. It seems that the only disappointed member of a family is our Siberian husky who now rides in the back behind metal bars instead of his front seat in Accord

jackbird · January 2003

Hello all

I have an '02 stick-shift CR-V and have made some mods. I built a center console to replace the fold-down; it incorporates a padded arm rest and a small thermoelectric refrig, plus it has cup holders, a drawer for CDs and and little hidden space for my cell phone. It actually looks pretty much like original equipment. If anyone wants to make their own using a similar approach I'll be happy to send a sketch and notes. Obviously, you're on your own if you mod your vehicle so don't sue me if the console does something horrid.

I also installed a stereo jack to allow the "passenger" to listen to the radio (setting the radio at reduced volume provides a strong headphone signal). This is probably illegal or at least naughty cuz driver's aren't supposed to use headphones here in Calif.

Right now I'm designing a full length (6 foot) bed that replaces the rear seats on a trip. If anyone has already gone that route and would like to share ideas I'd be pleased.

Thanks to all the contributors to this great site.

jackbird

alan90266 · January 2003

Can anyone give me some feed-back regarding the largest (tallest) tires that fit the AWD CRV or any tire sizes that have been reported to cause problems (rubbing fender, etc.). Thanks, Alan

k103 · January 2003

Nope! My tires had 30,000 miles on them and seemed to have tread left for more miles. I can't say they are quiet tires and wouldn't get them again, but overall they were ok. If they had 3,000 miles and I had to pay 50% I would not be happy!

gatorgreg · January 2003

hey varmint, thanks for the tip on the E console, maybe that will keep GG Jr. from climbing into the front seat whenever I park

alan, I can say that 225/70-15s will fit fine with no rubbing (however the spare tire cover will not fit). You might be able to go taller than that but I'm not sure. Here's a pic of my V taken earlier today with the 225s. I've got additional pics posted in the CR-V "Gallery" forum here at Edmunds in case you want to see more.

mikefm58 · January 2003

I have a '99 2WD CRV. Is changing the rear diff. fluid part of regular maint.? My owner's manual is kinda vague about this with 2WD and I've read in another forum where it's only required with 4WD. I crawled underneath and didn't see the drain & refill bolts as expected.

theracoon · January 2003

You didn't see the bolts because the rear differential doesn't exist on 2WD CR-Vs. The rear differential is one of the RT4WD powertrain components that transfers power to the rear wheels when the front wheels slip. Since you don't have RT4WD you don't have a rear differential and don't have to worry about changing the fluid.

mikefm58 · January 2003

THANKS......That's kinda what I figured, just thought I'd ask the experts here.

tapgypsy · January 2003

I called two other Honda dealerships. The prices quoted for 30,000 service were $369/5 hour wait and $330/3.5-4 hour wait. The dealer where I purchased quoted $450/4 hour wait. So what gives here?

theracoon · January 2003

Did you ask each dealer for a list of what services they would be performing? You gotta compare apples to apples.

;D

jtn46 · January 2003

My dealer gave me a printout that showed dates, prices and itemized what they'll do. For 30,000 miles, they're showing $268.70.

varmint · January 2003

Atthebeach - I know of one CR-V owner who installed the Element's console/armrest into their 2002 CR-V. I can direct you toward the install article if you send me an e-mail.

blearn1 · January 2003

Thanks to everyone for all the great info before I made my purchase. Just made a downpayment on a 03 Red EX/auto. My question is how many remote entry FOB's come std with the vehicle? The package containing the manual and keys I was shown contains only 1 remote but 3 keys. My wife and I will both be driving so I need 2. All my previous vehicles came with 2 and this seems reasonable.
Thanks for the help. Brian

qgu · January 2003

Tried to park my V to an open spot last night. The slot still had about 8" snow and ice underneath (that was why the slot was open). The slot was a slope (about 25 degrees). My V got stuck and could not climb into position. During the process, I finally saw rear wheel spin (by opening driver side door). It seemed to me that the rear wheel got engaged couple seconds later after the front wheel lost traction. It was not instantanous power transfer during the several times that I tried.

varmint · January 2003

ggu - That seems a bit odd. Most of the time, mine will engage with less than a half turn of the front wheels. I've got slo-mo video which shows the rear tires engaging in under a quarter turn. You might want to have yours checked.

cgphil1 · January 2003

Brian, the EX comes with 2 remotes and 3 keys. I am in the same situation in that my wife and I trade vehicles.

robmarch · January 2003

I believe that the front and rear are both open differentials. Basically, power goes to one front and one rear wheel. It's possible that the other rear wheel was spinning for a while and you couldn't see it. putting a limited slip differential would help both rear wheels to turn in this case.

kwh · January 2003

Last week I took my son's 94 Accord in for service work (108,000 miles) and it still has a very smooth and solid ride. I let him use my 2001 civic for a few days and we both had the same comment when we exchanged cars again: how bouncy and poorly the civic rode compared to an older accord. Do any of you have experience driving an 01-03 Civic, and also driving the 02-03 CR-V? How would you compare the ride of the two vehicles? I still looking at CR-V's, but I can get a used RX300 for the same price. Everthing I read on these boards seems to say the CR-V has a very good ride, but the fact it is built on a civic platform makes me wonder. Thanks for any insights.

varmint · January 2003

I think a test drive in the CR-V is the only way to answer that question.

(Completely off topic... I love the new RX330)

denise31 · January 2003

Does anyone know why some of the CR-V's are being built in England?

Does anyone know about any problems with the ones built in England?

slugline · January 2003

Some of the CR-Vs are being built in England because Honda is a global company. There isn't enough data yet to suggest that this UK-assembled product worse or better than its counterpart in Japan. Also remember also that point-of-assembly isn't everything -- the PARTS can and do come from other locations.

robmarch · January 2003

I have a 2002 CRV, and have driven a 2002 Civic EX sedan. I would say that the CRV rides well, transmitting a decent amount of road feel to the steering wheel, but not affecting the body of the car much. Driving over a stretch of cracked and degraded pavement would be felt in your hands, but doesn't affect the chassis much.

Are the struts original on the Accord? If so, you may not be getting much damping from them, making the ride feel "cushier" but not as controlled in corners and producing more body roll in switchbacks. I know this because I recently replaced the struts in my 96 Nissan Altima at 135k miles and know how hard it is to feel the gradually declining performance.

I thought the civic's ride was a litle busier in the hands on rough pavement, but the motion was decently damped overall. Of course, I like cars that transmit road feel to the wheel, but suspend the body, for a more sporting feel.

Drive the CRV on a mixture of roads to get a good feel for what you prefer.

Good luck!

icvci · January 2003

I originally wanted a Japanese built CR-V. After checking inventories around the Metro Detroit area I noticed everything was from England. I mentioned this to my salesperson who checked into it himself. He said everything coming in right now is from England.

I figured it was still a Honda and agreed to get an English made V.

The wipers function incorrectly and the fan cuts out when the heater is on. (These both surfaced after 250 miles.) 4 Honda's, approx. 163,000 miles, 8 years never a problem. Not sure if it is the law of averages or England but, I'm not excited about the glitches.

gatorgreg · January 2003

Are you sure you didn't get a Jaguar?

Seriously though, the Vs are theoretically identical. However, I still made sure that mine was Made in Japan

icvci · January 2003

That's exactly what I was thinking. I'm happy with every aspect of the V so far. IMO noise isn't an issue. The stereo isn't as bad as everyone says. (Hell, it's not like I upgraded to a superior system.) Everything is just grand.

My wife is VERY happy.

gapdragon · January 2003

Hi,

I am looking to add a cold air intake system, headers and a cat-back exhaust to my 98 CR-V. I am having trouble finding places to order these parts. I would appreciate any ideas.

Thanks,

John
manningj@attbi.com

slugline · January 2003

They're not as ubiquitous as Civic hop-ups, but they are out there. Here's a quick list of some of the major manufacturers:

Mugen (http://www.kingmotorsports.com): exhaust header, axle-back exhaust
DC Sports (http://www.dcsports.com): short intake
AEM (http://www.aempower.com): cold-air intake
Comptech (http://www.comptechusa.com): cold-air intake, exhaust header, cat-back exhaust
GReddy (http://www.greddy.com): cat-back exhaust
Ractive (http://www.toucanindustries.com): axle-back exhaust
Weapon-R (http://www.weapon-r.com): intakes

As for finding retailers: You can check with many of the same tuner shops that work on other Hondas in your locality. Check your newsstand for issues of Sport Compact Car, Import Tuner, Honda Tuning etc. for other sources. This should get you started. . . .

2001 - 2006 Honda CR-Vs

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