2001 - 2006 Honda CR-Vs

pal086 · January 2002

I think it should be a polite thing to do on the part of the dealer to ask a customer before painting their logo, especially on a new car. When I had bought an used from a dealer two years ago , I did not mind their doing this (they did not ask me btw if they could put the logo). The color on the car had faded a little. But I remember thinking that I would be pretty pissed if they did that on a shiny new car.

slugline · January 2002

Well, there's "poor folks," and then there are "POOR FOLKS." Most dealer badges I've seen are typically no more than an inch high. These Tennesseeans were broadcasting their dealer's name to other drivers two lanes over!

My dealer did add a plate frame when I came back for my license plates, but that was easily removed.

stoner1011, here is a pic of my rear hatch:

At first glance, it looks painted, but the characters are indeed depressed below the surface of the glass. And yes, I didn't pay extra for it. In fact, I got zero extras at delivery of my 2000 CR-V EX, not even floormats! Even the gas tank was only 3/4 full. . . .

Oh, and before anyone makes any smart remarks: The car was last washed on Wednesday -- but Houston is under construction all over the place!

jvkalra · January 2002

Got a chance to check one out in detail last night. It was a green LX with the beige interior. I think that fabric pattern could have been better, but I do like the beige color, it makes the V look brighter and airy. I didn't have any problem with the location of the hand brake or gear selector, but the dashboard was a bit too high. One doesn't really get that panoramic view that is possible with a lower dashboard. Room wise, very spacious with lots of rear leg room.

Styling wise, that vinyl covered spare detracts from the otherwise refined look. IMHO, Honda did not need that exterior tire as a prop to make the V look more rugged. I actually have an engineer friend who chose to get a basic 4 cyl Highlander over the CR-V EX, because they felt that spare tire really affected the aesthetics of the CR-V. I agreed, I too think that the CR-V could actually be a viable Highlander competitor for several $$$ less, if Honda stuffed that spare.

fasteddie9 · January 2002

I was there friday night and no $500 over invoice deal. I showed them your post, but without the model I was SOL. What exactly did you buy? Model? Auto? Color? Please help. Thanks.

isellhondas · January 2002

Well, all dealers operate differently.

Sorry you had a bad experience although it sounds like you are more upset than your parents!

I too would be upset if there were advertising stickers on my new car.

Still...I have to wonder. Why didn't you or your parents simply cancel the deal and walk away?

Lots of other dealers around aren't there?

And, not to defend the dealer...I'm not..but I don't think the early delivery had anothing to do with dishonesty. These are in VERY short supply and high demand...for good reason!

That is what determines pricing.

I do hope they enjoy it!

odds009 · January 2002

I bought Black 2002 CR-V EX Automatic (without dealer options/upgrades). My suggestion for you is to go on their website and request for quotation for the car you want. I mentioned on my e-mail that I'm willing to pay $500 over Invoice. The GSM (General Sales Manager) respond the next day and accepted my offer. It took me just 5 minutes I think to close the deal when we went to the dealership. If you have any more question, give me your e-mail ad and I'll discuss my experience with you in detail.

Have fun

odds009 · January 2002

They also gave me free wheel locks. Kinda surprised about that.

dudka · January 2002

when i bought my civic it already had a D&C Honda sticker on the back, and they put on the licence plate frames with D&C logo and numbers, I personally did not care because i paid invoice. With the cr-v i only got the licence plate framing, and i still don't care because the 2001 SE cost me $22K including taxes, licencing and all that stuff, and windows were etched already.
I do see alot of cr-v's with soft wheel covers that have dealership's name silkscreened on them and people don't seem to care. besides i use the dealership brandings as recognition marking when i am upstate to know whether the poeple in the car next to me are from my neck of the woods or not. New York is a big state, and seeing "coutesy" on a mercury in buffalo makes me warm inside :-) (courtesy is a mercury/linclon dealership near my house in the bronx)

bajie1 · January 2002

Hi,
I don't know if it's related to the vehcile itself or just the keyless control problem. Today i drove my 2002 CRV LX to downtown Boston. I found the keyless control stopped working. No matter how hard i tried, from different directions, different distance, it just didn't
function.

Then i drove back home, wondering if i should go to the dealership. But strange thing happened, after i got home, i tried the keyless control again, it suddenly started to work.

Why is that? can somebody give me an explaination? Is this typical to remote keyless controls?

Thanks.

fasteddie9 · January 2002

Thank U. I will try. Good Luck.

4car · January 2002

Could you please email me the sales rep's email address?
Thanks

ateixeira · January 2002

Most dealers around here add an extra badge with two-sided tape. Easiest way to remove it is with dental floss, then WD40 to remove the gunk left over.

Sorry if this seems obvious, but if you feel that you are treated poorly, but buy the vehicle anyway, that dealer isn't going to change.

They certainly are independent, and I'm in an area (DC) where there are several dealers of all makes, so maybe we're a bit spoiled. Those in rural areas may be close to just a single dealer, and that limits your options. Except used?

-juice

tomsr · January 2002

Through Car point I contacted Cush Honda and the quote was all models are MSRP +$500.This is ridiculous there are too many good cars for sale
why are they doing this?I encourage everyone to not fall victim to their greed and shop elsewhere.
Hyundai,Suzuki,Mazda,etc all good choices!I'm in no hurry to buy.Remember the PT cruiser everybody
wanted one and prices were inflated now the lots
are full and deep discounts are happening.

ohiogreg · January 2002

Our new Green EX is finally in the States and on its way to Park Honda in Akron. Delivery date moved up from end of Feb. to mid Feb. Can't wait. Wonder if my 1990 Accord will hit 200,000 miles before then. 196,000 currently.

rburnard · January 2002

The keyless entry won't work unless all the doors (including the back) are properly closed. That happened to me once and I found one of the doors weren't completely closed - after I closed it the keyless worked fine.
That's all I can think of anyway...

utopia · January 2002

Your profile doesn't contain an e-mail address. Anyway, in what part of the US are you? I'm in NC &, so far, havent' been able to find a local dealer willing to do anything but MSRP. Don't mind a nearby out of state trip, if need be, but having to travel cross country to get inv + $500 or so is out of the question. Anyone in NC had any luck with less than MSRP? Thanks.

On keyless entry problem -- you might want to try fresh batteries, just in case yours are bad....

acor2 · January 2002

let me know what you think of your new CRV.
I also have a 1990 Accord LX(145k) and am
considering a CRV. It will be hard to give up
my Accord but time for something newer. I like
the car-like feel of CRV and sitting "higher" in traffic. It's also getting old being blinded by vans and large 4WDs! You can email me privately or
on the board.

k103 · January 2002

I have the 2002 CRV and would like to spruce it up. What are people's experiences with the "Front nose bra" or the "plastic bug shield? I live in MN and would like to know the durability of the vinyl nose bra. Will ice and snow make a difference with these two? Thanks.

isellhondas · January 2002

The bra will ruin your paint! Dirt and moisture will get under it and rub your paint.

odds009 · January 2002

South suburb of chicago.

zops · January 2002

I'm trying to pinpoint my gas mileage based on the 15.3 gallon tank capaciy.
I have filled up the tank twice since purchasing my 02 CRV-EX/Auto.
I drove the car until the fuel tank light came on both times and continued to drive with the light on for maybe 15 or 20 miles longer so that I could get as close to empty as possible.
On both occasions I filled up until the nozzle fill up automatically stopped. I did not top off off the tank, since I've read this is not good.
It took 13 gallons both times until the automotic nozzle stop kicked in. On each occasion i had gone 310-315 miles before refuelling.
Can I assume that the tank will take another 2 gallons to top off completely or did I still have 2 gallons of driving left after the fuel tank light was on continuously for 10 or 15 miles.
I think the latter was likely. If true and I had 2 gallons left to burn, or maybe 40 miles) then I would have gobe about 350 per 15.3 gallon tank
or about 23 miles/gallon on 50/50 city and highway driving.

slugline · January 2002

That fuel light is supposed to come on when there are still 2-3 gallons left. On some stretches of highway, it can be many, many miles to the next gas station, so it's good to have that "cushion" in reserve. (Actually, while the light was on during one of my road trips, I pulled off at a gas station to find out that they couldn't serve me because of a power outage. I'm sure glad I had more than enough to make it to the next station!)

zircon2 · January 2002

Why can't the dark interior come with the chianti exterior - IMO it would be a better color combo. Beige too light to hide kids' spills etc.

5-spped has lots of power and is very quiet at 60MPH on the highway, a vast improvement over 99V.

samstr · January 2002

I think a more accurate way to determine your gas milage is the following:

1. Fill up your tank and set your trip odometer to zero.

2. The next time you fill up document the amount of feul that you put in the tank (I just get a receipt).

3. Before you drive away, write down the number of miles on your trip odometer on the same receipt and then divide the miles by the # of gallons.

4. Reset your odometer to zero and you're set to do this again the next time you fill up.

Doing it this way is more accurate and also it doesn't matter when you fill up. However, you do get a smaller margin of error if you run the tank closer to empty rather than re-filling with more feul in the tank.

Does anybody else use this method? I find it most accurate this way, rather than guessing whats left in my tank.

varmit · January 2002

Samstr - I use the odometer and record the total mileage (currently around 54K), then subtrack the total mileage from the last time I filled it up. I have a notepad that lives in the dash and records mpg as well as general maintenance. I find this easier than using the tripometer because I frequently forget to reset it.

Okay, here's more insight into how much of a geek I am.

My wife (a computer programmer by trade) wrote a simple data entry "wizard" for me. It even includes a picture of "Buster". It makes the mpg calculations for me and files it all into a spreadsheet. It works for maintenance records, too.

stever · January 2002

I keep a notepad, but have to transfer the figures into my spreadsheet "by hand."

Steve
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carguy62 · January 2002

A lot of people on these boards do the same thing. I have mpg etc.data going back to '85. Recently in my area there was a mini price war between gas stations and using my handy notebook I was able to determine that I paid the lowest I had paid for gas since before I bought my '89.

I find keeping track of mpg a great tool to determine if there is a problem that requires further investigation.

Some say geek, some say obsessive. I enjoy it.

varmit · January 2002

Just got back from a ski trip. We took a group of youth up to Loon Mt. I haven't calculated mpg yet, but it looks to be about average. Anyway... Sleeping arrangements in the four bedroom house with 26 people were a bit tight. Rather than taking a spot on the floor and listening to the kids giggle and gossip 'til all hours of the morning, I sleep on the CR-V's "bed".

It turns out that cracking only one window is not enough, so I woke with the interior completely fogged. Otherwise, it was just as comfortable as the couch (someone else managed to claim it before I could).

All I had to do was park with the nose of the car parked up high on the edge of the driveway. Not a bad little motel. All it needs is room service.

zops · January 2002

OK. So it is correct that 2 or 3 gallons are still avalailable when the fuel tank light begins to stay on continuously. This may be the case since i filled up both times after about 5-10 miles of driving with the light on, and both times required ~13 gallons to fill (without topping off tank, but just until the nozzle automatically stops pumping). Both times I had gone ~310 miles on the tank. Thus looks like rougly 310/13 = 23.8 mi/gallon bases on roughly
50/50 city/feeway driving.

seguy · January 2002

I have a full front cover vinyl bra on my accord for nearly three years now. lived in ohio for two years and now in colorado. Paint still looks new, much better than having pits and nicks from bugs, rocks, etc. I wash and wax my cars once a month during warm months, every other month in winter. Just make sure to remove the bra and clean the felt lining the best you can. Otherwise the bra (at least on my car) doesn't move much, so even with some dirt that settles in between the paint and felt lining, no scratches or flaws have been seen. Consider a clear bra, that way you can srub away at it without the worry of scratching paint, but I'm sure the clear bra would eventually look dull and scratched. FYI: my bra has stood up well too, the only defects in it now are the cardboard like inserts that fit into certain gaps are tearing off, I think I'll just take them off, since they don't affect the fit any, the clips hold it in place very well. Hope this helps.

seguy · January 2002

Considering this for my hood over the front mask on the V, as I personally think it would look nicer, although I haven't found one available anywhere as of yet. Any luck on finding one anybody? Also would like to know if anyone has bought the metal trim kit for the dark interior? Another upgrade I want to get is 16x7 rims with 225/60 series tires on it. Wife doesn't want to firm a ride so the 17's had to go. waiting to order the rims, but right now out of stock at discount tires direct.

ateixeira · January 2002

varmit: this geek also has a spreadsheet, just like yours. I even graph my running average! Maybe we should market the template? ;-)

It's a good idea, though, to have at least a general idea of how your fuel efficiency is doing. It could potentially even help you spot a problem early on.

26 people in one house? Yikes. No way I'd ever talk my wife into that. Her idea of roughing it means a Motel 6 instead of a Hilton!

)

-juice

tidester · January 2002

Just curious - those of you who have been diligently keeping detailed mileage records, have any of you actually changed your driving habits as a result or made a purchasing decision because of it?

tidester
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ateixeira · January 2002

Change driving habits? Maybe a little. I guess you aim to break your own record, or at least your average. My wife drives a little slower, and sure enough she holds the record (30.4 mpg on our 2.5l Forester) on her shift during a drive from DC to CT.

Purchase decision? Mileage is a big factor to me, always has been. Back in my idealistic college days, I promised myself I would never buy a car that did not get at least 20mpg in the EPA city rating. So far I've been able to keep that promise. I'm averaging 25mpg and never once dipped below 20mpg, so yes it would influence my decision to buy another Subie.

And I don't have to give up performance to keep that pledge. Look at the WRX (20/27) and Altima (21/26). Even the Forester and CR-V beat several less efficient V6 competitors.

-juice

stever · January 2002

I chart mine as a way to keep track of oil changes that are due, as well as a running log of all car expenses, including gas.

But if I notice that my mpg is trending downward, I may think about switching brands or getting a tune up.

I can also tell you that the day I left for Idaho, I was getting 16.61 mpg. When I got to Idaho, I was getting 20.84 mpg. If you don't keep track, how else are you going to be able to figure out these useful little tidbits? ymmv :-)

Steve
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tidester · January 2002

I can see the benefits of detailed charting and just wondered whether it's worth the effort. Of course, if you just like to play with spreadsheets and databases on your pc that may be enough reason in itself!

the day I left for Idaho, I was getting 16.61 mpg. When I got to Idaho, I was getting 20.84 mpg

Clearly we need a hypothesis for this one! ;-)

Hmm ... could be that mileage depends on latitude - good thing those Alaskans have ANWR to fall back on!

tidester
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mam9 · January 2002

Well, I heard it this weekend for the first time. Didn't someone post here before about a "thunk" coming from the rear end after reversing? I had parked overnight (level), backed out, and then shifted into drive and was moving forward when I heard it. Quite loud, only once, not again since. Should I call the Service Dept? Don't want to get a rep as a worrywart female owner so soon.

Also have the "tick, tick, tick" noise following a drive. Sounds like metal cooling off or something dripping.

bajie2 · January 2002

Is that because of the ABS?
What model is your car?

varmit · January 2002

Nope, I haven't changed my driving habits because of the mpg. I did change them a bit as soon as I started driving an SUV. The advantage of being able to see over everyone's head doesn't do any good if you don't leave enough room to stop.

What has been interesting to me is the drop during Winter months. As the soon as the average temp drops below 40 degrees, my mpg average drops from 25-27 mpg to 23-25.

ateixeira · January 2002

Same here. I am 2mpg below my average over the winter, even though my state (MD) supposedly uses reformulated fuels year-round.

Martha: the ticking is normal, from the expanding and contracting of metals in the exhaust. Most cars do that.

-juice

zops · January 2002

Can anyone comment on whether octane rating is a
factor in gas mileage.
I have been using the 87 regular.
Should we be using 91.
IS it better to use super (91) unleaded.

varmit · January 2002

Zops - It is only better if you also own stock in oil.

High octane fuel is used to prevent knock. If your car does not knock, then don't use it. Edmunds has a good article on the subject in the technical advice section.

varmit · January 2002

Hmmm... I went looking for that article and I couldn't find it. I thought it was written for the Tech Center under the Ownership section. Anyone know where it is?

ateixeira · January 2002

At wholesale costs, premium fuel costs about 3 cents per gallon more than regular. Around here, they charge about 24 cents extra, so that's 3 cents COGS (cost of goods sold) and 21 cents profit, marketing cost, CEO's Porsche payment, executive bonuses, etc. So it is better for the oil company execs. Luxury homes aren't cheap! ;-)

If the manufacturer does not recommended premium, stick with 87 octane. C&D tested some cars designed to run on regular, and some actually were less efficient on premium.

-juice

mam9 · January 2002

No ABS--it's an LX auto 2WD. (Chiant red, named Rosebud, "Rosie" for short. And yes, she's named after the sled in Citizen Kane.)

While I'm here, anyone else having back trouble? Can't seem to get comfy in the seat.

kentwong · January 2002

I noticed that the auto has 4.44 axle ratio while the 5-speed uses 4.77 axle ratio. Does anyone know what difference they make? Thanks.

ateixeira · January 2002

All things being equal, a shorter final drive (numerically higher) will rev higher on the highway, putting the engine in its power band. It'll consume more fuel but be better for passing. So the 4.77:1 would be quicker and better able to tow vs. a 4.44:1.

But you have to account for the different number of ratios and their ratio spread on manual vs. auto trannies.

Both final drives are actually quite high by industry standards, where 3.5-4.1:1 are more common. That's intentional, because Honda's engines like to rev to make their power.

-juice

corey76 · January 2002

My Aztek is equipped with an instant mileage computer, it has greatly helped me improve my driving habits to get better gas mileage.

I think you can purchase one of these computers that monitors your RPM's and such from www.cartoys.com. All your vehicles data will have to entered in to the computer and it should give you a fairly accurate measurement.

Hey Varmit what happened to you in my vs. topic!
Surely you aren't going to let me have the last statement. I average roughly 21mpg in all city driving. Although on a trip to Shreveport I got 25mpg!

yuclin · January 2002

Hello everyone, I am a new member to this board. As many others, I have been following your board for at least a year. I used to have a Mitsubishi that was "dying" at 160,000 miles and needed a new car. Of all that I saw, the CR-V was what I wanted.

Finally, my wishes came true and I picked up my new 2002 CR-V last week. So far, it is great! For all of you who need to know pricing, I bought it from Autoland and I did not have to deal with any dealer only with Autoland's salesman Robert Nomura. They do the search for you. Price was $700 over invoice plus tax and license. It is an EX automatic Satin Silver.

I wanted to provide some feedback to the board, as the information you guys and gals posted was always very helpful and reassured me on what I have researched on my own during the the past year. Due to my urgency in getting a car, I was looking to the Rav4 but I am sure glad I waited. There is a BIG difference and the CRV has more class.

As in everything, nothing is perfect, but this is quite there.

CRV is roomier and has taken into account several details that can please picky people like me. Since I do not know much about engines or tires, I pay more attention to quality and interior details.

My other choice would have been the Highlander, however it was not worth the extra money for what I would use the car for. Besides it it a bigger car that I did not need to have.

FYI, my car does not have a clicking noise either before or after I installed an aftermarket alarm system.

Thank you all for all your comments, advice and suggestions. It sure helps when the dealer or service doesn't know how to fix a problem and tries to blame it to your imagination.

yuclin · January 2002

I forgot, just in case, I am in So CA, Los Angeles area and the dealers near me have been asking 3,000 over MSRP but willing to sit down and lower it. I did not want to sit for one hour and waste my time with their games of "let me talk to my manager".

2001 - 2006 Honda CR-Vs

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